I 



I 





Rural Youther who found it hard to get 

 to meetings because of mud roads but 

 wlio always tame when it was possible 

 tor him to do so. 



At the close of the afternoon confer- 

 ence the new state committee memlx-rs 

 and their alternates were elected as fol- 

 lows: Edna Dew, Ogle; alternate, Bob 

 Sievers, Rock Island; Glenn Niehaus, 

 AMontgomcry; alternate, Marie Buhrman, 

 Washington; Rex limor)-, McDonough; 

 liternate, Lyle Schertz, W(X)dford; George 

 Matthews, Whiteside; alternate, Russ 

 Schceler, Peoria; Ruth Huser, Tazewell; 

 alternate, Sumner Johnson, Knox. The 

 state committee had its first meeting on 

 Thursday afternoon and elected Ruth 

 Huser, Tazewell, as the official represent- 

 ative to the National Rural Youth Com- 

 mittee of the American I'arm Bureau 

 [■"ederation. Edna Drew, Ogle, was 

 chosen as her alternate. 



The Rural Youth mixer on Tuesday 

 evening, led by Johnnie Rollins and his 

 committee was enjoyed from grand march 

 to the final dance. The mixture of march- 

 ing, ballroom dancing, and scjLiare danc- 

 ing provided an evening ot pleasure to 

 all who participated. 



The final session for Rural Youth was 

 the breakfa.st served in the Steamboat 

 Room, Mark Twain, 7 o'clock Wednes- 

 day morning with 108 people, mostly 

 young people, being served. Speakers 

 for the occasion were: Miguel Bechara. 

 Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Kenneth Osborne, 

 Somerset, England. Rural Youthers were 

 greatly interested in the remarks of these 

 two men and asked many questions fol- 

 lowing their talks. 



.*tf*S 



) > 



Six Topnotchers pose for a picture after 

 they placed higti in the annual Rural Youth 

 Talk Fest held at St. Louis in conjunction 

 with the lAA annual meeting. Winner of 

 the Talk Fest was Lyle Schertx (left) of 

 Woodford county. He was to represent Il- 

 linois in the national Talk Fest at the AFBF 

 convention in Chicago in December. Back 

 row: Schertz, Bill Mason, La Salle, second; 

 John S. Fisher, Mercer, fifth; front row: 

 Mary Holmes, Pike, third; Ruby Viere, Mad- 

 ison, fourth and Elizabeth Cunningham, 

 Perry, sixth. 



Ray Eichelberger, 

 Champaign county, re- 

 ceives trophy from 

 lAA President Shumon 

 after winning stat« 

 safe driving contest in 

 St. Louis. Left is Sgt. 

 C. L. Rockwell, one of 

 the fudges and mem- 

 ber of the lllineli 

 State Police, traffic 

 safety section. 



Ray Eichelberger Wins lAA 

 State Skilled Drivers Contest 



RAY EICHELBERGER vs,i. ad 

 judged best man behind a steer- 

 ing wheel following the first an- 

 nu.il Rur.U Youtli state skilled 

 drivers' contest held srnie the 

 end of the war. 



The contest pitted the winners ol 

 eight Illinois districts against each other 

 and was held in conjunction with the 

 Illinois Agricultural Association annual 

 meeting in St. Louis. 



Cooperating with the I.AA ikjiarl- 

 ments of young peoples activities, and 

 safety and public health in conducting 

 the contest were the tratlic safety divi- 

 sion of the Illinois state police and St. 

 Louis city police. 



Placing second in the contest v<.as | 

 Robert "^'oung, Henry county. Third 

 was Albert Henne, Kendall county. 



The contest started in the counties 

 where 1,500 participants competed and 

 "2 of them went to the district finals. 

 The preliminary trials included a writ- 

 ten test and a driving test. 



The finals at St. Louis also were di- 

 vided into two parts — 1. an actu.il 

 street driving test in St. Louis iralfu. 

 and _'. a test' of skill. 



Ihe actual driving performance w.is 

 uraded on knowledge of trafTic regula- 

 tions, attitude, courtesy, signalling, ap- 

 proaching, turnin,c, stopping for signs, 

 speed gear shifting, alertness, distrac- 

 tion, use of horn, following, passing, 

 etc. 



The skill test consisted of trick per- 

 formances such as backing in and out 

 of stanchions placed on the street at 

 intervals, doing same going forward, 

 stopping with bumper over a line af- 

 ter br.iking at 20 miles per hour, park 

 ing correctly, and signalling. 



President Shuman of the lA.^ pre- 

 sented Eichelberger with a gold trophy 

 and Young with a plaque. 



R.F.D. AMERICA IS 

 NEW QUIZ SHOW 

 FOR FARM FOLKS 



LA S.AI.LE county farm folks were 

 Scheduled to appear on R.E.D. 

 America, new farm radio quiz show, 

 Dec. 25. Listed on the program 

 were Robert Sawyer and Mrs. Ruth 

 H. Stratton of Leland, and Bob Ashley 

 >i Lonica. 



1 his new program is heard every 

 Thursday night over the Mutual Broad- 

 casting System at 8:30 CST. Joe Kelly, 

 quizitiastcr of the Quiz Kids program, 

 is in charge of the show. Illinois radio 

 stations on which the program tan be 

 heard are WGN, Chicago; WJPF, Her- 

 rin; WQUA. Moline; WKRO, Cairo, 

 .md WGIL, Galesburg. 



Main purpose of the program, ac- 

 cordin,c to its originator, is to bring 

 about a better understanding between 

 farm and city groups. 



A "Friendly Farmer" aw.ird is made 

 on each week's program to the farmer 

 who has helped a neighbor. On the 

 Dec. -1 program, 22 friendly farmers of 

 Shannon, Carroll county, who helped 

 out an injured neighbor, Edgar H 

 Schoonhaven, were guests on the pro- 

 gram. They did his chores and raised 

 $700 to help pay his hospital bill when 

 he suffered a broken b.tck. 



If you want to see the program any 

 time you plan to be in Chicago write 

 for the tickets to R.F.D. America. Chi- 

 cago, III. The show is staged at the 

 Eighth Street Theater. Chicago 



JANUARY, 1948 



