With plenty of color and dash, county Farm 

 Bureaus conducted their annual January mem- 

 bership drives and were amazed at the re- 

 sults. They find that there are still thousands 

 of farmers ready to join Farm Bureau when 

 they clearly understand what Farm Bureau 

 stands for. Top left: Everett Ege, Whiteside 

 county, (left) signs up Joe Medema with the 

 thermometer at 16 below zero. Top, right: 

 Harry W. Doney of Vermilion county is con- 

 gratulated by Farm 

 Adviser Orin Hertz 

 (left) as the young 

 man becomes a Farm 

 Bureau member. Bot- 

 tom, left: Fronlclin 

 Organization Director 

 Carl Cox (left) hongs 

 up a report meeting 

 notice at Benton 

 helped by Jack Hew- 

 lett, southern Illinois 

 district organization 

 director. Loolcing on 

 is Humbert Summers. 

 Bottom, right: At 

 Washington county, 

 the youngsters lost 

 the organization drive 

 to the oldtimers so 

 must eat from a hog 

 trough. Left to right, 

 front, Charles May- 

 field, lAA; Gerald 

 Spencer, and Hubert 

 Mullken; back, Ray- 

 mond Pitchford, COO, 

 and Waldo Finke. 



MEMBERSHIP PASSES 150,000 



RESULTS OF FARM BUREAU DRIVES AMAZE VETERAN CAMPAIGNERS 



IT \X'AS mid-Januar)' and the coldest 

 day of the year. The thermometer 

 dipped to 16 below zero. Everett Ege 

 dressed and walked gingerly out to 

 his barn. He milked, then fed his 

 c.ittle and hogs. 



It was a grand day to stay indoors. 

 But Ege had pLinned it differently. After 

 a hearty breakfast, he changed into clean 

 overalls, told his wife he'd be gone, and 

 was off in his car headed down the ro.\d 

 toward a neighboring farm. 



That bitter cold January morning 

 Everett Ege planned to talk to his 

 neighbors about Farm Bureau. He him- 

 self has been a Farm Bureau member in 

 Whiteside county for 26 years. He 

 has worked on nearly every membership 

 drive Newton township has ever had. 



Everett Ege, without realizing it, was a 

 better promoter of Farm Bureau than any 

 person his organization could hire. "I 

 have been a member from the day I started 

 farming." he would tell his friends in 

 a calm, deliberate manner. "I know it's 

 a good thing for farmers or I wouldn't 

 be here asking a neighbor to join." 



His argument carried weight. Im- 

 mediately after dinner Everett signed 

 his first new member, Joe Medema, whom 

 he had known for 20 years. Before the 



lAA-Farin Bureau member- 

 ship was 150,015 on Feb- 

 ruary 1, 1948, according to 

 O. D. Brissenden, lAA organ- 

 ization director. 



drive ended Ege signed 7 new members, 

 and received the award for bringing in 

 tile most members during the campaign. 



Throughout the state 7,450 volunteers, 

 farmers like Everett Ege, will spend their 

 time and energ)' to bring new farm fam- 

 ilies into the Farm Bureau circle. Mem- 

 bership drives similar to the one launched 

 in Whiteside will continue throughout thu 

 year. 



The January drives, first of the new 

 year, have amazed even the most veteran 

 campaigners. In Whiteside, Ege and his 

 neighbors signed 174 new members. That 

 same week across the state in Vermilion 

 county workers signed 258 in what will 

 probably be the biggest drive of the year. 



DeKalb, home of Farm Bureau, signed 

 1-13 in a county that already had 300 more 

 members than farms. In Marion county 

 one worker, Eugene Shufeldt, signed 31 

 by himself. 



Volunteers in Jefferson county set a 

 new kind of record. Each of the 63 



workers signed at least one new member. 

 Other results; Hancock, 117 new mem- 

 bers; Hamilton, 46; Ford, 93; Richland, 

 98; Will, 158, and Marion, 109. 



In ever)' section of the state the report 

 is the same: Farmers are more willing 

 to join Farm Bureau than ever before. 

 As District Organizer Harry Claar of 

 Watson says: "Non-members are not 

 nearly as 'wild' as is commonly thought." 



Where are the new members coming 

 from? Burl Hornbeck. Winchester, also 

 a district organization director, says: "A 

 good many veterans are. starting to farm. 

 I would place the tenant first, owner- op>- 

 erator second, and landlords third." The 

 drives aren't bringing in many associates. 



The results of these drives bring fresh 

 proof that farmers understand better than 

 ever before the values of organization. 

 More than 1 50,000 farm families now 

 belong to Farm Bureau in Illinois. 



Much of the credit for building this 

 strong farm group must go to the volun- 

 teer workers, personified by Everett Ege, 

 who have given of their time and energy 

 to better the lot of their neighbors. 



These men deser^•e the highest praise. 

 Of them it can be said: TTiey are their 

 brother's keeper. 



I. A. A. RECORD 



