By Lydia Sherburne, Club Reporter

On January 29, 2026, the Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club helped the Leaf River Lions Club with their pizza fundraiser. They made several deluxe, pepperoni, sausage and cheese pizzas. Members of the Lions Club and Leaf River Busy Beaver 4-H Club worked alongside the Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club members. This is one of the fun community activities that the club enjoys. Afterwards everyone was able to sample the pizzas. Pictured are David Bagwell and Lydia Sherburne.

By Lydia Sherburne, Club Reporter

On January 18, 2026 the Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club met at Town and Country Lanes in Mt. Morris for the 4-H bowling tournament.  The bowling tournament is a fun activity for the club members. Pictured are the members who participated along with a guest, Hazel Friday, Luis Smith, Theo Slattery, Finn Slattery, Lydia Sherburne, Kolton Motszko, and Bella Hammond. The members played along with the leaders and family members. Everyone had a good time. For more information about 4-H, please contact Rene Wehler at 815-973-8132

By Lydia Sherburne, Club Reporter

January is the last month to participate in the 4-H Cares Project. The Ogle County 4-H is still collecting items until January 30. Items that can be donated are homemade blankets, quilts, stuffed animals, hats, coloring books and coloring supplies. At the Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club’s last meeting, the members stuffed teddy bears that the leaders and other members had sewn together. The members also worked on tying quilts together also made by the leaders and other members. The group finished six teddy bears, five quilts and earlier finished five tie blankets for this community project. For anyone else who would like to make donations, the items can be dropped off at 421 W. Pines Road in Oregon. Pictured holding teddy bears are Colton Gipper, Finn Slattery and Theo Slattery. 

By Lydia Sherburne, Club Reporter

On January 12, the Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club celebrated their achievements over the previous year. Kolton Motszko, Lydia Sherburne and David Wehler received the Gold County Project Honor Award. Gianni Racanelli received the Silver County Project Honor Award. Finn Slattery received the Cloverbud County Honor Award. David Bagwell and Hazel Friday received the 4-H Award of Participation. Lydia Sherburne received the Emerald Experience Award for Community Service. David Wehler received the Co-Op Watch Award for outstanding leadership involvement. Lydia Sherburne was given the Outstanding Club Reporter Award and Outstanding Club Junior Leader Award. Kaden Lingbeck was given the Outstanding Club Historian Award.  The club as a whole received the 4-H Honor Club Certificate. During National 4-H week the club took first place for their window display. The Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club took second place for club of the year. This club is a very active club and enjoys many of the 4-H activities. If you know anyone interested in being involved in 4-H, this is a great club to be a part of. For more information, please contact Rene Wehler at 815-973-8132. Pictured are Hazel Friday, Lydia Sherburne, David Wehler, David Bagwell and Finn Slattery. 

By Lydia Sherburne

On January 8, 2026 the Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club held a workshop to make tie blankets for the 4-H Cares Project. There were three blankets that were at the workshop to complete. Those who attended had fun and enjoyed the time together. The 4-H members have been doing a great job working on these 4-H Cares activities for local community organizations. If anyone would like to donate baby blankets, hats or stuffed animals, the Ogle County Office is accepting donations until January 31. If there is interest in joining a 4-H club, the Leaf River Soaring Eagles are an active club. For more information, call Rene Wehler at 815-973-8132. Pictured is Luis Smith cutting one of the tie blankets during the workshop.

By Lydia Sherburne, Club Reporter

On December 20, the Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club participated in the Leaf River Fire Department’s Annual Lighted Christmas Parade.This year the Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club pulled the Grinch in a helicopter on a trailer decorated with Christmas lights. The members were covered with glow sticks adding to the festive lights. The parade is a fun way to participate in a Christmas activity that so many people enjoy. Pictured taking part in the parade are Hazel Friday, Izabel Cortinez, Finn Slattery, Luis Smith, Theo Slattery and Kolton Motzsko. 

By Lydia Sherburne, Club Reporter

On December 13, the Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club helped the Leaf River Lions Club at Breakfast with Santa. The members helped in the kitchen making food. The Lions served pancakes, french toast, scrambled eggs, and sausage. They also helped Santa give treats to children after each child had a chance to sit on Santa’s lap. The breakfast had a great turnout. The Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H members had fun helping. Everyone relished a delicious breakfast and visit with Santa. The Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club enjoys participating in community service activities. If there are youth in the community that have fun participating in community service, this club would be a great fit. For more information on the Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club, please contact Rene Wehler at 815-973-8132. Pictured is David Wehler helping hand out treats for kids visiting Santa. 

By Lydia Sherburne, Club Reporter

On December 8, the Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club celebrated their annual Christmas party. The main dish was pizza. Each member brought a dish to pass of salad or dessert.  The members had their December meeting before playing games. They played a candy cane game and pin the nose on Rudolph. There were also jars filled with candy to guess how many pieces were in each container. Each member brought a gift for a gift exchanged. At the end of the fun filled evening, each member took a container or two of cookies home to give to organizations in the community. If you are looking for a club that is active in the community, please call Rene Wehler at 815-973-8132 for more information on this club. Pictured are Kolton Motskzo, David Bagwell, Theo Slattery, Finn Slattery, Colton Gipper, Luis Smith, Izabel Cortinez, David Wehler and Lydia Sherburne.

