For Barnum grad, 4-H is forever

Kent Syverson’s mind was blown when Mount St. Helens blew its top in 1980. The famous eruption of the long-dormant volcano in Washington scratched a geology itch in the Barnum student’s brain.

“I was always interested in rocks and the outdoors,” he said this month. The historic event led to a 4-H project on volcanoes, which eventually won ribbons at the local Carlton County Fair and then the Minnesota State Fair.

Today, Syverson is a well-traveled geology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, a position he would have never dreamed of if not for his participation in Barnum Bees. “4-H helped guide me,” he said. “I learned that this is not just a hobby, it’s a career.”

His subsequent geology entries at fairs led him to geology experts who “allowed me to see I could do this,” he said. “It just set me on a course.”

Syverson plans to be back in his hometown for the fair, an annual trek he looks forward to. The Carlton County Fair begins Thursday, and there will be plenty of 4-H projects on display during the four-day event.

The Syverson name remains familiar in Barnum. A street across from the high school is named in honor of Kent’s father, the late Alan Syverson, who was principal at the school from 1968 to 1992.

So yes, the principal’s kid was kind of a science geek. “I look back,” he said with a growing mirth in his voice. “And I’m amazed by how unusual I was.”

He admits he looks far beyond his years when a picture of his volcano display and ribbons was taken when he was about to be a junior at Barnum High School. “I aged early,” he said with a laugh.

He had an inkling about his future plans. In the fall of 1980, Syverson was named a regional winner as “carrier of the year” for the Minneapolis Tribune. His future was written for the ages in a story the newspaper printed on him stating “Because he is fascinated with earth and rocks, his eventual goal is to become a geologist.”

Syverson remembers watching scientists pore over the wreckage at Mt. St. Helens with fascination. He could have never known that he would be among them as part of a University of Minnesota Duluth internship just a few years later. “I was flying into the crater of Mt. St. Helens with geologists I had seen on TV,” he said.

He wrote a book about his next adventure, studying glaciers in remote Alaska, and eventually came to Eau Claire, where he is known by students as an affable and effective teacher.

Syverson said he always comes back to his roots, and the Barnum Bees. He keeps in touch with fellow 4-H members who have also been inspired by their work with 4-H projects. “The power of 4-H is that it’s an avenue to work on something hard, driving it through to completion,” he said. “Life is like that. It had such an impact.”

“4-H was something for a small-town kid to dream big.”