In the fall of 1907 the State agent arranged to begin work on the boys’ corn clubs, and the following spring some clubs were organized in Iredell County. Following the example set by Iredell County, the following counties organized clubs: Catawba, Lincoln, Gaston, Mecklenburg, Union, Cabarrus, and Rowan. This was directed by the farm demonstration workers, aided by the county agents.
By 1909 the funds were doubled for the demonstration work and the clubs increased in proportion, but up to that time no financial aid had been furnished by the counties, although after 1910 the counties began to give small donations in order to stimulate the work. The division agent supervised all the county agents in their work, but the next year he found it necessary to move his headquarters to Raleigh and arrangements were made with North Carolina Agricultural and Mechanical College to take on an extension agent, who was to have charge of the club work.
In 1913 the Federal Department of Agriculture joined in with the extension work of the State to promote agriculture and home economics, which was to be inaugurated in connection with the college, provided: (1) It did not interfere with the work of the farmers’ cooperative demonstration work as then conducted by the Bureau of Plant Industry of the Department of Agriculture; (2) That the work should consist of giving instruction to persons not attending or residents in said college through field demonstrations, publications, etc. – this to be agreed upon by the Secretary of Agriculture and the State Agricultural College receiving the benefits; (3) That the amount of $10,000 be paid annually, provided the State made a similar appropriation and a system of plans for the work he submitted by proper officials of the college and approved by the Secretary of Agriculture.
The State passed an act, known as the Smith-Lever Bill, which approved the action of Congress and appropriated the amount that was necessary in order that the State College might be authorized to receive the grants of money and to organize and conduct agricultural extension work.
The Girls’ Club Work
The girls’ clubs for the first few years were almost entirely canning, yet in 1914 they were working in 32 counties with a membership of one thousand five hundred girls. During the first two years of work the output was almost entirely tomatoes, but later they were putting on the market practically all the vegetables, many fruits, soup mixtures, and preserves.
The general marketing plan for the organization has been to sell on the home market, as it is costly to ship in less than carload lots.
In October, 1916, there were 47 organized counties, 30 of which had as their leader a home demonstration agent. Although some of the counties that were organized did not have time to make reports, the membership was recorded as 2,864. Realizing that the agents could not do their best work without some means of transportation, 20 counties made it possible for their agents to operate cars.
The following year the number of counties organized increased 34 per cent and the number of counties furnishing cars increased 135 per cent. Besides canning and cooking recorded by the club girls, 4,272 articles of clothing were made.
In addition to the girls’ clubs that were already organized and put on a working basis, 202 Negro girls’ clubs were organized with a membership of 5,354 in the two years of work.
In 1920 the progress of work for club member changed slightly and more stress has been laid on clothing, such as dress designing, millinery, and textiles. There were 59 counties organized with a total of 460 clubs and 8,529 members. The following year the number of home demonstration agents was reduced to 49, but in spite of this, the number of clubs and total membership continued to increase.
The organized girls’ club work is being varied each year. In 1922 special stress was laid on food value and better preparation of food; also very good work was done in beautifying the home and the homestead. Poultry and gardening was also encouraged in many clubs.
The short course for club girls is one of the things that they have to look forward to. In 1923 there were 175 girls attending as representatives from 30 counties. This was made possible by civic organizations, boards of commissioners, banks, etc. The Kiwanis club of Charlotte sent 15 girls and the Home Demonstration Council and Cumberland sent 15. These are good examples of the work being done in several communities. They held their five-day meeting at Peace Institute, in Raleigh.
By varying the work of the girls’ clubs the members get as wide a scope of training as possible, and thereby learn the complete methods of home making.
The Boys’ Club Work
The boys’ clubs of North Carolina date back to 1908, when the State agent arranged to begin work in eight counties. As stated before, Iredell County was the first to be organized and it was followed by seven others – Catawba, Lincoln, Gaston, Mecklenburg, Union, Cabarrus, and Rowan. In 1909 the State appropriations were doubled and the number of organized counties were also doubled. No funds up to that time had been received from the counties, and the work was in the form of demonstrations. During 1912 most of the counties made small donations, and the work grew so rapidly that an assistant had to be added to the already large staff of the Extension Service.
In 1916 a great call came from our Nation for maximum production and intelligent conservation. As a response to this call the boys’ clubs worked as an organized force. To meet the demands of the day the clubs most active were:
Boys’ Corn Club …………… 2,866
Boys’ Pig Club ……………… 1,865
Boys’ Poultry ……………….. 1,132
Boys’ Potato Club …………… 295
The one thing that seemed hardest to obtain from these club members was the report of their work.
By 1918 the number of boys enrolled in club work was 3,237, and the profits received from their work was $74,291. The following year the club force was reduced from seven to three on account of the resignation of the men in charge. The vacancies could not be filled owing to a scarcity of funds brought on by the discontinuation of the emergency appropriation.
Although the number of members dropped off in 1920, much progress was reported as having come directly from club work. Probably the most beneficial result was more intensive agriculture, where the crop acres had often been reduced one-half and the number of acres had been increased. The club work, at this time, was varied to meet the needs and the desires of the community, instead of trying to follow one set program. The following year met with some hardships in club work, because of the cooperative marketing campaign that was put on in the state. Much of the county agents’ time was taken up by this work, and he could not give as much time to the club work as formerly.
In 1922 the Extension Report gave an account of the work done through organized groups. More than four-fifths of the members were reached and assisted with their demonstrations through 142 organized clubs."
In 1924 sixty of the 78 county agents reported club activities as a part of their program of work during the year.
The leading club project was poultry, although cotton showed a more decided increase in popularity, which was probably due to an offer of $750 in cash, by the Eastern Carolina Chamber of Commerce, as prizes for this work. The boys’ clubs had been steadily increasing in the percentage of members that completed their project and made a report of the work done and the costs of the work done and the costs of the work. This is extremely important, as it is necessary to take agent in making his report and at the same time gives the boy much experience in keeping valuable records for himself.
Boys’ and Girls’ Encampments
A valuable feature connected with the club work is the mid-summer encampment which is a joint meeting of both the boys’ and girls’ clubs. This enables the bringing together of the boys and girls of a community for the purpose of education, inspiration, recreation, and entertainment. These encampments are held during the season of the year at which time the summer’s work is easiest. The site is selected so it will best accommodate the club members. Farm-life schools and dormitories and sometimes tents are used for the purpose of housing them.
It is not unusual for the members of the different counties to come together in a joint meeting where centrally located sites may be secured. This gives the agents an opportunity to arrange a better program and each agent be responsible for some part of the program. The encampments usually last about three days and two nights, during which time at least one program for the public is held, the parents being especially invited. The vacation, the change and the inspiration of a week from home under good environment and in close touch with able instructors give the average country boy and girl a great opportunity and a new viewpoint.