The 4-H clubs were to become an improtant part of the Maloy community when they were formed in 1947. Most of the following information was collected from the extension office.

The boys club, the Maloy Shamrocks, was organized with Jerry SHEIL, John SHAY, Gary PARKS, Dean HARVEY, John GARITY, Mike SHEIL, Raymond CULVER, Jack SMITH and Tom SHAY as charter members. Bob LYNCH, himself a 4-H alumnus, was their leader. They had a variety of projects: beef, swine, sheep, dairy and gardening.

The girls chose Maloy Colleens for the name of their club. Mrs. Bob LYNCH, a 10-year past 4-H member, was their leader. Goldie MERCER, Mae Marie CULVER, Patricia HARVEY, Shirley SMITH, Ellen GARITY, Monica SHEIL and Rita Anne WARIN were the members the first year. The girls program rotated from home furnishing to food and nutrition to clothing for their projects to exhibit at the fair.

Even the first year this young club jumped right in and had a junior demonstration team - Shirley SMITH and Patricia HARVEY. Shirley was so nervous she was ill. Our home economist, Belle CORNELISON, advised her to say to herself, "I'm doing this now, the very best I can. If later you can do better you're welcome." It was good advice. They won and received a fun trip to the St. Joe Interstate Show.

As expected, each member exhibited at the county fair and turned in a completed record book.

In 1948 Cleota LEPLEY joined Mrs. LYNCH as leader and Barbara CAVENDER, Verda LOVITT, Barbara and Verna DEARDORFF, Helen SICKELS and Donna HARVEY joined the Colleens.

The Shamrocks enrolled Junior MERCER, Allen "Bud" COMER, Gary KING, Ronald and James JARVIS, Bill BURGHER and Merle JENNINGS.

In 1949 the Earl LYNCH family moved to town and he consented to be the boys leader. She was to help Liz with the girls. Patty CULVER, Jane WHEELEN, Rosemary WARIN, Doralee CAVENDER, Betty Lou DUGAN, Donna Belle SMITH and Norma Maness joined the girls club. Rexal MERCER, Jessie SCROGGIE, Orval MOTSINGER and Gary LYNCH were new Shamrocks.

Buck MOTSINGER took over as boys leader in 1950. Mrs. Nellie NARVEY agreed to assist withthe girls. Donna HARVEY was winner of the style show at Rally Day and was to represent the count at the State Fair. The state 4-H personnel were trying to raise money at this time to build a state camp at Ledges State Park at Madrid. Patricia HARVEY and Bill BURGHER, as officers, took over sacks of corn the club members had picked up on Saturday for the fund raiser. Ronald LYNCH had joined the club and showed his Angus steer to grand champion, a first for the club. He was aslo, when older, a member of a top state livestock judging team that went to the International Stock Show in Chicago to judge.

New members of the Colleens this year were Janice DAVIS, Joan LYNCH, Shirley LYDDON, JoAnn MATTHEWS, Barrie and Monica PARKS and the CAMPBELL girls. This swelled the membership to 18. Ronald LYNCH was elected county vice-president.

In 1952 Norma SHAY became one of the girls leaders. Joan LYNCH was now 10-years-old and had joined both clubs. She showed her Angus steer to county grand champion and reserve champion at the Creston Bluegrass Show as well.

Each summer, a week before the fair, the girls club held a local achievement show where all exhibits were to be completed and brought for display and local placing. Then homemade ice cream, cake and pie made by the moms was served for a price to help the treasury. This was the town's social event of the summer and was held at the CARR'S Dance Hall. They also sold pop and candy bars at various other events. A special event was when presidential candidate Adlai STEVENSON was at Marycrest Angus Farms.

In 1957 Teena and Joyce LYNCH had joined both clubs as did a big group of 10-year-old boys, Bobby SHAY, David LYNCH, Larry WEAVER, Jim WORTHINGTON and Eddie DUGAN. Jack WACKERNAGLE, Larry WYER, Del and John WORTHINGTON and Dan CARR also had become members of the boys club. Martha CARR, a 10-year-old, had joined the Colleens.

