These are scenes in baseball, hag calling and archery photogrophed at the last sports festivol In 1941. 



PORTS 



ESTIVAL IS 



ACK 



THE Illinois Farm Sports Festival, one 

 of the most popular events on Farm 

 Bureau calendars in past years, is sched- 

 uled for revival in August, according 

 to plans now underway. 



Date for the big event has been tenta- 

 tively set as Aug. 29-30 at the Uni- 

 versity of Illinois at Urbana. 



As the Record goes to press, an ad- 

 ministrative committee for the Festival 

 is being formed. Representatives named 

 to date by the sponsoring organiza- 

 tions are: Emile Redieger, Lexington, 

 Illinois Home Bureau Federation; Har- 

 old Safford, Prairie Farmer magazine 

 and Radio Station WLS; Irene F. 

 Brandt, Galesburg, Illinois, Home Ad- 

 visers Association ; Otto Steffey, Strong- 



hurst, lAA board member, George E. 

 Metzger, lAA field secretary, and Paul 

 Mathias, lAA secretary, as lAA repre- 

 sentatives. Representatives from the U. 

 of I. College of Agriculture and Farm 

 Advisers Association are E. H. Regnier 

 and J. H. Brock, Will county, respec- 

 tively. 



Roy Johnson, former DeKalb coun- 

 ty farm adviser, recently returned from 

 Army service and a new member of the 

 lAA staff, has already been assigned to 

 devote considerable time to the Festi- 

 val. 



First recommendation to revive the 

 Sports Festival, which hasn't been held 

 sine* 1941, came at a committee meet- 

 ing held in the lAA offices April 15. 



Roy Johnson, former DeKalb county 

 farm adviser who has served five years 

 in the U. S. Army, 

 began work May 1 

 on the staff of the 

 Illinois A g r ic u I- 

 tural Association. 



Johnson will 

 work on special 

 projects for the 

 lAA and his first 

 assignment will be 

 the Illinois Farm 

 Sports Festival ten- 

 tatively scheduled 

 for Aug. 29-30 on 

 the University of Illinois campus. 



Johnson enlisted in the Army as a 



Roy Johnson 



private March 1, 1941 and left service 

 with the rank of major. He was com- 

 missioned a second lieutenant after 

 completing Officers' Candidate School 

 Aug. 4, 1942, and served at George 

 Field, Lawrenceville, for 22 months in 

 charge of special services. The I A A, 

 County Farm Bureaus and Associated 

 Companies contributed to a fund which 

 equipped day rooms and furnished 

 needed recreational equipment at 

 George Field while Johnson was sta- 

 tioned there. 



In July, 1944, Johnson was sent over- 

 seas and spent more than 16 months in 

 the China-Burma-India theater. He re- 

 turned to this country in Februar)', 1946 

 and began his terminal leave in March. 



Attending the committee meeting were 

 representatives from the sponsoring 

 groups. 



Prof. J. C. Spitler, representing the 

 U. of I. College of Agriculture, said 

 that Douglas Mills, head of the athletic 

 department of the U. of I., had re- 

 ported that athletic facilities would be 

 available for the Festival. Professor 

 Spitler said, however, eating facilities 

 might be something of a problem. As 

 far as housing was concerned, he said 

 that 2000 attended Farm and Home 

 Week, and rooms were available for 

 all those who needed them, and that 

 he thought that the College of Agri- 

 culture could find accommodations for 

 Sports Festival participants. 



A native of Ogle county where his 

 father, the late Fred Johnson, was a pio- 

 neer Farm Bureau member, Johnson at- 

 tended Franklin Grove High School and 

 Mt. Morris College. He later attended 

 the U. of I. College of Agriculture and 

 was graduated in 1930. 



Johnson taught vocational agriculture 

 and coached baseball, basketball and 

 track teams at Mahomet High School, 

 Champaign countj', for 61/^ years starting 

 in 1930. He was very active in promot- 

 ing 4-H clubs and FFA activities and en- 

 joyed considerable success with his ath- 

 letic teams. His basketball team reached 

 the state tournament finals in 1933. 



On Jan. 1, 1937, Johnson was named 

 farm adviser in DeKalb county and con- 

 tinued in that position until he entered 

 ser\'ice in 1941. 



Johnson is 39 years old and is married. 

 His wife is the former Pearl Conrad of 

 Bicknell, Ind. 



MAY, I94G 



