When a ten year old girl decided to join her local Benton County, Iowa chapter of 4-H in the year 1952, she could not have imagined that such a simple decision, made so young, would take her so far. That it would lead her to higher education, and from there to the other side of the planet, in the wake of the most destructive and deadly war in history. That she would stand among the crowd of people in the newly divided capital city of our former enemies, in the early days of the atomic age, when humanity was filled with great hope and sorrow in the aftermath of horrific carnage, and in the shadow of a new and almost unimaginable danger, to bear witness in person as a great American President uttered among the most famous words ever spoken by any of her countrymen abroad, "Ich bin ein Berliner." That it would lead her to making a life and raising a family in "God's Country", where 4-H was born, right here in Wright County, Iowa.
That decision transformed young Florine Schulte's life, and 4H as an organization would itself be forever transformed, as well.
When she was 11, Florine started showing pigs at the Benton County Fair. Soon thereafter, she became interested in home economics, and began to compete in that area. It didn't take long for her go-getter attitude to get noticed. By 1959, and then 1961 her canning projects won her a spot as one of four delegates to the National 4-H Congress in Chicago.
After graduating High School, in the summer before she went off to her freshman year at Iowa State University, Florine's life took a pivotal turn. Refinishing furniture had been her favorite project at 4-H, and it had gotten her a job that would change everything. "I was hired to work for two weeks at the Iowa fair," she said, "and I met a boy, who was a Wright County 4-H boy." That boy, her future husband Ron Swanson, was working at the fair too, on "the youth end of things," she said.
The two had a lot in common. Like Florine, Ron had started his career in 4-H by showing pigs at the county fair – in his case, the Wright County Fair. But then, like Florine, had switched to a different category. And it gave him a funny story to tell her. "He was washing the pigs, and one of the pigs got loose and ran into the cornfield next door," she related, "and they had the hardest time catching that pig!" That was the last time Ron showed pigs, choosing to show cattle from then on, "so he could get hold of them," she added with a chuckle, showing that the story still gets a laugh out of her.
When she arrived at college for her freshman year, he was a senior. The two had already gotten to know each other a little during the fair, and then being on campus together, "but he didn't ask me out for six months," she said, her voice betraying some remembered frustration even now. "He had this idea that freshman girls didn't stay with guys they dated right after getting there," and he, she said, wanted to make sure she stayed with him.
But her new romance didn't derail Florine's competitive spirit or her drive for excellence in 4-H. And so in 1963 she went, as part of the IFYE (International Farm Youth Exchange) trip to the newly created nation of West Germany, in the summer between her junior and senior years at ISU. And there, on June 26th, in West Berlin just one year after the infamous Berlin Wall was erected, she witnessed President John F. Kennedy's historic speech to the people of the city. "It was quite an experience," she said.
Florine's journey to Wright County had begun with Ron's parents, who had come to Wright County from Nebraska. He had been born in Sioux City, Nebraska. But then, when Ron was just three his family jumped the border into Sioux City, Iowa. Then, his father Wendell Swanson was hired as a farm hand hired to pick corn, by hand, at a farm near Galt, after his family farmland in Stromsburg Nebraska had been flooded out one year. Family lore holds that he was taken by the beauty of the area, and impressed with the quality of the farmland. And so he decided to let his two younger brothers have the family farm, and relocated to a farm just south of Galt to be a tenant farmer.
Ron attended the one room schoolhouse a mile and a half from the family farm before it closed, and he attended fourth through eighth grades at the Dows Community School, before transferring to Clarion High School. He was active in 4-H, of course, and also in FFA (Future Farmers of America), and Band. He earned the Iowa Farmer Degree, and was a member of the National FFA Band, and the President of the Wright County Boy's 4-H club. At ISU, he served as the President of the Bennett House Frilley Hall and was a member of the ISU Marching Band. He joined the National Guard in Eagle Grove in his senior year, and served a six year enlistment.
After graduating from ISU with a degree in Farm Operations, Ron rented land from his father in 1962 to begin his career in farming. Two years later, he was able to rent a small farm of his own east of Woolstock.
In August of 1964, Florine graduated from ISU with a Bachelor of Science degree in Home Economics Education. The next month, on September 5, 1964, he and Florine were finally wed, at the St. Michael Church in Norway.
Florine recalled clearly the day she moved to Wright County. "The first time Ron brought me to Wright County, the very first time, we came across the county line up from Ames, crossing the Wright County line on Highway 69, and right afterward he looked at me and said, 'now you're in God's Country,' and I never forgot it."
The couple raised three sons, and all were very active in 4-H. Kendall, now 58, lives in Pella where he works for West Liberty Foods. Stuart, now 56, farms in Galt. Steve, now 49, lives in Eden Prairie, MN where he works as an Art Director with CBX in Minneapolis. All 3 graduated from Iowa State, just like their Mom and Dad.
In 1976, Florine began serving as a Trustee for the Iowa 4-H Foundation. But her career really caught fire when their sons went to College. In 1986, she joined ISU as a program assistant with Women in Science and Engineering. Her tenure in the position was impactful, as she created the prototype for the first "Taking the Road Less Traveled" career day for girls on the ISU campus, and also established the first data bank of Iowa women in science and engineering fields.
