Ellie Borre, of Navarino, has been involved in 4-H as a member and leader, and is now on the family living key committee.
“I grew up in Outagamie County 4-H,” Borre said. “I felt it was enjoyable and worthwhile.”
She was a member of the Woodland Hustlers 4-H Club and took clothing, food, and home furnishings. She married and moved to the Navarino area, where she raised three daughters who were in the Navarino Go-Fors 4-H Club. After about a year, she became the general leader and held that position until all the girls graduated from 4-H.
“It always gave my kids something to do during the summer,” Borre said.
Her daughters took clothing, photography, art, home furnishings and woodworking. Sometimes they had up to five projects, including picking an independent project of their choice.
“They did pretty well at the fair,” she said.
Borre said the girls learned some valuable lessons in their projects.
For instance, in their clothing project, “if they made a mistake, I would rip it out, but they had to put it back in,” she said.
Two of the girls went to the state fair in the clothing revue and worked at the 4-H Youth Center.
The youngest daughter went on the Washington, D.C., focus trip.
They all worked in the 4-H food stand during the summer and the fair. Two of them were camp counselors when it was at Whispering Pines. Now it is at Camp Susan, where Borre helps cook for a week in July.
She has seen kids get over being homesick, and counselors helping and encouraging them.
“Terri Brunner does such a good job preparing the kids to be counselors,” Borre said. “It’s been a real experience watching the kids at camp.”
She has been cooking for six years with head cook Brenda Krause and Marilyn Ebert. This year, there were 120 kids, counselors and adults at the camp.
“It’s impressive to see the milk stacked up in the cooler,” Borre said.
The women serve three meals every day. She said that Krause has a good menu that the kids like. It is a busy but enjoyable time for the cooks.
“If we’re lucky we get an hour or two off in the afternoon,” she said.
Borre said she will continue to help at the camp “till I can’t anymore.”
As a member of the family living key committee, Borre helped make some changes in the clothing entries at the fair to make them more modern and adaptable to what kids are wearing. They have also added new items.
“We’re seeing more quilts,” she said. “It varies year by year.”
At the face-to-face judging the Saturday before the fair, Borre is a clerk for the judges.
Borre is a native of Seymour, graduating from Seymour High School. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary and special education from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Borre taught in Wittenberg for over eight years before staying home with her daughters. When they were in school she substituted in the Bonduel School District and now helps occasionally for the Clintonville School District.
Borre and her husband of 41 years, Roger, a retired millwright, have two grandchildren.
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