In 1913, the Manitoba Department of Agriculture, through the Extension Department of the University of Manitoba, organized eight Boys and Girls Clubs in the province. The first one was in Roland. Other clubs were organized the same year in Darlingford, Manitou, Neepawa, Oak Lake, Starbuck, Stonewall, and Warren. The Department gave each new member a dozen eggs from a good breed of laying hens, good quality seed of fodder corn and seed potatoes. The eggs were set in the spring under a hen and the corn and potatoes were planted painstakingly in the corner of a field or garden and tended by the members. In the fall the communities held a fair where the chickens and the produce were judged. In 1952 the name was changed from Boys and Girls Clubs to 4-H in keeping with the name of the 4-H Clubs in the United States. Standing for “Head, Heart, Hands, and Health,” 4-H Club members serve their clubs, communities, and countries.
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Roland 4H Museum (Roland, RM of Roland)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: 4H Monument (Roland, RM of Roland)
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 8 July 2017
