U.S. Treasury Department Recognizes N.C. 4-H'ers Work in Savings Bond Program, 1941-1956

From the July 1956 issue of Extension Farm-News

The highest award given by the U.S. Treasury Department was presented to the North Carolina 4-H Club at the closing session of the State 4-H Club Week at State College.

Wade Hawkins of the Savings Bond Division of the Treasury Department presented the coveted award to L.H. Harrell, state 4-H leader, and Miss Nancy Johnson, retiring State 4-H Council president.

The special award is in the form of a plaque bearing an inscription of President Eisenhower’s inaugural prayer. It recognizes the achievement made by North Carolina 4-H’ers in their thrift program.

The president’s prayer contains 134 words. It was made by Dwight D. Eisenhower after he had taken the oath of office as President of the United States on January 20, 1953. In giving it, the President said he wished to “offer a little prayer of my own.” It was composed by the President on the morning of his inauguration amid the bustle of preparation for the day’s ceremony.

After the inauguration, leaders interested in the Savings Bond Program of the Treasury Department offered to undertake the job of printing and mounting the prayer to be used as an award to the thousands of volunteers who have aided the bond program since 1941. The work of printing, mounting, and transporting the prayer was donated by various industries of the United States. The prayer is in illuminated printing, and it is mounted in an eight by twelve frame made from wood taken from the inaugural stands, which were constructed of Southern pine.