Building a Farm Bureau Is 



liiie Building a 



In Edgar County the Carpenters are the Committee of 90 Who Make 

 ; Membership Their Year 'round Business 



■ 4 



1 



C\y4— HEN the 1930's waxed lean 

 ^vV \y along with farm income, the 

 ff Edgar County Farm Bureau, 

 too, lost weight. Members' morale was 

 slipping. Gloom prevailed. National- 

 ly, with organized farmers fighting for 

 crop surplus control, the future held 

 promise for farm families. More farm- 

 ers were needed in the scrap for higher 

 farm prices, for thawing frozen credit. 

 Everywhere Farm Bureaus were rally- 

 ing to the cause. 



Edgar county farm leaders held a 

 council of war. Headed by Farm Bu- 

 reau President A. E. Staley and Farm 

 Adviser H. D. VanMatre, they planned 

 their strategy. 



Mobilizing farmers was the first step. 

 Each township director selected four 

 neighbors to help. Early in 1934, five 

 leaders from each of the county's 15 

 townships — 90 of them working as a 

 single committee — met in the Farm 

 Bureau office one Saturday afternoon. 

 They planned their campaign. 



A simple method for rebuilding the 

 organization's man-power was outlined. 

 Members of the committee would get 

 their neighbors to join. Each Satur- 

 day they would report new members at 

 regular Saturday afternoon meetings. 



To make friends for the Farm Bu- 

 reau, committeemen were instructed to 



CAMPAIGNERS 

 Fann Adviser L. E. McKinsia, seotKL cmd 

 F. B. Praaident A. E. Stalay plcm onothar 

 ■tap in Fann Buraou's campaign for a 

 mora abundant liia. 



APRIL 1939 



discuss Farm Bureau activities with 

 everyone they met. That way members, 

 non-members and townspeople would 

 quickly learn that the Farm Bureau 

 was working in the best interests of all. 



Memberships started rolling in. A 

 few townships early led the others. To 

 maintain balance, the effective commit- 

 tees were sent into townships where 

 some jarring loose was necessary. 



"The plan worked. Soon we were 

 on a friendly basis with most folks be- 

 cause we had gained an understanding. 

 Folks seldom have trouble when they 

 understand each other," Zeis Gumm, 

 county organization director, said. 



Soon, too, members of the Commit- 

 tee of 90 came to look forward to 

 their regular Saturday sessions. Out- 

 side speakers were called in. Activities 

 of the Farm Bureau, the lAA and the 

 AFBF were reviewed by committee- 

 men. 



During these meetings the men came 

 to know each other well. They ex- 

 changed news and views and. did a little 

 swapping on the side. They learned to 

 feel the power of the organization of 

 which they were an important part. 

 In short, the sessions became the busi- 

 ness ?.nd social highspot of the week. 



In the busy season the Saturday con- 

 ferences had to be discontinued. A 

 minority of members howled and were 

 appeased only when the group decided 

 to hold regular meetings at 7:45 P.M. 

 on the first Monday of each month, 

 a schedule that is still maintained. 



"That's the way it's been for about 

 three years," Gumm said. "We meet 

 at 7:45 but most of the men are here 

 around seven. Instead of calling in 

 outsiders to speak we develop our own 

 speakers. Each month a discussion 

 leader is appointed. The first meeting 

 of the kind was a success. Several 

 members spoke from the floor. Now 

 we have some extemporaneous speakers 

 who can deliver interesting, well-or- 

 ganized talks on many subjects with 

 only a little preparation." 



Some of the boys have become adept 

 at yarn spinning. And in the social 

 hour following the business session 

 when the group gathers around for 

 coffee and doughnuts or ice cream, the 



"THEREI THEHEI MY FHIEND." 

 consoles Cliiford Morris. "At least yeull 

 get beans." "Oh, yeah?" retorts pugna- 

 cious Fred Smittkamp. Good friends and 

 members of the Committee of M. Fred and 

 Cliif are on opposing teams in a member- 

 ship drive which ended March 6. Losers' 

 penalty: a banquet of beans while win- 

 ners eat turkey. 



Story telling starts. It's one of the 

 features that enhances the popularity of 

 committee meetings. 



Soon after the Committee of 90 was 

 organized members went into the towns 

 to solicit among the townsfolk who 

 own farms. Some had been skeptical 

 of the Farm Bureau's value and a few 

 were antagonistic. Many became loyal, 

 understanding members and boosters. 



The Edgar County Farm Bureau 

 works closely with the Paris chamber 

 of commerce and other groups. After 

 four years of cooperation, both farm- 

 ers and businessmen agree that they 

 must continue to work together for 

 the good of the county. 



"The ministers weren't supporting 

 the Farm Bureau as well as we thought 

 they should and we could see no good 

 reason why they shouldn't," President 

 Staley recalled. "So we invited them 

 and their wives to dinner with our di- 

 rectors and their wives. Before the 

 evening was over we had learned a lot 

 about their problems and they had 

 grasped ours. 



"We discovered that we were both 

 working toward the same thing but 

 from different angles. We agreed that 

 our goal should be A more abundant 



>OTi 



•lAtCik. .i£f^^ii.^ 



