The Oconto County Youth Fair observed its 85th anniversary this year, but an area 4-H club has been around for almost as long.
The Christy Brook 4-H Club, one of nine 4-H clubs in Oconto County, is turning 75 this year, according to Melissa Desterheft, the club’s co-leader.
“Our kids mostly come from Gillett and Oconto Falls, but we do meet in Gillett,” she said while club members and their parents helped run the fair’s 4-H food stand on the first day of the fair, Aug. 27, in Gillett.
“This is actually our 75th year, and this is probably the biggest that our club’s been in a long time. I’d say about 16 (members). We’ve nearly doubled what we had last year. It’s extremely important to be a part of a club with youths and adults working together. We’ve done projects, community service, different volunteer opportunities, fundraising. Every different thing has value.”
Many of the club’s new members are getting their feet wet by working at the food stand, which served up everything from hamburgers to pulled pork sandwiches to chili to chicken tenders to cheesecake to ice cream treats.
“With the food stand, face-to-face communication is huge,” Desterheft said. “It’s the money aspect, making food, making sure the orders are correct.”
Besides raising funds for the 4-H organization at the food stand, 4-H members also work on individual projects.
“We have a lot of nonfarm kids that are getting involved with projects so they’re exposed to the farm environment, different animals,” Desterheft said. “We’ve had nonfarm families come in and work with local farms. They take care of their animals just like the other ones do.”
A handful of local families have helped Christy Brook thrive while others have come and gone, Desterheft said.
“I probably joined five years ago, but their tradition keeps going generation after generation,” she said. “My kids are only 15 and 12, but I’m hoping we can keep this going so maybe someday they’ll have their children be a part of this.”
Most club members join while young, stay until they’re in eighth or ninth grade and then get involved with an FFA chapter.
“My two children have decided to stay with Christy Brook,” Desterheft said. “It’s nothing against their school’s FFA, it’s just we love our group, we love our family. It is a family.”
4-H also gives older members an opportunity to work with younger members.
“We love to see that, because even if we do projects that are geared toward the younger ones, the older kids step in and are role models,” Desterheft said. “That’s what I tell my boys all the time: These kids are looking up to you, so you better be helpful and caring and kind.”
The club typically meets once a month in Gillett, Desterheft said.
“We have a next generation coming in and we want to support them, the best we can,” she said. “We have a lot of new members, and this is their first time (working at the food stand). There are a lot of things they learn working. It’s interaction with the community and they’re part of raising funds for our leadership organization. The leadership organization uses the funds raised for various project. There are different camps that the kids attend, different events. We have some new members that will do animals for the first time next year, and our older kinds help the younger ones.”
Oconto County’s eight other 4-H clubs are the Lena Rocketeers, Little River, Little Seedlings, Morgan Badgers, Northern Riders, Oconto River Rockstars, Team Green and Willing Workers.
“I just had a mom reach out to me yesterday and logistically, it doesn’t make any sense for her to join in Gillett because she’s in Abrams,” Desterheft said. “I gave her the leader name and number for the Morgan Badgers. We all work together, it’s not like a competition of who can get the most members. In general, we push kids to be a part of it and kids just need to be part of a family or group.”
County fairs let 4-H participants shine and show off the results of their hard work, Desterheft said.
“There are so many benefits,” she said. “4-H, in general, is amazing. I see these kids step in and help one another with different projects. If my kids show beef, they’ll help with pigs. It’s just a really fun, but educational experience.”
Anyone interested in joining a club can contact Aimee Elkins, the county’s 4-H project coordinator, at aimee.elkins@wisc.edu or 920-834-6845 weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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Scott Buhrandt flips hamburgers in the 4-H Food Stand at the Oconto County Youth Fair. (Greg Seubert)
