Texas 4-H Roundup is the culmination of years of hard work and
dedication for youth throughout the State of Texas. It is designed to
supplement the county 4-H program and project work. Each year contests
are held throughout the state, at the county level, and the twelve
districts of Texas Agrilife Extension Service, and climaxing with the
participation of over 2,500 youth and adults at Texas 4-H Roundup in
College Station. Roundup consists of 39 individual competitive contests
whose participants qualified for the opportunity to compete at the state
level by their success and competency at the county and district levels.
Leon County 4-H had several members involved in this area and were very
successful. Ryan McCarty placed first in state in the Natural Resources
category, Kelcey and Christy Cockrell placed third in the Sheep and Goat
Category. In the Promote 4-H category Jana Richmond placed third and
Reagan Robertson walked the stage in the Texas 4-H Fashion Review.
Roundup officially began Tuesday, June 10 and ended Friday morning, June
13, 08. Congratulations to these Leon County 4-H members on a job well
done in representing Leon County.
The beginning of Texas 4-H Roundup was in 1946. At that time, 4-H
members (boys and girls) were selected to attend a short course (Texas
4-H Roundup) on the campus of the Texas A&M College in College Station.
During the early years, Texas 4-H Roundup was compiled of workshops
dealing with issues of rural America. This included such items as
electrification of rural America and the latest in canning and food
preservation techniques.
Many of the youth that participated in the early years arrived via the
railroad. This was, by far, the most efficient mode of transportation at
the time. A man from Abilene noted that he can remember the Roundup
train coming through Abilene from the Texas Panhandle, continually
adding railroad cars as it made each stop toward College Station.
Without question, this is quite a change from the modern way of arriving
at Texas 4-H Roundup in suburbans or pick-ups. Similar to participants
today, 4-H members were housed in the dorms on campus. However, these
early participants roomed in tents on the grounds of the Corp of Cadets
area and later in the actual dorms.
As time progressed, Texas 4-H Roundup continued to change in order to
address the emerging issues and needs of the time. Some examples
include: the early days of addressing techniques in canning of food
products to the historical war time period of teaching 4-H members
proper techniques of bomb drills and bomb shelter preparation. All of
these subject areas were taught while stressing the overall goal that
stated youth would return home to teach others. One of the most unique
components about Texas 4-H Roundup in the early years is that all
participants wore 4-H uniforms and all the workshops were conducted
outdoors. One of the most notable outside facilities used was the Kyle
Field bleachers.
In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, Texas 4-H Roundup began to
take on a new look and format. This included more contest orientated
events with competitive activities being held in subject areas such as
food preservation and safety, beef cattle, public speaking, and clothing
instead of the teaching workshop format. Then, in the late 1960’s, the
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo began awarding scholarships to Texas
4-H youth. This presentation was eventually incorporated as a major
component of the General Assembly during Roundup. Today, more than 1.8
million dollars in scholarships are presented through the Texas 4-H
Youth Development Foundation during the Tuesday General Assembly.
Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s, Texas 4-H Roundup hit the high
point by offering 43 different competitive events that 4-H members could
qualify for through their district events. The 1990’s included the
development of the Teens of Texas Acquiring Leadership Program which
encouraged more diverse groups of county representatives to participate
in leadership training for the week. These individuals were then
recognized on the last day of Roundup.
As national sponsorship continues to become a higher priority and the
focus of the 4-H program begins to involve an equal number of urban and
rural youth alike, the contest list changes as well. The contests were
placed into an evaluation mode where the participation was reviewed each
year. This allowed for older, out-of-date contests to be retired and new
contests to be introduced. Throughout the years, Texas 4-H Roundup has
been a venue to celebrate the success of 4-H youth and volunteers in
Texas and throughout the United States. Some highlights throughout the
years include the making of a human “ATM” and “Clover” on the
turf of Kyle Field, BBQ served on the drill field for all the
participants, rally speakers such as Captain Scott O’Grady, and
celebrations of many milestones of the Texas and National 4-H Programs.
Pic. Leon County 4-H Members and Agents with awards from Texas 4-H
Round Up Tommy Neyland- CEA, Christy Cockrell, Ryan McCarty, Jana Richmond,
Wendy Neyland- CEA, Reagan Robertson, Kelcey Cockrell and Matthew
Townsend- Intern.
Tommy Neyland, CEA-Ag
Texas Agrilife Extension Service
