MS 224 - Imogene Elwer Papers

Title	MS 224 - Imogene Elwer Papers
Subject	Agriculture
Introduction	The records of the Imogene Elwer Papers were donated to the center for Archival Collections through the cooperation of Imogene Elwer on May, 23, 1982. No restrictions exist on the use of this collection and the duplication is permitted for research purposes. This collection was arranged and described by Devon Proudfoot in August 2013.
Biographical Sketch	Imogene (Reindel) Elwer was born on February 29, 1929 in Van Wert County, Ohio. She lived with her parents, Alfred and Florence, and her three siblings; Bernard, Avian, and Virginia. She eventually married Leonard Elwer and settled down in Fort Jennings, Ohio where she joined the Putnam County 4-H club. Her husband, Leonard, passed away on November 10, 1989 while Imogene passed away on November 11, 1998. A large part of Imogene Elwer’s life was her dedication to the 4-H club. The 4-H club is a youth organization with the mission of “engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development”. The organization was created in Clark County, Ohio in 1902 by Albert Belmont Graham and was soon adopted by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture. The program teaches kids about issues like food security and global warming and gives them activities to do outside of school in areas anywhere from agriculture to animal science. Now the program reaches over 6.5 million kids in the United States ages 5 to 21. There are 90,000 clubs across 80 different countries.
Scope and Content	The Imogene Elwer Papers collection primarily consists of news clippings, programs, and photographic materials. The news clippings in the collection come from two newspapers local to the Fort Jennings area, the Daily Herald and the Lima News. These clippings contain articles and pictures of different events in which Elwer took part. These include a photography contest that Elwer entered and also a 4-H event at the Putnam County Fair where she was a judge. These articles come from the years 1958 and 1975 and are arranged by newspaper title. The collection contains a large amount of printed programs that hold information on the 4-H club. The first of these is the 4-H Advisors Program book from the years 1964 to 1973. They have information on how the club and events should be run. It also contains space for taking notes, something that Elwer did quite frequently in these books. There are also the programs for the 25th and 30th annual 4-H Advisors Recognition Luncheon. The programs list the advisors that had been a part of their local club for at least five years. All of the programs in the collection are arranged chronologically. A number of photographic prints are found in the collection, coming directly out of Elwer’s personal scrapbook. These images display Elwer’s family and friends, including the places where she grew up. Written on the pictures are the dates that they were taken along with a brief description of the person or place of interest. The dates of these pictures range from 1947 to 1950, and are arranged chronologically.
Series Description	CORRESPONDENCE CORRESPONDENCE 1975 Letters from a representative to Elwer regarding 4-H Demonstrations and Illustrated Talks Activity at the 1975 Putnam County Fair. SCRAPBOOK MATERIAL NEWS CLIPPINGS 1958, 1975 These articles and pictures come from the Daily Herald and the Lima News explains events that Elwer was involved in. PRINTED MATERIAL PROGRAMS 1964-1973 Arranged chronologically This is an advisors program booklet containing information on how leaders should run their clubs. These copies have written notes in them from Elwer. MAGAZINES 1965 A monthly magazine titled the “National 4-H News” that contains articles about 4-H events around the country. CALENDARS 1969 A calendar for the year 1969 put out by the 4-H club. Has the dates for birthdays and events taking place in the village of Fort Jennings, Ohio. CERTIFICATES 1973 The gold clover award that was presented to Elwer for her ten years of service in the 4-H club. PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTS 1947-1950, n.d. Arranged chronologically Miscellaneous photographs out of Elwer’s personal scrapbook including images of family and friends ARTIFACTS ARTIFACTS n.d. A felt pennant flag that contains the 4-H logo.
Inventory	Box 1 Folder Correspondence, 1975 News Clippings – The Daily Herald, 1975 News Clippings – The Lima News, 1958 Advisors Program Book, 1964-1965 Advisors Program Book, 1966-1967 Advisors Program Book, 1968-1969 Advisors Program Book, 1970-1971 Advisors Program Book, 1972-1973 Box 2 Folder Luncheon Program, 1969, 1973 4-H News Magazine, 1965 Calendar of Events, 1969 Award Certificate, 1973 Photographs, 1947-1948 Photographs, 1948-1950 Photographs, n.d. 4-H Artifacts, n.d.