Published: February 29, 2008 11:10 pm            

Agricultural interests steer Jackson Township family to 4-H

When Shelly Craft got involved in the 4-H program eight years ago, she probably didn’t realize just how extensive that involvement would become.

Craft resides in Jackson Township with her husband, Bob Craft, and children, Elisa Cekada, 20; Annie Cekada, 17; and Dawn Craft, 12.

It was Annie who convinced her mother to join 4-H.

4-H is a program with strong ties to agriculture, but its myriad activities also include nonagriculture programs as well. Each club selects its activity or activities.

The four H’s are Head, Heart, Hands and Health, and the program emphasizes leadership, citizenship and life skills.

Annie began urging her parents to become 4-H members when she was 7, and they decided to join when she was 9.

“We became involved because of Annie’s continued interest in taking goats to the Cambria County Fair,” Craft said.

In that first year with 4-H, Annie exhibited the fair’s grand champion goat. Her sister Dawn subsequently has had a grand champion dairy beef animal and two reserve grand champion goats.

Shelly Craft has become leader of Kids of the Mountain 4-H Club while Mary Mastrine of Colver is co-leader. Craft also is involved with the Beef and Veal 4-H Community Club.

Annie and Dawn hold leadership posts in both clubs, Craft said, noting Elisa is a junior at Clarion University and will be spending her fourth summer working at the Cambria County Extension Office in Ebensburg.

Elisa is working toward degrees in elementary and special education.

Shelly Craft and the girls raise goats and beef cattle on their farm, while Bob Craft does all the planting and harvesting of the grain and hay.

While some goats are raised for meat, about half of the 55 on the farm end up as pets or as companions for horses, Shelly Craft said.

There are 22 beef cattle, she said.

Craft is vice president of Cambria 4-H’s program advisory board, which helps organize fundraising activities. She’s a member of the extension board as well.

She works on a part-time basis for Pennsylvania State Cooperative Extension as a teacher for in-school programs.

These programs generally are held in the spring and Craft’s role is to go into a school and introduce and teach the program’s first session, with subsequent sessions taught by the school’s instructors.

She also is involved with introducing and teaching the first session of an embryology program focusing on chickens and ducks in participating schools in Cambria and Somerset counties and of teaching the first session of a program being offered to Cambria County schools dealing with watersheds and water conservation.

She said the embryology program gives students an opportunity to be involved with something they otherwise may not ever become associated with, while the water program gives young people a chance to learn how important water is.

She helps out with Cambria 4-H’s barn dance, a fundraiser held for the past two years, first in Patton and last year at the county fairgrounds at Ebensburg.

Although getting involved with 4-H came relatively late for Craft, she is a strong supporter of the program.

“I’m glad we got involved with 4-H. It has been a learning experience,” she said.

“4-H is a way to learn responsibility, make decisions, get involved with various projects and make lots of new friends.”

Craft, who is a 1978 graduate of Central Cambria High School, worked 20 years at the former Laurel Bank in Ebensburg before she retired to become a stay-at-home mom.

But her time since has been anything but retirement.

        

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