Desert Messenger

P��� 10 Voices from the Past The Desert Messenger is proud to feature excerpts from Rosalee Wheeler’s “In the Shadow of Saguaros.” Volume I, circa 1540 to 1839, begins with the first recorded history in Southwestern Arizona; Coronado and the Conquistadors searching for the Seven Cities of Cibola. Volume II covers local history from 1840 to 1939. Volume III will feature stories from 1940 to the present. Her books are available at the Tyson Well’s Stage Station Museum, Reader’s Oasis Bookstore, and the Quartzsite Library. These words to the 4-H pledge was first recited in Quartzsite in June of 1949 by a group of boys including Steven, Clifford and Freddy Brown and Jim Datig among others with their adult leader, Mildred Cowell. They named themselves the Hi Jolly 4-H Club and selected as their first projects, camping and outdoor cooking. Under the Cooperative Extension Service of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, beginning in 1919, youths from 10 to 19 years of age were organized into clubs with a goal to “Engage rural youth to reach their fullest potential.” The 4-H motto was “To make the best better”, while their slogan was “Learn by doing.” Enjoy Great Savings, Service and Benefits … with the AARP Auto & Home Insurance Program fromThe Hartford. Call The Hartford Toll-Free Today to Request Your FREE Quote: 1-877-212-1463 Monday-Friday, 7AM-11PM Eastern Time Saturday & Sunday, 8AM-6PM Eastern Time    CODE: 471103 Rosalee and the Hi Jolly 4-Hers at the fair In 1953 Betty Mead, from the Extension Service office in Yuma, came by to see me and asked if I would be a co-leader with Mildred Cowell offering projects for girls in cooking, sewing, canning and home health. Thus began many years for me to have the privilege of assisting the children of Quartzsite in the various projects they selected to prepare for display at the Yuma County Fair held each April. Betty Mead retired in 1956 and Beryl Bert and Ray Weick then made the trips from Yuma to assist the children in learning new projects such as how to run a meeting using correct parliamentary procedures. In 1959 the Hi Jolly 4-H Club won the county parliamentary procedure contest in a mock meeting against 14 other clubs. Making and displaying projects in a booth they decorated for the Yuma County Fair earned club members’ premium money for their many 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place and Grand Champion ribbons. The children would pool their premium money with the money they raised from bake sales and the movie tickets and popcorn sales from at the The AARP Auto and Home Insurance Program is underwritten by Hartford Fire Insurance Company and its affiliates, One Hartford Plaza, Hartford, CT 06155. CA License # 5152. InWashington, the Programis underwritten by Hartford Casualty Insurance Company. In Texas, The Program is underwritten by Southern County Mutual Insurance Company through Hartford Fire General Agency. Hartford Fire Insurance Company and its affiliates are not financially responsible for insurance products underwritten and issued by Southern CountyMutual Insurance Company. InWashington and Texas, the AARP Homeowners Insurance Programis underwritten by Property and Casualty Insurance Company of Hartford. This Program is provided by The Hartford, not AARP or its affiliates. The Hartford pays a royalty fee to AARP for the use of AARP's intellectual property. These fees are used for the general purposes of AARP. AARP membership is required for Program eligibility in most states. Applicants are individually underwritten and some may not qualify. Specific features, credits and discounts may vary and may not be available in all states in accordance with state filings and applicable law. This Program is currently unavailable in Massachusetts, Canada and U.S. Territories and Possessions. Homeowners product is not available in all areas, including the state of Florida. Sign up to receive VIP email alerts when the next issue of the Desert Messenger is available online! www.desertmessenger.com GET THE NEWS FIRST! first-run movies, sent over to us on the Greyhound bus by the Disney Studios in Burbank, for a special annual outing. In 1957 I put all the 4-Hers under the canopy on the back of my pickup and took 11 children to Disneyland. Many attractions, like the Matterhorn, were still under construction but we all had a grand time. In 1958, with Virginia Underwood as a co-leader, we took 12 children to the San Diego Zoo and a day at the beach. In 1959 the children voted to spend the money they had raised to go to Knott’s Berry Farm. Each year county contests were held in various projects to select winners that would represent Yuma County at the Arizona State 4-H Round-up held at the University of Arizona in Tucson. I looked forward to these annual Round-ups where I served as a counselor-chaperon while the 4-Hers competed in project demonstrations, dress review, public speaking, leadership and talent shows. The Hi Jolly 4-H Club of Quartzsite had county and state winners every year and was represented at the National4-H Club Congress in Chicago in 1960 and the National 4-H Conference in Washington, D.C. in 1961. It was a thrill for me to work with the many wonderful young people of Quartzsite and to be visited today by many of our own Grand Champions like Frank and Vickie Scott, Janet and Norman McCauley, Clifford Brown, Ruth and Maxine Young, and Jack Hemphill to name a few. Next story: My Dream for Desert Gardens. ���.D�����M��������.��� Excerpts from of Saguaros” By Rosalee Oldham Wheeler “In the Shadow ������ 4, 2010 Hi Jolly 4-H Club in Quartzsite! (Previous story: George Hutson’s Mesquite Bean Patch.) 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, and my country.

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