Our winter has been unseasonably cold. In the beginning, DH hustled out each evening with drop cloth to protect our beautiful plants from the frost and now, we’ve thrown in the drop cloth so to speak. We’re patiently waiting for spring warmth to see what might emerge and recover from our brown and crispy landscape. At the same time, across town I did find a group however that was quite productive when they heard the frost was near.
Using Local Ag to Build Community and Microenterprise!
7th grader, Kaela H., worked with the other members of the Tumbleweeds 4-H club to juice 45 lbs of lemons before the frost made mush of them. The crew worked together to create lemon juice, make it into a salable product, construct a marketing campaign and operate their neighborhood lemonade stand on a recent weekend. They created a memories, lasting knowledge and a source of community.
Ok, in full disclosure, I was a long-time 4H kid. But what I recently learned was that the original 4-H intent was to create practical and “hands-on” learning. The idea sprang from a desire to make public school education more connected to country life. I could swear that I’ve heard many of us say that we want our kids to know where their food comes from. To me, that sounds like alignment.
Of course 4H is not new. Nor are lemonade stands but when I really take them apart and examine what’s going on, isn’t a 4H lemonade stand perfectly symbolic of what we ought to be trying to accomplish in our communities today?
1. They’re accessing locally grown produce – check
2. The kids are doing the work themselves and learning skills and becoming self reliant – check
3. The community members come together to purchase lemonade and support a locally owned business – check
4. In creating the lemonade stand, the kids learn about micro-enterprise in the food industry – check
5. Twenty percent of the proceeds of Kaela’s stand are donated to the Humane Society cultivating a sense of philanthropy – check
6. The stand itself creates an opportunity for neighbors to gather for refreshments, to talk, and to be neighborly – check
Here’s a video of Kaela and her friends explaining how they went about their project:
I’m happy to know that 4H is alive and well. While my own kids likely have ample activities without it, it’s definitely an organization they would benefit from. In fact, I think we would all benefit from being a little more 4H like.
Consider the 4H pledge:
I pledge my Head to clearer thinking, my Heart to greater loyalty, my Hands to larger service and my Health to better living, for my club, my community, my country, and my world.
- Fresh local lemon juice
- water
- sugar
Agrigirl's Blog 
gmomj
/ February 24, 2011Without 4H my childhood would have been bleak.
You are an awesome parent and the kids are great!
Tammy McLeod
/ February 24, 2011Thanks. These aren’t mine but they do have great parents.
Lisa H
/ February 24, 2011Thanks! The kids are great and a joy to work with.
sarah kriehn
/ February 24, 2011Loved it….and very true….I was a 4-H’er. sarah
Tammy McLeod
/ February 24, 2011Should’ve known Sarah!
Paula Tohline Calhoun
/ February 24, 2011How perfectly wonderful! I am so impressed with the industry and follow-through of all those young people! I have been a life-long admirer of 4-H, but never was a member – although I had cousins very involved in it – raising steer, etc. They lived in the country, while until recently, I never did!
Thanks so much for bringing this to our attention. Congrats to the people involved. How much did they make for the Humane Society (another very worthy cause!)?
BTW, speaking of the unseasonably cold weather, we have a sweeet cherry tree in our back yard (remember the photos of our cherry harvest?). While we have owned the house for 5 years now, this year was the first year we have had any cherries. We thought it was an apple tree, actually, because it looked so similar to the apple trees in our yard! Turns out that last Spring, while it might have been a little later than usual, once it came, it didn’t go away! Consequently, when the cherry tree bloomed, there was no hard frost to follow and thus kill the budding fruit! Around here, generally the warmish clear days of early Spring are generally followed by a retreat back to winter, and as cherry trees don’t handle that weather very well, such a good Spring was a great gift! WOW!
We’re hoping for the same Spring this year, but it doesn’t look promising. Owing to a warmish spell recently, all our bulbs are coming up. They are destined to an early death, unfortunately, because March is usually our harshest month, and we get lots of frost and snow then. Hopefully our cherry tree won’t be fooled into blooming yet!
Lisa H
/ February 24, 2011Thanks so much for the support! The kids made $180, so $45 will go to the Humane Society. These kids did everything on their own–made signs, squeezed the lemons, made the lemonade and handled the sales. It’s a great reminder that 4-H isn’t just about raising livestock, but also about building life skills.
montucky
/ February 24, 2011I enjoyed this post. It’s such a pleasure to see kids doing things like that! For many years the 4-H exhibits at the fair have been my favorite part and they receive a lot of support in this rural area, which I’m very glad to see.
Tammy McLeod
/ February 24, 2011As a kid, I couldn’t wait for the fair! I used to exhibit canned goods, sewing and participate in the art and dog shows.
Cindy
/ February 24, 2011First time I ever heard of 3H, wonderful initiative.
