Generations have been touched by Frock's 4-H and church leadership Eagle Archive: Frock celebrated for three-quarters

of a century of 4-H and church leadership By Kevin Dayhoff, kevindayhoff@gmail.com May 6, 2012 http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/news/community/ph-ceeagle-archive-0506-20120502,0,7820360.story Fourteen years ago on April 12, 1998, the Baltimore Sun carried an article about my neighbor and good friend, Kathryn A. Myers Frock, in which it was noted The Westminster woman who is believed to be the longestserving 4-H volunteer in the country was surprised recently to be honored for 58 years of volunteer service. Fifty-eight years? thought Kathryn Frock. Why 58? Maybe they don't think I'm going to be here for 60 years, she said with a smile last week. Well, Frock made it to 60 years. As a matter of fact, make that 74 years that Frock was a 4-H leader and volunteer fair judge That said, with Frock, it was not as much about the quantity of years, it was the quality of the years. Much of the old traditional agricultural leadership of Carroll County gathered last Tuesday morning at Pritts Funeral Home and Chapel in Westminster to celebrate the 94 wonderful years of Frock, who sadly passed away on April 26 at Emeritus in Westminster. Frock was born in Mayberry on June 17, 1917. She was one of seven children, the eldest of five girls; the daughter of the late John H. Myers, a house painter, builder and barber. Her mother, Maude Maus Myers Zimmerman, worked in a canning factory. She died in 1995 at the age of 105. Frock was married in 1946 to Russell W. Frock, who was a printer and pressman at various companies, including the Sunpapers. The couple moved to Melrose, then to the house she designed, in Westminster, in 1950. He died in 1977.
Eagle Archive: Frock celebrated for three-quarters of a century of 4-H and church leadership By Kevin Dayhoff, kevindayhoff@gmail.com, May 6, 2012 http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/news/community/ph-ce-eagle-archive-0506-20120502,0,7820360.story page 1

She attended Taneytown High School, Class of 1934. She was a seamstress for L. Greif Brothers Clothing Company, and a homemaker. She worked in a sewing factory on the top two floors of the Opera House on East Main Street -- almost dropping out of school in her junior year when the National Relief Act boosted her wages to an unheard-of $14.40 a week in 1933, according to the 1998 Sun article by Sheridan Lyons. Frock had her second paying job decades later, after her husband died, when she taught needlepoint, rug-hooking, knitting, crocheting, and embroidery for about eight years at Frederick Community College, wrote Lyons. Carroll Eagle writer Katie V. Jones wrote on July 26, 2006, when Frock first joined 4H in 1934, there were girl 4-H clubs and boy 4-H clubs. If you lived on a farm and worked with animals, however, you were allowed to belong to a co-ed club. If there were a grandmaster of homemaking, Frock, 80, would qualify, noted Lyons. Her skills range from the seven-day pickles she puts up to the carefully centered daisy buttons on a dress she made in 1936 that swept 4-H Club local, state and national needlework honors. It was said at her funeral, officiated by Rev. Gerald Hanberry and Rev. Gerald Fuss, that Kathryn could possibly have used her talent and ability for great personal gain, but just like so much of the community leadership of her generation, she used it to support the foundation of the community. Frock was a person of boundless energy and enormous accomplishment. She was also an integral part of Carroll County history. Steve Allgeier, Carroll County Cooperative Extension Service agent in Westminster said last Monday, The thing that I will always cherish about Mrs. Frock is that she was my link to Carroll County history Especially Extension history She had an encyclopedic memory of ag and extension history And she always had a sunny disposition. And, as her son Neal shared Tuesday morning, she always had an open mind. He elaborated as to how Frock ended-up in the midst of a Grateful Dead concert a number of years ago, while on a business trip out west Pritts Funeral Home took on the air of a museum as it was packed with newspaper clippings, awards, nostalgia, and memorabilia spanning three-quarters of a century of community leadership all on display at her funeral service and later at a reception, most appropriately held at the Danele Shipley Arena at the Carroll County Agriculture Center. For you see, Frock was perhaps one of the few remaining links of history that date back to the days when the Carroll County Ag Center and annual fair was located in Taneytown
Eagle Archive: Frock celebrated for three-quarters of a century of 4-H and church leadership By Kevin Dayhoff, kevindayhoff@gmail.com, May 6, 2012 http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/news/community/ph-ce-eagle-archive-0506-20120502,0,7820360.story page 2

