Let's Go to CommuiiitY Meeting 



By FRANK GINGRICH 



y/^Ti '^'^ ^'-ly. Norman G. I"lai;p. lorm- 

 / / er state Senator from MaJison 

 \_y tounty, anil member of I'armers 



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 I"arm Bureau 

 can do in Illinois is to encourage the 

 organization of more community units. 

 Nothing will do more to stimidate I'arm 

 Bureau membership and hold this mem- 

 bership than worth while monthly get- 

 togethers. 



In Madison county, in our meetings 

 at Liberty Prairie, six miles north of 

 Edwardsvilic, 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 hanil and a tingcr 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 diil it. Here's what we 

 found on our visit Friday evening, Octo- 

 ber 8. — 



I'rom the time jamtorof-the-month I.. 

 ('.. Kayser, unlocked the community 

 room, until the last light was turned out. 

 folks were busy enjoying themselves. 

 Twenty-five -4-H'ers, C^ountry Youth 

 members and grown-ups took active parts 

 in the program. The fact that so many 

 people help with each mcetint; is one of 

 the important reasons for the success of 

 the group. 



\Vhen the clock struck S :()(). V. L. 

 Hclmkamp. vice-president, promptly 

 called the meeting to order and the Ft. 

 Russell CommLmity group went into ac- 

 tion. The little room soon echoed and 

 reechoed with 'llie More W'c Get 1o- 

 gether, the H.ippier Well Be. with 

 W'm. Homann leading the singing. In- 

 R-resting talks and demonstrations on 

 Marketing F'arm Produce and iH ( lub 

 work gave the 1-*^ folks there reliable 

 information on these two important proj- 

 ects of the I'arm Bureau. Keeping mem- 

 bers informed is one of the big |obs 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 



\X'iemers. explained 4-H f lub work and 

 Arthur Helmkamp gave a briet report 

 on marketing. I'arm Bureau member 

 Gharles Knoche who represents his tow n- 

 ship on the county board, told how he 

 and Mrs. Knoche enjoyed the wonders 

 of '^'ellowstone National Park last simi- 

 mer. 



rimer Pape, chairman oi entertainment 

 and former Rural '\'outh 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. Berniie l.ed- 

 better. (Chester Harris and Geneva W'id- 

 ner. Humorous . readings by Eunice 

 Knoche. Gerald Ochs and Mrs. Charles 

 Wcntz 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. Tliree 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 Gel Together Once a Month — and We Learn Some- 

 thing Too." 



I. A. A. RECORD 



