Nelson is newest 4-H Hall of Famer
By Michael Johnson, Editor
A common slogan of 4-H is to “Learn by doing.” Morris Nelson of Washburn learned a lot about being a leader and a good citizen by doing the work requested of him in 4-H over the last 70 years. Nelson has shown thousands of youth from the county, state and world about the importance of doing good things. For his countless volunteer hours, he was honored as a 4-H Hall of Famer July 20 at the North Dakota State Fair. Nelson is a pioneer of so many things that involve 4-H. From the time he entered 4-H, to his last volunteer job. They have all been for the betterment of 4-H. Nelson is one of the original members of the Washburn Cowboys, the oldest 4-H club in the county. This club is still a popular one among Washburn youth and was started when the county agent at the time, Warren Tewksbury, asked Nelson and eight others to join. They were all horse riders, so the name of Washburn Cowboys seemed like an obvious choice. Right out of college, Nelson was recruited to take the McLean County Fair president seat. He was just the second president in the first years of the fair in the county. He served in that position 20 years. Meanwhile, he was recruited as one of the original board members to plan the first North Dakota State Fair. He helped choose the central location of Minot. Through it all he was active with over 20 different 4-H clubs in the county and headed up recreation programs at the camp.
