CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 01/04/17

History of Rock Eagle 4-H Center chronicled in new book

By Sharon Dowdy

A newly published history of Rock Eagle 4-H Center, “Rock Eagle: Centerpiece of Georgia 4-H,” details how the camp, which started as a dream of then-Georgia 4-H leader Bill Sutton, grew into a place where millions of past Georgia 4-H’ers and unknown numbers of future 4-H members create lifelong memories.

The book’s author, Ina Cook Hopkins, spent more than nine years compiling data, interviewing key subjects, writing the text and working with designer Carol Williamson to complete the book. A former Walton County 4-H’er, Hopkins refers to the history book as her last 4-H record book and a “tangible way to give back to the organization that means so much” to her.

“Through my research, the names of the buildings at Rock Eagle (4-H Center) now represent real people. This campus is not about bricks and mortar. It’s about people, so this book is also about people,” Hopkins said of the 900-page publication, which includes almost 900 photos and resembles a college textbook. “Never again will I take for granted what was accomplished by the founders (of Rock Eagle 4-H Center) and their successors to provide a brighter future for Georgia’s children.”

At a launch event for the book Friday, Dec. 9, 2016, at the 4-H center located outside Eatonton, Georgia, Jerry Whiteside, former Polk County 4-H member and retired University of Georgia Cooperative Extension training coordinator, recounted his memories of attending camp during Rock Eagle’s earliest years.

“Bill Sutton told us kids we were going to help build Rock Eagle by getting our parents, their friends and neighbors involved. On my first trip to Rock Eagle, it was just a bunch of scraped roads and the Rock Eagle (Effigy) Mound. The next year, the first cabin was dedicated. Over the past 60 years, the camp’s impact has been amazing,” said Whiteside, who admits to staying up until 3 a.m. reading the history book on the day he received his copy.

Tom Rodgers, who led the Georgia 4-H program for 14 years, says the history book brought him back to his days as a camp counselor at Rock Eagle 4-H Center. 

“This book was one of the most enjoyable books that I have ever read. The memories and the good times poured from the pages,” said Rodgers, who initially visited the 4-H center to attend camp 57 years ago as a fifth-grade 4-H’er.

Georgia 4-H State Leader Arch Smith sees the book as much more than a history of the Rock Eagle 4-H Center.

“The book is also the story of the Native Americans; of the cotton and livestock that once covered this area; the Piedmont area; the Rock Eagle; the Rock Hawk; G.C. Adams, the father of 4-H; the creation of the Georgia 4-H Foundation,” said Smith, who joined the Georgia 4-H faculty as Rock Eagle’s center coordinator in 1988. “It’s about the children at the Baptist Children’s Home who gave up their eggs for breakfast to help fund the center, the prisoners who built the camp and their talents, the development of the camping program and, later, the environmental education program. It’s also about the other Georgia 4-H centers across the state, and it’s the best record book that’s ever been prepared by a Georgia 4-H’er.”

To order a copy of “Rock Eagle: Centerpiece of Georgia 4-H,” go to tinyurl.com/RockEagleHistoryBook. 

Sharon Dowdy is a news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Authors:
Sharon Dowdy
Experts/Sources:
Arch D. Smith
It took author Ina Cook Hopkins more than nine years to compile data, interview key players, write the text and work with designer Carol Williamson to complete a history book about Rock Eagle 4-H Center. A former Walton County 4-H'er, Hopkins refers to the book as her last 4-H record book and a “tangible way to give back to the organization that means so much” to her. She is pictured (seated) with the book's designer, Carol Williamson (standing left), and Georgia 4-H State Leader Arch Smith.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Download Image
Georgia Simmons at the office of U.S. Sen. Warnock CAES News
Georgia 4-H alum, CAES student spends semester serving at the nation's Capitol 12/03/24 Josie Smith, Cooper Hardy
Third-year University of Georgia student and Banks County 4-H alum Georgia Simmons has been in the center of the political action this fall with the Georgia 4-H Washington DC Intern Program. Simmons, an environmental resource science major in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, works in the office of U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock. As an intern on his staff, she interacts directly with policy experts and lawmakers, participating in the legislative process while earning a semester of credit hours.
BabyEating CAES News
Early start, healthy futures: UGA Extension leads peanut allergy education 11/25/24 Emily Cabrera
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends introducing peanut-containing products to infants as early as 4 to 6 months old, especially for children at high risk for allergies. But this information isn't reaching the public as it should. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Nutrition and Health Specialist Ali Berg is leading efforts to close this information gap.
Seth McAllister and farmer Mark Daniel discuss crop production and agritourism. CAES News
UGA Extension supports agritourism through expert advice and collaboration 10/24/24 Emily Cabrera
On a sunny day with bright-blue skies, I arrive at Mark’s Melon Patch in Sasser, Georgia, and immediately spot the familiar white University of Georgia Cooperative Extension pickup truck, the Terrell County Extension logo prominently displayed on the door. Seth McAllister, the Agriculture and Natural Resources agent for Terrell County, greets me with a broad grin and a firm handshake. Terrell County alone has 60,000 acres of row crops, half in cotton. But what McAllister loves most about his role as an Extension agent is the diversity of his work.
Ropes course at Georgia 4-H camp CAES News
Campers create lasting memories of summer at Georgia's 4-H centers 10/07/24 Josie Smith
By the end of his first week at 4-H summer camp, fifth grader Cooper Hardy already had many memories of new and exciting experiences. “That was the first time I got in a canoe,” Hardy said. “It was a big deal for me.” Now, 10 years later, Hardy serves as a Georgia 4-H camp counselor at Rock Eagle 4-H Center in Eatonton, Georgia. It’s a dream he’s held since the first time he set foot on the sprawling, wooded 1,500-acre campus as a camper.
Caroline Hinton is the director of experiential learning for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. (Photo by Peter Frey/UGA) CAES News
Director of experiential learning herds students toward new fields of education 10/02/24 Averi Caldwell
Caroline Hinton wants to foster a love of learning for all students who walk through her door. As the director of experiential learning for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Hinton helps students connect with their fields of study outside of the classroom. “I find joy and excitement in getting to watch students experience different parts of agriculture and find a place in our state’s own agriculture industry,” she said.
The University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel saw some damage from the winds and rain of Hurricane Helene. (Photo by Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA) CAES News
UGA weathers Hurricane Helene 09/27/24
The University of Georgia’s main campus was fortunate to emerge relatively unscathed after Hurricane Helene barreled through the state early Friday morning. However, the impact was more significant at our extended campus locations. While the UGA Griffin campus reported no major damage, UGA-Tifton was hit much harder, with dozens of downed trees and power outages, as well as flooding in several buildings. Damage to farm operations across south Georgia appears to be extensive.