Thursday, June 23, 2011

Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Service

From The Anson Record:
New book celebrates ‘extraordinary service’ of N.C. women
The recent Family & Consumer Sciences’ Centennial Celebration on May 25 in Raleigh unveiled the book, “Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Service,” narrating and illustrating North Carolina FCS’s 100-year history. The book features pages on extension home demonstration clubs in every county that describe the many ways they helped move their communities forward.

Anson County is featured several times throughout the book. Anson County Cooperative Extension director Janine Rywak pointed out that there is a piece on Jane McKimmon in the book. McKimmon was the first state home demonstration agent, and recruited Anson County’s Rosalind Redfearn. Redfearn’s photo appears several times in the book. She started the state’s first “shop local” movement in Anson County, Rywak said. Other photos show a 4-H event at the county courthouse and one of Anson’s open-air curb market, the precursor to today’s farmer’s markets.

1911 marked the beginning of the home demonstration program in North Carolina that later became “home economics” and is known today as family and consumer sciences. Beginning with home demonstration canning clubs, today’s family and consumer sciences program serves citizens in all the state’s 100 counties and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation.

The 300-page book highlights the past of Extension Home Demonstration and the impact of Family & Consumer Sciences today. For example, did you know that these programs were responsible for:
  • war bond sales that provided over one-half of the $4 million cost for the WWI hospital ship, Larkspur?
  • libraries and book mobiles in many rural counties?
  • hot lunch programs in North Carolina’s rural schools?
  • raising $100,000 from “butter and egg” money to jump-start state funding for the Jane S. McKimmon Center for Extension & Continuing Education at N.C. State?
  • helping bring electricity to North Carolina’s rural citizens?

Each county extension center in North Carolina received copies of the book. Rywak also presented a copy of the book to Hampton B. Allen Library.


Read more: The Anson Record - New book celebrates 8216 extraordinary service 8217 of N C women

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