A year later Florine brought her career full circle, returning to 4-H to become the Executive Director of the Iowa 4-H Foundation, serving in the role for 18 years, until 2005. And if her tenure at ISU had been impactful, her time as Executive Director for Iowa 4-H was transformative! Under Swanson's leadership, the foundation went from the brink of bankruptcy to operating an annual budget of more than $2 million, and the donor lists had increased from a few hundred supporters, to over 25,000 supporters, while the Foundations assets surpassed $5 million.
Florine's legacy as Executive Director at 4-H includes a vastly improved 4-H camping center, which added more than $1 million in upgrades, including a pond and wetland area, a playground, a central kitchen, air conditioning in most buildings, a paved road to the front gate, the high ropes course, an exercise court, and the tallest climbing tower in Iowa. Swanson's fundraising expertise also made it possible for 4-H to continually award over $100,000 in collegiate scholarships to 4-H alumni, every year.
Under her leadership, the Iowa 4-H Foundation distributed over a half million dollars in land stewardship and agriculture grants, grew the 4-H college scholarship program from just six scholarships to over 100, took over funding of the Iowa delegation's trip to National 4-H Congress from the national organization, computerized the donor database, supported judging teams to nations 4-H competitions, and established the annual 4-H day at the Iowa Legislature.
Ron also had an impressive career, with service to others and 4-H as a centerpiece. He served on the Woolstock Coop Board and the Wright County REC board, the Clarion Community School board, on the Saint John's Church council and trustee of the church cemetery, and on the Board of Directors of Agri-wellness, a regional mental health organization. Ron's leadership in agriculture extended to the state and national level, including as Past President of the Central Iowa Farm Business Association, Past President of the Iowa Corn Growers Association and the Iowa Corn Promotion board, serving on the National Corn Growers Association Board as the Vice-President of Research and Development, as Past President of the Farm Financial Standards Council, as a member of the Advisory Committee of the Federal Grain Inspection Service of the USDA, as a member of the Advisory Council of the Seed Center at Iowa State University.
He has also participated in Harvard University's Graduate School Agribusiness seminars.
Florine and her family have earned many, many accolades over the years. In 1981 she received the Alumni Merit Award. In 1986 she was an ISU Phi Kappa Phi Alumni Initiate, and received the Iowa 4-H Alumni Award. In 1996 Ron received the Brian Davidson Fellowship. In 1997 Ron and Florine were both named Master Farmers. In 1999, the same year she and her husband finally purchased their family farmstead, she was named to the Iowa 4-H Foundation Honor Court. In 2000 Ron and Florine completed the Lay Ministry Program of the Catholic church. In 2003 she earned the Epsilon Sigma Phi Mid-Career Award. She was inducted into the Iowa 4-H Hall of Fame in 2005, and also received the NAE4-HA Distinguished Service Award. In 2008 she was recognized as an Epsilon Sigma Phi Friend of Extension. Ron was inducted into the Iowa 4-H hall of fame in 2009. In 2016 Ron and Florine's family, including their sons and grandchildren who attended ISU, were named the Cyclone Family of the Year. In 2019 Florine was inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame. And in 2020 the family received the Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award.
The Swanson family's legacy carries on in 4-H and at ISU. With 12 grandchildren, nine attended ISU, and four participated in 4-H in Wright County. Adelai Dolch (nee Swanson), a past Wright County Fair Queen, now works for Corteva. Her sister Celeste Burt (nee Swanson), also a past Wright County Fair Queen, now lives in Ames, where she works for John Deere. Lilian Swanson has taken over the family farm in Galt, and is a new member of the Wright County fair board. And Delia Swanson, currently a sophomore at Iowa State studying Ag Business and interning with New Coop this summer.
All of which is to say that without a doubt, Florine Swanson's bonafides backing up her selection as this year's Grand Marshall of the Wright County Fair Parade are impeccable!
And yet, it came as a big surprise to her, and her reaction was humble. "Over the years they made such great selections," she said, adding, "this was never ever something I would have imagined. It's kind of humbling, I guess. There are so many people who are deserving." One, who she said she wished could be there, was her late husband Ron, who passed away from cancer in April of last year. "He'll be along for the ride in spirit," Florine said, noting that she planned to carry his photo along the parade route as well.
Swanson has high hopes for the future of 4-H. She says she's always seen 4-H as an education, and she encourages parents to get their kids involved, even if they're not farmers. "4H is not just for farm kids, it's for every kid," she said, adding that 4-H leaders try "really hard to provide opportunities for children to grow through opportunities in leadership development, service, and life skills" And if 4-H is not the right youth program for their kids, she still encourages them to find one that's a good fit. "I really, really believe in the importance of youth being in a youth services organization. Of course, I really love 4-H, but maybe it's scouts." She says parents will be glad they did, because it's not just beneficial to the child involved, "the whole family grows along with the kids."
