History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions, Part 27

Author: John F. Haines
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051

USA > Indiana > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions > Part 27

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thorough examination, the doctor announced his fear of pneumonia and pre- scribed all the remedies both external and internal which would help to ward off the attack. The situation was not an inspiring one. On the morrow was to be held the meeting for the corn contest, the weather as cold, disagree- able, bleak and unhealthful as Indiana is capable of producing and a sick husband threatened with pneumonia, who I knew, notwithstanding all the difficulties. would go to that meeting if he were able to rise from his bed. There were no pleasant dreams for me that night. I went over the trying situation many times during the long hours of the night, looking at it from all angles. Our youngest child was an infant but a few months old, cross and hard to care for. I had never done any office work for my husband previous to that time and it was a big undertaking for me to leave home and go to the office for the corn meeting, leaving my home duties and my hus- band at home sick in bed. But this was what I determined to do, feeling that there would be some way out of the difficulty if I met the occasion bravely. At last the 9th of April dawned, or rather the daylight finally filtered through the cold gray clouds and the heavy falling snow, for snow it did at intervals during the entire day.

A HISTORIC GATHERING.

Oh, the bridges we build that we never cross! When morning came, Mr. Haines's condition was much improved and he declared he was perfectly able to attend to his duties for the day. After a promise to "take things easy" and obtain some outside help with the contest, he departed for the office, though as a matter of fact he was very weak and not physically fit for the task before him. But some of his "good right hand men," as he called his faithful teachers, were there and did most of the actual work of measuring the seed corn for the boys. As Lot once prayed, "If ten righteous men be found, spare the city," so had my husband said, "if ten boys come, the contest continues." But instead of ten there came ninety-three! Ninety-three wide- awake boys, determined to "grow corn." Each boy was given twelve hun- dred grains of corn for seed. Mr. J. P. Davis, an excellent corn expert, gave the boys instructions as to the planting and culture of corn and sent them on their ways rejoicing, each lad stoutly determined to grow the best patch of corn in the county. Naturally, as in all plantings, "some seed fell among thorns, and some on stony ground" from which there was no yield. But the majority of that "planting" on April 9, bore excellent fruit. The efforts expended in promulgating the idea and the work required to keep it

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HAMILTON COUNTY BOYS' CORN CLUB: 1906

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going were well worth all they cost in the benefit to the boys of the county and the good fellowship which sprang up between these boys and the superin- tendent, not to mention the better corn that was grown and the multitude of clubs that sprang up everywhere when the exploits of this one were published far and near.

During the following summer and early fall, Mr. Haines visited many of the boys who proudly took him to their respective "patches" which they exhibited gladly, telling him of their work and their hopes of winning a prize. A large percentage of the fathers of these boys entered heartily into the spirit of the contest and aided their sons in every possible way, such as allowing the boy to plant his corn in a desirable place, giving him the richest and best adapted ground on the farm. Occasionally there was 'a skeptical father who said, "What does the county superintendent know about corn?" and that class of a father usually gave the boy the poorest ground in the field for the contest patch. The results in such cases were vastly different. Dur- ing the summer Professor Wiancko of Purdue sent Mr. Haines a carefully prepared bulletin on the culture of corn and the selection of seed corn, dwell- ing especially on the kind, size, shape, quality, etc., of the ten ears which each contestant was to select from his own yield and enter for the prize. Mr. Haines then made copies of this bulletin, one of which he sent to each boy in the contest.

Saturday, December 2, 1904, was the day appointed for the contest to close. Entries of ten ears each began coming in for several days previous to the final day, until there were entered, in all, fifty-three bunches of corn. Each entry was made by number and the grading was done by J. P. Davis, a corn expert. The whole forenoon was taken up with the grading which was done at Lacy's Seed Store. The crowd, consisting of the boys, their parents, friends and teachers, filled the superintendent's examination room in the court house to its utmost capacity, by one-thirty p. m. at least three hun- dred people being present. Some of the boys told in their own direct, boyish manner how they planted and tended their corn patches. Speeches were made by Professor Wiancko, Professor W. A. Bell and others and then, as the climax of the entire eight months of the contest the awards were made. The following is a list of the prizes given: Sweepstakes, a garden plow with all attachments, presented by Frank Lacy. Best white corn, first, five dollars in gold: second, two dollars in gold: and three premiums of one dollar each. Best yellow corn, first, five dollars in gold: second, two dollars in gold; and three premiums of one dollar each. These cash prizes were given by the township trustees and the county superintendent. A fine pocket knife given

