Jr. Leadership

I was in 4-H several years when our county started a Jr. Leadership club. They selected 4-H club officers who had shown leadership in our club and at the county fair and invited us to join. Dad was more tickled than I was that I had been asked. I wasn't too keen on taking on another activity, but he would have been very disappointed in me if I'd turned it down. We met once a month for regular meetings and it turned out to be a lot of fun. We did have the duty of showing up at other agricultural affairs to introduce the guest speekers or help at auctions or work on the Jr. Fair Board. We could also be counselors at 4-H camp. My multiple fair schedule kept me from doing that. After our monthly meetings we had square dances or scavenger hunts or some other party like planned activity. I loved to square dance. Those were always fun. But, the night I remember most was a scavenger hunt. They had us divided into 5 or 6 groups of 5 each. They made sure each group had a car and they gave us a very long list and two hours to gather. Then we had to meet back at the meeting room at the fairgrounds to see who had the most things on the list. It seems most of the groups just started at the top of the list and set off. We took time to read the whole list and each of us contributed information and we made a route to follow. Way down near the bottom of the list was "a lock of Gussie Smiths hair". Gussie was a sweet old lady who was in charge of the county Home Echonomics. Everyone knew Gussie. We went straight to her house and showed her the list. It was the first she knew of it. She gave us some hair from a hair brush, signed a paper saying it was authentic, then locked her door, turned out her lights and pretended she wasn't home for the next two hours. I bet our advisors heard from her later though!!! We followed our route, did our gathering and managed a lot of the list. It was obvious from the list that no one would be able to find everything. I remember that no one found a black walnut in shell. It was the wrong time of year for that one. I also remember one of the items was a blue feather. My brother S had a blue parakeet, so we were the only ones with that one. One of the items was an ice cube. We did make a mistake by getting it a bit too early. Our leader, the one with the car, (who was one of my grade school teachers sons) had picked me and I was sitting in front beside him, with another boy on my other side. ( I loved Jr. Leadership) (There were two other girls in the back seat with our growing hord between them.) We had gotten a bunch of ice cubes so they might keep the center one cold and we'd stuck them in the glove box. I was sitting in the middle with a flashlight and the list and our notes and route. I was the so-pilot. My knees were turned to the right to avoid the gear shift, which put them under the corner of the glove box. I was wearing shorts and when the cold water from a melting ice cube hit my leg, I let out a yell of surprise. Which almost sent our driver into a ditch. We laughed and teased and it was so much fun. Those are the things we like to remember. We got back to the meeting room first and the advisors thought we'd given up. They were surprised when we won, hands down. It was also a lot of fun to tease the other groups because they hadn't been forsightful enough to get to Gussy Smith first. When no one else had a lock of her hair, it was her signature that convinced the advisors. I must admit it was the teachers son who put us in the lead.

I mentioned that one of our "duties" was to introduce guest speakers. I can't remember what the gathering was, but it was a group my Father belonged to. There were several speakers and I was asked to intorduce a Mr. Marlbow, or something like that. I'd never met the man and didn't even get a chance to meet him before introducing him because he came in late. I almost thought I wouldn't have to introduce him, but they said he was there when it was my turn. I stood up and introduced "Mr. Marlboro Man". If you aren't old enough to remember who that was, it was a cigarette advertisement. I was embarrassed, Dad was even more embarrassed, but Mr. Marlbow (or whatever) couldn't stop laughing to start his speech. And, he kept glancing at me and chuckling all through his speech. It was a while before I was asked to introduce anyone again.

There were a great many activities and affairs while I was in Jr. Leadership. But, these are all that come to mind right now. I guess the things we remember most are the ones that are the most fun or the most upsetting. Everything else seems to fade into oblivion. unless it was most fun or most upsetting to someone who reminds us of it later. Memories are coming back to me now that I haven't thought of in years. I can't wait to get together with brother S and talk. I'm sure he will have a lot more for me to write about. And, I haven't even gotten to the things my teenage friends and I managed. And, there are some upsetting things I will have to put on paper. If and when I'm ready. My brother J's death is trying to find it's way to paper, but I'm just not ready. My kids want to hear it all, good and bad. (Not that they will get it ALL. Some things are mine alone.) Life is so full of little things that flow easy. But, the big things need to be talked about too. J's death, and my Uncle B's death. They both died too young and their deaths effected me enormously. I also lost a best friend before she was 21. I want to honor their stories and their part in my life. Some other time.