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RURAL YOUTH 



By ELLSWORTH D. LYON, Director 



Young People's Activities 



I hi; Gr.inj;c- s-ivl- I., the I'll.A.sKl-ALtX- 



Ai\Dl:K F.irni Hurciu tin.- Granj;i.- 

 ^roundb at \'illa Ritjj;i.- with the pruviiion 

 that It be used principally tor 4-H and 

 Rural ^'outii work. 



'riic building as it stood on the grounds 

 was not in good condition or adequate tor 

 these purposes. Theretore, it was decided 

 that the old building be ra^ed and a new- 

 one built. This new structure will be built 

 entirely troni contributions made by the 

 people ot the two counties. 



"Hie PULASKI-AI.LXAXDtR Rural 

 Youth group gave three performances of the 

 play, '"Ihat VC'atkins Girl," to help raise 

 tunds. The three-act comedy was presented 

 at (Jlivc Hranch, l.'llin, and Mound City, 

 Jan. Jy, Feb. 4 and Feb. 12. The proceeds 

 from the play totaled $1.^8. "«. 



Educational Meetings 



i;ducational meetings over the state are 

 adding much information to Rural Vouthcrs' 

 fund of knowledge. 



KANE heard t. E. McCoy of the County 

 School Survey Committee in February speak 

 i.n "Proposals of the Survey Committee." 

 He emphasized the proposal to equalize 

 taxes for educational purposes in the public 

 schools. A roller skating party was planned 

 for March with guests from COOK and 

 DuPAGF. Avery Stevens and Harry liuch- 

 holz served as the committee. 



Using agree-disagree statements i>n "How- 

 to Find and Win a Mate" EDGAR had fun 

 in January discussing matrimony. In Feb- 

 ruary Ralph Pantle chose five 'quiz kids 

 and staged a program on "Highw-ay Safety." 

 An informal dance was held March 10. 



KANKAKEE sponsored a county-wide 

 me-eting for people of all ages on farm and 

 home grounds planning under leadership of 

 Prof. Keith Hinchcliffe, U. of I. The Feb- 

 ruary meeting featured a debate on the 

 subject, "The New Look in XXomen s Fash- 

 ions. ' 



I.A SALLE heard Richard Hornbcck in 

 January on the "Advantages of Insurance." 

 The "Rail Splittin' " party in "Abe s Cabin," 

 Farm Bureau auditorium, was cast in the 

 form of the annual banquet, Feb. 4. Dr. U'. 

 G. Kammlade, U. of I., was guest speaker. 

 "The cabin was decorated with a brown 

 false ceiling, a large fire place at one end, 

 brown paper on the walls representing logs, 

 and a rail fence built across the front of tlie 

 stage." 



EDWARDS heard a talk on "Early His- 

 tory" of the county by Mrs. Virginia Skin- 

 ner. In the March meeting the group visited 

 the Edwards County Historical Society. 



"Lincoln's Life IDecisions " was the edu- 

 citional feature of VC'A'^'NE county Rural 

 ■^'outh at the February meeting held at Fair- 

 field. 



Home Recreation 



Home Recreation " was the Januarv topic 

 for TAZEWELL and was led bv Velma 

 Ackerman. Prof. HinchclifTe, U. of I., prc- 

 senteil "What's New in an Old House in 

 February. 



Farm Adviser C. A. Hughes showed his 

 North COOK group interesting pictures tak- 

 en last fall on "The Oregon Trail," and "In 

 the Black Hills." 



The Prophetstown-Tampico Warriors and 

 Newton Notions of WHITESIDE held a 



APRIL, 1948 



joint meeting in January at Erie and heard 

 a talk on tiie operation of the casein factory 

 there. The county-wide "George Washing- 

 ton Ball " at Gait Grange, was the big event 

 of the year. Frances Bauer headed ticket 

 sales. 



SCOTF heard a temperance address given 

 by the Rev. Kenneth Douglas at Bluffs high 

 school, Feb. 1~. LOGAN went en masse to 

 Lincoln high school to hear Pres. George 

 D. Stoddard, U. i>i I., on Feb. 26. The 

 group was represented bv a member on the 

 platform with Dr. Stoddard. 



