4-H Network News

4-H Adventure Education programs are growing!

Jefferson County 4-H in Washington State now has eleven clubs and programs in the area of Adventure Education. These include snow shoeing, trail building, challenge course, back country hiking, nature studies, long boats, leadership, international service learning, shellfish management, bicycles, and habitat restoration. JOIN TODAY!

Check 'em out at: http://county.wsu.edu/jefferson/youth/Pages/AdventureEducation.aspx

Photo by Matt Mahan.

Announcing our new performing arts club - 4-H Strings & Things!

Corinne Pierson, member of the Critter Co-op 4-H animal club, enjoys her first cello lesson as a member of 4-H Strings & Things.

Pamela Roberts, WSU 4-H Faculty started the project to support children, who want to explore classical cello performance in the remote rural area of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. This lesson was held in the office of Jefferson County 4-H after business hours, but the staff and volunteers who were still in the building enjoyed a beautiful cello serenade! Thank you, Corinne, for sharing your music with us!

Photos by Sue Hay, 4-H Coordinator.

Pamela Roberts shows Corinne Pierson how to angle her arms and hands to achieve the greatest strength in her cello playing. Corinne began her cello studies in the Port Townsend School District, where she is one of sixteen young cellists! This large number of cellists in such a small school district represents a remarkable, local interest in this beautiful, soulful instrument.

SHARE YOUR HOBBY WITH KIDS THROUGH 4-H! Contact Pam at 360-379-5610 ext. 207 today!

Seeking Young Artists

Seeking Young Artists

Port Townsend Art Gallery presents

an all high school show called:

Through the Victorian Looking Glass

Create a piece of art inspired by the works of,

Lewis Carroll, Rudyard Kipling, Jules Verne, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Robert Lewis Stevenson, Beatrix Potter, and other Victorian authors.

For details visit: http://www.facebook.com/Apothecarium

or come in person to 1300 Water Street #103

Port Townsend, WA 98368.

For Questions please call (360) 379-9411

Pet Bed Sew-A-Thon - April 1, 2012!

Paws-N-Claws 4-H Club invites all interested Jefferson County 4-Hers, 4-H families & friends of 4-H to participate in a Pet Bed Sew-A-Thon on Sunday, April 1st. This is a Community Service opportunity. The beds we make will be donated to Center Valley Animal Rescue, the Jefferson County Humane Society and possibly other Jefferson County organizations.

We will sew in the 4-H Bldg at the Fairgrounds from 11am until 4pm. Primary and Junior 4-Hers should come with an adult; this is not free babysitting. Intermediate and Senior 4-Hers can certainly be there without an adult, but are expected to be there to work on pet beds; this is not a time to come and just hang out on the fairgrounds. Paws-N-Claws adults will be busy making pet beds and working with those who are there to make pet beds and will not be there to watch 4-Hers who are not in the 4-H Bldg working on pet beds......

Dress in layers. Bring your own snacks and beverages.

People we need **machine sewers AND their machines (that we do NOT expect them to let others sew on), **people to iron, **cut fabric (bring fabric scissors, if you have them), **arrange bed parts, **hand sew finish the beds after the machine sewing is done, **yarn quilt the finished beds, **clean up help from 4-5pm.

We especially need things that can be used as bed insides. These things MUST be clean (& can come to me before April 1st so I can wash them if you cannot). Things like old blankets, bed pads, bed spreads, comforters. We can also use actual batting/fiber fill. We can also use CLEAN fabric for bed outsides, but we especially need the INSIDES.

Please share this information with your 4-Hers. We welcome everyone who wants to come and work. Let me know if you have any questions. catwoman@olympus.net Thanks!!

JENNIFER JACKSON'S PORT TOWNSEND NEIGHBOR COLUMN: Women seek to restore historic ship

PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

ON MAY 18, 1952, Ann Davison set sail from Plymouth, England, in a 23-foot sailboat.

Eight months later, Davison dropped anchor in the West Indies, becoming the first woman to sail solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

She wrote about her adventure in a book, My Ship Is So Small.

That ship, Felicity Ann, is now on supports in the upper boat yard of the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Port Hadlock.

A symbol of maritime and women's history, Felicity Ann is in the hands of a young woman who has her sights set on a goal: to restore the boat using women shipwrights and apprentices.

“We want to use the boat as an icon for women's strength,” Penelope Partridge said.

Partridge, 24, is leading the project with the help of Annie Teater, 21, and Lizzie Palmer, 18.

Learn More

Felicity Ann boat project recognizes and restores women's history

Felicity Ann might simply be a boat, but she represents an amazing journey of courage and persistence. Ann Davidson sailed Felicity Ann across the Atlantic in 1952 – the first female solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. This was and still is an amazing accomplishment.

The Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building in Port Hadlock, Washington was fortunate to acquire this boat and is now in the exciting process of restoring her to her original beauty.

Felicity Ann has been in storage for years, waiting for us to renew her special spirit. She is an icon for the empowerment of women and other underrepresented people. Her history is deserving of the respect that a restoration would represent. We hope you can join us in this vision!

Penelope Partridge is an intern with the Community Boat Project and is the project coordinator for the Felicity Ann restoration project.

Go to http://felicityann.com to learn more about this exciting 4-H initiative and how you can support the restoration of Felicity Ann!

This project is a collaboration between:

Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building
Community Boat Project
WSU Jefferson County 4-H

4-H Bunny Olympics inspires leaders of the future!

Click here for more photos from 4-H Bunny Olympics!

The power of music around the world...

Stand By Me | Playing For Change | Song Around The World from Concord Music Group on Vimeo.

Thank you, Whitney Houston, RIP...

Whitney Houston gave us the GREATEST LOVE OF ALL. This song was a transformational gift, especially for African-American children, who struggled with an inner sense of acceptance and love in a society that still discriminated.

Teachers across America played this song for their classes and for school assemblies. We would stand up and sing this song and everyone would get tears in their eyes. Whitney helped us get a message across that every child is special and loved - and that they should love themselves.

Thank you, Whitney. You will be missed. RIP.

Lyrics:
"I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside. Give them a sense of pride to make it easier. Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be.

Everybody's searching for a hero, people need someone to look up to. I never found anyone who fulfilled my needs. A lonely place to be and so I learned to depend on me. I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone's shadow. If I fail, if I succeed, at least I live as I believe. No matter what they take from me, they can't take away my dignity.

Because the greatest love of all, is happening to me. I found the greatest love of all, inside of me. The greatest love of all is easy to achieve, learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all.

And if by chance that special place that you've been dreaming of leads you to a lonely place, find your strength in love."

Bunny Olympics 2012 a success!

Click here to see photos from the Bunny Olympics 2012 in Port Townsend, Washington.

Thank you to
Cheryl Rafoth,
leader of the
4-H Critter Co-Op club
in Jefferson County, Washington
for sponsoring this
wonderful annual event!

4-H archery training a success!

Kim Petersen (center with white shirt) led a successful 4-H archery training workshop on Feb. 3 and 4, 2012 at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. Kim taught archery safety, group organization, equipment assessment and use. Kim was a highly effective teacher - his calm spirit, sense of humor and ability to listen and observe his students led to a 100% pass rate so that everyone returned home with their official certification as first level archery instructors. We hope that this learning process leads to an expansion of archery programs in Washington State. Thank you to Sue Hay, Jefferson County 4-H coordinator, and Toni Gwin, 4-H Educator in Pacific County, for arranging this wonderful workshop!