Sunday, December 30, 2012

New Year's Resolutions for 1937

December, 1936, Carolina Co-Operator
This month we are turning our editorial page over to others, over to those who participated in our annual Resolutions Contest in which thousands of New Year resolutions were submitted.
The first prize of $5 goes to A.B. Bryan of Clemson, S.C., who for 1936 has:
1.       Resolved that will read and think more this year, looking beyond the present in planning my farm business and in working my plans, so that I will not reap merely “a harvest of barren regrets.”
2.       Resolved that I will not stake everything on one cash crop, whether it be cotton or something else, and will produce home and farm supplies to the fullest extent consistent with my land and conditions.
3.       Resolved that since a worn-out soil means a worn-out man, I will not rob my soil of its fertility but will terrace my fields where necessary, will build up the waste places, and will get my nitrates for fertility more and more from the air through legume cover crops.
4.       Resolved that I will join the Cooperative Associations, the Grange, and other organizations for rural mutual benefit and will work to help make them successful to the benefit of myself and my community.
5.       Resolved that I will look and work toward a better day for rural life and that even in the face of discouraging conditions and experiences I will keep up my spirit and my faith that the Creator of the land and of all things animate and inanimate with which I work will not forsake the faithful tiller of the soil.
“Most honorable” mention, as the Chinese are so fond of saying, goes to Thomas A. Thompson of Bynum, whose terse resolutions embrace an excellent program. For 1936 Mr. Thompson resolves:
1.       To have my entire farm adequately terraced.
2.       To sow lespedeza in all my small grain.
3.       To prune and spray all fruit trees on my farm.
4.       To raise more live stock and poultry.
5.       To adopt a four-year rotation system for my farm.

Other resolutions submitted, we think, are just to valuable for our readers to miss, so we are taking one from each of the best 25 sets and printing them below. If you are an ambitious person, our advice is that you just adopt all the resolutions on this page in their entirety, and then if you are not a lot better off this time next year, all we can say is that something is radically wrong.

In presenting the resolutions below, no attempt is made to list them in the order of their importance or merit.
I Hereby Resolve
1.       To meet my church obligations both religiously and financially as far as possible.—Dardine Blue, Carthage, Route 3.
2.       To conduct my life in such a way that I will not be afraid of death any time.—Howard Bennett, Autryville.
3.       To be the best Christian, the best wife, the best mother, the best neighbor, the best friend I can.—Mrs. F.H. Page, Rout 1, Morrisville.
4.       To listen to the still small voice that whispers into the ear of every person the things he should do to make happiness a motivating power in every life with whom he comes in contact.—Miss Sara Tatum, Clinton.
5.       To seek to put first things first in my life.—G.K. Watts, Route 5, Statesville.
6.       To support my church, my home, and my family.—Bernice L. Sutton, Route 1, Goldsboro.
7.       To allow nothing, however hard it may seem to prevent me from wearing a smile and spreading sunshine in my daily contacts.—Coy Hewett, Wilmington.
8.       To learn a new word or fact every day without going about bristling with my new knowledge, but waiting for a suitable occasion to use it.—Beulah Walton, Route 1, Morrisville.
9.       To be more attractive among my schoolmates and at social affairs.—Gwendolyn Cotton.
10.   To live a Christian life.—Mrs. Mary J. Hill, Roxobel.
11.   To love and support my country.—Mary Brann, Box 485, Farmville.
12.   To be on time for all things I undertake to do.—Verna Cotton, Route 2, Enfield.
13.   To raise more of my food at home.--Ariathia Mitchell, Potecasi.
14.   To spend the family dollar more wisely by making a spending plan in advance and then abiding by it.—Carter McRae, Purvis.
15.   To do unto every one as I would have them do unto me.—J.A. Trulove, Route 3, Dunn.
16.   To beautify the home with flowers.—Louise Braswell, Route 1, Goldsboro.
17.   To be a child with my children as well as a father to them.—C.J. Covington, Troy.
18.   To try to help others any time I can, to help up instead of down, to speak a good word of anybody instead of bad, to try to attend to my affairs and let others alone.—Mrs. Lee Walston, Macclesfiled, Route 2.
19.   To be alert to opportunities that greet me daily.—Ruby Harper, Deep Run.
20.   To preserve and care diligently for the land which God has given me and also the animals which I possess.—J.C. Bishop, Scranton.
21.   To keep abreast of the times, to read much on farming, social, politics, and religious phases daily in 1936.—Mrs. A.N. Henderson, Route 1, Rutherfordton.
22.   To study the Carolina Co-operator more for profitable results, and to interest others in its splendid value.—Mildred Fowler, Route 2, Salisbury.
23.   To have a larger and better garden than ever before, that it may protect the health of my family.—Mrs. Bonnie P. Hinton.
24.   To spend a little less than my income.—G.K. Watts, Route 5, Statesville.
25.   To love my friends and visit among them more in 1936 than in 1935.—Mrs. Claude Dhue, Route 6, Durham.

