Germano 4-H celebrates 100 years

Harrison County’s Germano Community 4-H Club is celebrating a monumental milestone this year with the recognition of its 100th anniversary.

Germano Community 4-H Club began in 1923 when four members were recruited to learn and thrive in the ways of agriculture and domestic learning. Advisors at the time of the club’s creation was Elton Lowmiller of Minerva and Harry Winnings of Hopedale. Throughout the years, advisors have changed along with its members — with the current advisors being Ronald and Albert “Doug” Caldwell of Bloomingdale.

As Germano celebrates 100 years of continuation in Harrison County, the community rallies around to recognize the hundreds of club members that have passed through that club and solidified a legacy of learning.

“Over its 100 years, Germano Community 4-H Club has been present in the county as a source of support for youth and adult leaders that have wanted to both do better and be better in their com - reached by a school in Harrison County since Dale Edwards led his Cadiz Cardinals to the championship game in 1982. munities. 100 years is an admirable milestone to reach, and it goes without saying reflects the importance that 4-H has in a community like this,” said Caitlyn Romshak, Ohio State University 4-H educator for Harrison County.

“What they did this postseason was special,” Head Coach Mike Valesko said of his Huskies. “We battled throughout the year with a difficult schedule, never lost faith and belief in each other and that difficult stretch prepared us for this run. For our kids to experience the State Tournament like they did, with the win Friday night, we’ll all remember that forever. Going into Saturday night, there was about 800 other schools across Ohio that would do anything possible to trade places with us,” Valesko continued.

There is no doubt Valesko was juggling some bittersweet emotion after the title-game setback, because two realities were in motion when the team woke up Saturday morning at their hotel. On one hand, you’re so close to winning it all, just seven innings away from the top trophy. On the other, you are facing an emerging juggernaut in Ohio High School baseball terms, and only eight teams had the honor of saying they took the field on the season’s last day. Harrison Central was one of them.

“All of our clubs play vital parts in our county; 100 years signifies that 4-H is engrained in both our culture and in tradition. I am very happy for the legacy that Germano has instilled and look forward to seeing them thrive in the future.”

A recognition of the club’s centennial milestone will culminate on Monday, June 19, during the county’s Junior Fair Night at the Harrison County Fair. All are welcome to attend and support Germano 4-H’ers in their celebration.

The Golden Bears completed the back-toback repeat, using a sixrun second inning to stifle the Huskies by a score of 10-1. The Huskies were no strangers to trailing in ball games, as they had overcome early deficits in each of their Regional tournament games to advance to the State Tournament in the “Rubber City.”

However, this time it felt different. The Golden Bears returned a bulk of their lineup from last year’s championship squad. Junior pitcher Otto Solorzano, who won the 2022 championship from the mound as a sophomore, was firing a solid game from the hill. Additionally, the Golden Bears seemed to be finding every gap in the field from the plate. In total, the Bears ran up 15 hits as a team. The “Comeback Kids” had finally met their match, as Waynedale was simply too well-rounded of a team to fall off pace with.

In the first inning, there was a brief glimpse of the magic that had followed the Huskies through the postseason.

Senior Kaden Jurosko led off the game with a towering double to left-center field, sending what felt like all of Harrison County into a frenzy in the Canal Park stands. Two at-bats later, senior Treston Nemeth was intentionally walked. It was just 10 minutes (realtime) into the contest, and the Huskies had two runners on with only one out. Unfortunately, Solorzano would quickly handle the threat, escaping the jam with as much urgency as he found himself in it. The experienced hurler got Jurosko stuck between second and third in a rundown, then proceeded to force a Tucker Snyder ground-

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