DeKalb 



Festival 



Celebrates 



25 Years 



^*Sk EKALB county farm folks 

 ^^#1 P*"*^'' *° celebrate the 25th 

 ^ J anniversary of the DeKalb 

 County Soil Improvement Association, 

 August 28, at the annual Farm Bureau 

 picnic. Sycamore Community Park. 

 Eleven members of the first board of 

 directors and the first farm adviser, 

 W. G. Eckhardt, were honored guests. 



While younger folks engaged in a 

 county Farm Sports Festival, the older 

 Farm Bureau members recalled other 

 days and contrasted them with the 

 present. It was evident to them that 

 their pioneering work had borne fruit. 



H. H. Parke, first president of the 

 Association, J. D. Bilsborrow, assistant 

 state leader of farm advisers and 

 George E. Metzger, field secretary of 

 the Illinois Agricultural Association 

 were speakers on the brief program. 



Former president Parke recounted 

 the events that led up to the establish- 

 ment of the DeKalb County Soil Im- 

 provement Association. He explained 

 that farmers in 1912 were aware that 

 expert guidance was needed if they 

 were to improve yields and get the 

 most from their farms. 



J. D. Bilsborrow discussed the 25 



PIONEER FARM LEADERS 

 Left to right: John BIcdr, Mr. Hiatt. Geo. Hyde, W. G. Ecldiardt (iann adriser). Gee. 

 H. Gurler. Fred C. Love. F. B. Townaend. H. H. Parke. E. E. Hippie, Geo. Fox, W. F. 

 Leiiheit and Orton Bell, members of the iirBt board oi directors oi the DeKalb County 

 Soil Improvement Association. 



years of soil experimentation that had 

 preceded the founding of the first 

 farmers' organization in Illinois 

 Knowledge plus application of scien- 

 tific principles are necessary to increase 

 soil fertility, he said. 



"Pioneers seldom reap the fruits of 

 their labor," was Metzger's comment. 

 He explained that folks who are now 

 farming in the county are harvesting 

 the benefits of a movement started 

 25 years ago by the men who were 

 far-sighted enough to establish an or- 

 ganization for soil improvement. He 

 pointed to tax reductions, volume buy- 

 ing of supplies, legislative representa- 

 tion and establishment of parity prices 

 as examples of results farmers obtained 

 by County Farm Bureaus working hand 

 in hand with the Illinois Agricultural 

 Association and the American Farm 

 Bureau Federation. 



Want a Sure Thing? 



There are hundreds of thousands of 

 dollars being spent each year on highway 

 safety. Accident-prevention is out of the 

 sf)eed-cop and iodine stage. The great 

 need now is one of driver education. 

 Most drivers recognize their own abilities 

 and inabilities but at the same time are 

 unwilling to recognize the limitations of 

 other drivers. 



The only sure way of keeping out of 

 accidents is for us to take no chances 

 ourselves and not to permit ourselves to 

 get jockeyed into such a position that 

 any other motorist taking a chance can 

 hurt us . . . two simple rules which 

 would be worth millions of dollars to 

 the motorists of this country each year 

 if they would recognize them. 



E. E. HODGHTBY HITS 

 "Men over 35 are reaping the benefits of work done 

 by those who pioneered in farm organization work." 



"REMEMBER THE DAY — " 

 George Hyde, left, recalls an incident when "BUI" Eckhardt 

 (with felt hat) was DeKalb county's "Soil Doctor." for George 

 E. Metzger, (center) lAA, and I. D. Bilsborrow, assistant state 

 leader of Iann adviaen. 



OCTOBER, 1937 



27 