Farm News From Across North Carolina, December 1937

“Around the State” from the December, 1937, issue of Carolina Co-operator
More than 250 members of the home demonstration clubs of Northampton County met at Jackson November 15, at which time the assembled clubwomen listened to an appeal from Mr. Frank Jeter, agricultural editor of State College, in which he requested their aid in getting their husbands and brothers to break away from a system of one-crop, soil-depleting farming to a more balanced system in which livestocks and legumes would be included.
Mrs. Mildred Ives Matthews, home agent of Northampton County, arranged the meeting and reported that it was one of the most successful ever held in the county.
Other Farm News
--C.W. Allen, tenant farmer of Mecklenburg County, has been appointed member of the committee to administer the Bankhead-Jones farm tenant act.
--Robeson County hog cooperative has so far this year shipped 58 cars of hogs, returning $84,377.46, at an average of 10 cents a pound.
--Aerial maps, which will greatly facilitate checking of acreage in Halifax County, have been completed by County Agent Davis.
--Mr. and Mrs. John W. Burnett of Pender County are to be congratulated upon attaining their 50th wedding anniversary on November 14.
--Chowan County farmers played host to Armando A. Callejo of Cuba, who visited the county to study peanut production.
--An effort to raise mule colts is being made on Cannondale Farm near Concord.
--H.D. Williams of Kenansville, Duplin County, has a steel ram on his farm which has produced his water supply for 35 years at a cost of approximately 30 cents a year.
--Enfield, Halifax County, reports a very successful outcome of their first annual Peanut and Cotton Festival.
--H.W. Spruill, Tyrrell County, used $3.52 worth of fertilizer per acre and increased his soybean yield from nine to 20 ½ bushels.
--Mary Frances Thompson, 4-H Club girl of Durham, was crowned new national canning camptoin at the 4-H Club Congress held in Chicago recently. Over an eight-year period, Miss Thompson canned 9,356 pints of vegetables, fruits, and meats, valued at $2,148.
--A survey just made by the State Department of Agriculture showed that farm workers in North Carolina received an average of $17.88 per month with board this year, compared to $15.94 last year. In spite of the more attractive wages, a 12-year low in farm labor supply was experienced the latter part of the present year.
--Dairy farming should be one of the bright spots in the agricultural picture this coming witner, if present indications prove out correctly. Feed prices are lower, consumer demand is on the upturn,and relatively low stocks are in storage.
--Electrification of rural districts is rapidly proceeding. As an example of this great trend towards modernization of the farm, over 700 farm homes were wired the past year in one North Carolina county alone—Lenoir.

News From Farm Homes, December 1937

“Keeping Up With Farm Women” by Jane S. McKimmon, State Home Demonstration Agent, from the December, 1937, issue of Carolina Co-operator
·         According to Irene Brown, assistant home agent, Anne Hamilton, Johnston County 4-H Club girl, won’t have to worry about her diet this winter. She has canned 1,093 pints of fruits and vegetables and has dried 580 pounds of foodstuffs form the garden and orchard.

·         Mrs. J.S. Royal, Sampson County farm woman, reports that home beautification contests have been sponsored by practically every home demonstration club in the county, and rural homes are showing the result.

·         Mrs. F.E. Bost of Catawba County made enough money in one month from her poultry flock to pay the family grocery bill after paying all the expenses of feed for the flock.

·         Miss Ruth Current, State home agent, reports that 326 North Carolina farm kitchens are being remodeled in a contest under the direction of Pauline Gordon, extension specialist in home management and her assistant Mamie N. Whisnant, in Alexander, Avery, Caldwell, Chatham, Davie, Haywood, Orange, Polk, Surry, and Watauga counties.

·         Mrs. George Bost of Cabarrus County, aided by her husband and son, has converted a junk room into a convenient pantry which saves her many needless steps.

·         Thirty-three home demonstration women in Forsyth County braved a pouring rain and a cutting wind to see a demonstration in the courthouse in Winston-Salem, and went home with a greater knowledge of how to bake cakes and bread.

Friday, December 28, 2012

Asheboro Curb Market Doing Fine Business, 1945

By F.H. Jeter, Extension Editor, N.C. State College, Raleigh, as printed in the Wilmington Morning Star, Dec. 24, 1945
When it comes to small rural industries, nothing beats these home demonstration curb markets which the rural women of the state have established at almost all county seat towns.
Among these small enterprises, one of the most interesting is the curb market which was begun at Asheboro in 1940 by the farm women of Randolph County. Mrs. Martha B. Thompson, home agent in Randolph, says that the women over there are justifiably proud of their market although it is not so large as some which have been longer established. The little market serves the town of Asheboro very effectively, however. It was sponsored back in 1940 by the agricultural committee of the Asheboro Kiwanis Club, which agreed to aid the local women in erecting a small wooden building.
Following this action, says Mrs. Thompson, an association was formed and arrangements were made to purchase a lot on which the building was to be erected. Since that time, through their own efforts, the women have raised money to make improvements. They put in a concrete floor, and converted the building form an open air market to a closed one with large glass windows, and added sanitary facilities. The market has been further improved by painting the floor and the interior. To make it more attractive to patrons, the walls are decorated with colorful food posters; a bulletin board for timely notes was erected; and a price board for the information of sellers and customers was put up.
Although there are not as many sellers on the market as there were in the first years, market sales have grown in volume, and there has been a tremendous improvement in the quality of the products sold. In 1941, twelve women sold $3,824 worth of products; in 1942, ten sellers sold $4,458; in 1943, eight sellers sold $4,809; and in 1944, eight sellers sold $5,855; and in 1945, eight sellers sold $6,000 worth of surplus farm produce.
During 1945, the sale of products for market could have been tremendously increased had it not been for the shortage of labor on the farm, necessitating the women staying home to help with the farm work, and many helping out in local industry and in the teacher shortage. Mrs. J.H. Richey of Farmer led the market sales in 1945 with the total of $1,222.62 in sales. An average Saturday morning would find Mrs. Richey’s booth filled with 50 dressed and drawn chickens, two crates of selected graded eggs of the finest quality, 50 pounds of good butter, 10 pounds of cottage cheese, two to five bushels of clean and graded fresh vegetables, five or more cakes (as long as the sugar allotment held out), and other products in season.
Four of the curb market sellers, Mrs. Norman Wright, Route 1, Asheboro; Mrs. W.W. Kearns, Route 1, Randleman; Mrs. J.B. Presnell, Route 3, Asheboro; and Mrs. Carson Cranford, Farmer, have developed an excellent reputation for making good cakes. With the shortage of sugar, they cannot begin to supply the demand and have had many requests for Christmas cakes which could not be filled. During 1945, they netted $1,050.91 from the sale of cakes alone.
Mrs. E.E. Byrd of Farmer, on many winter market days sells one or more hogs, which have been worked up into fresh pork sausage and other pork products.
Mrs. Roscoe Powell of Asheboro, Route 1, is famous for her apple and pumpkin pies. Although she brings a number of products to the market, these are the highlights. Mrs. Powell also makes beautiful Christmas wreaths, and sells around $50 worth in Christmas trees and wreaths each Christmas. This tells a story of family cooperation because Mr. Powell and the children help gather the lovely trailing cedar, which is the basis of the wreaths, and the holly and other Christmas evergreens, and help to fashion these into sprays and wreaths for Mrs. Powell to carry to the market.
Miss Loula Andrews, the Business Manager of the market, also manages to run a farm, teach school, and still sell on the market 6 months of the year. She had not taught for approximately 20 years but returned to help out during the current teacher shortage. Although her sales have been curtailed, she has kept her customers, and plans to return full time, as soon as possible. She specializes in vegetables and flowers.
Mrs. J.B. Presnell also runs her farm alone but manages to make homemade kraut, and to dress poultry for the market. She also makes stuffed dolls and toys for sale.
The little association now has on hand approximately $400, which is being held for making improvements in the market building, and for expansion. This has been placed in Victory Bonds of F denomination, and is a nest egg for the future.
Mrs. Thompson says this market has meant much to the sellers and the community. Children have been educated, homes have been improved, and money for many “specials” have been provided through the funds which came into the farm homes as a result of the market sales.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Buncombe County Extension Homemakers Promoting Child Safety Seats, 1985

