History of Extension Club Work in Mecklenburg County, 1915-1966

The following history of extension home economics work in Mecklenburg County was written in 1969. The author is not known.

A very significant year to the women in North Carolina is 1911. Home Demonstration work was organized in five pioneer states. These states were South Carolina, Virginia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee in the order listed.

In the spring of 1912, agents covered 14 counties in North Carolina. These counties were Alamance, Catawba, Edgecombe, Gates, Granville, Guilford, Hertford, Madison, Mecklenburg, Moore, Pitt, Wake, Wayne, and Wilkes.

Workers were called collaborators and first came through by train with demonstrations set up in box cars. The farm agent gave demonstrations mainly concerning growing cotton under boll weevil conditions which had invaded cotton growers. The home agent gave educational demonstrations in homemaking to the women.

Miss Annie Lee Rankin was the first home agent assigned to Mecklenburg County as a salary of $150.00 for the first year. This was paid by the General Education Board. She was expected to work all year ‘round but with special emphasis during the canning season.

Agents were educated persons experienced in practices. Most were rural school teachers.

4-H Club work had actually already begun with corn clubs for boys and tomato clubs for girls in 1909. It was suggested by Miss Marie Cromer, pioneer home agent of South Carolina, that farm girls could be brought together by growing a tenth acre of tomatoes. Not only were these young people given guidance in growing top quality produce for Northern markets, local hotels, and state institutions, but they were being encouraged to can these foods for home use.

The idea of working through children to reach adults is not anything new. In 1913 there were 15 Southern states organized in home demonstration work.

May 1914 was a real milestone for the Extension Service. At this time the famous Smith-Lever Act was passed appropriating funds for what was to be known as Agricultural and Home Economics Extension Service. By cooperating with the land-grant college, every state in the nation could now have the opportunities of Extension Service.

In 1915 Miss Martha Creighton came to Mecklenburg County as home agent. There was a very loose organization during these years prior to the first World War, however, records do state that it was through home demonstration clubs that the machinery was provided for much of the war emergency work in 1918.

Through the home demonstration clubs there was a systematic way for caring for the sick in the country and with trained leaders acting as practical nurses and operating soup kitchens for those in need.

The first work of the home demonstration agent included instruction for all people, both Negro and white.

In 1918 the first home demonstration organization for Negroes was established. Emergency Negro home agents were placed in 41 counties. At this time there were white agents in 71 North Carolina counties.

After the war emergency period, organized counties dropped to 51 for white and Negro work was discontinued.

Things began to look up in 1919 when Miss Martha Creighton, home agent, invited the existing clubs to a meeting in the old Court House for the purpose of forming a county organization. There were 13 women present, three of whom are living today (1969). These three include Mrs. R.E. McDowell, Mrs. W.F. Watt, and Mrs. Harvey B. Hunter, with Mrs. McDowell elected first federation president. Records are not completely clear as to which clubs made up this original federation. Park Road was the first organized home demonstration club in the county. A community group in Nevin had been meeting together as a Billy Sunday prayer group, later calling themselves the “Help One Another Club.” Hearing about the Park Road Demonstration Club, the Nevin group became the second home demonstration club in Mecklenburg County.

We know two additional clubs being a part of the federation in 1919. They were Sharon and Huntersville.

In 1921 Mrs. McDowell was elected state federation president. Miss Creighton was appointed district agent and replaced by Miss Marian Davis, who remained only one year and was replaced by Miss Bertha Proffitt.

In May 1923 the federation included Central Steele Creek, Derita, Ebenezer, Hopewell, McIver, Nevin, Prosperity, Sardis, Trinity, Park Road, Huntersville, Dixie, and Shopton.

Mrs. Harvey B. Hunter served as federation president in 1923. First steps were taken in 1923 toward the establishment of a market for selling produce.

Characteristics of the home demonstration clubs through the years has been their concern for the progress of the people of the county and their inspired leadership in getting a job done when the need was recognized.

The need for library facilities throughout the county and court house improvements was recognized. After approaching the county commissioners, $5,000 was appropriated for Library Extension work and a plan was proposed for rest rooms in the court house in 1925.

About this time Miss Proffitt, the home agent, gave a demonstration on the use of margarine. She insisted that it could be used in place of butter. Miss Delano Wilson replaced Miss Proffitt as home agent in 1926.

