Who's 

 Who 



Among the 

 Farm Advisers 



Dear Boss: You didn't tell me that 

 it takes more than the expense money 

 you gave me to get to Harrisburg 

 and back. But I dug down in my 

 own pocket seeing I was on my 

 way and according to instructions I 

 looked up Harry Clay Neville, Saline 

 Ck)unty Farm Adviser. You also neglected 

 to mention that the Farm Bureau ofRce is 

 in one of the courthouse basements. I 

 spent about 30 minutes trying all the 

 doors, got tangled up in the lERC of- 

 fice where they kept telling me the 

 money had run out. and finally fell down 

 another flight of steps and landed near 

 a blonde guy's desk. I asked if he knew 

 where in thunder, or something like that, 

 I could find Harry Neville. He said he 

 was him. And that started off two days 

 of buzzing around the lower end of the 

 state that I will remember a long time. 



He's Doin' All Right 



Before I go into the farm advisering 

 of the Hon. Harry Clay Neville, let me 

 state that he seems to be doing all right. 

 But my ears still ring with his loud cries 

 anent his bowling prowess. I realize the 

 movement is the same in bowling as in 

 pitching horseshoes and for awhile I 

 listened raptly. I could understand how 

 a city guy like me might not get the 

 barnyard golf practice a rural gent gets. 

 After the day was over I allowed myself 

 to be lured into a bowling alley. Now, 

 boss, what your assistant knows about 

 bowling wouldn't cause a gnat's eye to 

 water. This Neville gets up and pitches 

 one down the alley that takes out all the 

 pins. I get up there, squint at the pins 

 way down there, wind up, waltz up to the 

 foul line, slip, crack the back of my leg 

 with the bowling ball and watch it 

 bounce down the alley. Somehow, all the 

 pins dropped. 



Then Neville gets up and 1 could see 

 I had him worried. He yells and pitches 

 this one down the alley and only gets 

 eight. Just to assure him I wasn't try- 

 ing to show him up I put the next one in 

 the gutter. This continued for three 

 games. Now, I don't want it noised 

 around, but your correspondent can well 

 be called the Dizzy Dean of the Alleys. 

 (Can you get through some bowling ex- 

 pense for me ? ) If this guy Neville is so 

 good, and I can beat him, then I must be 



HARRY C. NEVILLE OF SALINE COUNTY 



"Pecani are his hobby. But his bowling — nof to 



hot." 



pretty good don't you think? Is that 

 so! I'd like to see you try it. 



All right, wait a minute. I was just 

 getting around to that. Harry Neville 

 was born in Pinckneyville, Perry county, 

 Illinois, March 8, 1902. He went to grade 

 and high school up there and then to the 

 Ag College at the University of Illinois. 

 He got his B. S. degree in 1923. He went 

 in for some athletics, basket ball, base 

 ball and so on. From Ag school he went 

 to Christopher High School in Franklin 

 county where he taught mathematics and 

 coached basketball. He remained there 

 during 1924 and '25, then went to farm- 

 ing four miles south of Kankakee on a 

 dairy farm of 141 acres. There he stayed 

 until March 1928. In the meantime, 

 Florence Devere, whom Harry had known 

 at the University gave up the fight and 

 they were married. They now have five 

 beautiful children. Harriet, 11, is in 7th 

 grade in Harrisburg. Howard, 10, is in 

 the 5th grrade. Edna Charlotte, 9, is in 

 the 4th grade. Virginia, 5, is in kinder- 

 garten. Donald, 3, is at home helping 

 out but plans to get an education one of 

 these days. 



Aha! Secret's Out 



In March 1928, Harry went to Sul- 

 livan, Moultrie county and taught agri- 

 culture in the high school. The bowling 

 alleys being pretty bad, he left in 1930 

 and went to Ridgway, Gallatin county 

 as Farm Adviser. He stayed until No- 

 vember 21, 1935 and then came over into 

 the adjoining county. Saline. The bowl- 

 ing alleys are very good in Harrisburg 

 and I have an idea that Harry will stay 

 around quite awhile. 



Outside of bowling, Harry is much 

 interested in a number of farm projects. 

 While in Gallatin county, he started the 

 pecan show that has increased interest in 

 that crop. He is still carrying on s hunt 

 for native pecans that are better than the 

 "big name" varieties. He feels pretty 

 sure, with the budding going on, that one 

 of these days Illinois will be a leading 

 pecan state. Just recently, they have lo- 

 cated a native pecan that the best nnt men 

 say is as good if not better than any in 

 the U. S. While in Gallatin. Harry built 



News 



and 



Views 



Oats crop in Livingston County is 



about half normal production, a recent 

 survey by the Board of Supervisors dis- 

 closed. 



Destruction of farm buildings, fruit 



trees and other property resulted from a 

 wind storm in Jasper County July 6. 



Rain, .59 of an inch, accompanied by 



a wind storm, fell near Sparta, Randolph 

 County, July 16. 



"We have about 150 girls enrolled in 



club work this work," writes Mrs. James 

 D. Allen, Macoupin County 4-H chair- 

 man. "Mothers are thinking more about 

 benefits derived through club work for we 

 have more members enrolled this year 

 than last." 



She reports an interesting meeting at 

 Ball school near Girard when club mem- 

 bers — both boys and girls — entertained 

 their parents. Clareta Walker, home ad- 

 viser, and T. H. Brock, farm adviser, 

 were speakers. More than 90 people at- 

 tended. 



700 acres of farmland has been leased 



near Springfield by Gulf Oil Corpora- 

 tion, Pittsburgh. They will prospect for 

 oil. Leasing of more than 6,000 acres is 

 contemplated. 20,000 acres have been 

 leased in southern Illinois. 



up cooperative livestock marketing from 

 58 cars in 1930 to 261 in 1935 at the 

 time he left. He has a system of getting 

 truckers and buyers to co-operate with 

 the Producers that makes for harmony 

 and a good program. 



In Saline, Harry is pushing hard on 

 the soil conservation project. Another 

 one of his plans is enlarging the young 

 people's groups co-operating with the 

 Farm Bureau. But most of all, the thing 

 that Harry Clay Neville is interested 

 in is the friends he makes in his work. 

 He likes meeting and being with people. 

 He's likeable and sincere. People like 

 him, trust him and believe in him. Saline 

 should be proud of him. But his bowling 

 — not so hot. 



Yours, 



J. S. T. . • ■ 



1« 



L A. A. RECORD 