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by Griffin Brothers; a pearl-handled pocket knife given by W. E. Longley ; a hat given by N. D. Levinson & Son; a sweater given by J. Joseph & Com- pany ; a muffler given by J. G. Heinzman & Company; a pair of gloves given by S. A. Tesher; a book given by W. E. Axline; and a buggy whip given by John Thom.

RAPID GROWTH OF THE CLUB.

After the first year it was no longer called a corn contest but became a Corn Club or rather The Corn Club, for it was the only one in existence for some time. News of the outcome of the first year's work exerted an in- fluence over the whole county. Many more became interested and joined the club the next spring. The second year the number had increased to one hundred and fifty and in the fall one hundred and two entered the contest. The prizes the second year were all in cash except three, consisting of an incubator and two passes on the Lake Erie and Western railroad. Some of the same boys took premiums both years. In the state superintendent's report is given the following account of Mr. Haines's visit to Paul Sumner : "One day I visited Paul Sumner, who has twice taken the premium for the best yellow corn. He took me over a portion of his father's fine farm. He knew about the stock, the breeds of cattle and hogs, the rotation of crops, the yield per acre of wheat and corn. At last he took me to his plat of four hundred hills of corn that he had raised for the corn club. It was his best effort and well he might be proud to produce such corn. He has since accur- ately measured the ground and gathered and weighed the corn. He is in the eighth grade at school. He gave this measure and weight to his teacher, who gave it to the class as a practical problem. It was found that an acre of such corn would produce one hundred bushels."

The Enterprise gives the following account of the second fall meeting of the club: "December 2, 1905, which will be a day long to be remembered. by many of our farmer boys for this was the day set to have their corn scored and to have prizes awarded. Early last spring a regiment of Hamil- ton county's industrious boys started to raise the best corn of the county and all summer imagination and hope have prompted these boys to work and ex- pect something in the way of a reward for their honest efforts.

"Early Saturday morning we could see boys and fathers walking with that positive step that a farmer boy has, from the Lacy Seed Store to the court house and by ten o'clock the corn school was on hands. Superintend- ent Haines called the meeting to order and explained the purpose and pro- gress of the school and started the machinery to work. Fifteen boys took

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packages of corn and scored it according to adopted rules, and we are safe in saying that their knowledge in this work is far ahead of most farmers. Mr. Ed Collins, Mr. J. R. Christian, Mr. E. F. Klepfer and Mr. E. A. Hutchens gave excellent talks to the boys on corn and its culture."

There were one hundred and two entries and twenty-eight prizes awarded at the meeting described above. But this is not a full account of all the prizes given that year. Every boy that entered won a prize! Of course every contestant could not win the first prize or even the second but Mr. Haines had sympathy for the boys who had worked but had not won, so this year he planned rewards for the boys who won nothing. He took the corn which the boys had entered and sold it. The prize package of ten ears of yellow corn sold for two dollars and many of the packages sold for one dollar. None of the corn was sold for less than two dollars a bushel. It all had been carefully selected and cared for and made excellent seed. The money which was realized from the sale of the corn was divided equally among the boys who had not hitherto won one of the prizes. I remember assisting my husband to enclose the shining quarters of dollars to the boys all over the county and judging by the grateful letters we received, those twenty-five cent pieces were very acceptable to the recipients. This was one contest in which each contestant won a premium.

AN OFFICIAL REPORT.

