FOURTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART I. 7 



he is having an outing, as well as meeting at a school where they are 

 taught many new and noble ideas in the art of agriculture. It doo:5 

 our inmost souls good, and we feel well repaid for all our hard work 

 for the institute, when at the close of nearly every session some of the 

 farmers, or their wives in attendance, step up to our desk and say, •'! 

 want to shake hands with you; I have been helped so much by the many 

 good things I have heard." 



Another important feature of our institute is the "Woman's Session." 

 We do not know if this branch of the institute originated with us in 

 Iowa, yet we do know that with us it was original, never having heard 

 of a "woman's session" until we had held ours two years. Can you 

 imagine the look of consternation that spread over the countenances of 

 the male oflBcers when we proposed this? Ask them now what they 

 think of it. We thought it best to hold these sessions separate, but ono 

 year of this taught us it was a mistake. The men' are just as much — 

 if not more — interested in what the women were doing, than the women 

 were themselves. 



We elect our president, vice president, secretary and treasurer for 

 one year; never re-electing them for more than two years. If we find 

 an officer is a valuable one, we place them on' the executive committee 

 for one year, and at the end of that time elect them again for their old 



offices president or secretary as the case may be. Some of the officers 



of our institute have served in this capacity for ten years. 



We have never changed our days for twelve consecutive yearg, 

 although often changing our dates. Our days are Thursday, Friday and 

 Saturday, and while Thursday and Friday are two of the best days for 

 the farmer to leave home, Saturday the children are home from school, 

 and the little members of the family can be left with the older children, 

 that the mother may attend and enjoy the institute. It speaks better 

 for an organization of this kind to be something that can be depended 

 upon. People have learned this of the Clay county institute, that our 

 days are established ones. 



Since holding our Mid-Winter Fair in connection with the institute, 

 we have made this request of each school director, — "that they grant 

 Friday to the teacher," for the reason that, we make a few special offers 

 to pupils' line of work; such as the best map of Iowa, specimen pa^e 

 of writing, etc., all for children under certain ages. And Mary ana 

 John enjoy seeing their work on exhibition just as much as their par- 

 ents, and, too, we find that John and Mary enjoy attending the institute. 



Our day sessions are made up of good solid work, with now and then 

 a recitation by some farmer's boy or girl; always opening each session 

 with an invocation and congregation singing. 



This is the plan of our program: The first forenoon we rarely if ever 

 try to call the meeting before ten o'clock. Beginning we have congre- 

 gation singing, — -this part being a very pleasant feature of the institute, 

 and is conducted by some farmer or his wife who is an adept in that 

 line. It is usually Nature hymns, or sacred ones, that are familiar to 

 all, and all are requested to take part; and a stranger coming into 

 the hall would surely think that no voice in all the Grand Opera House 