From the October-December issue of Tar Heel Homemakers, 1985
The Buncombe County Extension Homemakers are very enthusiastically involved with a Child Safety Seat Project. The interest was stimulated last year when one of their members observed a program on seat belt safety at the National Extension Homemakers Council Conference in Louisville, Kentucky.
The purpose of the project is to promote the proper use of child safety seats, to educate parents and grandparents on types of child restraint systems available, and to encourage adults to use seat belts as an example to children. This comes at an opportune time since North Carolina seat belt laws are in effect for children as well as adults.
Club members took three training programs in order to become qualified to promote the project and met with Buncombe County Sheriff Thomas Morrissey to solicit his support and involvement.
They have had several articles in the newspapers, public service announcements on the radio, and have been on three television news documentaries.
They have prepared a puppet show, “The Smith Family Takes a Trip,” which they are using at schools, county libraries, and shopping centers.
EH are conducting child safety clinics at McDonald’s, Burger King, Asheville Shopping Mall, River Ridge Shopping Mall, Bele Chere Festival, and County-City Plaza. Checking stations ran June through November. To expand and reach more people, several safety seat checks have been scheduled in conjunction with the Child Find Program, which is done by the Sheriff’s Department for fingerprinting and video taping of children. At all these clinics, we are checking child seats and giving out educational materials, activity books, coloring books and stickers.
Buncombe EH are very pleased with the progress we have achieved, and through our efforts we feel that many injuries will be prevented and lives will be saved. The project has given us the opportunity to work closer with our community and share our Extension Homemaker program with the public.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

