Ruth Steenland… A Dear Friend to 4-H, Missed by Many

Integrity. Hard worker. Everyone’s friend. Conscientious. 
Ask anyone about Ruth Steenland and these are the sorts of replies you get. Ruth was involved in the Cape May County 4-H Youth Development Program for 45 years. That’s four and a half decades!
Ruth started out as a club leader in 1970 with the Discoverers 4-H Club. Ruth’s husband Ted laughingly recalls up to five sewing machines being set up in the basement of their home at any given time. Ruth co-led the club with her sister Pat Becker and friend Ginger Dayton. The Steenland daughters Susan and Nancy were youth members of the Discoverers 4-H Club, while their two sons raised lambs for years. The Discoverers 4-H Club was active in the annual 4-H Fair Fashion Review, and Ruth was a major coordinator of that event for decades. The club did sewing and cooking, and they sold cupcakes during the fair for years to raise money for their activities.
Ruth always helped check in exhibits before the fair each year. She participated in the judging, once she gave up the club, and never hesitated to jump in to do whatever needed to be done, for example, running out to get lunch for all of the judges. Nothing was ever too much bother for Ruth, recalls retired 4-H Agent and Professor Emeritus Betty Jean (B.J.) Webersinn. Ruth was a member of the 4-H Leaders’ Association throughout her 4-H career, staying with the organization as it changed to 4-H Program Advisory Council around the year 2000. Webersinn recalls that Ruth was always very committed to leadership development throughout her career, and she always served in leadership positions in all the committees and advisory groups she joined. She attended NJ state 4-H leader conferences, serving on the planning committees for those annual events as well. She was a member of the Extension Advisory Council of Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Cape May County for many years, serving two terms as the council’s chair.
Ruth was perhaps best known for her leadership role as a director of the Cape May County 4-H Foundation, Inc., serving as Fair Secretary for many, many years. She was the Leaders’ Association-appointed representative to the foundation, where she was always a champion for the 4-H program, according to B.J. “She was so conscientious and dedicated to doing what was right for 4-H youth.”
Betty Jean recalls meeting Ruth for the first time at her own interview for a Program Associate position at Cape May County 4-H in 1974. Ruth was a member of the search committee. B.J. remembers that Ruth was incredibly helpful to her while preparing for her first fair in 1974, only a couple of months after she was hired. “Ruth taught me so much that first year about being a professional,” B.J. recalls. “She always put me back on the right track during my entire career.”
When asked to describe Ruth’s contributions to 4-H, B.J. has a long list to convey. “She believed in setting a good example for 4-H youth and high standards for adult leaders. She was very kind and caring and was always known as the nice lady who gave so much to 4-H but at the same time was a stickler for rules and procedures. The Steenland Family and Steenland’s Oil Service were always so generous through the years to the 4-H program.” Many, many times, B.J. recalls Ruth paying for supplies, or whatever was needed, out of her own pocket. She concludes by simply saying, “Ruth absolutely represented the best that 4-H had to offer the community.”
4-H was not the only recipient of Ruth’s incredible hard work and dedication. Ted Steenland reports that Ruth was instrumental in many community groups, including being a founding member of the Cape Educational Fund, a group that raises funds to give grants to teachers. She was an officer of the Avalon Women’s Golf Association, the Acorn Garden Club, the Dennis Township Board of Education, for 18 years, and the Dennis Township PTA.
Ted and Ruth were partners in life and marriage for 60 years. They ran Steenland’s Gas Service, a business they founded together, for 45 years. When asked to describe Ruth, Ted answered simply, “She was everybody’s friend.”
4-H has named its prestigious annual leader recognition award the Ruth Steenland Memorial 4-H Leader Award in Ruth’s honor.