The federation had its first meeting in the new club house on South Myers Street. This was a gift of the county commissioners and was to be shared with the Red Cross, P.T.A., and Mecklenburg Sanitorium board.

A new club house sounds great but along with it were the problems of upkeep, buying coal, frozen pipes and furnace repair. This finally led to joint ownership with the American Legion and eventually with the Federation moving back to the Court House in 1933.

The Myers Street House was used for a meeting in 1932 attended by Mrs. Jane S. McKimmon, who is given credit as the first real pioneer and founder of home demonstration work in North Carolina. Equipment was short in those days and each federation member was asked to bring two cups each to have enough to serve refreshments for Mrs. McKimmon’s visit.

By the thirties, home demonstration work was much stronger in Mecklenburg County. In 1929 Negro home demonstration work had been re-organized with Miss Wilhelmina Laws as home agent. Farm and Home Week in Raleigh was well attended with at least two delegates from each club.

It was in 1930 that Miss Carmen Alexander of Hopewell received recognition for completion of certain classes at Farm & Home Week.

Special projects during this time were roadside beautification, better nutrition due to the increasing number of cases of pellagra resulting from a deficiency of B vitamins.

The home demonstration council sponsored the privy project and during the years 1934-36 promoted the building of 12,577 sanitary privies in North Carolina.

Through WPA assistance many club houses were built in the county and all over the state from 1933-36. Beautification of community and club house grounds and community recreation were big events for th entire community.

In 1936 twelve counties employed full-time Negro home agents. Mrs. Margaret Rogers guided the first Negro Achievement Day in Mecklenburg County, which was held in Clear Creek High School.

Helen John Wright replaced her sister Mrs. Max Culp as home agent in 1938.

In 1939 Mrs. W.E. Neill served as state president of the North Carolina Home Demonstration Clubs.

Mrs. Vester McLaughlin led the council on two occasions, first in 1940 and again in 1965.

Yes, we remember Pearl Harbor. We also remember the garments we made for Bundles for Britain and the 1,438 cotton mattresses made in the mattress program.

Victory gardens were urged and the club women assisted the lunchrooms by giving canned foods and raising funds to finance school lunch rooms.

Two war food assistants were assigned to the Mecklenburg Extension staff in 1944. These agents gave demonstrations on the use of foods to replace meats. There was also a lot of sewing for the Red Cross and rolling of bandages and dressings. Economy was necessary and demonstrations were given on remodeling and making over old clothes.

Rayon was the clothing news of 1945 for commercially purchased fabric. We were taught that it was crease-resistant, water repellant and moth proof. That same year printed feed sacks were available and contests for fair entries featured feed sack garments.

During Mrs. Ollie Hoover’s term as Federation president in 1945-46, the county had six freezer locker plants. Freezing the home food supply received great emphasis along with home dairying, poultry flocks, and improved water systems.

Mrs. Minnie Brown, Negro home agent, worked in Meckenburg in 1947 and later moved on to the State Extension office.

Mrs. J.C. Berryhill led 17 clubs in the county through her leadership as council president. She was one of three from Mecklenburg who went on to serve as State Council President.

In 1960 Miss Kathleen Nelson came to Mecklenburg County from South Carolina as home economics extension agent, moving on to district agent in 1967.

In 1962 the council published the cookbook Foods We Remember, and subsequently sold close to 10,000 copies.

Mrs. Jo Ann Hodge replaced Miss Maude Middleton as home agent. Miss Middleton had served Mecklenburg as home agent for 15 years.

Alice Bell came to Charlotte in 1965 presenting a charm school which was sponsored by the Extension Homemakers Council.

Through the years Extension Homemakers had mastered many home economics skills and crafts. In an effort to share these with others, the first Home Economics Skills and Crafts Fair was held in 1968. This was so successful that it was repeated again in 1969 and proved twice as successful as the first.

The enthusiasm of the Skills and Crafts Fair prompted a fall trip by the Craft leaders to the Craftsman’s Fair of the Southern Highlands in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

1965-66 marked the merging of two home demonstration club organizations, the Negro and the white, into one county organization. The name of the home demonstration clubs became Extension Homemaker Clubs and once again we try to become accustomed to progress and the new terminology.