County 4-H members host counterparts from Montana
4-H Travel Club members from Butler County and from Montana took a weeklong trip to Harrisburg, Gettysburg, northwest Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh as part of their travel exchange program.
Twelve Butler County members traveled across Pennsylvania June 12 to 19 with six children and two adults from the Montana 4-H Travel Club.
The Butler County group visited Montana last year and took part in activities such as camping overnight at Yellowstone Park.
"We planned activities in Pennsylvania that the Montana 4-H club was interested in,"said Butler County 4-H Travel Club leader Barb Rader in a news release. "As part of our 4-H exchange program, we visited last year and now we had the opportunity to host their club."
The students and chaperones toured the Heinz History Center and rode an incline and the Gateway Clipper in Pittsburgh before seeing Butler County area attractions such as Wendell August Forge. They spent a day at Kennywood Park and visited Gettysburg's Civil War battlefields and the Gettysburg History Museum.
The group saw the 9-11 memorial crash site in Shanksville and spent time at the state capitol in Harrisburg and met with Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolff.
"Visiting the state capitol, and Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolff taking the time to meet with us was very special," Rader said.
The trip was an unforgettable experience for all of the children, said Ellen Linamen, 4-H extension educator.
"They just loved it," said Linamen. "I think that they have forged friendships that will last for a long time."
Plans for next year's trip are already in the works, Linamen said.
"They're researching other states to decide where they want to travel next year," she said.
