Meetings of professionals who understood the technical 
and economic impact of woods-burning was one thing, but 
getting the average rural southerner to view the issue the 
same way was another. Going to the people in person 
seemed the only way to succeed. In 1928, Ovid Butler, 
executive secretary of the American Forestry Association, 
proposed a multi-State tour to educate rural folk about the 
dangers of woods-burning. For the next 3 years, W.C. 
McCormick led the ‘‘Dixie Crusaders,’’ barnstorming 
Woods-burning to improve grazing, control 
pests, and clear underbrush to improve 
hunting was a deep-seated part of southern 
culture. Much of the success in controlling 
wildfires in the South must be attributed to 
efforts by public and private agencies to 
educate rural people about the dangers of 
fire. Educational trucks equipped to show 
movies and colored lantern slides toured the 
South in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s 
and were an effective part of the program. 
through Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi, covering 300,000 
miles, and reaching some 3 million people. The Crusad- 
ers used every means of communication available to get their 
message across: speeches, rallies, leaflets, press, posters, 
essay contests, and motion pictures. The American Forestry 
Association produced its own movies and employed plot, 
humor, romance, even melodrama, to get the message 
across. 
Rpts 
CO-OPERATIVE FOREST PROTECTION Ps 
. aS 
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