Inducted into the National 4-H Hall of Fame in 2004
Bertha M. Jones began her 38-year 4-H career in Crenshaw County in 1945 with the responsibility of adults and 4-H youth work. She believes that “4-H is life” and that every young person should be exposed to 4-H for their total life skills development. After completing graduate school at Penn Scace University in 1956, Jones became the state leader for Negro 4-H Girls at Tuskegee University. She was responsible for 4-H publications and 4-H administration for 37 county agents.
Jones wrote many publications, including the “4-H Officer Training Handbook” and “The Clean Look and Youth Health,” a series of member and leader guides. She is featured in the book “They Too Call Alabama Home: African American Profiles, 1800-1999” by Richard Bailey. She wrote, with Bailey, the “History of Negroes in Cooperative Extension.”
In 1965 when the segregated Extension services were merged, she moved to Auburn University to serve as a 4-H specialist.