NC Home Demonstration Club News, December 1935

“The Woman’s Touch or What Club Work Means to Farm Women” by Jane S. McKimmon, State Home Demonstration Agent and Assistant Director of Extension, N.C. State College, Raleigh, as published in the  Carolina Co-Operator, December, 1935
Nash County Niceties
That there is much interest in the little niceties which make life worth living is shown by the Gordon-Best home demonstration club of Nash County, which is made up of young housekeepers as they come together to discuss how to make their homes comfortable, attractive, and up-to-date.
The November meeting was an all-day affair and Mrs. Theo Baker, a young housekeeper and former 4-H Club girl, gave demonstrations in how to set a table attractively for breakfast, dinner, and luncheon. As each member had brought a box of food, lunch was served buffet style. For many of these young married women, it was the first time they had ever taken part in a meal served in this way, and it gave all of them ideas of how the good food to be found on the farm might be made to serve a large roup with all the niceties observed.
Catawba Cooperation
Home demonstration agents and home economists for the Division of Rural Rehabilitation have been coming together to talk over ways and means of cooperating. One plan is to get as many women and girls from rural rehabilitation families as possible into the home demonstration and 4-H clubs in their communities.
In order to do this, Mrs. Edna R. Baine, home economist of Catawba County, is attending meetings with Mrs. Marie Matheson, home demonstration agent, and explaining to the home demonstration club members there what she is trying to do. After she has become acquainted with the club members, she plans to return the next month and, carrying farm women from rehabilitation families with her, to visit and decide if they would like to join the home demonstration club.
Some of the club women on their part have asked for lists of rehabilitation families in their communities that they may give them personal invitations to become club members. The home agent also writes each rehabilitation woman, inviting her to attend the club meeting nearest to her home.
McDowell Interest Increasing
Interest in home demonstration work has increased steadily in McDowell County as the program of work develops under the leadership of Miss Anne Tucker, the newly appointed home demonstration agent. There have been new members at every club meeting and one meeting was attended by 40 women, seven babies, and one dog. Of the 40 women present, only five rode to the meeting. The others walked, some as far as three miles. Interest like this is indeed an inspiration to the home agent.
Meat Canning
With the coming of cold weather and the consequent slaughter of hogs, the Division of Home Demonstration Work is sending Mrs. Cornelia C. Morris, Extension Economist in Conservation and Marketing, to give meat canning demonstrations to groups of home agents and home economists in all sections of the State.
In early December she was in New Bern, Wilmington, Fayetteville, Carthage, Durham, and Winston-Salem. In January group schools will be held in Franklin, Rutherfordton, and Charlotte.
Wilson County Clubs Organizing
Miss Lois Rainwater, Home Agent in Wilson County, says November was a month of checking up and balancing accomplishments in Home Demonstration Work against goals set early in the year.
In all farm women’s clubs “Measurements for Club Activities” were discussed and each woman was asked to give one suggestion for work next year. Farm women are understanding that the object of home demonstration work is “to build better homes, better farms, and better communities,” along with develop leadership.
Wilson is a newly organized county but it is well on its way in training fine leaders.
Craven Club Leaders
As a result of the leaders’ school held by Miss Mamie Whisnant, State Assistant Specialist in Home Management, the Craven County Home Agent says four of her 18 club meetings held during November were conducted entirely by project leaders. At these meetings homemakers seemed to enjoy taking an inventory of their household goods and planning the improvements they hoped to make in 1936.
Macclesfield Club Wins Steam Pressure Cooker
The Macclesfield Home Demonstration Club of Edgecombe County was presented with a steam pressure cooker for the best work done during the past year, and the club members will have the use of this cooker during the coming year.
November Agent Training
The entire staff of Agricultural and Home Demonstration Extension workers will meet at State College, Raleigh, December 16-20, to discuss county plans and how the farm and home agents will cooperate in carrying them out in community, county, and state.
In the mornings, joint meetings of men and women will be conducted by Dean I.O. Schaub and in the afternoon home demonstration and agricultural groups will hold separate sessions.
Through the whole program will run the thought “What Can Philosophy Contribute to a Better Understanding of the Agricultural Situation?” This will be discussed by Dr. Taeusch of the Agricultural Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, at the first session and be carried further in the afternoon for special groups of men and women agents.
Publicity
Publicity committees in Home Demonstration Clubs are functioning well in Rutherford County, for every club reported the doings of club members during November, and the two county newspapers published them.
I believe almost any county newspaper would furnish space if home demonstration club reporters would write in a readable style the interesting things that happen in every community.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

NC Home Demonstration News, December 1938

“Timely News Items” by Jane S. McKimmon, State Home Demonstration Agent and Assistant Director of Extension, as published in the December 1938 issue of the Carolina Co-operator
Health Measures
The Rocky Mount market sells both flowers and meat and as all fresh meat must be inspected and stamped the county inspector is cooperating to make it as simple as possible for women to understand what requirements are and how to conform.
It has been very interesting and gratifying to see how health requirements have been adhered to in farm women’s markets and how proud sellers are to display their health certificates from the County Health Department saying: “This family is free from communicable diseases and has filled health requirements.”
Pantry Storage Contest
Assurance that at least 56 persons in Franklin County will be well nourished this winter was offered by the pantry storage contest recently held here for home demonstration club women and sponsored by Mrs. H.C. Taylor of Louisburg. The $25 in prizes donated by Mrs. Taylor was distributed between Mrs. B.P. Hinton of Route No. 4, Louisburg, first prize winner; Mrs. Donald Mitchell of Route 1, Kittrell, second; Mrs. H.B. Conyers of Route 1, Franklinton, third; and Mrs. B.C. Johnson of Bunn, fourth. Honorable mention went to Mrs. Duke White of Bunn and Mrs. Cora Waters of Wood.
Homemade Rugs
In Wake County Mrs. J.S. Jarvis, an arts and crafts leader of the White Oak Club, showed her interested neighbors how to start a braided and a crocheted rug for their floors and demonstrated how well hooked rugs could be made to look when she exhibited three she had made two years ago and one which was in the process of being made.
Winning the Prize
The Cherry Home Demonstration Club of Washington County won a prize of $20 given by the Southern Albemarle Association to the community getting the greatest number of dwellings and out buildings painted.
Three other counties, Hyde, Dare, and Tyrrell, competed but as club members of Washington have begun a planned program for home beautification, they feel much encouraged that their hard work brought the prize to one of their communities.

