Fig. 10.—Herschell Glenn, of Rockdale County, Ga., who made a profit of over $265 through club work in 1924. (Photograph furnished by Georgia Extension Service)
One of the best records made in boys’ club work in 1924 was made by Herschell Glenn, of Rockdale County, Ga. (Fig. [10].) He made a profit of over $265 on his club work during the year and also had for his own use 15 bushels of corn and a pig weighing 200 pounds. He has had the satisfaction of knowing that his good work has aroused and inspired hundreds of other boys in Georgia, including a large number in his own community and county, who will try to excel his record in 1925. In reporting to his local agent he used the following simple and expressive language:
I had 2 acres in cotton. My total cost was $31.50; the total amount of seed cotton, 3,150 pounds; total value of seeds and lint cotton, $289.52; net profit, $265.85; and net profit per acre, $132.90. My corn did not do so well. I only got 15 bushels from my acre. I hope to do better next year. My pig is fine. I have fed her six months. She weighs 200 pounds. I am proud to be a club boy and will continue next year.
A negro home demonstration agent in Wayne County, N. C., gave a very good statement which indicates what is being done by negro women agents in changing home conditions. It will be noted that she followed the desirable plan of putting other people forward to give testimony and express the sentiments of her people. There is a fine recognition of individual effort and community cooperation in this method of reporting which might well be commended to extension workers generally.
I have been in the county two years and seven months. It is a pleasure to note the improvement of the people along every line. They eat better food, sleep in more fresh air, are happier at work, take better care of their children, have higher ideals, and have learned to sell the surplus food instead of wasting it and to buy things which they need. More important than tangible results are their changed ideas and attitude toward the work. One man speaking at a community meeting said: “The agent has put new life into dead bones. I feel better and am doing better and everybody in the neighborhood is doing better whether he belongs to the club or not.” In the same meeting a woman said: “I am 57 years of age, have 20 children, 45 grandchildren, and 7 great grandchildren, but have learned more in two years about caring for children, my home, and health than I had learned in 55 years before. I have 7 milk cows and 75 hens. I sell eggs, milk, butter, apples, peanuts, and a few other little things and now I can see day breaking. I am just learning how to live.”
The negro home demonstration agent of Autauga County, Ala., sketches a general outline of progress which goes into a little more detail in regard to the various activities. She says:
Gardening is no longer a part-time project, but is carried on through the year by both women and girls engaged in club work. We have been able to keep vegetables the year round, even though we have had a long dry spell. The number of insects and other pests, such as worms and plant lice, have been kept down by the constant use of soapsuds and wood ashes. Our winter gardens are doing fine. I feel that beautifying the home and surroundings should get first consideration, due to the fact that most of the time is spent in the house. Homes have been whitewashed, yards cleaned, and flowers planted in each case. Instructions have been given from time to time in the care and handling of a cow and the care and handling of milk in the home. Very few women are taking this instruction, but these few are making and saving money. One separator and six sanitary milk pails have been bought this year. We have worked hard this year with poultry, trying to do away with scrubs and put in more standard breeds. I have succeeded in getting 30 women and 5 girls to buy standard-bred eggs. As a result we have 1,300 more standard-bred chickens this year than we had last year. Our aim is to turn out 100 pullets on each yard.
Canaan community in Montgomery County, Ala., furnishes a fine example of the ultimate objective of home demonstration work among negroes. It is a good illustration of the fact that demonstrations are progressive. When one step is taken and success is achieved, the very situation is a stimulus to additional steps until the whole home and its environment become an inspiring object lesson of better living. The following story indicates that practically all the homes in that community are in various stages of advancement in extension work:
Almost every house in Canaan community shows signs of effort in home improvement, and the demonstration home of this community is now in process of development. The house has been remodeled and the interior decoration completed. Plans for the yards, walls, and fences are under way. This community also leads in bedspread making, having 15 finished bedspreads. It is the plan of the agent to have one demonstration home complete in each community where demonstration work is carried on. The Smothers’ home at Mount Meigs is the best example of home improvement in Montgomery County. The State agent and the landscape specialist, with the cooperation of the county agricultural agent, laid off the walks, surveyed the road, and planted the shrubs, flowers, and Bermuda grass. The owner found that his two-room house was not in keeping with his surroundings and so he decided to remodel. He and his wife left the plans of the house entirely to the judgment of the State and county home-demonstration agents and were satisfied with the plans for an addition of three rooms, a kitchen, back porch, bathroom, and an 8-foot L porch. The plans were executed by an architect at Tuskegee Institute. The construction is now complete and as soon as the plasterers are through, the furniture will be installed. At the request of Mr. and Mrs. Smothers, the home-demonstration agent helped in the selection of new furniture. The curtains and draperies are being made by the club girls of Mount Meigs, and girls of another community are framing appropriate pictures.
The following extract from the report of the home-demonstration agent of Washington County, Tex., is typical of the numerous examples of good work accomplished by negro club girls: