4-H: A Family Tradition

Patricia “Pat” Kindvall stood before an entire room of over three hundred people on January 22nd, 2025, all to recognize her accomplishment as a 50-Year 4-H Leader in Weld County, CO.

4-H is the largest youth development organization in the United States, with members ages eight to eighteen learning hands-on skills through yearly projects before presenting at their county fairs nationwide. 4-H branches are often sponsored through state universities' extensions, like Colorado State University for Colorado State 4-H. The organization continues its legacy, unlike many other youth development organizations, through families like the Kindvalls from Weld County, who are involved in multiple ways and through multiple generations.

“I would like to say thank you, parents, for allowing me to help guide your children, and thank you to all of the members I’ve gotten to work with over the last fifty years,” Pat Kindvall said. The crowd rose to their feet and began to celebrate the rare achievement awarded to her, as she had made an impact on many in the crowd. Kindvall left her speech simple and humble before returning to her seat beside her husband of nearly sixty-three years, Ronald “Ron” Kindvall and the rest of her family. At the table sat her four children, their spouses, and four out of eight grandchildren.

Pat Kindvall was a part of the 4-H organization for two years as a member and was in the sewing project, but unlike many who only participate for a few years in the organization, she continued through her children and as a leader. “Living in a rural area, a lot of youth are in 4-H,” Kindvall said when explaining how she joined 4-H when she was young. Her husband, Ron Kindvall, was a ten-year 4-H member and so when the time came that their eldest son, Tim Kindvall, was eight years old, Pat and Ron had decided, after visiting the Galeton 4-H Club that was what they wanted their son to be a part of.

On a Sunday afternoon at her kitchen island in her Eaton, CO home, where you must drive several miles of dirt roads to get to, her fourteen-year-old granddaughter, Karlene Kindvall, talked about her upcoming Upcyle Your Style Clothing project for the 2025 Weld County Fair. 

“I am thinking about crocheting some granny squares and sewing them onto a linen dress I got from the thrift store the other day,” Karlene Kindvall said. Upcycle Your Style is a 4-H project where someone takes an article of clothing and makes it into something new, sometimes by dying the item, or others may use hand embroidery. Pat Kindvall taught her granddaughter how to crochet, along with many other youths, over the years in 4-H. 

Other youth-development organizations, such as Girl Scouts and Scouts of America, formerly Boy Scouts of America, have continued to suffer major membership decreases in recent years due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. 4-H has seen a decline as well, but it has not been nearly as steep in comparison with having nearly 6 million members nationwide. 

Many ten-year members of 4-H come from a family of alumni like Karlene Kindvall. Karlene Kindvall is the daughter of Thomas and Sarah Kindvall. Thomas Kindvall is Pat and Ron Kindvall’s second-born son and was in the program for eleven years as a youth and has been a 4-H leader in the Model Rocketry project for nine years. 

Members can learn skills that are very specific to their project, such as sewing, leathercrafting, baking, shooting sports, but additionally, they are exposed to opportunities to learn public speaking, time management, record keeping, and leadership. 

Pat Kindvall, in addition to being a 50-year 4-H leader, is also the co-chair of the Weld County Fair Royalty Board, a sponsor of the Weld County Youth Executive Council, and was the former Organizational Leader for the Galeton 4-H club. She is heavily involved in Weld County 4-H and you will often hear someone asking if you have seen Pat Kindvall around the fair for help with one thing or another. Karlene Kindvall joked about people asking if she knew Pat Kindvall last year at the county fair. Pat Kindvall is the person who, if you have a question about anything related to 4-H, she will know the answer or she will know someone who does. 

“I felt 4-H was very valuable for my children, so I was very proud to see all of my eight grandchildren join 4-H,” Pat Kindvall said. When asked if she thought there was a sense of legacy within her family to be a part of the organization, she debated her answer with having said yes and no. She explained that yes, she thought that since there were multiple generations involved in 4-H, there is a sense of legacy. On the other hand, she said no because she explained that none of her children forced the organization on their children and that it was everyone's choice to be a part of it. 

The only active youth member in this family is the eight-year member, Karlene Kindvall. Her older brothers, Thomas Ronald and Otis Kindvall, were both a part of the organization before graduating in 2020 and 2023. Her parents, Thomas and Sarah Kindvall, are both current leaders in 4-H. Pat Kindvall is the only other active volunteer in 4-H in the family.