Friday, December 21, 2012

'Cam Morrison as a Farmer,' 1935

“Cam Morrison As a Farmer” by Ida Briggs Henderson, Carolina Co-Operator, December, 1935
The ex-Governor and ex-Senator is doing quite well, thank you, on his 2,800-acre farm over near Charlotte.
Near the intersection of Sharon Road and Morrison Boulevard, about one mile from the city limits of Charlotte, is located the farm of ex-Senator and Mrs. Cameron Morrison. In the heart of a grove of magnificent trees, real monarchs of the forest, rises the handsome home which, with its numerous windows and spreading wings, resembles an old English mansion.
Started 10 years ago when Cameron Morrison retired from the gubernatorial chair of his State to come back home to settle, the farm has grown in land, live stock, fowl, and buildings, until now it is probably unsurpassed by any farm of its type. Twelve hundred acres, together with 1,400 more adjoining, which are leased, comprise the farm.
Seven hundred acres are planted in grains, including oats, wheat, barley, corn, peas, and alfalfa for hay. These acres present a lovely sight . . . green in the early fall and winter, later to assume the color of pure gold, then the shocks of grain dot the fields with promise of plenty. W.W. Covington is in charge of crops, all of which are used for the feeding of the live stock and fowl. All mixing of feeds is done on the premises.
Fifty Hired Men
In the planting, cultivating, and harvesting of the crops, the farm uses 10 mules, and approximately an equal number of tractors, together with power harvesters, threshers, shredders, and corn and hay binders. A mechanic is employed whose sole duty is to service this machinery. Mr. Covington states that he has 50 regular men hired to work the crops, with an additional 12 employed by the greenhouses. Visitors are struck with the extreme orderliness of the farm for, with all the lush growth of spring and summer, there does not seem to be an extra blade of grass where one should not be. However, the intent and purpose of the farm is the breeding of live stock and fowls, and only foodstuff is raised on the broad acres.
Kope Elias is in charge of live stock with a large corp of helpers including several carpenters, whose duty it is to keep in repair the extensive buildings which shelter the live stock and accessories of the farming operations.
The herd of milk cattle, comprising about 39 imported Jersey cows, present an interesting sight when they are brought lowing from the pastures for evening’s milktime . . . their symmetrical, sleek sides almost reflect the rays of the sun as they walk leisurely along contentedly chewing their cuds and go to their stalls to give up their rich burden of milk. And rich it is, for three of these cows are what is termed gold medal cows, meaning that they have produced enough butterfat throughout the year to exceed the high standards the Jersey Cattle Club has set for this award. In fact, the amount of butterfat in milk gauges its richness, and one of these gold medal cows has produced as much as 711 pounds per year! Others of the herd have yielded over 600 pounds yearly, and it has become necessary to milk these high producers three times daily. This milking is done by hand, as electric milkers are not used on test cattle. In addition to this fine herd of milch cows, there are approximately 90-odd young Jersey cows being reared to follow the example set by the mature animals. The butter is sold, but the milk is kept to feed the rest of the live stock and fowl.
South’s Largest Jersey Herd
The Morrison milk cattle is the largest herd of imported Jerseys in the South, yet the standard set by Mr. Morrison is so high that he has lately added to this fine bunch of cattle the aristocracy of Jerseys in a group of freshly imported cattle whose blue-blooded lineage is beyond compare: These have brought the Morrison herd up to more than 70; among this number 42 are imported from the little island off the French coast which has been the native heath of Jersey cattle since time immemorial. Included in the shipment is Ixia’s Oxford Lad, an internationally known bull, today assuming absolute monarchy over the rest of the imported herd at the farm.
While Jerseys are kept for their milk-producing qualities, Mr. Morrison thinks that Hereford cattle are the finest for beef, and his farm boasts several hundred of these white-faced cattle browsing on the fields after the grain is harvested. It is noticeable that this farm specializes in one breed of each animal and fowl they raise. This is carried out through the entire line of live stock, just one species of swine, the Berkshire. These animals grunt over a large acreage by the hundreds, and in the fall are converted into pork, the hams and bacon cured, although many are sold for breeders. Also, there is a flock of several hundred Shropshire sheep; the wool is sold on the open market, some of them are slaughtered, but many have been sold for breeders.
Also a Deer Park
On the premises are complete and commodious refrigerating plants for the meat and fowl intended for the local market. The housewives of Charlotte have found out that no fowl is fatter, no meat more tender than that handled by the Morrison Farm, and drive out in scores each day to market at the refrigerating plant, where they are served by efficient meat cutters. Here, also, the cream is separated and butter is churned and kept in the huge refrigerators.
In the deer park there is a herd of several dozen animals, one of the largest private herds in the entire country. Also there are a perfect multitude of pheasants that offer beauty-lovers a fascinating view of themselves as the little vari-colored cocks strut and show off their brilliant plumage, while the demure dun-colored little hens shyly admire their lords. Several thousand eggs are hatched each season.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

'Christmas at Grandma's' by Hilda Goodwin, Chowan County

“Christmas at Grandma’s” by Hilda Goodwin as published in Special Memories: A collection of stories by Chowan County Extension Homemakers
The earliest Christmas I remember, and as my mother told me, was spent at Grandmother and Granddaddy Evans’. All the women and children slept there on Christmas Eve and the men stayed with Uncle Carey, a short ways down the road so everyone would have a place to sleep. Mama’s sisters, Helen and Eleanor, slept across the bed with Lois, Shirley and myself, all five on one bed.
The men would come down the road, clonk, clonk, when all was quiet to deliver Santa’s gifts. Each family had a little area for their gifts which was usually a toy and a bag with fruit and candy. As the family grew and more of the 12 children married, we went to Grandma’s on Christmas day.
The Christmas morning was a busy time for everyone helping get dinner ready for all the family. The men at first, then the women and last the children. It seemed the time would never come when we could eat and exchange gifts.
The tree was a huge cedar which was cut off the farm and reached to the top of the living room. It was beautifully decorated. We were all excited because we knew there would be a gift for each of us. Grandmother always gave a gift to everyone and continued to do so as long as she was physically able to shop for them. In later years, our Christmas gathering was held at the community building because there was not enough room at home for all the families.
On Christmas night we would be home and some of my uncles and friends would dress up in disguise with masks and come to our home with their guitars and juice harps serenading and singing Christmas carols. We children were afraid until the masks were pulled off to reveal who the serenaders were. Mama would serve refreshments and off they would go to sing for other families.
When we became teenagers, Ralph Harrell, who had an accordion, would take a group of us around the neighborhood singing carols outside den windows making sure we did not miss the elderly and shut-ins. These are very fond memories filled with love and togetherness which have lasted through the years.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Extension Homemaker Shares Experiences with Projects in India and Guatemala

