Rural 



Youth 



Activities 



By Ellsworth D. Lyon, Director 



Young Peoples Activities 



ILLINOIS Rural Youth members will 

 soon be visiting Illinois state parks. 

 There scenery is at its best and 

 history has been made. County 

 Rural Youth groups will find the 

 parks of unusual interest to them. They 

 are laid out mainly in areas of abiding 

 historical interest. 



Among these parks is New Salem 

 where Lincoln lived and loved Ann 

 Rutledge, and where he sen'ed as store 

 clerk, mill hand, postmaster, and soldier. 

 A large sign at the village entrance tells 

 the town's history and of Lincoln's resi- 

 dence there. From that point on down 

 the ridge to the last house the visitor is 

 frequently reminded of the pioneer life 

 of the 1820's and the 1830's. 



It is well to take time to read the 

 various signs from the entrance of the 

 old village to the old Clary Grocery 

 farthest down the street. "The street 

 takes the visitor past the various homes 

 where the names of the residents are 

 inscribed: Onstott's Cooper Shop, Mil- 

 ler's Blacksmith Shop, Hill's Carding 

 Mill, Dr. Francis Regnier's Office, the 

 Rutledge Tavern, the Berry-Lincoln Store 

 and the Hill-McNeil Store where Lincoln 

 served as postmaster, and the first Berry- 

 Lincoln Store which now houses the post 

 office. On the bank of the Sangamon 

 River under the hill upon which the 



(. O. Lyon reads about the old village of 



New Salem before entering the state park 



northwest of Springfield. 



John W. Gellerman, New Salem postmaster, 

 talks with state park visitors. Note wood- 

 carvings on mantel. 



The east of "The Angell Brats" of tdwards 

 County Rural Youth pose for a picture. 

 Left to right (standing): Nona Tribe, Ger- 

 ald Longbons, Joan Haber, Marilyn Wolfe, 

 Allen Goodson, and George Knight. Seated 

 are: Maxine Roosevelt, Lester Plercy, Irene 

 Smith, Wanda Roosevelt, MOrjorle Tribe, 

 James Scott, Marilyn Morton, and Dwain 

 Massle. 



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town was located, is the Rutledge-Cam- 

 eron Mill where Lincoln worked for 

 some time. 



The present postmaster, John W. 

 Gellerman, was installed by Japies W. 

 Farley, Feb. 12, 1941. Gellerman, a 

 whittler of horses and busts of Lincoln, 

 enjoys visiting with people who come 

 into the post office. He likes to talk 

 about Lincoln and pioneer life. 



Rural Youthers visiting New Salem 

 will find that time spent there will be 

 greatly enjoyed. 



The Illinois Farm Sports Festival is 

 under way. Activities in the past have 

 grown to such an extent that it is neces- 

 sary to sponsor play-offs in the various 

 divisions prior to the dates which climax 

 the activities of the Annual Farm Sports 

 Festival. The statewide volleyball and 

 bowling tournaments were run off at 

 Springfield on March 30. Rural Youth 

 supported these activities wholeheartedly. 

 Pictures and listings of winners will be 

 found on other pages of this issue of 

 the "Record." 



This year there will be a section for 

 Rural Youth folk and square dancing. 

 In 1950 the culmination of this activity 

 will be shifted to Farm and Home Week 

 at the University of Illinois but will 

 remain as a part of the Sports Festival 

 activity. County groups this year may 

 enter a square dance or folk dance team. 



Edwards Rural Youth presented "The 

 Angell Brats", a three-act play, Saturday, 

 April 2 at the Edwards county senior 

 high school, before an audience of 450. 

 The sale of tickets netted $235.40 and 

 will be used to meet expenses of the 

 group throughout the year. Mrs. John 

 McCue, wife of the farm adviser, di- 

 rected the play with Miss Norma Jacobs 

 assisting. The play is an annual event. 



Glenn Niehaus, Montgomery county, 

 who was on the lAA state committee in 

 1948, was married March 25. Glenn's 

 father, Ed Niehaus, is a prominent 

 leader in Montgomery county. 



Tazewell Rural Youthers are going 

 strong on educational experiences. On 

 March 17 the group toured the Keystone 

 Steel and Wire plant, Peoria, saw a 

 colored movie on animal diseases at the 

 March meeting, and learned English folk 

 dances under the leadership of Miss 

 Moira Barry, exchange teacher, Pekin 

 high school, from London, England. 



Peoria county heard I. E. Parett, 

 Illinois Agricultural Association division 

 of general services, at the annual banquet 

 March 30. He spoke of Rural Youth 

 and its place on the stage of life, using 

 the words RURAL YOUTH to provide 

 initial letters of key words which chal- 

 lenge young people: Responsibility, Un- 

 derstanding, Respect, Action, Leadership, 

 Yearning, Ownership, Utilization of 

 character traits. Truth, 4-H's (Head, 

 Heart, Hands and Health). 



I. A. A. RECORD 



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