THE 



I 



ILLINOIS AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION RECORD 



To advance the purpose for which the Farm Bureau was organized, namely, 

 to promote, protect and represent the business, economic, social and educa- 

 tional interests of the farmers of Illinois and the Nation, and to develop 

 agriculture. 



THE STATE FARM 

 BUREAU PUBLICATION 



AGRICULTURE SUFFERS LOSS IN DEATH OF HOWARD LEONARD 



FARM leaders and many farmers in 

 Illinois experienced a deep sense of 

 loss in the death of State Director of 

 Agriculture Howard Leonard, former 

 president and treasurer of the Illinois 

 Agricultural Association, October 21 in 

 Springfield. 



His death, after an operation and ill- 

 ness of several months, brought memories 

 to early Farm Bureau members of the 

 absorbing if difficult days of Farm Bureau 

 organization three decades ago. Mr. 

 Leonard was one of the early pioneers 

 and founders of the Farm Bureau move- 

 ment in Illinois. 



As the first president of the Woodford 

 County Farm Bureau in 1915 and as a 

 delegate to the first lAA organization 

 meetings at Urbana and Ottawa in 1916 

 and later at the Peoria reorganization 

 meeting in 1919, he had much to do with 

 laying the foundation of the Illinois Agri- 

 cultural Association as it is known today. 



In fact, Mr. Leonard was a member of 

 the committee at the preliminary organi- 

 zation meeting in Urbana in 1916 which 

 decided on the name "Illinois Agricul- 

 tural Association" for the new organiza- 

 tion. This committee on preliminary or- 

 ganization presented a general outline of 

 the purposes, functions and financial 

 needs of the lAA pending a later meet- 

 ing when a formal constitution and set 

 of by-laws could be worked out and the 

 new Association put on a permanent 

 basis. - 



At Ottawa on March 15, 1916, the 

 delegates from 17 counties met to put 

 finishing touches on their new federation. 

 This is considered to be the first annual 

 meeting of the lAA. As a committee 

 member, Mr. Leonard took a prominent 

 part at this .session where the declaration 

 of purposes of the organization was 

 written into the 1916 constitution. It 

 was at this meeting that Mr. Leonard was 

 elected as first treasurer of the lAA. 



Those were the days when the infant 

 lAA flexed its muscles and gave diligent 

 thought to its potentialities. And while 

 many delegates to the 1917 meeting were 

 openly skeptical of the hopes and dreams 



Howard Leonard 



of a handful of their friends, Mr. Leon- 

 ard was one of the small group of pio- 

 neers which never lost faith. 



At the historic reorganization meeting 

 of the lAA in 1919 at Peoria, Mr. Leon- 

 ard served as convention secretary and 

 also as a member of a special committee 

 which worked out a plan for farmers to 

 hold direct membership in the lAA with 

 annual dues of $5 a year. After some 

 debate and discussion, the delegates 

 approved this report of the committee. 

 The years have proven the wisdom of 

 this plan as it has been demonstrated that 

 successful farm organizations and coop- 

 eratives need to be soundly and ade- 

 quately financed to ser\'e members. 



Many men deserve credit for the parts 

 they played in the reorganization of the 

 lAA and Mr. Leonard is deserving of 

 special recognition for his able scr\'ice 

 as convention secretary at the 1919 meet- 

 ing. 



Following the 1919 meeting, an office 

 was opened in Chicago for the Associa- 

 tion and in 1920 Mr. Leonard was elected 

 president. He served as president for 

 three years, a period considered as one of 

 the most difficult in early lAA history. 



From 1920 through 1923 Mr. Leonard 

 was a director of the American Farm 

 Bureau Federation and helped organize 

 the National Livestock and Meat board, 

 serving as its first chairman in 1923. 

 When Gov. Dwight Green took office in 

 1941, he appointed Mr Leonard state di- 

 rector of agriculture. 