Remarks prepared by Juanita Lagg for an address at the Fifth Annual International Festival, around 1981
Thank you for inviting me to participate in this, our Fifth International Festival, and for the opportunity of sharing with you two of the International Programs and projects I have been directly involved with during the past 10 years.
Your theme—“Education for International Understanding”—certainly is a timely one. How I wish I knew more about that subject—EDUCATION! My methods have been mostly trial and error with a lot of research and hindsight experiences. From each, I’ve gained a lot of education!
Extension Homemakers have been involved in both of these projects. While I was attending the Triennial conference in Oslo, Norway in 1971, the Swedish Housewives came to that conference with a proposal that literally shook my teeth. As we say, they had “done their homework.” They came loaded with facts relating to the problem, as well as a workable solution to help correct it. They had discovered that a huge percentage of the children living in India were blind before they reached their 5th birthday. Research studies indicated that a lack of Vitamin A in the diet to be the main cause. Now, that seems simple enough to correct, doesn’t it?
But how do you go about that when the very life style and customs of the people were involved? Of course, education was the key. They proposed that a team of a doctor, a nurse, nutritionist, cook, and driver be formed and the 10 small villages, located close together, be selected for a pilot project. They would call this scheme “Save The Sight,” because that is exactly what they hoped to accomplish.
The team would travel between the villages on a rotating basis. The doctor and nurse would take care of the health exams and establish the need for a child to be entered into the program, and would follow their health care. The nutritionist would talk about the need to include a green leafy vegetable which grew almost wild in the area in their diet along with their daily bowl of rice. The cook would prepare the meal and show how simple and tasty this new food really was. The very ill children were kept at the clinic until they regained some of their health. In addition the green food in their diets, they were given large doses of Vitamin A to assist with the deficiency.
An interesting thing happened. Many of the children they kept did regain their health as well as their sight, and in due time were allowed to return to their homes. However, when a follow-up was made some time later, these children were back almost to the stage they were when they were first brought in. The problem was that the parents had not been educated to follow through with the necessary changes in meal preparation at home. It was true, they had been introduced to this new leafy green vegetable, similar to our spinach, which was readily available. But this old custom of only a bowl of rice daily was hard to penetrate. To make a long story short, a new course had to be charted. It was decided that it would be necessary to bring the whole family to the clinic where they would be taught how to cultivate and gather the food, how they could prepare and cook it, and most important, eat a cup of it on a daily basis. When all in the family unit were educated, they were returned to their home and a change most often occurred in their life style to continue the program they had been taught.
The project was so successful that first year that the government of India carried through their promise of establishing similar clinics. They had promised if the project worked that they would establish similar clinics throughout all of India within 20 years. I’m pleased to tell you that the government of India is making good progress with their promise.
Homemakers from all around the world responded to the call for funds to purchase the van, pay for supplies and salaries to establish the pilot program.
UNESCO became involved later on in the program and produced a film in one of the villages to tell the story. The name of the film—Save The Sight.
This is one of the best success stories I’ve ever heard about. And the reason for it…it came about because someone cared what was happening to children in developing countries. They researched the problem, they found a workable solution, they were willing to work with existing agencies (in this case the government and other concerned groups), and most important, they were willing to fund the project for a full year to see if a change could make a difference.
Ten years have passed and Homemakers around the world still contribute their pennies for this continuing project, which has spread to other developing countries. What better way of using the least coin—a penny—to develop international understanding and lasting friendship.
The second success story I want to share occurred in Central America. The year following the 1976 earthquake which damaged or destroyed many villages in Guatemala, I was selected to participate in a search team to go to Guatemala as a guest of their government and the School of Home Economics, and visit villages that could benefit from a “family living” program the National Extension Homemakers Council of the USA could fund and participate in. During that week’s visit, I had the opportunity to visit many villages, both large and small, and talk with the people who lived there.
In each village we met with key leaders and listened to what the Indians felt were their most pressing needs. We looked at the existing facilities that were available to carry out such a program. I am impressed with the needs they mentioned. In one village, the women wanted to learn how to preserve fresh tomatoes from the garden for use when none were available. This we did here at least 60 years ago. They wanted to know how to keep bugs out of their dried black beans. Another group wanted to learn how to sew with a machine. One group said they thought if they had a knitting machine, it would help with the time-consuming task of making warm garments for cold evenings.
