Episode 20 - Homefront Commandos: 4-H Enlists

 

"4-H Canners Jump Into the Fight"
Story Highlight from the 
June 1943 Farm Journal and Farmer's Wife magazine

Welcome to the supplemental blog post for Episode 20: Head, Heart, Hand, & Health: 4-H Enlists (or as I later named it when I posted it - "Homefront Commandos") lol

The 4-H Club is usually something people only associate with county fairs, but as we learned in this episode, they are much more than that, and in WWII they had a much bigger role to play than just raising livestock!

4-H Club News magazine cover and two recruitment posters from the 4-H History Preservation website.

Girl in 4-H Cooking Display.
Red Lake Band of Chippewa, MN.
1941 

Girl in 4-H Cooking Display.
Red Lake Band of Chippewa, MN.
1941

Articles and news about the 4-H were not uncommon in the Farm Journal and Farmer's Wife magazine during wartime. 

"4-H Enlists"
Farm Journal and Farmer's Wife
August 1942

"4-H Enlists"
Farm Journal and Farmer's Wife
August 1942

Cookbook Feature:

Check out the 4-H Clubs in these 
Acknowledgements!

Corn-Meal Griddlecakes

Apple Butter

Apple Butter

2 lbs. tart apples

1/2 lb. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. allspice

1/4-1/2 tsp. cloves

1 tsp. cinnamon

Select tart apples, wash, remove any blemishes but do not remove skins or cores. Cut apples into quarters, cover with water and cook slowly until apples are tender. Press through sieve to remove cores, seeds, and skins. Weight and use 2 lbs. pulp. Cook until thick enough to mound on the spoon, add sugar and spices and cook until thick, stirring frequently. Store in a pint jar and once cool, store in the fridge for up to three weeks. 

(Recipe adapted from 1942 Apple Butter recipe in The Wartime Cook Book.)

RESOURCES

Books/Magazines:

Farm Journal & Farmer’s Wife Magazine. August 1942, June 1943 

Websites:

4-H History

https://4-h.org/about/history/

National 4-H History Preservation Program

https://4-hhistorypreservation.com/History/WW-II_Support/

Northern Illinois Farm Life, 1944

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFccoeCIfkI

Native Americans participation in 4-H

https://4-hhistorypreservation.com/History/Native_Americans/

Images:

Girl in 4-H Cooking Display. Department of the Interior. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Red Lake Agency, Minnesota, Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, 1941.  

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/76046483

Girl in 4-H Cooking Display (making bread).  Department of the Interior. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Red Lake Agency, Minnesota, Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, 1941.

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/76046487