Rural Youthers from 

 various Illinois coun- 

 ties disembark from 

 the Admiral at St. 

 Louis following excur- 

 sion trip in 1947. The 

 department of young 

 peoples activities is 

 offering assistance 

 with these trips. See 

 ttory on this page. 





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RURAL YOUTH 



Rural ^'outh jzroups over the state soon 

 will be niakinu exiursion trips on Lake 

 Michijian and the Mississippi Kivcr. I he 

 office of ^ Ouni; Peoples Atti\ities can he 

 of service in pro\'itlinj; boat or train sched- 

 ules, and in coordinating; couniv plans fnr 

 tours with transportation companies in >:. 

 Louis or Chicago. If we can he of assist- 

 ance, please notify. 



THl-SE spring days remind us that growmp 

 plants are pushini; from the soil and rapu!- 

 ly reaching toward the sun. From the s'lil 

 they draw the chemical elements nccessarv fur 

 growth and it is there they anchor and estah- 

 lish themselves to do tlie j<->h peculiar to their 

 natures. From the sun they receive light whicii 

 gives the power of photosynthesis, making 

 possible marvelous chemical processes within 

 the plants. 



There is a parallel process in plant produi:- 

 tion to the life of Rural Youth menihers an.: 

 their organisations. Just as the growing plant 

 is related to soil and sun, just so are Rural 

 Youthers related to the local organization and 

 its activities and to the larger Rural ^'outh 

 programs and organizations of district, of the 

 state, and of tlK- nation which are sponsored 

 by Farm Rureau. County organizations, pro- 

 grams, and activities arc basic to Illinois Rural 

 Youth. It is there that individuals and gn^ups 

 are anchoring themselves to serve rural life. 



But the individual and the local group are 

 not self-sufficient If they are to have the de- 

 velopment which is rightfullv theirs, thev need 

 the light which Farm Bureau programs an,: 

 Farm Bureau groups outside the county can 

 give them. 



The Midwtst Training School of the Ameri- 

 can Farm Bureau Federation will be held in 

 St. P.iul. Minn., June 2~ to .^0. Rural ^'outh 

 delegates from nearlv all the states of the 

 Midwest, as well as national committee mem- 

 bers from various other states, will be prcsen: 

 in a youth conference. In December anothe: 

 Rural Youth conference will be beid at At- 

 lantic City as part of the annual meeting of 



E. O. Lyon, director young people's activities 

 lAA, explains cietoils of district, state, and 

 national activities of Rural Youth to Peoria 

 county members Dorothy McCullough and 

 Walt Joos, and Assistant Farm Adviser, 

 George Kemp (right), after addressing the 

 Peoria group on this subject at a recent 

 guest night meeting. 



the AFHF. These two vouth conferemes will 

 etlectiveb distuss prt'blcnis ol Rural ^'outh 

 organization- liach Rural Youth group in 

 Illinois should send at least one delegate to 

 these meetings. Anyone who has the privilege 

 of attending will return a better informed 

 person and a better Rural ^'outh member. It 

 a thorough and clear rep<irt is given to the 

 local group, and if new ideas are geared into 

 action programs, there is no question about 

 the value oi su^h meetings for all in attend- 

 ance. 



By ELLSWORTH D. LYON, Director 



Young People's Activities 



The lAA l')-)8 annual meeting will be held 

 m Chicago Nov. 15 to 18. Facli county should 

 be rcpiesented by at least one boy and one 

 girl at each lAA annual meeting with its 

 talk ti-t, youth conferciKe, skilled drivers' con- 

 test, delegate breaklast. and all the various 

 general sessions, as well as the annual mi-et- 

 ings ot the cooperatives. Then it delegates 

 would use the intormation g.iined by incor- 

 porating It in monlhlv programs. Rural Youth 

 in Illinois would soon take a bigger place in 

 supplving well informed county I'arm Bure.iu 

 leadeis where a number ol former Rural 

 ^'outliers are now making a good name for 

 thcmsches as farm Bureaii county Kurd 

 members, and as members of boards of co- 

 operatives. 



The I.-\A board of direa^is has already 

 approved a short course for Rutal Youthers 

 at the home olfite for l')r^ .'\s in l.inu.ir* 

 of this \e.ir. each county wi'l be peniuttcd to 

 send one delegate. Tlie young men in at- 

 tendance tlii- year have been hiitlilv entliiisiastii 

 in their praise of this program for Rural 

 ^'outh. \Ve who are trying to serve Illinois 

 farm families .greatly appreciate the inlciist 

 shown by .ill who eniolled for the -iiort 

 course. 



District aitivit'cs are very muJi a part of 

 the work of the lAA. Rural ^'oulh talk fests, 

 such short curses as "Battling Briuellosis," 

 skilled drivers' contests, and now sports festi- 

 val events are avail. iMe tor laim \initli at 

 various times of tiie year on the distriit level. 

 They are close enough to county groups for 

 convenience in atteni.ling; \et they bring to- 

 gether the varied programs, and provide oppor- 

 tunity for the sharing of experiences tor compe- 

 tition and for educational material lor guiding 

 rural young people in rur.il living and in rural 

 community leadership. 



Other activities outside the county could be 

 mentioned, but the above suggest the manv 

 possibilities which Rural Youthers now have 

 to enlarge their experiences. The combination 

 of good county programs and the programs of 

 Farm Bureau on the national, regional, and 

 district levels should provide growing experi- 

 ences for Illinois farm youth. In fact, gixul 

 planning on the county level will include thtse 

 wider and far reaching influences for the train- 

 ing of young farmers and farm leaders. Rural 

 ^'outhers, keep your feet in the county soil 

 but reach up for information. Such a com- 

 bin.ition will result in the fruits of personal- 

 it), growth and leadership development. 



County Activity 



South Co 'k planned thoroughly for their 

 educational meeting on "Battlim; Brucellosis' 

 held at Blue Island April ;(). Ur. C. D. Van 

 Houwcling. director department of Veterinary 

 Medical Relations lAA. county veterinarian 

 Dr C. B. Hostetler, and a local medical doc- 

 tor, discu-sed this highly important subject 

 with the south gri^up. 



Vb'abash went .ill out for a thorough dis- 

 cussion of syphilis and gonorrhea. Present 

 to lead thein in their discussion were the 

 county health nurse and the local medical doc- 

 tor. 



Madison has just closed a big membership 

 drive. Thev hope to hold the large addi- 

 tional membership by a more active program 

 in the future. Coming up will be a com- 

 munity service project in leading recreation 

 for annual meetings for various cooperatives 

 in the counties. Vi'ilbur Klucter is the presi- 

 dent. 



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26 



I. A. A. RECORD 



MAY, 