In one village, the men had decided that what they needed most in the village was a $5,000 red tractor—like the one they had seen in Guatamala City. I asked how they would use this piece of equipment. Their answer was, another village nearby has a small one and we want a larger one for demonstration purposes.
To begin with, they had very little ground flat enough for a tractor to travel on, much less be able to turn over the soil. There were no repair parts, nor money for gasoline to operate it, and about all the good it could serve was to look at as none of the farmers in the area could have afforded to buy or rent or even use a tractor of any size. Guatemala is very mountainous and farming is done mostly by hand, planting one hill of corn at a time.
One thing that really tore at my heart was the simple and primitive living conditions of many of the Indians. They cooked over three stones, ground their corn for tortillas and lived much like their ancestors did 300 years ago. Many of the women spent a great deal of their time carrying water for their family needs from streams or wells scattered throughout the country side.
Clean drinking water, something all of us in this room sue from a faucet within a few feet of us at most any given time of the day, is a very precious item in many developing countries.
I simply could not shake this concern from my thoughts so when I returned to North Carolina, I showed a few pictures that told the story of the need for clean drinking water. The North Carolina Extension Homemakers responded the same way as I and together we decided that we should fund some wells UNICEF had proposed for Guatemala.
Working with UNICEF, I quickly learned about the term “red tape.” After a year, we gave up the idea of working with this agency because they could not identify for us a location and we were not willing to plunk down hundreds of dollars and not know where the wells would be situated or who they would serve.
I contacted other agencies, and I’m here to tell you all governmental agencies have the same problem. We kept inquiring and searching for an agency we could work with. Finally, one day, we learned that one of the Wycliffe workers in Guatemala was searching for a group to fund a water system for a village of 750 Indians who had been without water during the dry season since the earthquake.
The earthquake separated the ground and cut off their water supply, and the women and children had to walk two miles to 1,800 feet altitude to the nearest spring for all the water they used.
The people of the village were willing to come up with the first $150 (which was a lot of money for them) to buy the water rights, the men were willing to provide the labor and work crews if they could find someone willing to pay for the cost of the materials to lay 12 miles of pipe needed to get water to their village.
The Wycliffe workers agreed to engineer a simple water system that had proved effective in other villages that would not require costly power driven motors to operate.
The North Carolina Extension Homemakers agreed to raise half of the needed funds, and Wycliffe would seek matching funds from another source. The cost would be about $11,500.
By this time, a couple of years had passed. Much unrest and a lot of guerrilla activity in the area forced the Wycliffe workers to leave their homes in the villages and return to their headquarters in Guatemala City. However, the water project still had top priority.
One thing I learned is that if you decide to assist with a project, you simply must do it at their pace and use their methods, not yours, if you want to be successful. In due time, November of 1980, a letter was received from Guatemala with the news that as soon as the dry season arrived in January, 1981, they would like to begin digging the lines. Matching funds from a group in Canada had been secured, and would we please send our money, which amounted to $6,715.53 by this time. It had also been decided that another small village would share in the clean water supply as well as the village at the site of the spring. All total, the system would serve about 1,100 Indians. Inflation took its toll on the cost of the supplies and increased our cost about a thousand dollars, but our funds had been increasing with interest and thus we were able to handle the increased cost.
If we are to further International Understanding, I feel we must be willing to do about seven things.
1.       We must have a genuine concern for our fellow man…beginning at home, and more especially when we travel.
2.       We must be able to communicate with them in some form or another. Wherever you may be on a one-to-one basis.
3.       If we offer assistance, we must be able to accept his needs on his terms, not ours, instead of our way or forget it. It’s a lost cause and it wouldn’t work anyway. The water project is a good example of how this works. The reason this was successful was the realization by 25,456 North Carolina Extension Homemakers that one of the things we so take for granted—a cup of clean drinking water—is in reality a very precious luxury gift in many parts of the world. We had to practice patience while we watched so many dry seasons come and go without sufficient funds to begin the project, but worth the joy and satisfaction we received from completing the project which will provide clean drinking water to new unknown friends in three villages in Central American whose language we cannot speak.
4.       We must be willing to study other cultures and existing circumstances. We must try our best to understand their positions on issues. We don’t have to agree, but we must be willing to listen.
5.       We must learn to compromise.
6.       We must be an ambassador of goodwill and develop friendships that last.
7.       We must realize what we thought we saw during a trip to another country might not be the norm. Customs, traditions and lifestyles vary from one region of a country to another. Events and situations may be regional.
Remember, there is a diversity of culture, thought, and attitude in every country of the world. There is an old saying, Do not criticize another until you have walked at least a mile his shoes.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Miss Jean Steele Praised, 1949