Bob Shirley, a retired Carroll County extension agent for 4-H, recalled in the 1998 newspaper article, Frock also was a founder in the mid-1950s of Carroll County Agricultural Center, which honored her last year with its Pioneer Award. She serves on its board of directors Although the roots of the annual Carroll County 4-H and FFA Fair date back to January 11, 1869, when the Carroll County Agricultural Society was organized at a meeting at the Court House in Westminster; the current fair celebrates its origins to a picnic held August 14, 1897 at the Otterdale Schoolhouse, in Taneytown. The current fair moved to Westminster in 1954, to the Carroll County Agriculture Center which was established as a private organization on March 20, 1954. Frock and a group of visionary leaders including Charles F. Brehm, Charlotte Conway, Lester F. Stem, Walter V. Bennett, Violet M. Coshun, Landon C. Burns, Randall G. Spoerlein, and Stewart D. Young purchased the land at the end of an old dirt lane off Gist Road, way outside of town, with their own money. Jones wrote in 2006 that Frock recalled, To build the buildings at the new site, the 4H clubs raised money through various methods such as making moccasins and selling household guidebooks. Dave Bollinger of Barnes Bollinger Insurance elaborated, it is very evident to see all the hard work she put in to the Ag Center so that it is what is today She inspired many young future leaders to enjoy their love of farming. For that matter, she essentially taught most of the ag leadership in Carroll County today Andy Cashman, the current president of ag center and part of the annual fair leadership for years, was quoted in Jones 2006 article, Frock's commitment to 4-H is admirable. This day and age it is tougher and tougher to get people to volunteer The kids think it is pretty neat that she's been involved. It is pretty important to her She's a wonderful lady who puts a lot of effort into the program. In 1998, Shirley exclaimed, This woman is phenomenal Who knows how many thousands of young people's lives she has touched I want to emphasize the fact that she spends so much time with young people. Shirley said in the 1998 article that he believed that Frock has been a 4-H volunteer longer than anyone. At the U.S. Department of Agriculture, national 4-H program leader Allan Smith said information on length of service isn't kept for the 683,000 individual volunteer leaders at the national level. On the other hand, I never heard of a volunteer leader who had any more time than that. Among the many history items on display was a 1995 governor's citation for 55 years of 4-H service; and references to her service as a member of the Carroll County 4-H
Eagle Archive: Frock celebrated for three-quarters of a century of 4-H and church leadership By Kevin Dayhoff, kevindayhoff@gmail.com, May 6, 2012 http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/news/community/ph-ce-eagle-archive-0506-20120502,0,7820360.story page 3

Fair Board, the County Horticulture Club, the Carroll County Farm Museum, and the Family and Community Education (formerly known as Homemaker's Clubs) for 65 years. Frock was also inducted into Carroll County 4-H Fair Board's Hall of Fame and a member of Church Women United for over 50 years. She held many leadership positions on the local, state, and national levels. She was a chief election judge at one of the Westminster polling locations for 20 years. She was a volunteer at the Farm Museum as a tour guide and demonstrator of quilting and chair caning, was an Adult Education teacher for 8 years at the Frederick Community College in the 1970's teaching needle arts classes, and for several years was an assessor for the External Adult Learning Program for the Carroll County Public Schools. She was a lifelong member of Emmanuel Baust United Church of Christ where she was an Adult Sunday School teacher for over 75 years, belonged to the Women's Guild, played in the church orchestra as a young woman and was a founding member of the Mature Christians group. She received the Outstanding Senior Citizen award in 1983 in Carroll County and the State of Maryland by the Jaycees. Surviving her are a son Neil E. Frock and partner Bob Harrison of Rehoboth Beach, DE, a daughter and husband Lori and John Bucacink of Westminster, sisters Betty Harman of Silver Run and Aileen Long of Westminster, grandchildren Ian and Sara Bucacink of Westminster, and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by siblings Wilson Myers, George Herby Myers, Marie Hyle and Truth Haines. Frock was laid to rest last Tuesday at Evergreen Memorial Gardens. Memorial contributions may be made to the Emmanuel Baust United Church of Christ, 2950 Old Taneytown Road, Westminster, MD 21158 or to the Carroll County 4-H, CCEAC, 700 Agriculture Center, Westminster, MD 21157. On line condolences may be offered to the family at www.prittsfuneralhome.com. Mrs. Frock was a blessing to the county, young adults and future leaders, and a community treasure. I never heard her say an unkind word about anyone. Her kindness, hard work, humility, dedication to community, her faith in God, her deep roots, and historic connections in the community are irreplaceable. When he is not missing Mrs. Frocks smile and encyclopedic memory, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at kevindayhoff@gmail.com
Eagle Archive: Frock celebrated for three-quarters of a century of 4-H and church leadership By Kevin Dayhoff, kevindayhoff@gmail.com, May 6, 2012 http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/news/community/ph-ce-eagle-archive-0506-20120502,0,7820360.story page 4