In the state superintendent's report of 1906 is given the following description of the "works" of the club: "There is no machinery about the organization. Each boy who becomes a member signs his name to the list of members, takes two ears of corn, plants about four hundred hills, cultivates the corn during the summer, at the proper time selects ten ears and enters them in a contest for a premium. Two meetings are held each year, one in April when the seed is distributed, and one in December when the premiums are awarded. We have had good speakers and corn experts at each of these meetings. The boys have been thoroughly instructed .in the selection and testing of the seed, in the preparation of the seed bed, in the cultivation of the corn plant, and in the selection of ears of corn for exhibition. Many of these boys who have been members from the beginning are becoming ex- pert in their knowledge of corn. They are able to score an ear pretty accur- ately. Quite a number of them are more expert than their fathers in the selection of show corn.

"At a stock show in this county an implement firm offered ten dollars

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for the best ten ears of corn brought to the room where it was exhibited. A number of farmers brought in ten ears to compete for the premium. I (Mr. Haines), visited this exhibition with one of the 'corn boys.' We looked at the packages and then I asked him for his opinion. He immediately said there was but one package of good corn there, meaning there was but one package of show corn. When the corn was scored, this package selected by the boy took the prize. A comparison of the samples submitted by the farm- ers and those submitted by the boys showed that the men had selected their largest ears with little regard to perfection, or conforming to the type of variety of corn represented, while the boy had in mind a typical ear and selected ears as nearly like this model as they could find. It was a difference in training, that was all. Some of these farmers know corn so well that they can be taught nothing more about it. Not long since a farmer entered a con- test in which his son, a 'corn boy,' was also a contestant. When the corn was judged, the son received the prize, having beaten the father many points. This same father was skeptical when the club was organized, but now admits his son knows more about corn than he does.

"The influence of the club has permeated all parts of the county. Farm- ers are paying more attention to the selection of seed corn than ever before; they are cultivating their crops with more care; they know more about corn. and in many instances the boy knows more about it than the father and the father is proud of it. It is a pleasure to visit the homes of the boys who are members of the club. With what pride they take you to their patch of corn and explain how they cared for it. They know all the causes of their success or failure. They do not figure awhile and then look in the back of the book for the answer. And the father and mother may be pardoned for saying with a glad look in their eyes, 'Willie has some fine corn.' The Hamilton County Boys' Corn Club is not a theory ; it has been worked out from the very beginning. Its object is and has been to teach boys to know good corn and to raise good corn by actually handling, judging and producing it and that the object has been accomplished can be proven by a large number of witnesses, at least two hundred and fifty boys and perhaps an equal number of men who are parents and friends of these boys. The watchword of the club is 'grow corn.'"

A "CORN LUNCH."

The third year of the club was a very prosperous one. The membership reached almost three hundred and the entries in the fall two hundred. That was the year we gave the corn lunch, the first of the kind given in Indiana.

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The following is the menu with its interpretation. A menu card printed on corn colored paper was given each guest at the corn lunch. The printing of these menus was donated by T. T. Butler :

MENU. Corn Relish (stewed canned corn) Hot Corn Tamale, a la Homana (canned hominy) Corned Beef (canned) "Snowflake" Hot Corn Bread with "Goldmine" Butter Cream of Corn en Surprise (corn syrup) Molded Corn Glace (blanc mange) Popcorn Bon Bons, ad libitum (popcorn) Inspiration of Corn (water)

We planned this corn lunch with its high sounding menu some time previous to the date set for it. The canning factory and the different groceries were very liberal in their donations. The canning factory fur- nished the canned corn and a case of canned hominy, and the corned beef and corn syrup came from the different groceries. Grant Caca furnished the corn meal for the corn bread, while some of our friends from the country donated the "Goldmine" butter. Mr. Haines hired an old lady versed in carn pone lore to make old fashioned corn pone for the occasion. Every- body said it was good corn pone and I believe it was, but if that was the kind of bread the early pioneers had to eat three times a day, I am glad I didn't live in those times. Personally, I prefer wheat bread. I made "molded corn glace" at home previous to the great event. I really forget how many gallons of milk with corn starch, sugar and flavoring I stirred into blanc mange, but I know it was considerable in amount, for every available recep- tacle about the house was filled with "molded corn glace" variegated with pink coloring. It was real pretty and not bad tasting, but it was months be- fore I cared to see any more of the delicacy. Mr. Haines popped most of the popcorn. For several days prior to the lunch he spent all his spare time shaking the corn popper till all the sacks of various kinds about the house were filled with popcorn. For sometime afterwards he had a similar aver- sion to popcorn which I held toward corn glace. These preparations all were made beforehand, but the "grand rush" came on the great day. While the meeting of the boys and their parents was being held at the court house, a few faithful friends and I undertook to prepare the lunch at the Knights