From the December 1949 issue of Extension Farm-News
A recent editorial in The Marion Progress paid tribute to Miss Jean Steele for the outstanding work she did while serving as home demonstration agent in McDowell County. Miss Steele recently resigned her position in McDowell County to become home agent in Pitt County.
Excerpts from the editorial follow:
“Looking back over the years Miss Jean Steele has been in this county, we find that the best part of her work cannot be shown in statistical records, nor volumes of narrative reports. We consider that her most redeeming characteristics have been conscientious devotion to duty and a sincere interest in her groups as a whole, as well as in personalities of her members.”
“We congratulate her on her promotion to a higher office, and wish for her all the rewards she deserves.”

Monday, December 17, 2012

An Interesting View from Georgia, 1867

“Farming, Not Planting” by John H. Dent, as published in the 1867 issue of The Southern Planter, online at http://www.archive.org/details/southernplanter28rich. (The original was a single paragraph; I’ve divided it here.)
It has been a long while since I have written an article for an agricultural journal. But having now, (after having made a large fortune by planting, and lost it by the war), to go to work again from the stump, I shall endeavor to do my best on the farm, and at what leisure I may have, use my pen for the great work which has fallen to the Southern people in repairing their fortunes, by a new system of agriculture which at once must be adopted, to suit our circumstances.
I was, before the war, a large cotton planter, but since the emancipation of our negroes, and one year’s trial with the freedman, I am fully convinced that cotton planting on a large scale, (unless it is done as a speculation—the present system is nothing more or less,) is to precarious to attempt as a permanent pursuit. All who are acquainted with cotton planting, know it is a long and laborious crop to make, tedious and monotonous to the laborer—one in which only the highest wages, and the most flattering persuasions can induce them to engage in cultivating.
Hence, I have abandoned its culture, sold my plantation and purchased a valley farm in the mountain regions of Georgia, where I shall turn my whole attention to farming. What I mean by farming is, to cultivate on a small scale, a variety of crops—attend also to fruit culture, raising of stock, and even try the dairy. By this system, but a few dollars are necessary, and by rotating, manuring and seeding down land to grass, a farm may be easily enriched, increased in its productiveness and made more valuable yearly.
I am fully convinced of this fact, that sooner or later, large plantations under the old system of culture must be abandoned, and farming adopted in its stead.
Why? Because with hired labor, poor lands cannot be afforded to be cultivated. The lands we tend must be enriched, and labor must be economized and it is impossible to keep up and enrich a large plantation, so as to make it remunerative, with our present laborers. The policy is to make one acre produce what three do now, and by labor-saving machines, to make two hands do what five are now doing. This must be the system adopted to make Southern farming profitable, and if not adopted, we will become bankrupt.
In upper Georgia, there is a soil unsurpassed in productiveness, and adapted to corn, wheat, rye, oats, barley, cotton, clover, the grasses and tobacco, and every variety of fruit—the climate is fine, and its waterpower unsurpassed for any kind of machinery. This section of country, in the hands of enterprising and practical farmers, may be made the garden spot of the South.
Living is cheap and abundant, and a ready market can be had for any surplus, railroad facilities being at hand. Let us, for example, quote merely the fruits that have been sent to market from this section of the country the past season: “By the following statement, by the President, of the exports over the Rome Rail Road, it will be seen that there have been shipped from here this season, 15,602 bushels of fruit. Now, allowing two-thirds of this to be peaches, at $3 per bushel, and the balance apples, at $1.25, it would amount to $37,922. Just suppose that ten times that amount of fruit had been dried, which could have been, if proper attention had been given it, and an income from fruit alone, would have been realized, amounting to $379,220.”
In addition to this, the demand for wheat, corn and meats are enormous. Large amounts of hay can also be made here, as a market crop. We have no reason to despond, and nothing to fear, if we will only set to work right, and develop the vast resources of our country. Again, in these fertile valleys of North Georgia, we are not dependent on free laborers, for the climate is so fine the white man can labor with vigor and health, and there is a population of hardy mountaineers at hand, ready and willing to take hold and make the soil produce abundantly.
My remarks are in relation to Vann’s Valley, in Floyd county, Georgia, which, for agricultural purposes, as well as manufacturing, is unsurpassed anywhere. True, its former and present population are rough farmers, so far as their management of the soil is concerned; but so soon as the work of improvement has commenced, their energies are not wanting to do as others will do. The beginning of improvement is what is needed. Scientific farming must be adopted, and when undertaken, the fruits of our labors will be abundant, and prosperity visible on every hand.
Very respectfully yours, John H. Dent
In Southern Cultivator, Cave Spring, Ga.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Tobacco Harvest Festival Attracts Thousands, 1949

From the December 1949 issue of Extension Farm-News
Everyone but the weatherman cooperated in making Haywood County’s third annual Tobacco Harvest Festival one of the biggest and most successful farm events ever staged in Western North Carolina.
Spectators had to brave chilling winds and a full-scale snowstorm to see the festival parade, but they came in droves and stayed until the very end. The colorful event drew an estimated 12,000 persons, as large a crowd as the one that lined the streets to greet the late President Roosevelt.
More than 3,000 jammed every nook and corner of the Waynesville Armory on the final night to witness a demonstration by five expert square dance teams and to see Mrs. Jennie Mae Early of Thickety community crowned queen.
The festival, held November 22-26 under the sponsorship of the Merchants Association, offered a program of information, inspiration, and recreation, which attracted the attention of the entire Western part of the State. Among the speakers were Congressman Monroe Redden, U.S. Senators Clyde R. Hoey and Frank P. Graham, Judge Camille Kelley of Memphis, Dr. E.L. Butz of Purdue University, and Mrs. Perry Taylor, vice president of the Federated Women of North Carolina.
TURNER CATHEY GETS NEW HAT
Wayne Corpening, whom Dr. E.L. Butz referred to as a “human dynamo,” and his assistants worked so hard during the Haywood County Tobacco Harvest Festival that one of them, Turner Cathey, badly needed a new hat when the event was over. According to The Waynesville Mountaineer, he got one too—but not exactly what he was expecting.
Turner noticed that one of the pictures taken during the festival showed a prominent businessman wearing an extra-broad smile as he presented the loving cup to the tobacco queen. He called up to the man and in a stern voice said:
“Young man, I have before me a photograph of you and a young lady. Your wife would like to have this picture, but I promise not to deliver it to her if you will give me a new hat.”
Next morning a package was delivered to Cathey in the county agent’s office. Inside was a large straw hat left over from last summer’s stock.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Thanks for the Scholarship Money, 1983

Three letters expressing thanks for scholarship money, all published in the Winter 1983 issue of Tar Heel Homemaker
I join in expressing our deep appreciation to the North Carolina Extension Homemakers Association for the contribution of $8,334 to the University’s Continuing Education Fund. We are tremendously pleased that conference Area Four is permanently identified with Ada [Dalla Pozza]. Again, we commend your great organization for undertaking this special labor of love for Ada.
This financial assistance in the University’s McKimmon Center is needed and helps advance Extension and Public Service functions at a time when these University services are critically needed by North Carolina citizens. When in Raleigh, please come by to see us!
W.L. Turner, NCSU Vice Chancellor, Extension & Public Service
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It is with great appreciation that I acknowledge receipt of your check in the amount of $2,000 from the North Carolina Extension Homemakers Association as a contribution to the Home Economic Foundation for the Ruth Current Scholarship Fund.
All of us at the University appreciate this generous gift. Please convey to your members our deep appreciation for their interest and support.
Charles W. Patterson III, Vice Chancellor for Development, UNC-Greensboro
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Dear Ladies,
On this, the last payment of my Extension Homemakers loan, I feel it with deepest gratitude that I say just how appreciative it am. Had it not been for the gracious generosity of your organization, I would not have been able to graduate from Appalachian State University, and unlike many of my colleagues, I have put my education to good use as I have just been promoted to regional sales representative for the Schumacher/Waverly Fabrics and Wallcoverings.
Although I no longer live in North Carolina, I support Extension Homemakers wholeheartedly. Please call on my now that I am able to help you in any way I can.
Cindy Moore Richards