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Fifth generation of 4-H'ers carries on Photo by Bob Pennell Cody Perry, 10, turns the hose on his steer, Moe, at the Jackson County Fair. Cody is carrying on his great-great-grandfather's legacy in 4-H in the county. Floyd Charley's legacy alive and well in valley By KELLY STEWART Ask 10-year-old Cody Perry if he's nervous showing a steer in his first year of 4-H, and he'll utter a confident "No." You could say 4-H know-how is in his blood. Photo from the Perry family Floyd Charley started the first 4-H club in Jackson County. In 1935, his great-great-grandfather, Floyd Charley, started the first 4-H club in Jackson County. Now, more than 60 years later, there are 125 4-H clubs in the county, boasting 1,104 members. Cody is the fifth generation of the Charley family to be a 4-H member in the Lake Creek Wranglers, the club Floyd Charley began. He's showing his steer, Moe, at the fair this week. The fifth-grader's big night is Saturday, when he sells Moe at the livestock auction. Cody says he's not jittery in the least about the judging and auction process. "I watched my aunt do it a lot," the Eagle Point resident said. "It's fun." Perry has many family members to look up to in the 4-H club. He is the latest -- the 26th, to be exact -- of Charley's descendents to be involved in the club. Four of Charley's grandchildren -- Melissa Jennings and Samantha, Lucas and Bobbi Charley -- are also showing beef and hogs at the fair. The Lake Creek Wranglers' 11 members have heard about their "founding father's" efforts to start the first 4-H club in the county. The family connection to the club affected Perry. "I always wanted to be in 4-H," he said, although he says he can't remember exactly what Floyd Charley did. But his mother, Becky Perry, can remember it all. She was a member of the Lake Creek Wranglers in the 1970s. She recalls hearing lore about Charley, whom she never knew, and his 4-H feats. She grew up with tales about Charley's difficulties starting the club in 1935. At the time, county residents resisted any change -- they wanted to continue raising livestock without forming clubs, said Charley's daughter, Irene Jennings, who now lives in Central Point. These ranching "old-timers" tried to dissuade Charley, a Brownsboro resident, from his idea. Meanwhile, Charley quietly drew seven children to the first beef 4-H club in the Rogue Valley, which he named Brownsboro Beef. The name changed to Lake Creek Wranglers a year later, and it stuck. So did the children who were involved in the club. "Almost all of them grew up to be cattle ranchers," Becky Perry said. Charley taught the 4-H members hard work and patience. Becky Perry said the club once traveled to the San Francisco area to attend a livestock show. It took them two hours simply to traverse the Siskiyou mountains. Charley also introduced Galloway cattle to the Rogue Valley, Becky Perry said. He sent a friend to Scotland to retrieve them. When it came time for Becky Perry to join 4-H, she wanted to do everything she could to emulate her great-grandfather. "I made my grandpa go out and get me a Galloway cow," Becky said. "I had to have one." She kept her Galloway, a heifer named Fluffy, for 13 years. She showed the cow each year in her 4-H activities. Becky said 4-H membership is special for the Charley family. "I can't remember a time when someone in our family wasn't in 4-H," she said. "It was just something you knew. You couldn't wait to be in the fourth grade to be in 4-H." Jennings said the Charley family has been interested in 4-H because they've all grown up around livestock. "It's inbred in them,'' she said. And Cody Perry can't wait to carry on in the club, his mother said. "He's enjoying it," Becky Perry said. "He says he wants to do it again next year." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA