du^ud YOUTH 



By Ellswerrti D. lyen 



At the beginning of 1944, Rural 



Youth of Illinois set out to reach the 

 goal of 1300,250 in bond purchases to 

 be reported through the department of 

 Young People's Activities of the Illi- 

 nois Agricultural Association. This 

 goal has been more than reached. The 

 amount of $309, 918 has been reported 

 by Rural Youth for 1944. 



Reaching th•"^ goal has won for the 

 young people the privilege of naming 

 various pieces of military equipment. 

 It was the responsibility of tlie five 

 members of the State Rural Youth 

 Committee to designate the projects to 

 be sponsored. Soon after the goal was 

 set the committee decided upon four 

 projects. The projects and the amount 

 of purchases to be allocated to each 

 project were : Two ambulance planes, 

 $110,000 each; one pursuit ship, $75,- 

 000; and an amphibious jeep, $5,250. 



The first piece of equipment was 

 sponsored dilring the first six months 

 of the year. The bonds and stamps 

 reported for this project amounted to 

 $111,903.45. This ambulance plane was 

 named "The Spirit of Illinois Rural 

 Youth " at the Rural Youth Training 

 Camp at East Bay in August. The 

 other three pieces of equipment were 

 to be named at Farm and Home Week. 

 Since Farm and Home Week was can- 

 celled, the State Rural Youth Commit- 

 tee decided that each County Rural 

 Youth Organization should be asked to 

 submit a name for each piece of equip- 

 ment. From the names suggested, ten 

 names will be selected by the commit- 

 tee. These in turn, will be submitted 

 again to the county groups and voted 

 upan by them. 



The State Rural Youth Committee 



for 1945 has decided upon a service 

 project with the American Red Cross 

 to run for the entire year. The pro- 

 gram is to follow the needs of the 

 local Red Cross Chapter but will center 

 around such activities as blood donor 

 service, financial campaigns; courses in 

 first aid, nutrition, and home nursing, 

 and such other projects as might be 

 helpful locally or nationally and spon- 

 sored by the Red Cross. 



It is the hope of the committee that 

 Rural Youth groups will call upon lo- 

 cal Red Cross leaders to explain how 

 programs might be conducted and that 

 Rural Youthers will make themselves 

 available to the service of the Red 

 Cross. 



The DuPage county Rural Youth is mov- 

 ing; upward in membership. Six new mem- 

 bers were received at the January meeting 

 making a total of twenty new members in 

 the last four months. At the January meet- 

 ing the secretary Mary Brummel read a very 

 appreciative letter from an orphanage in 

 Lisle, thanking the group for its contribution 

 of Christmas toys. 



Henry county is studying parliamentary 

 procedure as the educational feature for the 

 February meeting. Here is helpful educa- 

 tional material because Rural Youthers like 

 to conduct meetings in an orderly manner. 

 At this meeting officers were elected. Nearly 

 200 members and guests attended the recent 

 annual Rural Youth dance even in below- 

 zero weather and snow. 



Randolph county cooies through with 



basketball teams for both men and women 

 as a part of the group recreational program. 

 The educational feature of the January 

 meeting of the group consisted of a dis- 

 cussion led by Alice Brown, Marcella Har- 

 mon, Marie Rockwell on the theme "Meet- 

 ing the World Gracefully". 



Recent annual banquets have been held by 

 Brown, Carroll, Edwards, Wayne, Richland, 

 Schuyler and Henry counties. 



The Cook county Rural Youth group 



studied public health at its January meeting. 

 A member of the Cook county public health 

 unit was present and showed a movie on 

 public health. Discussion by the group fol- 

 lowed the movie. 



4-H Clnb Member's Sow 



Makes Unnsnal Record 



More than six tons of pork in three 

 years is the record of the purebred 4-H 

 Chester White sow, "Marie" owned by 

 Robert Meyer, of the Crescent City 

 4-H Club in Iroquois county. 



A total of 70 pigs in six litters far- 

 rowed by this Chester White sow in 

 three years have been raised to 180 

 days. Their total weight was 12,8.30 



Robert M«yer, Iroquois county 4-H club 

 member, has established something of o 

 record with his purebred ChMtei White 



pounds. This is an average of 4277 



f>ounds or 2.14 tons of pork per year 

 or three consecutive years. 



The dam of Marie, a 4-H club sow 

 owned by Carl Dixon of Prairie Green 

 township, produced two ton litters. 

 One litter of 12 weighed 2245 pounds 

 at 180 days and a second litter of 10 

 weighed 2360 pounds. 



In 1941, the spring and fall litters 

 raised to six months consisted of 11 

 and 13 pigs respectively weighing 2128 

 pounds and 2340 pounds. 



Ten pigs weighing 1922 pounds con- 

 stituted the 1942 spring litter. The fall 

 litter of 12 pigs weighed 2482 pounds 

 when 180 days old. 



The 1943 spring litter of 13 pigs 

 weighed 2300 pounds. The fall litter 

 of 11 pigs weighed 1658 jjounds when 

 180 days old. 



Robert and his father are firm be- 

 lievers in a good swine sanitation pro- 

 gram 



Badio School For Vets 



Project Of 4-H Members 



While wounded veterans of over- 

 seas duty are convalescing at Mayo 

 General Hospital in Galesburg, they 

 will have an opportunity to receive 

 valuable radio instruction — thanks 

 to the latest contribution of Illinois' 

 34,000 4-H club members for the wel- 

 fare of U. S. servicemen. 



When a survey was conducted among 

 the patients at the hospital to see .what 

 type of instruction they wanted, radio 

 was one of the three receiving the most 

 votes. 



Through scrap drives, dances, parties, 

 and auctions, 4-H club members raised 

 $1,764.82 so that the veterans could 

 have the type of school they wanted. 



On Jan. 17 the school was opened 

 with 50 4-H representatives from Knox 

 and the seven surrounding counties 

 present for the occasion. 



From first-hand experience, Sgt. Earl 

 Poulsen, who was wounded at Cassino 

 and later sent to Galesburg for con- 

 valescence told the group of the im- 

 portance of such a school to the pa- 

 tients. 



In accepting a placque from 4-H 

 members to be hung in the laboratory, 

 Maj. James C. Vaughan, post adjutant, 

 stated, "The reconditioning service of 

 Mayo General Hospital is most grateful 

 to the 4-H clubs for their unselfish and 

 patriotic contribution toward the es- 

 tablishment of a radio school in this 

 institution. . 



"Such a school designed for the re- 

 conditioning of patients, will provide a 

 practical and therapeutic laboratory 

 where the soldier may recapture lost 

 skills and, at the same time, be restored 

 to his normal, healthy self." 



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I. A. A. RECORD 