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of Pythias Armory. Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Zimmerman, Mr. and Mrs. H. L. Hollenbach and Miss Alma Dixon (who had formerly lived in our home, but was then a teacher), were the faithful friends who undertook the task with me. Each one of these was a host in himself when it came to work and we all set to work in earnest. Everything had to be done! The tables and table cloths had to be located and put in place. All the dishes had to be washed and the cans and cans of corn and more cans and cans of hominy had to be cooked, with few cooking utensils at hand and the gas pressure low to corre- spond with the temperature outside and inside. But none of us was dis- couraged. None of the persons helping me knew what failure meant. When they set their "hand to the plow there was no turning back." So we forged ahead. The men finally located the tables, which they put in place and "set" ready for the guests while we women washed dishes and cooked corn and hominy and opened cans of beef, etc. It was drawing near noon and we were not yet ready for our guests. There was no telephone connections with the meeting at the court house and the armory. A messenger was sent from the court house to find out how lunch was coming and the word went back "hold them a while yet; not quite ready." So someone else made a speech to the boys while we worked "like mad" to get things in readiness. Finally the crowd could be held no longer and just as we were adding the finishing touches. here they came, boys, men, women and girls. This year there was a girls' bread-making contest in connection with the boys' club, in which seventy-two girls took part, and it seemed the number coming to partake of our lunch was a legion. They filed around the long tables in as close 'order as they could stand conveniently. Something like two hundred ate at the first table and about one hundred and fifty at the second. And how the victuals disappeared! The cornbread gave out first. Then we began on the loaves of bread which the Girls Club had baked. There was a large clothes basket full of this and most of it was eaten. Long before everyone was satisfied, the corn, corned beef and hominy were cleaned out. The people at the second table had to take what they could get. But after it was all over the joke was on me. After all the work and attention I had given that "corn glace" it was not all eaten. I don't know whether it didn't suit the palates of the boys or whether they were afraid of the pink streaks in it or what was the matter. At any rate, the "molded corn glace" and the popcorn were the only edibles of which there were any remains at the close of the feast. As nearly as we could estimate, the number served was about three hundred and fifty, the majority being boys and girls. It was certainly a great experience

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for all participating in the affair, and I am sure none of those who helped pre- pare and serve that corn lunch will ever forget the strenuous experience.

GIRLS' BREAD CLUB.

At this point I will digress a little from the corn club to tell of the Girls Bread Club. Mr. Haines felt it was one-sided for the boys to have the whole of the contest to themselves, so he made the announcement that any school girl could enter this bread contest by baking a loaf of bread and submitting it to competent judges. Seventy-two girls participated in the initial contest, in which some very fine bread was entered. The first prize was five dollars in gold; the second a gold ring given by Mr. Purcell, other prizes including gloves, hats, pocket-books and other useful things presented by various merchants. The girl who took first premium on her bread got up at three o'clock in the morning to make up her bread so she would not miss an hour at school. She had her loaf baked before school hours and she won the five dollars. Mrs. George Christian and Mrs. Meade Vestal were the judges and the first-prize loaf was graded one hundred per cent. Many of the other loaves also scored very high.

CORN CLUB EXCURSIONS.

