One hundred thirty-eight 4-Hers had the chance to experience different world cultures, food, music and dance when they attended Pocahontas County 4-H Camp June 9-13. An additional 29 Cloverbuds joined them the last day, for a total of 167 young people.
The week’s theme of “4-H Opens a World of Possibilities” allowed youth to explore a different continent each day. Twenty-six teen leaders arrived at camp on Sunday for the teen leader overnight. They started their adventure with a presentation from Allison Bardes (Norrod). Allison, a Pocahontas County 4-H Alumni educated campers about her recent travels to Antartcia. Teen leaders prepared a formal dinner of lasagna, salad, homemade rolls, and a three-layer chocolate cake under the guidance of Nicole Brock and Herby Barlow. On Monday, after a delicious breakfast prepared by Masha Grimes Beverage, teen leaders attended leadership development sessions with Wonder and Grow: Mindful Nature Experience and worked on camp clean up and preparations for the week ahead.
4-H Campers arrived to a Chinese New Year celebration Monday evening with their tribes competing in making Chinese dragons and sampling fortune cookies and boba tea. Campers had a chance to pet one of two live camels and a lama on Tuesday while learning about their importance to Australian culture. 4-Hers sang karaoke tunes later that evening.
Coyaba Dance Theater from Washington D.C. performed lively African music and dances on Wednesday and taught campers (and counselors) some spirited moves.
Thursday, after enjoying a spaghetti dinner for an “Evening in Europe,” campers danced to music provided by a DJ and sampled treats from a beautiful charcuterie table. Adam Dong from NRAO gave a nighttime presentation about star gazing.
As part of Friday’s South American theme, campers participated in an array of field day water activities where they had opportunities to slip and slide and cross the “Amazon” as part of a tribal obstacle course, helping to keep cool in the hot afternoon sun. They also enjoyed a slideshow that day and received tribal colored T-shirts for the annual camp photos. Each evening concluded with Council Circle.
When asked about his camp experience, Caleb Ritter said “As someone who has come to this camp nearly all my life, I feel like it keeps getting better and better every year. From friendly competition between tribes to all the campers having a water day, camp continues to grow better with every passing year. But it’s not just camp, joining a local club allows you to get out and help your community, make new friends, and have a great time while you do it. I would strongly encourage anyone who is interested to join Pocahontas County 4-H!”
The campers participated in a variety of classes during the mornings. These included Air Rifles, Archery, Basketball, Black Powder, Bottle Rockets, Cake Decorating, Camp Engineer, Camp Perk Café, Car Care Basics, Charting, Crafts, Cross-Stitch Nametags, Dance Party, Fishing, Flag Football, 4-H is Awesome, 4-H Jewelry, Gymnastics, Handmade Wreaths, How to Survive a Yeti Attack, International Cooking, Journey to the Last Wild Places, Mountain Biking, Low Ropes Course, Outdoor Cooking, Painting, Photography, Pickleball, RC Crawlers, Save the Bananas, Shotgun, Softball, Spa Time, Turkey Call Making, Wilderness Survival, Woodburning and Yoga.
Chiefs and Sagamores of the tribes were as follows: Cherokee Tribe – Andrea Alderman, Ramona Hardy (1st), Silas Dean (2nd); Delaware Tribe – Luke Gainer, RT Hill (1st), Ahna Valach (2nd); Mingo Tribe – Caitlin Mallow, Eden Smith (1st), Kirsten Friel (2nd); Seneca Tribe – Jaryd Wilfong, Savana Sharp (1st), Lillie Cassell (2nd); Big Feet – Logan Burks, Sarah Eves (1st).
Camp awards were presented to the 4-Hers during the final council circle on Friday night. Caleb Ritter was selected as this year’s “Spirit of Camp” and was presented the spirit stick, which was carved by each of the tribes during camp. The following campers were chosen as those best representing the four Hs of 4-H at camp: Head H – Luke Gainer; Heart H – Hannah Burks; Hands H – Ramona Hardy; Health H – Eden Smith.
Tribes were judged throughout the week based on camp spirit, sportsmanship, attitude, and how they exhibited the four Hs. The Cherokee Tribe was selected as the winning tribe overall.
