Owen Blue Bonnets 4-H Club commemorate National 4-H Week

JEAN SEEGERS PHOTO The Herald
An autumn-themed display created by the Owen Blue Bonnets 4-H club can be seen at Macktown In-surance Agency at 301 E. Main St. in Rockton. The decorations were created by members in commemo-ration of National 4-H Week, Oct. 4-10.

REPORTER

The local Owen Blue Bonnets 4-H Club observed national 4-H week, Oct. 4–10. To celebrate the occasion, members decorated the front window and lobby area of Macktown Insurance Agency, 301 E. Main St. in Rockton with a colorful autumn-themed display.

Owen Blue Bonnets 4-H Club was founded in 1943. Betsy Carlson is the Blue Bonnet’s leader and supervises the 15-member, all-girl group of 5 to 14 years old. Carlson said membership is open to both girls and boys. In addition to local members, Blue Bonnets also sponsors boys and girls from the Rockford area.

4-H Clubs were once regarded as clubs for farm kids. It now encompasses a wide range of projects and programs ranging from camping, preparedness training, cooking and mechanics, to raising animals, gardening, clothing and textiles, and learning survival skills.

“4-H is youth driven,” according to Carlson. “The idea is to encourage older children to help and mentor the younger members.”

Because of the COVID-19 situation, all meetings and activities are currently conducted via Zoom.