Rural Youth program planners get ready for the coming year. Left, Macon county — 

 left to right: Den Rocke, assistant farm adviser; Helen Wilson, assistant home adviser; 

 James D. Vollmer, Elizabeth Cunningham, IC<itherlne Oamery, Bill Loveless, Emma Boyd, 

 and James Parish. Right, Menaro — left to right: Mary Johnson, Charles Barton, L. W. 

 Chalcraft, Menard county farm adviser; Delos Johnson, Esther Ruppel, Lowell Becker, and 



Kenneth Bast. 



District Skilled Drivers' contest and Dis- 

 trict Talk Fests will be held jointly from 

 Oct. 20 to 30, and will be sponsored by 

 the lAA departments of safety and younjj 

 people's activities. The state police will 

 give the actual tests in driving, while W. 

 W. Whitlock will direct all activities relative 

 to the contests. Driving contests will run 

 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. In the evening on 

 each date, the Talk Fest will be held and 

 will be conducted as in former years. Rec- 

 reation activities will conclude all evening 

 programs. 



The dates and locations will be as follows : 

 Oct. 29, Carmi; Oct. 21, Carbondale; Oct. 

 22, Vandalia; Oct. 2}, Jacksonville; Oct. 

 24, Champaign; Oct. 27, Galesburg; Oct. 

 28, Canton; Oct. 29, Amboy; Oct. 30, 

 Yorkville. The Farm Bureau office will 

 be the center of activities, with meeting 

 places in a few instances, in near-by build- 

 ings. 



Rural Youthers of both sexes are urged 



to participate in the driving activities. 

 Whitlock points out in the four-unit Skilled 

 Drivers' course that it is young men and 

 women of Rural Youth age who are causing 

 the largest percentage of fatal highway 

 accidents. He says that here is an oppor- 

 tunity for Rural 'Youthers to do their share 

 in community service while learning how 

 to drive, and thus preventing many accidents. 

 He has recently visited a number of coun- 

 ties relative to Skilled Driver activity and 

 finds a great deal of interest in some coun- 

 ties. 



The District Rural Youth Talk Fests 



should prove outstanding again this year. 

 Each succeeding year for a number of 

 years has witnessed an increase in the num- 

 ber of participants. More than 100 young 

 people have represented their counties in 

 the districts during each of the last two 

 years. 



Because of the great value to individual 

 Rural Youthers in personality and leadership 

 development and growth in confidence to 

 speak their ideas in public meetings. Rural 

 ■Youthers are encouraged to participate in 

 County Talk Fests and invite their friends 

 to join Rural Youth and engage in this 

 helpful activity. Broad participation on 

 the county level will mean good Talk Fests 

 on the district and state levels. The State 

 Talk Fest will be held in St. Louis, Nov. 

 18, at the annual meeting of the Illinois 

 Agricultural Association. 



In all reports of Rural Youth meetings 

 in Clay County since the announcement of 

 Skilled Drivers' Clubs, there has been some 



By 

 ELLSWORTH D. LYON 



mention of safety on the highway or other 

 phases of safety. This group will profit 

 greatly by this study, and should go far 

 in the Skilled Driver activities. 



Darrell McAfee, president Christian Coun- 

 ty Rural Youth, gives encouraging news 

 of Rural Youth strength in his county. "At 

 our July meeting we had over 100 persons 

 in attendance, and 31 new members signed 

 up. Congratulations, Christian! Broad par- 

 ticipation in activities will hold that mem- 

 bership and insure further growth. 



Roy Vamer, secretary- Brown County Ru- 

 ral 'Youth, reports 90 present at the raid- 

 July meeting. His report of the educational 

 meeting would indicate that all present were 

 wtll instructed on bee keeping: "Leonard 

 Robins spoke on Bee Culture. He stated 

 that there were six honey cooperatives in 

 the United States. Most Illinois Bee keep- 

 ers are small operators. Bees were put here 

 to pollenize plants. Honev bees are the 

 only ones domesticated. The bee is 15 times 

 more benefit to the farmer than to the bee 

 operator. He also told us how a queen 

 bee was produced." 



Box socials, OS well as boat rides, picnics 

 tours, and dances hove been among th« 

 summer social activities of Rural Youth. 

 Left to right: Elizabeth Classen, Mrs. Henry 

 6«ise, Mrs. Paul Dieter, and Shirley WHcex 

 hold the most beautiful boxes at DuPage's 

 box social, where boxes averaged better 

 tlian $4 each. 



lAA RESEARCH HEAD 

 RESIGNS TO JOIN 

 EXTENSION SERVICE 



LH. SIMERL, director of the lAA 

 • department of research since March, 

 1942, has resigned to join the extension 

 service of the Uni- 

 versity of Illinois 

 College of Agricul- 

 ture. 



Simerl is well- 

 known to many 

 farmers through the 

 state for his work as 

 secretary of the Illi- 

 nois Agricultural As- 

 sociation School 

 Committee and the 

 lAA Economic Study 

 Committee. 



Born and reared on a Champaign coun- 

 ty farm, Simerl was graduated from the 

 College of Agriculture in 1932. He 

 taught vocational agriculture and in 1937 

 became an extension specialist in the 

 agricultural economics cfepartment. He 

 received his master's degree in 1939 and 

 studied at the University of Chicago. 



In his new job, much of his work will 

 be with Farm Bureaus on adult education 

 in the field of agricultural products mar- 

 keting. Simerl is married and has two 

 children. 



L H. Simerl 



20 



I ■■ 



WINNEBAGO F. B. BUYS 

 24-ACRE TRACT 



The Winnebago County Farm Bu- 

 reau recently purchased a 24-acre tract 

 of land in Rockford and plans to de- 

 velop it into a 1 150,000 business and 

 recreational center for local farm peo- 

 ple. It will serve as a memorial to 

 the county's 4-H youths who were 

 killed in World War II. 



A 4-H livestock pavilion where farm 

 youths may exhibit their livestock will 

 be one of the first buildings to be 

 erected, it is hoped. 



A central administrative building is 

 planned for the Farm and Home Bu- 

 reau offices, and associated companies, 

 and will house an auditorium and gym. 

 Playgrounds, baseball and softball dia- 

 monds, and possibly tennis courts, will 

 be laid out in the park area. 



Rapid growth of the Winnebago 

 County Farm Bureau and expansion of 

 its services have forced the move. The 

 Farm Bureau has tripled in size during 

 the past 10 years, and about 750 young 

 farm folks are taking part in 4-H and 

 rural youth activities. 



L A. A. RECORD 



