4-H first became a part of the Deters family in 1966 when the two oldest daughters, Kathy and Patty, joined a girls’ club called the Roslyn Robins. The oldest son, Kenny, joined the boys’ club and his father, James, became the club’s leader. In 1968, the two clubs combined to form the Roslyn Rangers 4-H Club. After the merger, Louise joined her husband as a club leader. The remaining children – Joyce, Connie, Chuck, and Tim – also joined 4-H as they reached age nine.
It was only natural that life on a dairy farm led to projects that involved dairy cattle. Summer days may have been busy developing a wide variety of projects involving other interests, but evenings were spent leading cows around a ring in their yard with James serving as judge! Over the years, their family received many state project honor awards in Dairy, including the Illinois Holstein-Friesian Association awards. Five of the seven children advanced from the dairy judging competition in Champaign to the state fair competition.
The family considered the fairs to be their family vacation time and enjoyed participating in county and state “Share the Fun” skits and helping in the 4-H Shake-Up Stand at the Cumberland County Fair. They also hosted an IFYE exchange student from France for three weeks.
The 4-H tradition has been carried out by the members of the Deters family as they married, had children, and began fostering the love and passion for 4-H gained during their youth. The three generations of the James and Louise Deters family has forty members, thirty-five of which have participated in 4-H. In total, the Deters family has 256 years of membership, 112 years as leaders, and 398 years as volunteers. Connie Deters states, “4-H has increased the leadership of our many family members and has created cherished family memories. 4-H has been – and continues to be – our great family tradition”.