4 H Club

The 50th annual Howard County Fair will begin Saturday, and members of the newly formed Patapsco Valley 4-H Club are busily finishing record books and projects for fair competition.The club began only in September, meeting in Hebron House but quickly outgrowing it. The club now meets in Mount Hebron Presbyterian's Fellowship Hall.From a beginning group of four children, the club now boasts 15 members and still is growing, with four or five curious guests at each monthly meeting.The group studies photography under the direction of project leaders Jo Duckworth and Diane Pickeral.

The Fashion Trends 4-H Club of Carroll County is coordinating an effort to raise funds for an educational trust for the three daughters of Dr. Margaret Spencer, a U.S. Department of Agriculture veterinarian who was killed in the Oklahoma City bombing April 19. Dr. Spencer's three girls are very active 4-H Club members.Mount Airy resident and 4-H leader Ellen Bonde said members of the Fashion Trends Club have created tricolor ribbon remembrances in three sizes as a way to collect donations for the Spencers' educational trust fund.

More than 70,000 people are expected to attend the annual Harford County Farm Fair from Thursday through Sunday at the Harford County Equestrian Center on North Tollgate Road in Bel Air.The fair, in its eighth year, has become increasingly popular, transforming the Harford 4-H Club from a struggling group to one of the fastest-growing 4-H clubs in the state.Last year, 4-H'ers had about 2,200 exhibits, and the number is up this year, said Elke Neuberger, chairwoman of the 4-H fair committee.

Christina Schulze, known as Chrissy, really enjoys 4-H. Her participation in the Poplar 4-H Club, of which she is a two-term president, has won her a state 4-H Clover award for leadership and a seat representing Howard County on the State 4-H Teen Council.Members of Teen Council provide leadership for the State 4-H Teen Focus conference and for 4-H promotional activities at the Maryland State Fair. Chrissy began a two-year term at the 1995 State 4-H Teen Focus last week at Washington College in Chestertown.

CHADDS FORD, Pa. -- More than 40 years ago, M. Gordon "Reds" Wolman trudged along the banks of the Brandywine here pretty much by himself, earning his doctorate in geology from Harvard.Yesterday, the 70-year-old Baltimorean, who has taught at the Johns Hopkins University for more than four decades, hiked onto the river's flood plain trailed by a mob of perhaps 100 admiring colleagues.They showed up here, at Hopkins and at the American Geophysical Union's spring meeting at the Baltimore Convention Center to pay homage to Dr. Wolman, an internationally-recognized authority on the forces that shape rivers, and to his work on environmental issues.

Membership in the Mount Airy Clovers 4-H Club represents much more than an opportunity for fun and fellowship to 13-year-old Tracey McElroy.pTC As the club's president, the Mount Airy Middle School eighth-grader is getting firsthand experience in leadership.Tracey conducts the monthly meetings, plans events and keeps club members informed. She also deals with problems such as meetings canceled by inclement weather.She has been a 4-H member for three years and is serving a second one-year term as president.

Twenty Carroll County 4-H'ers were awarded champion ribbons for indoor exhibits at the Maryland State Fair this week, Carroll County 4-H extension agent Rita Zimmerman said yesterday.Judging for outdoor exhibits -- such as riding competitions, animal shows and tractor driving -- will continue through the rest of the fair, which closes Monday, she said.The winners are:* Booths -- Deep Run 4-H Club, Chevonaire Dairy Goat Club and Black Rock 4-H Club.* Banner -- Pleasant Valley 4-H Club.* Crafts -- Senior champion to Jimmy Woods for an original pottery rendition of his head; junior champion to Laura Gist for a soft-sculpture Santa Claus.

Jonathan Gibson of Westminster and Katie Painter of Reisterstown were honored yesterday as Carroll County's Mr. and Miss 4-H at the annual Carroll County 4-H achievement and volunteer recognition banquet.Jonathan is a member of the Black Rock 4-H Club. Katie is a member of the Carroll Clovers 4-H Club.Other top honors awarded during the annual ceremony included:* Illona Hull, mother of Ginger and Heather Hull of Westminster, received the Volunteer of the Year Award. Both daughters have won 4-H's highest award, the Presidential Tray.

A Shipley couple and a South Carroll High School senior are breaking new ground in 4-H with a Carroll County club focused on singing, dancing, miming, acting and recitation.While animal science and home economics remain the focal points of many clubs, 4-H is much more than just "cows and cooking," said Ron Zepp, who leads the club with his wife, Debbie. "Our main interest area is the performing arts."The new 4-H Performing Arts Club, which currently has 15 members, is open to all Carroll County youngsters, from ages 8 to 19 years.

Dairy cooperative plans annual meetingThe Waynesboro and Central Maryland locals of Atlantic Dairy Cooperative's District 10 will sponsor their annual dinner meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the New Midway Fire Hall in Woodsboro.Taneytown dairy farmers Karl D. and Bonnie L. Wantz will receive a quality premium award for qualifying for the cooperative's quality milk bonus all 12 months of the 1992-1993 fiscal year.James S. Fraher, the cooperative's economist and the dinner's speaker will report on the cooperative's 1992-1993 fiscal year and dairy industry issues.