Tammy McLeod
/ February 24, 2011first time for me too – eh 3H that is.
Carol Ann Hoel
/ February 24, 2011Very smart use of lemons. What sweet, enterprising girls. Their lemonade stand involved a lot of work and commitment. Blessings to these generous, energetic, industrious, future leaders…
Lisa H
/ February 24, 2011Thank you! I will certainly pass on your encouraging words to the group.
Lisa H
/ February 24, 2011p.s. my group consists of 5 girls and one boy (for some reason he didn’t make it into the video, he probably just stepped away for a bit).
Robin Mullet
/ February 24, 2011Great segway between a lemonade stand and local food movement. It’s more than symbolic, it IS local. Good job kids and good post, Tammy.
Lisa H
/ February 24, 2011Thank you! Their success was due to the fabulous response from family, friends, neighbors, and those just stopping by because they followed the signs. It really was a community event.
souldipper
/ February 24, 2011Way to go, you incredibly aware young people. The attitude you are taking into adulthood will hold you in such great stead! Bravo to all who encouraged this type of project.
Lisa H
/ February 24, 2011Thank you! It’s wonderful to see the kids thinking of others, especially at their ages (11 to 13).
Kathy
/ February 24, 2011Tammy, I haven’t thought much about 4-H for years, but this brought back a lot of memories from childhood. I especially remember taking dog obedience classes, knitting (my mom taught), and sewing (I made a pair of polka-dot pants…arghh! the last thing I ever sewed like that). The kids at our small two-room elementary school have 4-H one week a month and I know they all like it.
It does have a lot of good values. Great post!
Tammy McLeod
/ February 24, 2011Oh Kathy. I did dog obedience also and sewing. I really have great memories of 4H
Hannah
/ February 24, 2011Oh how brilliant! What amazing, dedicated kiddlywinks! Big applause for them 🙂
Tammy McLeod
/ February 24, 2011Fun, isn’t it Hannah?
Sandy
/ February 24, 2011Thanks, Tammy, for including the 4-H Pledge — I couldn’t have recalled it but it came zooming back as I read it.
When I was in Illinois last year for Dad’s funeral, I was talking with a gal that stayed in the Boy’s 4-H (yes, separate clubs but not restricted) longer than I. She shared with me how my Dad, as her 4-H leader, encouraged her to become club President. Decades later she’s relaying those 4-H memories and how the club and Dad positively impacted her life. Very special.
Tammy McLeod
/ February 24, 2011That’s a great story Sandy. You should write that one down. It’s amazing family lore.
nrhatch
/ February 24, 2011Excellent post, Tammy.
Glad that the lemons were put to good use after being saved from the frost ~ and that the enterprise benefited the kids, the community, and the Humane Society.
One quick fix: At the same town, across town ~ same time?
Tammy McLeod
/ February 24, 2011ahh! thanks. I’ll fix it.
kateshrewsday
/ February 25, 20114H sounds fab. I wish my kids had one nearby. It reminds me of Country Baby, that wonderful way of using apple sauce in the Diane Keaton movie long ago 🙂
Tammy McLeod
/ February 25, 2011One more thing that I need to look up from you Kate.
kateshrewsday
/ February 27, 2011It’s one you may well have seen: Baby Boom..
Lisa H
/ February 26, 2011Anyone who is interested to locate a 4-H club may use the following link. I started a group eight years ago and have learned just as much as the kids!
http://www.4-h.org/get-involved/find-4-h-clubs-camps-programs/
Tammy McLeod
/ February 26, 2011Good link Lisa. Thanks.
Kath (My Funny Little Life)
/ February 25, 2011I’m very much appreciating the attempt of connecting school education with country life! Thinking back of my own school time, I regret that I didn’t have any classes on nutrition, cooking, growing foods, and things like that. It doesn’t simply come from the supermarket, no?! But there’s no awareness of what we live on, or too little at least. I had to learn it all on my own, and it gave me a feeling of gratitude. I think most people still don’t think about it at all. That makes me sad.
Tammy McLeod
/ February 25, 2011That’s why I think it’s so great that some groups and parents are thinking about it and teaching it.
Lisa H
/ March 3, 2011Here in Arizona, we have the Annual Arizona Agriculture Literacy Days. This takes place around the Thanksgiving holiday, so it’s a great time to talk to 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders about where their food comes from. A volunteer is given a book that we take into the classroom to read to the kids. We then discuss where our food comes from–turkeys don’t grow in shrink wrap (the kids love that one). Later in the year, the kids at our school have a field trip to a local farm. They get to pick vegetables out of the ground, look at the farming equipment and have a bit of farm experience. It’s a wonderful day that many kids remember years later.
doggybloggy
/ February 25, 2011I love your blog!
Tammy McLeod
/ February 25, 2011Thank you.