           

  Barrie PARKS and Barbara CAVENDER gave a senior demonstration at state fair, "Pasteurizing Milk at Home." Rita Ann WARIN and Mae CULVER had been elected to county offices.

Joan LYNCH and Monica PARKS did a demonstration "Making Dinner Rolls." Joyce and Teena LYNCH showed how to shine shoes when 10 and 11 years old. Later they did "Paul Bunyon Burgers" on the grill.

           

  Boys and girls went to the Ledges to state camp in the summer. Leaders chaperoned all these trips and jaunts to the livestock shows where supervision sometimes required ten days at the state fair.

           

  In a clothing year there was a style show to model any item made by the member. The winner advanced to state fair and Jane Wheelen was given the opportunity to do this.

JoAnn MATTHEWS was runner-up in the Better Grooming Contest in 1956.

In June, Rally Day was held with election of county officers. Each club had a candidate and actively campaigned for her. Monica PARKS was elected from the Maloy club.

Also in June a girl from each club was chosen for a trip to Iowa State College [present-day Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa] to spend four days on campus at Convention with girls from over the state. The boys went the next week and called it Short Course.

June was also when the boys clubs went in a caravan to visit each member's home and view the projects they were planning to take to the fair. The Shamrocks' parents went along and sometimes a picnic was enjoyed.

Judy BRAMMER, Dick, Debbie and Diane WEEHLER, Carol Anne SHAY, Wayne and Cecil DOLECHECK, Howard and Elvin MERCER, Jack and Leila GOODALE, Vicki WACKERNAGLE, Wade MOTSINGER, Craig and Randy LYNCH and Dennis PARKS joined the club at various times or as they became ten years old.

           

  The Shamrocks took a trip to Boys Town one year and the next to Kansas City to a baseball game. The families went along to these.

           

  The social highlight of the boys winter
program was the family soup supper held at the schoolhouse. Again the moms supplied the pies and went to the lunchroom to make the chili and oyster soup.

At the meetings, talks and demonstrations were given by each member at least once during a club year and the club met in members' homes teaching them to be host and hostesses and to speak on their feet.

In 1959 Ralph BRAMMER agreed to be leader of the Shamrocks and remained until the club's demise in 1965 when the community ran out of kids and Randy LYNCH joined the Liberty Boys Club the last year.

The Maloy Colleens had disbanded and a new club was formed and named Irish Gems. Liz LYNCH and Regina LYNCH were leaders. Members were Joan, Joyce and Teena LYNCH, Barrie and Monica PARKS, JoAnn MATTHEWS, Sandra WYMAN, Mary MERTZ, Leila GOODALE, Martha CARR and Susie NORRIS.

Mary and Sandra did a cookie demonstation and on the way to the fair, Sandra left the car door open and a dog ate most of her finished product. Teena and Martha showed their audience how to test their well water for hardness one year. Phyllis GOODALE became a leader and Teena LYNCH was elected county recorder.

Boys did demonstrations too. Dan CARR and Jack WACKERNAGLE showed how to earnotch pigs. David LYNCH and Larry WEAVER went to State Fair with a projected named "Easy Does It" which showed ways of handling livestock. Craig and Randy LYNCH also went to State Fair with "Clothing for the Individual."

In the early spring, basketball tournaments were held. The boys never did win but were runners-up a time or two. On a rotation basis the clubs got to serve food for the players and bleacher crowd at these thus helping their treasury. Ivor WACKERNAGLE and Chuck GOODALE helped with the boys also.

At awards night held in November both clubs came away with their share of honors (individual) with their record books.

Craig LYNCH won the coveted Lions Club award his junior year and that fall was elected county boys president. He and Nancy FOLTZ, girls president, represented Ringgold County and rode in the American Royal Parade at Kansas City. As county presidents, Craig and David filled the pulpit in May at a church and gave the message for Stewardship Sunday on conservation. David was also interviewed to be a state officer candidate but didn't make it. He, along with Susan HENDERSON, was featured in a National 4-H magazine article.

