USA > Virginia > Frederick County > Frederick County > Our heritage : history of the Frederick County, Virginia, Extension Homemakers 1916-1976 > Part 4
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Homemakers were urged to have meatless Tuesdays to help control meat prices, to use cheese and fish. Rationing was threat- ened again if prices were not kept under control. We were urged to "Eat less, Waste less" and save food for hungry Europeans. Flour prices were up so we were told to eat less bread and use less wheat. Wheat had hit the highest price in 30 years. Farmers were urged to use less wheat and corn in feeding livestock to reduce the short- age of wheat. Women were urged to cull all stewing hens out of their flocks as they were past their egg-laying prime.
The Agriculture Department conducted a hen-buying program to reduce the size of poultry flocks and conserve grain for aid a- broad. The hens were kept in cold storage and released when sup- plies were scarce. Some were used by the armed forces and some were exported to help feed hungry Europeans. The Agriculture Department bought the hens through processors who paid prices set by the Department. Prices were: 15¢ for 31/2 to 41/2 lbs. hens and 20¢ for those 41/2 pounds or over.
The Frederick County Extension Homemakers were well rep- resented at the District Meeting held at Culpeper on May 4, 1948 and at the Institute of Rural Affairs held at V.P.I. in Blacksburg on July 26-29. The Institute of Rural Affairs had been quiescent
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since Pearl Harbor. The topics discussed were Health and Econom- ics.
A big highlight for Frederick County and its surrounding area in 1948 was the arrival of the Freedom Train in Winchester on October 7. Only one other city in Virginia was visited by the Train in 1948. The Freedom Train, under the auspices of the American Heritage Foundation, began its tour on September 17, 1947. Its 33,000 miles itinerary through all 48 States to visit 305 cities did not permit a stop in Winchester in 1947. The Train, a streamliner, deluxe, had 7 all-metal cars drawn by a 2,000 horsepower diesel electric engine called "Spirit of 1776." It carried priceless historical documents including the Declaration of Independence, the Consti- tution of the U.S.A .. the Gettysburg Address, the U.N. Charter, the surrender documents of World War II, and the British Magna Charta. A 10-minute movie "The American Heritage" was shown in local theaters the week preceding the arrival of the Train. The project was non-partisan and non-profit; its purpose was to make citizens aware of the advantages of being American citizens, and persuade every citizen that only by active personal participation in affairs of the community. state and nation can the liberties of free men be safeguarded and preserved.
The exhibit was open from 10:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M. for the one day of October 7. A total of 9.603 persons visited the exhibit. They were very impressed but wished they could have had more time to read the documents. Although no admission was charged, each town had a quota to help defray expenses. Winchester's quota was $1,000, which was paid to the American Heritage Foundation.
Achievement Day for HD members was October 28. The guest speaker was Mrs. T. J. Stockton. new District Chairman from Burke, Virginia, who talked on "Organizing Ourselves and Our Thinking as Homemakers." A style revue was presented and ex- hibits included counterpanes, rugs, art decorated articles, Christ- mas gifts and flower arrangements. A free luncheon was served but a silver-offering box was placed for contributions to help de- fray expenses, and all money over expenses was given to the hos- pital drive.
A record was set for Frederick County when 144 4-H girls in 10 clubs had a 100% completion of their projects for the first time in club history. They carried 315 projects in clothing, food, house- keeping, home beautification, and livestock. Also, a class of girls studied better methods in home electrification.
Demonstrations for HD Clubs included yeast breads and var- iations, cakes and variations, remodeling clothing, and accessories for a basic. dress. Each Club contributed a $5.00 scholarship to send a 4-H member to the County Camp.
A big event in 1949 for Frederick County HD members was helping their County Chairman Mrs. Mary Hannum serve 3000
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attendants at a Four-State Farm Tour on the Murl Hannum and Stine Brothers (I. Fred and Herman) farms on August 19th. The estimated attendance was 800, they had prepared for 1,000, but at 10:30 A.M. they received word that 3,000 were coming. Their sup- plies were very inadequate so they had to get food from any and all available sources. A truckload of ice cream was sold. The ladies cleared $1,000 for their county treasury.