By Lydia Sherburne, Club Reporter

Leaf River is celebrating the season with the Festival of Trees hosted by the Charles D. Bertolet Foundation. Several trees will be on display at the Bertolet Building. The trees will be on display starting December 13. There are a variety of trees. The Leaf River Fire Department has a unique tree made of hoses and a tree skirt of old uniforms. The Leaf River Garden Club has a tree divided into seasons. The Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club designed a tree after their club. It is colored in green, gold and white to match the Ogle County 4-H blanket tree skirt.  On December 6, the members decorated the tree with lights, garland, clovers, eagle and gold ornaments, and topped with a stuffed eagle. Come out to see the trees at the Bertolet Building. Voting can be done on your favorite tree up until December 20.  Pictured are Kolton Motszko, Finn Slattery, Theo Slattery, Hazel Friday, Lydia Sherburne and Izabel Cortinez.

By Lydia Sherburne

The Ogle County 4-H is helping the community with the 4-H Cares campaign initiative. It is a way for the 4-H members of the county to make a difference to some local organizations. The Leaf River Eagles 4-H Club members recently participated in one of the activities that is part of this program. On November 24, the club members donated some nonperishable food and a check to a local food pantry. Pictured are David Wehler and Barb Diehl, Pantry Director at Loaves and Fish Food Pantry.

By Lydia Sherburne

On November 10, the Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club visited the Leaf River Fire Station. Past Eagle and present EMT, Olivia Stranberg started the tour for the club members. She showed them around an ambulance. She demonstrated to the members how the stretcher worked. She went over different tools used inside the ambulance. Fire fighter Ian Lundstrom showed the group the different vehicles that the station had. He went over several of the tools that each vehicle was equipped with and what each tool is used for. He discussed how the fire fighters have to hose down after fires to wash off any chemicals that they may have been exposed to during the fire. He explained how someone could become a fire fighter. Pictured in the back row are David Wehler, Kolton Motzsko, David Bagwell and Lydia Sherburne, in the front row are Colton Gipper, Theo Slattery, Finn Slattery, Luis Smith, Izabel Cortinez and Hazel Friday.

By Lydia Sherburne

From October 9 through November 21, the National 4-H encouraged club members to participate in the Wicked For Good Challenge. The challenge promoted 4-H Club members to do good within their communities to make a difference through acts of kindness. The Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club participated in two different activities for this challenge. On Saturday, November 1, several members arrived at the Bertolet Library to weed the garden and to weed the Leaf River Lions gazebo. In addition to weeding, the club members learned about different plants to help determine which was a weed and which was not, since it was harder to tell when the plants were not in bloom. On Monday, November 10, several members brought in canned and nonperishable food supplies to be donated to a local pantry. The Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club members enjoy community service activities. It is fun to be active in the community, learn new things and make new friends while helping in some way. Pictured donating food are Izabel Cortinez, Hazel Friday, Luis Smith, Finn Slattery, David Wehler, Lydia Sherburne, David Bagwell, Kolton Motszko and Colton Gipper. If you enjoy being involved in community activities and are interested in 4-H, this is a great club to belong to. For more information on the Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club, please contact Rene Wehler at 815-973-8132. 

By Lydia Sherburne, Club Reporter

On October 5, the Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club participated in the annual Autumn On Parade. This year’s theme for the parade was “Carving Creativity”. The club members had metal arches on their float that were decorated with pumpkins and pumpkin vines. The members carved pumpkins to dress up the float to go along with the theme. Several members sat on hay bales as they participated in the parade. The Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club is an active and fun club. If you would like more information on the club, please call Rene Wehler at 815-973-8132. The club meets the second Monday of each month in the River Valley Complex in Leaf River at 6:30. Pictured are Hazel Friday, Colton Gipper, Finn Slattery, Theo Slattery and David Bagwell.

By Lydia Sherburne, Club Reporter

On October 4, the Leaf River Soaring Eagles celebrated the new 4-H year with a kick off party at the Lingbeck Farm. The club members played games to get to know each other better. Everyone enjoyed chili, macaroni and cheese, corn bread and many desserts. Carved pumpkins were dropped off for the float that would be in the Autumn On Parade. The beginning of the float was there so everyone could see how it would look. Everyone had a good time. This group is going to have a lot of fun this year. For more information on this club, please contact Rene Wehler at 815-973-8132. Pictured are Kolton Motszko, Colton Gipper, Izabel Cortinez, Lydia Sherburne, Luis Smith, David Wehler, Finn Slattery, Theo Slattery and David Bagwell.

By Lydia Sherburne, Club Reporter

The Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club had their October meeting on the 13th. During the meeting, Kaden Lingbeck, the president of the Leaf River Lions Club presented a check to the Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club for the help that the club members gave to make pizzas for the Lions Club fundraiser. The club went over the many events that happened at the beginning of October. One exciting result from National 4-H week was the club won first place for the 4-H week bulletin board. Hazel Friday led the committee that designed the bulletin board. David Wehler brought writing supplies and led the club members in writing letters to sailors. These letters will be sent to military members aboard the USS Fitzgerald. Pictured are Kaden Lingbeck, president of the Lions Club presenting a check to Kolton Motszko, treasurer of the Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club.

By Lydia Sherburne, Club Reporter

October 5 through October 11 is National 4-H Week. To help promote 4-H, the Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club decorated the bulletin board at the Bertolet Memorial Library. This year's theme is on how 4-H helps youth be beyond ready for the future through the variety of skills that 4-H activities and projects teach the 4-H members. Several members tell how 4-H has helped them prepare for their future careers and volunteerism within their community. Come by, check it out and grab information on the club. The library location is 705 Main Street, Leaf River, IL. Visitors are always welcome to the club’s meetings the second Monday of each month at 6:30 in the Leaf River Complex. Pictured with the bulletin board: David Wehler, Hazel Friday, Izabel Cortinez and Kolton Motszko. If anyone would like more information on the club, please contact Rene Wehler at 815-973-8132.