The club members always did well with their exhibits sending many girls exhibits to state fair and had many champions in livestock shows, too numerous to mention. One year in particular when the judge went to pick the grand champion steer, all six calves and showmen were from the Shamrocks.

Then in 1960, they really did it all - they, as usual, had herdsmanship award, the grand champion steer, reserve champion steer, champion Shorthorn, champion market pig and champion pen of three. And they had the top beef showman. This they did quite often with top swine showman a time or two.

Dan CARR had grand champion market pig at the Creston Swine Show one year and also showed the champion pen of three market pigs.

Rainy Day at Fair	Bobby Shay, 4-H Tour	County Fair
Irish Gems	Barrie Parks' Installation	Irish Gems

           

Helping guide the youth through these years were the extension directors, Virden PAYNE, Dick FRANKLIN, Milt HENDERSON and Neil CHICKEN and, of course, Belle CORNELISON, the home economist.

All will agree it was an educational and socially memorable part of their young lives.

           

Bobby SHAY with four boys and David LYNCH with a boy and a girl wanted them to be in 4-H and have the experiences they did of feeding and fitting and showing livestock, going to camps, being a club officer, giving demonstrations and making new friends. The clubs in the area were overflowing, so they started a new club. The kids voted unanimously to call it "Maloy Shamrocks." Bob and David are the leaders. The club was reborn in 1983.

Roby SHAY has been on the county council. He went away to Iowa State this fall and his brother Cody will take his place.

Again they are in the winning group in the show ring, vieing against each other in the shows more since they show by weight and height of the calves rather then by breed. Jason LYNCH had grand champion at Lenox this year [1987], the first club member to win this honor. Cody SHAY showed Grand Champion steer at the Ringgold County Fair in 1982. The members show steers, breeding heifers, commercial heifers, cow and calf, horses and goats.

Preston HAYSE is the 4-H extension director with Judy HENSLEY, working tirelessly to plan programs and events as an aide.

The present members are Cody and Tory SHAY, Greg, Marci and Brian MOBLEY, Wyatt and Elaine MOBLEY, Kelley GRAHAM, Jason and Meggan LYNCH, Lafe and Tyson DUKES, Leslie and Lance BARKER, Jennifer, Billy and Timmy SCHAEFER and Russell STEWART.

County Fair, 1986	Leaders Bob & David	Work Time Meeting
Tory Shay & Champion Heifer	Shamrocks' Booth 1985 County Fair	Lenox Grand Champion & Jason Lynch, 1987

BACK ROW, L-R: leader Bob Shay, leader David Lynch, Jennifer Schaefer, Leslie Barker, Greg Mobley, Billy Schaefer.
MIDDLE ROW, L-R: Lafe Dukes, Wyatt Mobley, Tory Shay, Cody Shay, Brian Mobley.
FRONT ROW, L-R: Russell Stewart, Timmy Schaefer, Tyson Dukes, Marci Mobley, Elaine Mobley, Meggan Lynch, Jason Lynch.
NOT PICTURED: Lance Barker & Kelly Graham.

As with everything else, the 4-H concept has changed over the years. The members are offered instruction in gun safety and veterinary care of their animals among other topics. They prepare and exhibit science projects, some very complicated, small engine repair, woodworking, photography, and posters that teach the public. There is not a club for girls alone in the Maloy area, but Jennifer SCHAEFER is president of the 1987 Maloy Shamrocks co-ed club.

Demonstrations are now called presentations and topics vary from fun and games to piano solos. Individual talents and ideas are stressed, but teamwork is still very important.

Most pictures courtesy of David LYNCH'S record book.

SOURCE: Maloy, Iowa Centennial History: 1887 - 1987 Pp. 64-71. 1987.
Courtesy of the Mount Ayr Public Library

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, August of 2011