A retrospective of an Award Winning 4H Club member from the halcyon days of the late 1930's and early 1940's

1. Barbara Rood
A Young Life
Full of Surprises…

2. A baby in the twilight
of the 1920’s….

3. A child of the early 1930’s….

4. The innocence of the late
1930’s…
Age 11

5. …and Coming of Age during
the War Years of the 1940’s ….

6. …Barb didn’t waste a minute of it!

7. …but she knew how to have fun too!

8. By the time she was 18 she had:
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•
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Met some of the Great Statesmen of the day
Traveled to some of the nations biggest cities
Received numerous Statewide Awards
All for doing what she loved to do...

9. Barb was a Natural Gardener
Next to her home on Fairview Avenue in
Binghamton, NY she tended a 4,425 sq. ft. plot.
“…growing 16 different types of vegetables, (also)
asters and zinnias. She sold $12.80 of (produce)
from her garden, stored root crops for her family
and canned 259 cans of vegetables for home use.”
Local Newspaper Account

10. You Could Say Gardening was in
Barb’s Blood
Barb’s mother, Grace, was a passionate gardener
(and local 4H Club Leader) and instilled this love
for growing things …and her Dad, Orrin Rood,
was brought up on a farm…
Maybe her future success in gardening was preordained…

11. Barbara’s Brother Would Not be Left
Out…just took him a bit longer…
Uncle Tom out did them all becoming a renowned
daylily expert, along with Aunt Kathy have grown
one of the world’s most prominent Daylily
Gardens…the remarkable 4-acre, aptly named,
Grace Gardens.
My guess in 1946 Tom had other things on his
mind…

12. Naturally Barb Joined the 4H Club
She made her own “Record Book” of 4H Activities
and Accomplishments…so well made with a wood
cover, hinges and twine for binding that it still exists
to this day much as she left it in 1947…

13. Her Garden Was Amazing…
Here’s a page in her 4H Record Book from
1945 you can see its size and scope (that’s
Uncle Tom in the upper left).
(As a young visitor to Fairview Ave in the
1960’s I would have loved to see it…but by
then I guess it was replaced by houses?)

14. …and Barb was an
amazing gardener!

15. With a Girlfriend...

16. Barb also had Other Interests…
Clothes Making was something she excelled in

17. (Is that little fella
Uncle Tom?)
Backyard Fashion Show
Casual Wear…

18. 1941
Play Wear…
Evening Wear…
(Kimono Pajamas
Won her 1st Blue Ribbon)

19. And Sportswear too…

20. Barb Wins Dozens of
Ribbons in the 1940’s
NY State Fair
Broome County Fair
All Sorts of County Fairs
4H Exhibitions
And then…

21. Barb Receives Huge Honor as
NYS - Gardener of the Year
Out of 450,000 entrants, Barb won the Victory Garden
Award for New York State…
“…the highest state honor ever awarded a Broome
County Club member during the war period.”
The Binghamton Sun
Her garden had 75 bushels of produce canned or
stored for winter use, besides the continuous use of
vegetables from the garden for a family of four during
the summer and fall of 1943…a big deal during the
rationing of supplies during WWII.

22. More Press Clippings for the
States Green Thumb Winner
Barb won a trip to New York City where she was
Presented with a Silver Medal Award by Grover
Whalen, Head of the World’s Fair, and NYC Mayor
Fiorello LaGuardia in Pershing Square in New York
(Can you imagine what a trip this must have been for
a High School Sophomore in 1944…that’s my MOM!)

23. Receiving Her Silver
Medal
Here is the presentation of the Victory
Garden Award in New York City from
Lester Norris the Chairman of the National
Victory Garden Institute.
Can’t get over how adorable Mom is…love
that someone put a squash in her hands for
the photo…priceless!

24. Barbara is Named First Citizen
Not resting on her Victory Garden laurels, Barb was
honored as 4H Club First Citizen another State Honor
She won a 2-day trip to Albany to visit the State
Government in action and meet NY Governor
Thomas Dewey (Dewey lost to Harry Truman a few
years later as the Republican candidate for U.S.
President).
Note: A word about 4H Clubs…back in Mom’s day,
4H was supported with funding by Federal, State and
local government and in the 1940’s it was a more
agrarian culture than today (it was a big deal).

25. Barb wins “Girl of the Year” 1945
What a year for Barbara as she is chosen
by the 4H Counsel as top Girl of the
Club…pretty neat!

26. Barb is 4H Camp
Counselor
The 4H Summer Camp
was in Danby, NY (it was
the Ithaca College Camp).
A few years later Barb
worked in the kitchen at
this camp and would meet
a man there that changed
her life…
Where’s Barb? – can you find her
in the picture?

27. Danforth Foundation
Winner
Barbara represented 34,000 New York State
4H Girls as a state dinner winner at the
Danforth Foundation Camp in Shelby,
Michigan.
If you look closely you’ll find her in this
picture from the camp…

28. 4H National Congress
Barb is chosen as one of 22 New
York State members to attend the
National Congress in Chicago, 1947.
Quite an honor, and her crowning
4H achievement to be chosen out of
75,000+ NYS members.
I wish I’d known to ask Mom about
this trip…it must have been an
incredible experience for her…

29. Becoming a Young
Woman
Barbara would go on to other
pursuits outside of 4H, graduate
from High School and attend
Harper College…but those halcyon
days of the early 1940’s were an
incredible time of doing big things,
meeting and being lauded by
famous leaders and traveling to
new and exciting places…
Pretty incredible for a young girl
with big dreams from Binghamton.

30. Barefoot and Carefree
Where ever you are…this is
the happiness meant for
you…we love you Mom…