4 H Club

William Paul Corun, 84, a native of Ellicott City and former owner of Paul's Market on Main Street, was interviewed by folklorist Alison Kahn in 1997 as part of an oral history project coordinated by Friends of Patapsco Valley & Heritage Greenway Inc. This is the second of two excerpts from that interview. So anyhow, [Ray Dorn] got his store [Villa Market], and I got mine, and of course Bladen [Yates] inherited his, and we worked together. And I told them - we knew each other well, we talked together - I told them, I said, "Look, the only way we're going to succeed is help each other, even though we're competitors, but we'll help each other."

THE 4-H slogan asks, "Are You Into It?" The Dayton 4-H Club answers with a resounding "Yes!" With a membership of more than 100, the Dayton 4-H Club is one of the largest in Howard County. It has been around for more than 25 years. While some clubs specialize in horses or dogs, Dayton 4-H is open to a variety of projects: beekeeping, forestry, creative writing, cooking, dairy, beef, swine, sheep, photography, rockets or bicycles. To be considered complete, each project must be presented to the community.

Name: Shirley Geis Job description: Leader for 34 years of Spur and Stirrup 4-H Club of Howard County. Club has 50 members, $600 budget. Coordinates six horse shows at the county's Schooley Mill Park annually, riding clinics and the Horse Bowl. Also coordinator of the annual statewide 4-H dressage show. Age: "Let's just say I'm a senior citizen." Residence: Clarksville. Personal: Pennsylvania native. Bachelor's degree in zoology, master's in microbiology from Michigan State, where she also learned livestock judging, "the most important thing I ever did."

A tiny private school in Fulton is planning to start the county's only school-based 4-H Club this fall, and Maryland 4-H Foundation leaders couldn't be happier about it. High Road Academy, which serves students with learning disabilities, looked into the youth program and decided it would be beneficial for the children, many of whom have never belonged to an organized club. "Because this is a private school, we don't have a lot of the extracurricular things public schools have," said Ellen Gaske, academy director.

WITH SCHOOL out, Dayton 4-H Club members are devoting free time to preparing for the Howard County Fair next month. Club members are putting finishing touches on projects they plan to exhibit. Look in the 4-H building for their work Aug. 7 when Dayton Club members will talk with fair visitors in the 4-H building. The group also has been busy working on a community service project: a skit explaining what 4-H is all about. The skit will be performed at area nursing homes and for other groups by request.

County recreation planners will make an appearance in Linthicum today to soothe a community that has been fighting to preserve its equestrian center, reassuring them that the renovated site should reopen by March.Tom Angelis, director of the county's Department of Recreation and Parks, said he will speak at a "celebration" at the Andover Equestrian Center this afternoon to update the community on the $400,000 in work on the center.Neighborhood and 4-H Club leaders in Linthicum lobbied Angelis not to close the center permanently in January, after he announced in November that it would be shut temporarily while the county evaluated its operations.

IT WOULDN'T be summer without a trip to the Howard County Fair.The fair, in its 53rd year, marks the unofficial end of summer for Howard County students and their parents.The fair is open for business from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday through Aug. 22, ending two days before school begins.F. Grant Hill, president of Howard County Fair Association Inc., calls the event "one of the finest and most unique fairs in the state.""Our fair features agricultural and commercial exhibits, musical entertainment, old-fashioned contests, midway rides and grand parades," he said.

MEMBERS OF the Happy Hounds 4-H Club are excited about the start of the 53rd Annual Howard County Fair on Aug. 15.The young people, who range in age from 8 to 18, have been working with their canine companions to prepare for the dog match at the fair.Since January, the club has almost doubled its membership. Recently, the club has welcomed new members Jenny Fox, Holly Fox and Kathy Rockstroh.Jennifer Melichar, who will be a ninth-grader at Glenelg High School this year, is club president.

The Carroll County 4-H program held its annual 4-H Volunteer and Youth Recognition banquet March 22 at Martin's, Westminster with the theme"Volunteers Keep Our Boat Afloat."Honors for 1997 went to:Cover design: Melissa Miller, age 17CLUB AWARDSNew ClubsAmazing Dreamcoats 4-H Club, Beth Burns, leaderMisty Meadows 4-H Club, Sue Fringer and Kim Wetzelberger, leaderShipley 4-H Club, Sandy Zepp and Kathy Zepp, leadersCLUB RECOGNITION:Window Display ContestChampion: Finksburg Funnies 4-H Club, Judy Brubach, leaderBlue Award: Krafty Kids 4-H Club, Nancy Groomes, leaderBlue Award: Deep Run 4-H Club, Connie Kopp, leaderBlue Award: Fashion Trends 4-H Club, Bonnie Miller, leaderBlue Award: Horse Force 4-H Club, Marti Fair, leaderBlue Award: Manchester Maniacs 4-H Club, Mary Minderlein, leaderBulletin Board Display ContestChampion: Rolling Clovers 4-H Club, Sandra Stonesifer, leaderBlue Award: Sam's Creek 4-H Club, Brenda Barber, leaderBlue Award: Clover Buddies 4-H Club, Cheryl Hill, leaderTable-Top Display ContestChampion: Progressive Clovers 4-H Club, Sylvia Miller, leaderBlue Award: Carrollton 4-H Club, Loretta Basler, leaderBlue Award: Pleasant Valley 4-H Club, Louise Fisher, leaderState Recognition -- 1997 Outstanding Club -- Carroll County participants Deep Run 4-H Club * Progressive Clovers 4-H Club * Rolling Clovers 4-H ClubMaryland Outstanding 4-H Club 1997Sam's Creek 4-H Club1997 County-wide Fundraiser Awards (number of candy bars sold)

For more than 40 years, Bob Shirley has exemplified the ideals behind 4-H: head, heart, hands and health.Shirley, a 4-H Club agent who began his career in Carroll County as a volunteer in 1957, is retiring Tuesday.His retirement has his bosses concerned about finding a successor. Shirley has been a father figure to thousands of county youths who have joined 4-H."Can't do it -- he's irreplaceable," David L. Greene, county extension director, replied tongue-in-cheek when asked about replacing Shirley.