Let's Go to CommunitY Meeting 



l/^rjNE day, Norman G. Flagg, form- 

 /"^ / er state Senator from Madison 



V / county, and member of Farmers 



Mutual Reinsurance Company board, 

 dropped in at the lAA office and 

 made some remarks something like this, 

 as he handed us a program of the Farm 

 Bureau unit meetings in Ft. Russell 

 Township. 



"The greatest thing the Farm Bureau 

 can do in Illinois is to encourage the 

 organization of more community units. 

 Nothing will do more to stimulate Farm 

 Bureau membership and hold this mem- 

 bership than worth while monthly get- 

 to-gethers. 



"In Madison county, in our meetings 

 at Liberty Prairie, six miles north of 

 Edwardsville, we have some real times." 

 He smiled, and remarked, "It seems you 

 just can't stop a fella' when he gets a 

 sandwich in one hand and a finger hung 

 in the handle of a cup of coffee. It helps 

 to develop a more friendly feeling among 

 people, so we always have sandwiches 

 and coffee at our meetings." 



Our curiosity aroused, we decided to 

 see how they did it. Here's what we 

 found on our visit Friday evening, Octo- 

 ber 8. — 



By FRANK GINGRIC3i 



From the time janitor-of-the-month E. 

 C. Kayser, unlocked the community 

 room, until the last light was turned out, 

 folks were busy enjoying themselves. 

 Twenty-five 4-H'ers, Country Youth 

 members and grown-ups took active parts 

 in the program. The fact that so many 

 people help with each meeting is one of 

 the important reasons for the success of 

 the group. 



When the clock struck 8:00, E. L. 

 Helmkamp, vice-president, promptly 

 called the meeting to order and the Ft. 

 Russell Community group went into ac- 

 tion. The little room soon echoed and 

 re-echoed with "The More We Get To- 

 gether, the Happier We'll Be, " with 

 Wm. Homann leading the singing. In- 

 teresting talks and demonstrations on 

 Marketing Farm Produce and 4-H Club 

 work gave the 125 folks there reliable 

 information on these two important proj- 

 ects of the Farm Bureau. Keeping mem- 

 bers informed is one of the big jobs of 

 any organization, and Farm Bureau com- 

 munity units offer one of the best meth- 

 ods of doing this in a thorough way. 



Mrs. Henry Hupke, Jr. and Mrs. Paul 



Wiemers, explained 4-H Club work and 

 Arthur Helriikamp gave a brief report 

 on marketing. Farm Bureau member 

 Charles Knoche who represents his town- 

 ship on the county board, told how he 

 and Mrs. Knoche enjoyed the wonders 

 of Yellowstone National Park last sum- 

 mer. 



Elmer Paf)e, chairman of entertainment 

 and former Rural Youth member, was 

 given full charge after the talks and dem- 

 onstrations. His committee had worked 

 efficiently and in rapid succession six dif- 

 ferent musical selections were presented. 

 Guitars, violins and flutes were played by 

 Evelyn and Charles Bartels, Bernice Led- 

 better, Chester Harris and Geneva Wid- 

 ner. Humorous . readings by Eunice 

 Knoche, Gerald Ochs and Mrs. Charles 

 Wentz kept the audience holding their 

 sides most of the time. 



"Who'll furnish the coffee for the next 

 meeting" was Chairman Helmkamp's 

 last remarks. Three members promptly 

 volunteered and the meeting was ad- 

 journed. 



But wait a minute — it wasn't time 



TWENTY-FIVE HAD SOMETHING TO DO 

 "It's Fun to Get Together Once a Month — and We Leam Some- 

 thing Too." 



1 



L A. A. RECORD 