SHELB'l' had social dancing instruction 

 un^ier the leadership of Miss Harriet Elliott, 

 U. of I., Feb. 26, at the VC'cstervelt higli 

 school. 



MADISON says in a recent issue of the 



%^.:^7i 



where they looked squarely at the values 

 and purposes of Rural '^'outh. 



Reporter Viola Ewald writes: "Activities 

 ..f EFFINGHAM S Rural Youth have been 

 on an upward trend. Rural VoutJi Day at 

 Farm and Home \\ eek was attended by Pres. 

 Fred La igerhausen, XX'arren Soltwedel and 

 Norman KirchotTer. 



A special fe.itun- of the February meet- 

 ing was a recording made of 2*1 ^'i the mem- 

 bers by the manager of station WCRA and 

 played on the radio station a few- days later. 

 ,^katlng parties are held the last Thursday ot 

 each month and have proved to be very 

 popular with the Rural '^'outbers Other 

 activities of our monthly meetings have been 

 short skits and pla\s, quizzes, ensemble mu 

 -t^, .ind the old-time folk and square dances. 



Many Kaisinf; Funds 



Groups throughout the state are holdini; 

 box socials and sponsoring plays and ban 

 que-ts to raise funds tor various activities, to 

 :;'.a!.e entertainment, and to provide an op 

 ji'ttunity to work together. 



BONDS lanu.iry ^nteting was a mo\ie cii 

 titled 'Pop Rings the D.Mirbeli." A box 

 social was held at Smithboro, Feb 2 1. a 

 play was pre^ented in connection with the 

 event. ( tlRl^TIAN. h<il.iing its banquet a' 



Warren Bull, Ste- 

 phenson county, 

 asks for a higher 

 bid as he auction- 

 eers at a recent 

 Rural Youth box 

 social. 



^ 



Tattler, "Nope we didn't forget all about 

 the membership drive. There's just not too 

 much to report except more dues are com- 

 ing in right along and there have been sev- 

 eral new names added to the mailing list of 

 the Tattler. " 



The Pleasant Valley group of McHIi.NRY 

 presented 'Travel Etiquette" as the educa- 

 tional feature for the January meeting 

 Leader was Don Perkins. 



Fiureau Holds Parents Night 



BUREAU held parents' night Feb. 19 with 

 a panel discussion. The theme w.is Exten- 

 sion Service Speaks MERCER staged a 

 big musical show Feb. 3. Surrounding coun- 

 ties contributed talent for this event 



MACO.N S members held an "End. of the 

 Year " banquet on March 6 in Warrensburg, 



Taylorville. Marth 2~. siheduied Ra\ F.irris 

 of CLARK t(j ^erve .is toastmaster. OG I 1 

 banqueted at Pido March 6, saw- Insuran.e 

 Director Clare Bradford s colored slides ot 

 his western travels, and then closed the 

 evening with dancing Committee members 

 were Fred I-aBudde, Helen Baker, I-<i Dew. 

 and Fd Schnulle. Another big venture was 

 the presentatiiin of the annual Rural Youth 

 plays at Mt. Morns and Polo. KNOX built 

 its banquet around the theme of Down on 

 the Farm. Twelve counties were repre 

 sented by 2^0 ,i;uests. 



RIC;HLAND planned its ''th annual ban 

 quet around the tiieme — ' Don t Wait. It ^ 

 tS. ' Miss Marion Simon, Jasper counti 

 home advist-r. spoke on the theme, "Devel- 

 oping a Better Personality. " 



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La Salle county Rural 

 Youth officers recent- 

 ly elected: back, 

 Wayne Elliott, Don 

 Freeboirn, vice pres.; 

 Bob Ashley; and Stan- 

 ley Wright. Seated: 

 Mae Pitstick; Betty 

 Barr, sec'y treas.; and 

 Mariam McConville, 

 president. 



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