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By MRS. JAMES C. GRAHAM, 



Secretory, 

 Illinois Home Bureau Federation 



Undoubtedly a feeling of personal 

 satisfaction occurs to the women se- 

 lected each year as delegates to the Asso- 

 ciated Women of the American Farm 

 Bureau Federation, but to be named a 

 delegate in 1946 was a thrill of a life- 

 time. 



For that meant joining other Illinois 

 Farm Bureau folks on a special conven- 

 tion tour on a southern itinerary to San 

 Francisco with the return trip via a 

 northern route. That the 6,000 mile 

 trek arranged by Roy P. Johnson, head 

 of the special services department of 

 the Illinois Agricultural Association, 

 was a success in putting it mildly. 



Each major stop furnished something 

 of interest for every passenger, 320 of 

 whom boarded the first lAA special 

 train which pulled out at 2 p.m. on 

 Dec. 1, from the Illinois Central sta- 

 tion in Chicago. 



In New Orleans those people inter- 

 ested in history were pleased with the 

 motor tour through the storied narrow 

 streets of the old French Quarter with 

 a stop at Jackson square, St. Louis 

 Cathedral, The Cabildo, etc, while en- 

 gineers viewed with greater wonder the 

 glory of Canal street, paved with marble 

 and brilliantly illuminated. The wo- 

 men marvelled at the huge poinsettias 

 and all the floral beauty of the Old 

 South. 



Second stop was San Antonio. Here 

 again history abounds. The sightseeing 

 trip included a stop at one of the old 

 missions, also a drive through Fort 

 Sam Houston, the largest army post in 

 the U. S. and concluded with a stop at 

 The Buckhorn, curio store and museum. 

 Everyone tried to buy at least one 

 souvenir and a few postcards in the 

 short time alloted for this stop before 

 passengers were returned to the train. 



One was able to get only a glimpse 

 of El Paso, as passengers were whisked 

 from the train to busses for the 150 



mile drive to Carlsbad Caverns, the 

 highlight of the trip for many. A 

 recent issue of Holiday presents a full 

 and beautiful description of the caverns, 

 listed as the Eighth Wonder of the 

 World. 



The busses returning the Illinois 

 people from the caverns took them to 

 the International Bridge, so that the 

 group might go to the Tivoli in Juarez 

 for supper. Mexican food may appeal 

 to some, but one man was overheard 

 telling the waiter that "cows in Illinois 

 have been known to recover from more 

 serious injury than this." Not much 

 time was allowed for shopping, but a 

 few passengers next day were seen all 

 decked out in Mexican jewelry. 



At Phoenix the caravan was officially 

 welcomed at the station by the Arizona 

 Farm Bureau. Riding in each bus which 

 toured the surrounding country was a 

 Farm Bureau member to answer all the 



BRAIDED RAG RUG 



You con maice tills beautiful rag rug from 

 old stoclcings and rags. It may be made 

 as large as your rags will carry you in 

 oval/ round, or square patterns, it can be 

 enlarged from time to time. For free in- 

 structions send enclosed self-addressed 

 stamped enevelope to Woman's Editor, lAA 

 Record, 608 S. Dearborn Street, Chica- 

 go 5, Illinois. 



questions the Illinois folks had to make 

 regarding the orange and grapefruit 

 groves, the lettuce fields and packing 

 plants, the growing and processing of 

 dates, and the irrigation of the land. 



It was very difficult for many to 

 decide if it would be more of a thrill 

 to attend Queen for a Day or have 

 breakfast with Tom Breneman. The 

 scramble for tickets ended with every- 

 one going one place or the other, and 

 with one or two making both. Filing 

 in to Tom's an hour later than it was 

 expected that the Illinois folks would 

 arrive, one native, who had probably 

 waited several hours, was heard to re- 

 mark, "Such stupidity!" Illinoians 

 weren't so dumb though — they were 

 positive, having been unable to see 

 much from the bus windows enroute 

 from the beautiful Los Angles station 

 to Hollywood, and also having been 

 well dampened while dashing from the 

 bus to the restaurant door, that it was 

 raining in California, a fact which Tom 

 Breneman and his colleagues couldn't 

 comprehend. 



Hollywood Boulevard was beautiful, 

 dressed in all its splendor for Christmas 

 with holiday trimmings and decorated 

 Christmas trees. However, the only 

 stars seen were those we saw in our 

 dreams as we drifted into the last night 

 of sleep aboard a puUman before reach- 

 ing San Francisco and the convention. 



The twelfth annual convention of 

 the Associated Women of the American 

 Farm Bureau Federation officially 

 opened Dec. 8 in the Fairmount Hotel 

 with a luncheon in the Red Room, Mrs. 

 Paul Palmer, the recording secretary, 

 presided. This meeting was open only 

 to the official delegates, and many of 

 the special trains from various states, 

 including the second Illinois train, ar- 

 rived in San Francisco too late to per- 

 mit any on board to attend. The Illi- 

 nois delegates included Miss Pearl E. 

 Barnes, president, and Miss Leona 

 Barnes, both of Preemption ; Mrs. Stan- 

 ley Castle, past president, of Alton; 

 Mrs. James C. Graham, secretary of 

 Aledo; Mrs. J. S. Woodburn, Hillsdale; 

 Mrs. C. V. Golden, Cordova; Mrs. 

 John Morris, Eden; Mrs. Charles 

 Schmitt, Beason; and Mrs. Charles 

 Shuman, Sullivan. :. i - ..■ j. 



(Continued on page 26) .. • 



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L A. A. RECORD 