Mr. Leonard was born on a farm near 



(Continued on page 5) 



NOVEMBER, 1945 • VOLUME 23, NUMBER 10 



ILUNOIS AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION 

 OFFICERS 



Pt*«id«B(, Earl C. Smith Datroil 



Vic*-Pr«mid*nt. Tolmag* Defrees Gr**DTiUe 



Corporate S«c.. Paul £. Mathias Jlinsdale 



Field S«c.. G«o. E. Matiger Chicago 



Tr«asur«r. R. A. Cowles Bloomington 



Ami. TrMW., A. H. Wright Varna 



ComptroUar, C. C. Chap«U* — Chicago 



General CounseL Donald Kirkpatrick Chicago 



BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

 (By Congressional Districts) 



Isl le nth Jlarrey W. Adair. Chicago Hts. 



12lh. _....C. I. Elliott. Streator 



13th. _ Jlomer Curtiss. Stockton 



Mth. _ Otto SteHev, Stronghurst 



15»h. Ronald A. Holt, Galra 



ISUi. Albert Hayes. Chillicotbe 



I7th Charles Lauritzen, Roddick 



18th 

 19th... 

 20th... 

 21st 



W. A. Dennis. Paris 



..Charles B. Shuman. Sullivan 



K. T. Smith. Greenfield 



F. E. Morris. Buiialo 



22nd _ AlTin O. Eckert, Belleville 



23rd _ „..., Chester McCord, Newton 



24th. Lyman Bunting, Ellery 



2Sth August G. Eggerding. Rod Bud 



DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS 



Dairy Marketing Wilfred Shaw 



Fruit and Vegetable Marketing L. L. Colvis 



Grain Morketmg George H. Utner 



Legal Donald Kirkpatrick 



Live Stock Marketing S. F. Russell 



Ofiice C. E. lohnsten 



Organization. _ O. D. Brissenden 



Produce Marketing F. A. Gougler 



Publicity __ Creston Faster 



Reseorch and Taxation _ L. H. Simerl 



Rural School Relations _ John K. Cox 



Soles Service W. P. Sandierd 



Soil Improvement John H. Spencer 



Transportation-Claims _ G. W. Baxter 



Young People's Activities Ellsworth D. Lyon 



A&OCIATED ORGANIZATIONS 



Country Life Ins. Co .....Dave Mieher. Mgr. 



Farmers' Mutual Reinsur. Co I. H. Kelker, Mgr. 



III. Agr. Auditing Assn C. E. Strand. Mgr. 



III. Agr. Mutual Ins. Co A. E. Bichordson. Mgr. 



III. Agr. Service Co £arl C. Smith. Pros. 



Donald Kirkpatrick. Sec. 



lU. Co-op Locker Service -Dana Cryder, Pros. 



111. F. Bur. Serum Assn S. F. Bussell. Sec.-Mgr. 



Illinois Farm Supply Co C. H. Becker, Mgr. 



111. Fruit Growers Exchange. ..X. L. Colvis. Mgr. 



ni. Grain Corporation Frank Haines. Mgr. 



III. Livestock Mktg. Assn..Jl. W. Trautxnonn, Mgr. 



ni. Milk Producers' Assn. WiUred Shaw. Mgr. 



Prairie Farms Creameries I. B. Countiss. Mgr. 



m. Wool Mktg. Assn. S. F. RusseU. Sec.-Mgr. 



Director el Inlo i m uU on. Creston Foster. Editor. Merrill C. Gregory, on leave of absence with the United Stotes Army. Asst. Editor, James C. Thomson. 



The Illinois Agricultural Assodatien RECORD is published monthly except August by the Illinois Agricultural Association at ISOI W. Washington Bead. 

 Mendota, 111. Editorial Offices. 608 So. Dearborn St.._ Chicago. III. Entered as second class matter at post office. Mendota, 111.. Sept. 11. 1936. Accept- 

 ance for mailing at special rate of postage provided in Section 412. Act of Feb. 28. 1925, authorised Oct. 27, 1935. Address all communications ler 

 publication to Editonal Offices, lUxnois Agricultural Association RECORD, 608 So. Dearborn St., Chicago. The individual membership fee of the 

 Illinois Agricultuial Association is five dollars a year. The fee includes payment of fifty cents for subscription to the Illinois Agricultural Association 

 RECORD. Postmaster: Send notices on Form 3576. Undeliverable copies returned under Form 3579 to editorial offices. 608 So. Dearborn St.. Chicago, III. 



NOVEMBER, 1945 