The first excursions in the state to a college were run from this county by the Corn Club and its friends to Purdue University. The club has made two of these trips. They were in the nature of a picnic and were great treats not only to the boys, but to their sisters, parents and friends. The Lake Erie and Western Railroad Company was very obliging and both trips were made exceedingly pleasant. At Lafayette we were met by members of the faculty of the agricultural department of the university, who conducted us to the university and who showed us every attention. We picnicked on the campus, went through college buildings, were shown the creamery, soil laboratory, visited the crop experiment station, the barn, stock and stock pavilion, were bountifully supplied with apples to eat and had our pictures taken. Everything was explained in detail and all questions answered. At one o'clock a meeting was held in Fowler Hall where the following program was rendered :

Music-Pipe Organ Miss Eva L. Linn

Address of Welcome Professor W. C. Latta

Response J. F. Haines

Experiment Station Work G. I. Christie

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At four o'clock the entire party went on special cars to visit the Soldiers' Home, Tecumseh's Trail and Battle Ground. These excursions occurred in the summers of 1905 and 1906. About five hundred persons went each time.

ACHIEVED WORLD-WIDE FAME.

As I said in the beginning, my husband won more fame from this corn club organization than in any other way. When the club was firmly estab- lished and proved such a success, I asked him one day how he ever happened to think of organizing a corn club in the first place. He replied, "I don't know, I just thought it out." When the news of the club got into the news- papers, letters from all parts of the United States, north, south, east and west, poured in asking for information concerning the organization and main- tenance of a corn club. These letters were not confined to our own country or even to our own continent. The following is a copy of a letter from Cape Town, Africa. This letter was written on peculiar paper and enclosed in a curious "calico" envelope. It was dated May 17, 1906, from the office of the South African Yearbook, Cape Town.

"Dear Sir: I am much interested in the corn campaign about which I see a note in the Journal of Education that came in by yesterday's mail, and your corn school. . If you have any pamphlets about the latter, I should count it a favor to have one sent me. (Signed) George Gilchrist."

Upon the receipt of some clippings concerning the work of the club, the Secretary of Agriculture, Hon. James Wilson, wrote Mr. Haines the follow- ing letter from Washington, under date of December 19, 1905 :

"Dear Sir: I have your letter of the 14th, with enclosed newspaper clipping regarding Boys' Corn Club, which you are conducting. I am in entire sympathy with this sort of work and have no doubt that it is admirably managed in Hamilton county. I wish the movement might spread widely throughout the corn growing states, as it will undoubtedly result in increased yields of better corn. Congratulating you and the boys upon the good work you are doing, and wishing you success in it, I am,

"Yours very truly, "(Signed) JAMES M. WILSON, Secretary."

On December 22, 1906, the following letter was received from .D. J. Crosby, expert in agricultural education, Washington, D. C .:

"Dear Sir: I have your letter of December 12th with the enclosed menu and a clipping from the Indianapolis News, concerning your Corn Club ex-

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GRIFF ZIMMERMAN. WINNER OF FIRST PRIZE ON YELLOW CORN. 1906

BOYS' CORN CLUB SWEEPSTAKES, GROWN BY ARCHIE STERN

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hibit. You have had very flattering results in a movement which I believe is destined to have a strong influence on the instruction in our rural schools in the near future. I have just returned from Lincoln, Nebraska, where I at- tended a state contest conducted on lines similar to your contest in Nobles- ville, and I was most agreeably surprised at the number of exhibits and the general enthusiasm, not only of the boys and girls, but of their teachers and parents. It marks an awakening interest in country life and its pursuits which is bound to result in better rural conditions. I wish to thank you for remembering to send me this report and hope that I may hear from you frequently. I also want to help the movement in every way possible and trust that you will call upon me whenever I can do anything for you.

"Yours very truly,

"(Signed) D. J. CROSBY."

In the spring of 1905 Mr. Haines received a letter from the state super- intendent of public instruction at Lincoln, Nebraska, asking for information concerning the Corn Club. The meeting of the state contest in Nebraska told of in the above letter was the result of the interest shown in our Corn Club. Congratulations and words of commendation came from every quarter. A man told my husband that he was traveling in the south and picked up a local paper on the train and in it was an account of the work Mr. Haines was doing in the Corn Club. The Saturday Evening Post published quite an article about it a few years ago and the editor of the Youth's Companion wrote asking for an article about some of the things done in Hamilton county, while many of the farm and educational papers published accounts of the work at different times.

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History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions, Part 27

Author: John F. Haines Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1051

Author: John F. Haines
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051