Mary Jo Gibson

We interviewed Gibson to learn she got her start in 4-H. Please enjoy our interview with Mary Jo Gibson.

What were your 4-H projects as a member?

Our 4-H club was a summer club lead by Edith Koons. We met weekly for about two months. We had ten to fifteen members, all girls, and did a different cooking project each year. My first year, 1958, was a tag-along for outdoor cookery that included either a leaf or a wildflower collection. Interestingly, outdoor cookery was also my final project as a senior; I began 4-H with outdoor cookery and a leaf collection and finished with outdoor cookery and a wildflower collection.

In between these projects, I remember a project called tasty snacks. There was a project book that included the tuna noodle casserole recipe that I still use. There was a project that included 'fancy' foods, where we learned to slice bread horizontally, spread with creamy fillings, and roll into pinwheel sandwiches. One summer we also did babysitting. I remember practicing new games and activities with my neighbor's children.

What is/was your career, and how did 4-H help prepare you for this or contribute to this path?

I began teaching biology and science to high school and middle school students after college. I also worked as a seasonal park naturalist at Hickory Run State Park. I do think that my early leaf collection project started me along the path to biology, ecology, and environmental conservation.

Were you involved in 4-H in other ways (other than being a member)?

When looking for babysitters for my own children, I asked one of my students if she would be interested. She immediately replied that she had completed the 4-H babysitting project and would be pleased to work for me. Heather arrived with a "box of tricks" and had me complete an information sheet before I left home. I didn't say anything at the time, but it brought back memories of my own 4-H babysitting project decades earlier.

When my son and daughter became old enough, we went to the monthly meetings of the Hobbie 4-H Club, a summer community club. I discovered that Heather held leadership positions, including president.

As my son began his second summer in 4-H, he asked Patti Heller, the organization leader, about a gardening project, to which she replied, "Why don't you lead it, Mary Jo?" That began my time as a project leader in the Hobbie 4-H Club. A few years later, Patti decided to retire and asked me to continue with the club as the organization leader. I did, until Heather returned to our community, and I successfully twisted her arm to become organization leader in 2007. She still is!

As a 4-H project leader, I helped members with many projects over the course of twenty-three years: Outdoor Flowers, Horticulture I (Annuals), Indoor Gardening (Terrariums), Catch the Bug (Entomology I), Container Gardening Level 1 & 2, Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Project, and Water Lion (Water Conservation I).

I facilitated community service projects including landscaping the veterans' memorial in Dorrance Township, installing a butterfly garden, and creating a wildlife habitat at Nescopeck State Park.

Donna Grey, retired Extension Educator in Luzerne County, submitted my name for the 2002 Pennsylvania 4-H Natural Resources Outstanding Volunteer Award. Sandy Smith submitted my name for the 2003 National 4-H Wildlife and Fisheries Volunteer Leader Recognition Award. As a result of these awards and my efforts as a 4-H volunteer, I was offered graduate studies in Texas, Montana, and Wyoming.

In 2003, I became a Penn State Extension Master Gardener in Columbia County. Knowing about Extension and 4-H certainly enabled me to be a better Master Gardener volunteer. After all, Master Gardeners are first and foremost educators of research-based information!

After retiring from the traditional classroom, I accepted a position as the Nursery and Greenhouse Manager at Nescopeck Agway. This is a great job for me as when my plants are dormant, so am I. The owners gave generous discounts to 4-H'ers for their projects and even permitted me to teach the members during business hours.

What does 4-H look like for you now?

Back in the 1950s and '60s, our 4-H clubs were "home economics" projects for girls, with an occasional agricultural or "shop" club for boys. This makes sense if one remembers that the original purpose of Extension was to provide researched-based information to the public. 4-H delivered that information to parents through children. Now, the 4-H projects cover a wider range of interests, but they are always research-based. There are still cooking and sewing projects with plenty of ag projects, but there is absolutely something for everyone. I have particularly enjoyed the horticulture, wildlife, and water conservation projects.

For several years, I have judged projects at the Columbia County 4-H Achievement Day. Since I retired from the Hobbie 4-H Club, I've judged projects at our local roundup. My son, who has degrees in horticulture, has judged projects at our local roundup, too. I am especially proud of the way he chats with the members and always finds something positive about each project.

What was your favorite part of 4-H, or fondest memory?

When I was a member our 4-H meetings were always fun. We were expected to taste the food we prepared. Often a recipe that I thought I wouldn't like, I did! Sometimes when repeating the recipes at home, the food didn't turn out exactly as planned. That's what happens in real life.

When I was a leader, one of the members, who was taking Container Gardening - Level 2, accepted a bet with her father about who could grow better tomatoes. At the roundup, he came to me and asked what my secret was. His daughter had refused to give him my recipe for 'Mary Jo's Magic Mix' of potting media even though he had admitted defeat.

I am also especially proud when former 4-H members go on to study the topics that they took as 4-H projects.

What advice do you have for 4-H members?

Always try two kinds of projects: Take projects that you know you will like because you already have an interest in them. But always try projects that are new to you! In both cases you will learn something! You will also expand your horizons with the unfamiliar topic. Maybe you'll return to it again; maybe you won't.