Paige
/ February 26, 2011I always loved 4H. I remember making an apron and it was so good they didn’t think I did it. lol.
Tammy McLeod
/ February 26, 2011The apron was my first project too!
E. Baron
/ February 26, 2011Just the thought of fresh lemons and lemonade warms my heart. We’re under three feet of snow here in New Hampshire, with more coming tonight. I’ll think of your industrious neighbors when I enjoy my next not-local-at-all lemon. Thanks!
Tammy McLeod
/ February 26, 2011I remembered that it was something that you were finding soothing right now.
Kevin
/ February 26, 2011That’s outstanding! Way to go Kaela! I never did 4-H, but it reminds me a little of being in the scouts with your dad and uncle John and uncle Eric.
Vickie
/ February 26, 2011I am soooo impressed – both with the blog (hurray for local, slow foods!!!) and how much everyone (the kids – Kaela is so well spoken and just beautiful, the parents, the community) are working together to learn and practice such important concepts which benefit all of us. I wish I was with you to sample that delicious lemonade.
Tammy McLeod
/ February 27, 2011Wish you were too Vickie.
Lisa
/ February 27, 2011Wish you were here!
Todd Pack
/ February 27, 2011It’s good to see girls that old doing a lemonade stand. It’s such a good learning experience for them!
I have a rule: Whenever you pass a kid with a lemonade stand, buy a glass.
Tammy McLeod
/ February 27, 2011That is a great rule! Me too.
Lisa H
/ February 27, 2011It’s that kind of support that made our lemonade stand such a success!
thecoffeesnob
/ February 27, 201145 lbs of lemons? Wow, that seriously is some dedication!
What a great club and bunch of kids!
Tammy McLeod
/ February 27, 2011Isn’t that amazing? I was shocked when they said that it only took an hour to juice them.
Lisa
/ February 27, 2011One of the best parts of all that juicing? They cleaned it all up when they were finished! They had quite the system, splitting up the tasks and rotating so that everyone participated in each part of the process. We used two juicers: the press kind, and my Nana’s electric Sunkist juicer. The weather was wonderful, too, so we juiced outside.
Myrna Greenfield
/ February 27, 2011Inspiring post! I wish I lived some place where lemons were a local fruit…
Tammy McLeod
/ February 27, 2011Thanks Myrna. It is great to have citrus.
Ollin
/ February 27, 2011Yet again, you took what could have been an ordinary event, into something insightful and extraordinary. Why can’t the rest of us be like them, and learn how to make our lemons into lemonade– before the frost gets to them.
Tammy McLeod
/ February 27, 2011it is a simple event with really powerful implications Ollin.
nursemyra
/ February 27, 2011have never heard of 4H before but it sounds like a fantastic project. and I love home made lemonade. nice post Tammy.
Tammy McLeod
/ February 27, 2011Thanks Myra. I didn’t realize 4H was US centric until I did this post but it’s a wonderful organization and the kids get life-long lessons from it.
Tes
/ February 28, 2011This sounds like a wonderful project. I love seeing kids doing something like this 🙂
Tammy McLeod
/ February 28, 2011Thanks Tes. They seemed like they were really having a good time.
Jennifer
/ February 28, 2011So basic, yet so profound. Gives one a lot to think about. I just love it. Great post.
Tammy McLeod
/ February 28, 2011Thanks Jennifer. I’ve been thinking a lot about quinoa too. 😉
ekcarmel
/ March 2, 2011Wonderful post and an awesome thing for the kids to do! I also bet that was the best tasting lemonade. (Beats the dried powder mixes any day!)
Tammy McLeod
/ March 2, 2011Yes it does!
Garden Grower
/ March 3, 20114H is a wonderful program. My kids were involved with it for a while and I know many youth who are very active in it. Totally agree with your post! Thanks for sharing!
Tammy McLeod
/ March 3, 2011Thanks for reading it.
OysterCulture
/ March 4, 2011I was a 4-Her as a kid and I just had an amazing experience, it is opens up your minds to plenty of opportunities, and you don’t have to be a “country” kid to take advantage of all the incredible activities they have to do.
Tammy McLeod
/ March 4, 2011Me too Louann and I loved it.
starsandcloves
/ March 10, 2011Its crazy to read that your weather has been unseasonably cold, and we have just had the longest hot streak in history. Im not batting for one side on the other on the climate change debate, but I can tell you one thing, my garden has been obliterated. We had a few weeks where the temp was just hanging around the 38C/100F mark, but the whole summer has just been crazy, no let up at all! How I look forward to hopefully some Autumn rain, but even that is looking unlikely!
Tammy McLeod
/ March 10, 2011I’m sorry about your garden and I am willing to say that it’s part of the climate change issue. We’re likely to face an incredibly hot summer.