Mary Lou Kurtz of Cape Girardeau named to Missouri 4-H Hall of Fame

Mary Lou Kurtz of Cape Girardeau says her long involvement with 4-H has been instrumental in many areas of her life.

"I first started showing cattle when I was a kid. Won my first trophy in 1962," she says. "It was such a great experience, seeing real results from my hard work, giving me confidence. I don't know what my life would be like now if I hadn't been introduced to the skills 4-H taught me."

After many years of participation and service, Kurtz was inducted in August to the Missouri 4-H Hall of Fame at State Fair Community College in Sedalia.

She says her involvement with the organization really began when she earned the grand champion distinction in 1962 for her black angus steer showing. That project came about after she watched her older brothers having fun with their own cattle projects.

"I wanted to do what they were doing," she says, "which is how a lot of kids get involved with 4-H. They see their brothers or sisters having a great time, earning awards, being recognized, and they want to do it, too."

Mary Lou Kurtz, who was recently inducted to the Missouri 4-H Hall of Fame, poses for a photo inside her Cape Girardeau home on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016.Laura Simon

4-H as an organization has a strong association with family and rural industry. Different chapters have different areas of emphasis. Some chapters, such as the Young Americans in Cape Girardeau County, strive to teach leadership and civic-mindedness. Others are more involved with animal husbandry, methods to increase crop yields, home-based skills or any number of concerns that would factor into a country lifestyle.

Kurtz says she was involved in Ste. Genevieve County 4-H as a child, and when she moved to Cape Girardeau to attend Southeast Missouri State University, she joined the Campster School chapter, which met in the former Campster School on Bloomfield Road.

"I was associated with that chapter for 14 years until it closed," she says.

Mary Lou Kurtz, who was recently inducted to the Missouri 4-H Hall of Fame, flips through her memory album inside her Cape Girardeau home on Thursday, Sept. 29.Laura Simon

At that time, she took a more serious look at the 4-H chapter run by Dortha Strack.

"I'd see this group, and any time there was a competition between different chapters, there'd be times they'd beat us," Kurtz says. "I had to take a closer look at them, had to wonder what it was they were doing that was, well, different than our strategies. So when our chapter closed, I was especially interested, and offered to join up with them."

She brought her considerable skill set with her when she made the transfer.

4-H trophies won by Mary Lou Kurtz over the years are seen inside her Cape Girardeau home on Thursday, Sept. 29.Laura Simon

"I was a teacher for many years," she says, "and while I was and am a leader with 4-H, I also do a lot of the behind-the-scenes work. I fill out forms to return to the extension office in Jackson, and there are always lots of forms that need to be filled out, sent in, and I need to make sure everything's done correctly so our work can move smoothly. There's a lot of work that goes into this, and people don't necessarily see it, but it still needs to be done."

Kurtz has also played piano and accordion for Christmas programs they've performed at local nursing homes. She and Strack have worked together on the Clover Kids Camp, a summer day camp for local children, for several years. Kurtz enjoys coming up with themes for different events.

"I'm a former teacher," she explains. "Themes are easy for me. When we did the '4-H Is Going to the Dogs' event, I had all kinds of Clifford the Big Red Dog materials that we wound up using. It came together pretty well."

In 2002, 4-H was celebrating its centennial, and Kurtz put together a retrospective of all the years her immediate family members had put in to the organization.

"Between my dad at 26 years, Mom at 20, and my six siblings, plus me, we had a total of 142 years in," she says. "I thought that was pretty amazing. But that's what 4-H is about, is family, and togetherness, learning, growing and sharing."