A couple of ewes. Now they keep about 

 50 sheep, market the wool and sell the 

 males. 



About eight to 10 milk cows are 

 kept. The animals are owned mostly 

 by sons. Bob, 21, and Don, 13, as a 

 result of Bob's former interest in 4-H 

 Club work and Don's present interest. 



Mrs. Morris raises the poultry flock 

 of from 300 to 500 birds each year. 

 A laying flock of 100 hens is main- 

 tained. 



Morris is tall, trim, and muscular. 

 He is soft spoken and quiet in his 

 manner, calm and methodical in his 

 work. He admits to little formal edu- 

 cation on a higher level but his aware- 

 ness of this fact has made him one of 

 the best read men on the lAA board. 

 Reading is his hobby and in particular 

 the study of problems of agriculture. 



He is proud of his family of four 

 children — Kathryn, 25, a registered 

 nurse who served in the army during 

 the war, is married to Floyd Dale and 

 lives in Springfield with their three 

 small sons; Jean, 23, is married to 

 Fred Siemert, a district forester with the 

 state forestry department now on leave of 

 absence to study for his master's degree 

 at Penn State College; Bob, 21, started 

 his third year this fall in agricultural en- 

 gineering at the University of Illinois. He 

 served in the navy during the war; Don. 

 13, works diligently on his 4-H projects 

 and attends local school. 



Morris joined the Sangamon County 

 Farm Bureau in 1926, the year he 

 started farming in the county. He took 

 part in the numerous member drives 

 and served on the county board of di- 

 rectors and later as vice-president of 

 the County Farm Bureau. He was 

 elected to the lAA board in 1944 and as 

 vice-president in 1945. 



The lAA vice-president was on the 

 first corn-hog temporary committee in 

 1931 and served as secretary-treasurer 

 of the permanent committee until 1938 



Members of the Merrli family shown together are, left to right: son Den, 13, crt piano; 

 Vice President Morris with grandsons. Bill and Bob, son Bob, 21; Mn. Morris; and dowgh- 



ter, Jean, 33, Mrs. Fred Siemert. 



By JIM THOMSON 



Ass't. Editor, lAA RECORD 



when he was elected chairman and served 

 for two years. 



He is a member of the board of 

 trustees of his local Methodist church, 

 a member of the board of trustees of 

 Mechanicsburg township, and a former 

 member of the Buffalo school board. 

 Morris was a key figure in the establish- 

 ment of the Tri-City school district 

 which resulted in the successful consoli- 

 dation of three high schools located in 

 Mechanicsburg, Buffalo, and Dawson. 

 The first move in this consolidation was 

 made in the early 30's. The school w.is 

 ready for use in the fail of 1938. 



On the state level he is vice-president 

 of Country Mutual Casualty Company, 

 Country Life Insurance Company, a 

 member of the board of directors of 

 Illinois Farm Supply Company, and 

 Country Mutual Fire Company, and a 



Mrs. Morris comes e<it to watch her hus- 

 band woric In their flower and vegetable 

 garden. 



member of the lAA public relation." 

 committee and finance committee, 

 which keeps an eye on lAA funds 



I 



r 



NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING 



COUNTRY MUTUAL CASUALTY 



COMPANY 



Notice IE .hereby given that inc 

 annua! meeting oi the members o; 

 Country Mutual Casualty Com- 

 pany will be held in the Sherman 

 Hotel, Chicago, Illinois, on Tuesday 

 the 16th day of r."over-.ber 1946 

 oX 1:00 P.M , to receive, consider and 

 if approved, confirm and ratify the 

 reports of the officers and of the 

 Board of Directors oi the Company 

 for the year ending December 31, 

 1947; to elect directors for the com- 

 ing year and for the transaction oi 

 such further and other buiinoss a? 

 may properly come betore the meet- 

 ing. 



Otto Stefiey, Secretary 



OCTOBER, 1948 



II 



