UGA Cooperative Extension

DeKalb County Extension Office:
What Every 4-Her Should Know

4-H PLEDGE

For Your Information: Otis Hall, State Leader of Kansas, was responsible for the original wording of the 4-H pledge, officially adopted by the State 4-H Leaders at the first National 4-H camp in 1927. The pledge remained unchanged until 1973, when it was revised to include "and my world."

4-H MOTTO

"To make the best better"

4-H COLOR

The official colors for the several 4-H Councils shall be green and white.

4-H EMBLEM

The first emblem design was a three-leaf clover, introduced by O.H. Benson, sometime between 1907-08. From the beginning, the three "H's" signified Head, Heart and Hands. A four-leaf clover design with H's appeared around 1908. In 1911, Benson referred to the need for four H's -- suggesting that they stand for "Head, Heart, Hands, and Hustle. . . head trained to think, plan and reason; heart trained to be true, kind and sympathetic; hands trained to be useful, helpful and skillful; and the hustle to render ready service, to develop health and vitality. . . " In 1911, 4-H club leaders approved the present 4-H design. O.B. Martin is credited with suggesting that the H's signify Head, Heart, Hands and Health -- universally used since then. The 4-H emblem was patented in 1924 and Congress passed a law protecting the use of the 4-H name and emblem in 1939, slightly revised in 1948.