The Wisconsin 4-H records document the organization's history from its inception in 1914 to 2018. The collection includes correspondence, reports, meeting minutes, publications, photographs, lecture notes, project outlines, song sheets, clippings, statistical records, program materials, ephemera, negatives, radio scripts, compact disks, tapes, and miscellaneous materials.
Series 1: Publications includes Cooperative Extension and 4-H publications from 1957 to 1969, such as 4-H Ideas and Extension newsletters. Series two: Meeting Minutes contains 4-H and Youth Development Staff Meeting Minutes from 1963 to 1968. Series three: Thomas L. Bewick General Correspondence files, contain the incomplete correspondence and field reports of Thomas L. Bewick, the State leader of Wisconsin 4-H, from 1912 to 1938. Correspondence covers topics including short courses, the National Dairy Show, state fairs, and relevant conferences. This series also includes Bewick's lecture notes. Series 4: Annual Reports and Project Plans includes numerous lengthy annual reports and project plans from 1915 to 1965 which shed light on how programs were implemented. They spotlight specific projects such as Older Youth Extension Work, the 4-H Club of the Air, and miscellaneous county projects. Series 15: 4-H Annual Reports contains more reports from 1917 to 1963. Series 5: Conservation Camps contains correspondence, programs, reports, song sheets, and clippings related to these camps from 1921-1942. Series 6: Club enrollment records contains records which list the names, ages, addresses, and years in the club of participants of each local 4-H club in Wisconsin from 1921 to 1950. Records from 1950 are restricted because of personal identifying information. Series 7: Standard Report Forms for 4-H Club Contestants includes forms with information on each contestant in 4H events, former contest achievements, years in 4H, and short essays about "What 4-H Means to Me" from 1927 to 1939.
Series 8: Wakelin McNeel General Files includes McNeel's incoming and outgoing correspondence, reports, clippings, program materials, publications, and miscellaneous records. McNeel was an Assistant State Club Leader who worked in Marathon County and was then hired as a professor of agriculture and forestry Extension agent. He hosted the weekly radio program "Afield with Ranger Mac." Much of the correspondence documents 4-H summer camps, events like the General Potato Show and International Livestock Exposition, and forestry programs. Series 9: Elizabeth Salter General Files contains the Assistant State Club Leader's incoming and outgoing correspondence from 1928-1929.
Series 10: Verne V. Varney General Files includes Varney's incoming and outgoing correspondence and other records covering a variety of topics related to his position as Assistant State Club Leader from 1927 to 1964. Varney founded the International Farm Youth Exchange (later International 4-H Year Exchange) program in 1951 to promote international understanding. His correspondence covers events like the Home Talent Tournament, International Livestock Exposition, and Rural Youth Day, his radio work, and his relationship with other 4-H figures including Thomas L. Bewick and G. L. Noble. The series also includes radios scripts, programs, reports, project plans, meeting minutes, and publications, related to 4-H Country Life Clubs, Farm Youth Groups, Older Youth Groups, and Young Men and Women groups.
Series 11: Frank Campbell 4-H Youth Development files includes publications, meeting minutes, reports, correspondence, photographs, programs, and grant materials from 1938 to 1979 related to Campbell's work in 4-H and his tenure as Chair of the University of Wisconsin 4-H Youth Development program. The publications include leadership handbooks, newsletters, and miscellaneous program publications related to forestry, agriculture, crafts and other 4-H programs. Reports and meeting minutes cover the work of the 4-H Foundation, 4-H State Leader Council, Youth Development staff, State 4-H Advisory Committee, and Camp Upham Woods. Reports also provide statistics on 4-H membership and programs across the state. Series 12: Dane County 4-H Club yearbooks includes yearbooks and enrollment records from 1943 to 1967 and clippings from 1974 to 1994.
Series 13: Youth Development Records and Photographs includes reports, publications, survey results, conference materials, photographs from the 4-H national Dairy Conference, biographies of 4-H staff, negatives, clippings, and meeting minutes from 1932 to 1989. Reports describe 4-H activities in various counties and specific issues like affirmative action in 4-H or community development. Conference materials cover the 4-H National Dairy Conference, Wisconsin State 4-H Congress, and Leaders Forums. The series includes meeting minutes for the Wisconsin 4-H foundation, 4-H Youth Agents, and the Upham Woods committee.
Series 14: Miscellaneous Publications includes 4-H publications from 1936 to 1994 documenting program areas including animal agriculture, gardening, arts and crafts, engine work, drama, clothing, conservation, childcare, and more. These publications reflect the broad scope of 4-H programs meant to appeal to new audiences. For example, the 1981 Adventures in Dairyland program taught urban youth about dairying while the "Taking Care: A Way of Life" publications focused on family decisions around lifestyles. Series 16 4-H publications, Series 17: Publications and Theses, and Series 18: 4-H Publications and Circulars contain similar types of publications from 4-H and Cooperative Extension.
Series 19: 4-H Communication Arts includes songbooks, publications, correspondence, conference materials, curriculum, and photographs from 1930 to 2008. Many of the materials focus on the 4-H Drama Company, Arts Camp, national conferences, and courses by 4-H marketing specialist and photographer Wayne Brabender.
Series 20: National Dairy Conference and International 4-H Youth Exchange records and 4-H Statistical Reports includes publications, clippings, reports, conference materials, photographs, ephemera, memoranda, correspondence, meeting minutes, and slides dating from 1933 to 2018. Many of the records focus on Wisconsin participants in the 4-H National Dairy Conference and in International 4-H Youth Exchange programs in countries including Costa Rica, Mexico, Japan, and Norway. This series also contains meeting minutes, correspondence, and conference materials related to Youth in Governance initiatives which were a new focus of 4-H in the 1990s.