This was the third annual Four-State Farm Tour. The attend- ance at the first Farm Tour in 1946 was 80; in 1947 was 300; and in 1948 it was 500, so the estimated attendance was 800 in 1949; the final count was about 4,000. The Tour was sponsored by farmers, implement dealers, and professional agriculture workers. The four States in the program were: Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. The afternoon session attracted observers from as far away as Michigan and New York to see the demonstrations of modern techniques in farming. Demonstrations on the plow sole, fertilizer attachments on plows and corn cultivators, grain and hay dryers, pick-up balers and loading equipment, mower crusher, making grass silage, use of insecticides and application procedures for the control of flies on the farm, weed control in field corn. Dis- cussions were held on problems in farming and soil conservation as 200,000 acres were in the conservation program, or about 3/4 of our nation's farmland.
Machines used for the demonstrations were provided by the Blue Ridge farm equipment club which comprised most of the farm dealers in the area. The Boy Scout troops in Winchester were com- mended for their fine job of directing traffic on narrow country roads and to the parking areas for the 1500 automobiles of the at- tendants.
The annual HD Achievement Day program at the First Bap- tist Church on October 26, 1949, was declared the largest and best in HD history in the county. More than 200 were in attendance, from all parts of the county. Judge E. Erle Edwards, the guest speaker, ably explained the proposed suffrage amendments. Miss Winifred Orndorff, County Health Nurse, outlined the health pro- gram. Mrs. Murl Hannum pledged the health program of the coun- ty HD clubs' support. Among the accomplishments reported by the clubs for the year were: helping 4-H girls; sponsoring the Red Cross bloodmobile visiting; serving 3000 people lunch at Field Day; studying citizenship; demonstrations on fruit plots; organizing Clubs at Middletown, Hayfield and Mt. Williams, contributing to Christian Rural Overseas Program (CROP); and helping raise $1,425.49 for a carload of soybeans for our less fortunate friends in Europe. The display of art work was the largest ever. This includ- ed rugs, bedspreads, furniture, gifts, and flowers.
Other features were the pantomine of a HD meeting and the old time singing revue. Costumes were modeled dating back to 1860 and to the present date. Mary Triplett Cooper wore a costume
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of the 1800s which was used in Chicago World's Fair. Mrs. Landon Whitacre wore a wedding gown of the 1870s. Miss Edith Jolliffe modelled her mother's wedding gown, and the costumes of the flapper era 1927 to 1929, were unusual in contrast. Wilda Jean Adams, State winner in the Leadership Contest, gave an inspiring report of her experiences at National Camp.
Health, citizenship and housing were stressed during the year, and demonstrations were given on: tray decoration, rug making, time saving through kitchen storage, oven meals, refrigerator salads and desserts, and program development. The theme for the District Meeting at Warrenton was "The Rural Woman - A World Citizen."
The first HD members from Frederick County to attend a na- tional meeting of Home Demonstration Clubs were Mrs. Mary Han- num and Virginia Mason. They attended the National Meeting held in Biloxi, Mississippi in 1950.
Mrs. Mary Hannum, County Chairman of HD Clubs, served as Chairman for the Mothers' March on Polio and more than 150 county women took part in the march.
The theme for the November 3, 1950 Achievement Day pro- gram was: "The Virginia Farm Family at the Mid-Century." Miss Virginia Mason and Mrs. Murt Hannum reported on the National Meeting in Biloxi, Mississippi. The Stonewall Club reported on the United Nations. Rep. Burr P. Harrison, guest speaker, said that farming had become a much better way of life but the young peo- ple still looked longingly toward the big cities; and farming had become a science that required more education and technical know- ledge.
Demonstrations during the year included: pressure cooker meals, canning clinics, making slip covers, oil painting and stencil- ing, rope chair seating, split bottoms in chairs, sewing machine at- tachments, and citizenship.
In 1951 committees were again formed to mobilize agriculture, with objectives similar to the old USDA War Boards during World War II. This, again, would affect the lives of Homemakers, with changes and challenges.
The annual district meeting for District VII was held in the James Wood High School in Winchester on May 1, 1951. It was the largest Federation Meeting ever held in the District. Approx- imately 750 Extension Homemakers, from 12 counties, were regis- tered. Mrs. C. E. Myers, Virginia H.D.C. President, spoke on "Fed- eration - Its Aims and Accomplishments." Miss Mary Louise Col- lings, Office of Field Studies, Extension Service, USDA, told of her work in Japan, and Mrs. Ernest Keller of Shenandoah County re- ported on her trip to ACWW in Denmark. Mrs. Mary Hannum re- ported on the National Meeting at Biloxi, Mississippi. The theme
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for the meeting was: "The Family's Responsibilities in Today's World."
