JACKSON’S MILL — WVU Jackson’s Mill is the new home of the official archives of the National Association of Extension 4-H Agents.
West Virginia University Extension Service and the NAE4-HA partnered after a nationwide search for a new home for the archives that previously were housed at the National 4-H Conference Center near Washington, D.C.
Debbie McDonald, WVU Extension director of 4-H youth development, spearheaded the transfer and worked with NAE4-HA officials to make it happen.
The official archives span the near 70-year history of the NAE4-HA’s and include photos, banners, projects and records. The archives were moved to Jackson’s Mill in September.
NAE4-HA is the professional association for those who work in the 4-H program, and is comprised of Extension agents, specialists, staff and administrators from around the country.
“For an archive to really serve its purpose it has to be accessible,” said WVU Extension 4-H Cultural Resource Specialist Chad Proudfoot. “At Jackson’s Mill, we have accommodations to provide research space and climate-controlled facilities for these documents.”
The archives are stored in a secure area within the Southeastern Learning Center at Jackson’s Mill.
Next year is the 100th anniversary of the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, which nationalized 4-H and created the Cooperative Extension System between the United States’ land grant universities.
Proudfoot believes that the anniversary will raise intrigue in the research community and that the 4-H archive will be of interest. While the archive is stored in a non-public area, arrangements can be made to conduct research at the archive at WVU Jackson’s Mill.
NAE4-HA Historian Betty Gottler supervised the transfer of the archives, which comprised of more than 20 boxes. Gottler will regularly visit Jackson’s Mill to help keep the archives updated and each year new NAE4-HA records will be added.
For more information or to conduct research at the archives, contact Chad Proudfoot at (304) 406-7021 or e-mail Chad.Proudfoot@mail.wvu.edu.
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