LEBANON, Ore. – Fay Sallee has experienced just about all there is in her 62 years in 4-H – 10 as a youth member and 52 as a volunteer.
Her favorite thing, she says, is going out on field trips and watching 4-H’ers try to collect insects. And there’s one insect in particular – the cave cricket – that can create a ruckus. The cricket, which as its name implies, thrives in cool, dark environments. They stick to the top of the cave, so to trap it in a net one must place the net directly under the cricket. If the net isn’t under the cricket, it just drops.
Imagine the sight of crickets starting to plunge onto children’s heads and bodies.
“You’ve got kids and nets going all directions,” she says with a laugh.
Fay Sallee, and her late husband Sherman (Sherm), are the newest Oregon members of the National 4-H Hall of Fame. They were among 16 people inducted for their achievements and contributions to 4-H in a ceremony held on Oct. 14 at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.
Fay has one word to describe her initial reaction to finding out about the recognition: Surprise.
“You just don’t think about being in the National 4-H Hall of Fame,” she says. “It’s a nice honor.”
The Sallees both grew up in Oregon, met at Oregon State University, and were 4-H leaders in six states during Sherm’s career in the U.S. Air Force. When Sherm retired, they moved back to Oregon in the mid-1980s and established the Clever Clover 4-H Club. They designed their home near the South Santiam River to include large rooms that allow two 4-H meetings to be held at the same time.
“Our philosophy is that 4-H is a family affair,” Fay says. “We host a community club, so we have lot of different projects going on. We’re at about 37 members in our club right now.”
When they built their house, they also installed a ramp so that their home was accessible for everyone.
“Within maybe a year or two we had a 4-H member who used a wheelchair,” Fay says.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sallees led 4-H project meetings at their home at least three days a week. Sherm died in March after an eight-year challenge with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The meetings and activities returned and continue to this day. They also hold outdoor activities on their 45-acre tree farm.
“Sherm wanted to be sure that I would be active,” Fay said. “We’re doing trail-building this week.”
OSU Extension 4-H is a tradition going back decades in Fay’s family. Her mother, Betty, was a 4-H leader for 54 years in Lebanon, teaching food and clothing projects for the Neat and Nifty club. Fay completed nine projects in her 10 years as a 4-H youth member. Her involvement culminated in being selected as a delegate to National 4-H Club Congress in 1960.
While at OSU in 1965, she was selected as an International Farm Youth Exchange (IFYE) delegate. She lived in Nepal for six months with 12 different families. She said the experience solidified her resolve to the value of 4-H. The Sallees have also been strong supporters of 4-H international programs and hosted numerous delegates from around the world.
Fay graduated from OSU with a degree in entomology and after retiring from the Air Force Sherm earned a degree in education at OSU and became a substitute teacher in Sweet Home, Lebanon and Albany for 12 years.
Natural resources education has been a constant thread through the Sallees’ 4-H and other volunteer work. They were members of the Oregon 4-H Natural Science Committee for over 20 years, and they completed the OSU Extension Master Woodland Manager program. They also served, and Fay continues to serve, in many capacities with the Oregon Small Woodlands Association (OWSA), including an annual Tree Seedling Sale that provides $1,600 for 4-H forestry awards and four $1,000 college scholarships to students studying forestry or a related field.
The Sallees were inducted into the Oregon 4-H Hall of Fame in 2005. Twice, they received OSU Extension Association Cooperator Awards, which recognizes individuals with significant contributions to Extension programming in Oregon.
After she and Sherm married in 1966 they lived in Kentucky, Delaware, Ohio, Arizona, Florida and California. She said through the years the one thing that never changed was that 4-H operated differently in each state. Both her son, David, and daughter, Christy, were in 4-H, and Christy’s two children are in 4-H.
Throughout the years, hundreds of youths have been members of the Clever Clovers and multiple members have represented Oregon at National 4-H Congress and other out-of-state opportunities.
“My biggest success story is that now some of my first members are coming back with their children,” she said. “That’s pretty neat.”
National 4-H Hall of Fame honorees are nominated by their home states, National 4-H Council, the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals (NAE4-HYDP), or the Division of Youth and 4-H, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)/National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
The National 4-H Hall of Fame was established in 2002 as part of the Centennial Project of National Association of Extension 4-H Agents in partnership with National 4-H Council and National 4-H Headquarters at USDA.
