Butler County 4-H'er Wesley McCurdy, 16, of Butler models the camouflage shirt he sewed as 4-H project. The shirt won him a blue ribbon at the Butler Farm Show.

Here is 4-H myth number 1: You must have a rabbit, cow or pig to become a member.

Not true. 4-H offers a variety of different project areas for every type of interest.

Just ask Wesley McCurdy of Butler. He’s never shown an animal and doesn’t plan to do so. Yet, he’s an active Butler County 4-H’er participating in the Youth Council, the Bull’s Eye Club and the Unionville Sewing Club.

That’s right, he’s a teen leader who shoots rifles and sews shirts.

The 16-year-old son of Brian and Kathy McCurdy, Wesley knew of 4-H because his mother is a volunteer leader of the Unionville Sewing Club. However, he got involved with the Bull’s Eye shooting sports 4-H club after watching his two older siblings compete on the Butler High School Rifle Team.

At 12, he started shooting rifle with the 4-H club that meets monthly, with additional practice meetings for its four disciplines — air rifle, archery, rifle and shotgun.

“Shooting rifle teaches you discipline and patience because you need to be calm and stay focused,” said Wesley.

Clearly, his early 4-H training paid off as he made Butler’s highly competitive varsity rifle squad as a sophomore. Interestingly, four of his teammates were also county 4-H members.

“4-H definitely gives you an advantage because you can start practicing younger,” he said.

Bull’s Eye Club members just re-elected Wesley as their representative to the 4-H Youth Council, whose members serve as the countywide teen leaders and 4-H spokesmen.

Because its members must be 13 or older, Wesley believes, “Youth Council is a ‘been there done that’ kind of club with members who have participated in a lot of activities and know the routine of the events.”

As part of the Youth Council, Wesley can often be found helping to set up and tear down for many activities such as Kids Day America and the 4-H Benefit Auction.

Also a member of the Unionville Sewing Club, Wesley earned a blue ribbon at this year’s Butler Farm Show with the camouflage button-down shirt he sewed. He selected the material and cut it from a pattern, then put it together with a sewing machine.

The club members will get together to sew their 4-H projects in a group, but they also can work independently.

“It’s nice to make something of your own, and I didn’t think I could ever sew a shirt,” he said. “But you never know until you try.”

He likened the process to putting together the pieces of a puzzle, recognizing that sewing requires strategic thinking, much like shooting rifle in a competition.

“If you want to try something, 4-H is so big and it has something for everyone,” he added.

As if Wesley isn’t busy enough with his 4-H activities, he also plays violin in the Butler High School Strolling Strings, works at a car dealership, and referees outdoor youth soccer.

Butler County 4-H is part of the nation’s largest non-formal youth development organization that provides its members, ages 8 to 19, the opportunity to “learn by doing,” through a variety of hands-on projects.

It has nearly 30 different clubs with almost 400 members taking small and large animal projects as well as sewing and baking, shooting sports and robotics, among others.

For information about 4-H, contact Jean Kummer at the county extension office at 724-287-4761, Ext. 224.