Riyan Gladwell and Ben Workman were awarded their Charting Pins for successful completion of the 4-H Charting project and classes.
Michael Simmons, Caitlin Mallow and Riley Pollack received the West Virginia All Star pin, the highest honor a West Virginia 4-H member or leader can receive.
Outstanding first year camper scholarships were presented to Andrew Herold and Chloe Annett. The Cool Camper Scholarship was presented to Kendall Hummel. Jonah Mann and Ryan Burns received the Harold Carpenter Scholarship. The Bee Gladwell Scholarship was presented to Trey Sattler. The Shenda Smith Scholarship presented by Brushy Flat Bushwackers 4-H Club was presented to Shelldon Maitland. Silas Dean, Levi Hill, Abigail Taylor and Annabel Swan received the Shooting Sports Scholarships. Two new scholarships were presented, the Welcome Home Scholarship started by Hunter Cheek awarded to RT Hill and Jerzey Jackson. The Barb Dilley Scholarship, a memorial to Barb and her love of 4-H, presented by Rebecca Marsh to Daisy Hefner. The Jack Gay scholarship was presented to Zara Fanning.
First year campers receiving “lucky penny” awards were Chloe Annett, Bianca Arnold, Savannah Barnes, Owen Boggs, Ryan Burns, Rylee Calhoun, Draydon Cassell, Laelah Clendenen, Aubrey Evans, Kaya Eves, Andrew Herold, Kendyl Hummel, Colton Huneycutt, Jerzie Jackson, Elijah Keatley, Rylan Lambert, Rowan Lindbloom, William Lindbloom, Ailec Lindbloom-Robinson, Konrad Lowe, Jonah Mann, Brinley McLaughlin, Aria Nelson, Diamond Owens, Tyler Pace, Bayla Plaugher, Emma Pugh, Owen Sattler, Olivia Shoemaker, Evelyn Simmons, Annabel Swan, Moriah Thompson, Peyton Tingler and Ariana Woody.
Cloverbud Day participants where younger youth were invited to experience what camp was like for a day included Daphne Arnold, Sebastian Arnold, Joshua Bauserman, Charly Beverage, Kinley Beverage, Bentley Boggs, Kooper Brock, Lettie Cassell, Amelia Herold, Anistyn King, Iris Krack, Aubrey Lacasse, Aurora Mason, Grant McClure, Emmett McLaughlin, Milton McNabb, Logan Miller, Luna Morgan, Ella Pugh, Wyatt Sattler, Micah Scotchie, Elliott Seldomridge, Nolan Shinaberry, Savannah Shoemaker, Rhett Simmons, Kayne Tingler, Colton Wilfong, Kinsley Wilfong and Jenna Workman. Nicole Sattler led the Cloverbud activities.
Camp staff and class instructors for the week were: Luci Mosesso, Greg Hamons and Connie Burns (Extension Staff); Lauren Seti (ECI); Kevin Villanueva (STEM); Erica Clark, Sarah Eves, Amy Henry-Morgan, Hallie Herold, Kathy Irvine, Cathy Mitchell, Clair Rose, Kristie Smith, Haley Spencer, Tracey Valach, Herby Barlow, Gray Beverage, Kendall Beverage, Logan Burks, JW Cheek, Randy Irvine, Josh Shinaberry, Michael Simmons, Mikey Valach, Chad Baldwin, Matt Barkley, Lauren Bennett, Cheryl Beverage, Mike Burns, Pam Burns, Jane Hunter-Wilson, Austin Sharp, Brian Smith, Alyssa Vickers, Margaret Worth, Nebraska Scotchie, Billy Rogers, and Arlene Cheek. Kitchen staff included Sarah Hedrick, Kim Beverage, Martha Friel, Teresa Coch-ran and AJ Sharp.
Pocahontas County 4-H camp would not be possible without the support of our community, 4-H alumni, volunteers and supporters. A special thank you to Matthew and Adam Taylor for all they do to keep our facility looking great and running smoothly.
Article and photos courtesy of Luci Mosesso