A three-year project of kitchen improvement in 17 kitchens . was climaxed by a tour of HD members in July, 1951. Three kit- chens visited in the morning were: Mrs. Robert Snapp of Opequon, Mrs. C. L. Butler at 539 N. Braddock St., and Mrs. Walter Solomon of Hayfield. A covered dish picnic lunch was served cafeteria style at the Whitacre Community Hall. A short Achievement program followed the lunch, with Miss Sallie Hill, Home Editor of Progres- sive Farmer magazine, as guest speaker. Then, the kitchen of Mrs. Mary Whitacre was visited. This event took the place of the 1951 HD Achievement Day. .
Nine Frederick County HDC members attended the State Meeting at VPI July 31-August 4. They were: Mrs. Charles Bass, Mrs. Ray Hicks, Mrs. Miller Barley, Mrs. Georgia Thompson, Mrs. Mabel Armel, Miss Virginia Mason, Mrs. John Perry, Mrs. Walker McBond, and Miss Agnes Shirley, HD Agent. The theme of the meeting was "Today's Challenge to Rural Families."
Demonstrations for 1951 included: kitchen improvement, storage of clothing and linens, floor sanding, color in the home, metal craft, textile painting, landscaping, recreation training.
On December 30, 1951 it was announced that the penny-post- card, a fixture in American history for more than 75 years, would become non-existent as the rate was raised to two-cents.
Home Demonstration Club members sponsored the Red Cross Bloodmobile on March 10 and 11, 1952. They sponsored the Cancer Fund Drive in April by showing cancer films at HD meetings to aid in raising funds. They helped Winchester City celebrate its 200th Birthday, also. They studied a First Aid Course; assisted the Frederick County-Winchester Health Department with infant and child welfare; collected used clothing for needy families; made cancer bandages; painted and decorated trays for school cafeterias; helped paint community halls; arranged a county-wide tour of water-systems; ordered and assembled 60 poldon lamp kits; they worked on spring-tying and re-upholstering at a furniture clinic; they cut stencil patterns for textile painting; there were 14 small fruit plots and 14 storage projects result demonstrations; 19 mem- bers attended tailoring school; 450 pounds of Hong Kong grass rope was used to seat chairs and 17,000 feet of cane and cane webbing were used to seat 21 chairs. The tailoring school was conducted by Miss Iva Boyd Johnson, State Clothing Specialist. She taught them the latest techniques of tailoring in coats, suits, toppers and children's clothing. The members who attended the school were then qualified to teach others.
Other demonstrations included: master mixes, money-saving meat dishes, one-dish meals, making lamp shade covers, lamp shades of fiber glass, hammered aluminum trays and etching alumi-
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num trays, and glass etching.
Another county-wide kitchen tour ended at the home of Mrs. William Bowers in Whitacre, Virginia and then a picnic lunch was served at the Redland Community Center.
In October the HD Clubs decided to join the Polio Parade. Mrs. Mary Whitacre, County Chairman, Mrs. Melvin Seldon, Publicity Chairman, Mrs. William Owing, Mrs. Frank Whitacre and Mrs. C. L. Butler attended the National Meeting in Washington, D.C. to receive instructions and make plans for the year's project.
HD Club members contributed $50.00 toward religious educa- tion in Frederick County Public schools; $1,000.00 was raised for Christian Rural Overseas Program (CROP); and they sponsored an emergency food shelf and clothing to take care of emergencies in time of fire or needy families.
In January 1953 a 3-day furniture upholstery clinic was held by the Frederick County HD Clubs at the Cork Street Christian Church for the purpose of teaching leaders in the techniques of re- upholstering their furniture. Thirty leaders worked on 14 pieces of furniture which included daveno beds, over-stuffed chairs, open- arm chairs and other assorted pieces. The clinic was conducted by Miss Agnes Shirley, HD Agent. and Miss Ruth Jamison, Home Furnishings Specialist from VPJ. Miss Helen Rowe, HD Agent Clarke County, assisted them with the clinic.
Members of the HD Clubs decided to dedicate their 1953 Year- book to one of their worthy members as an honor for her help and hospitality extended through the years as a HD member. Mrs. Harry Parke Lovett, charter member of the Stephens City HD Club, was the first member chosen for this honor. The first Year- book was published in 1947 but they had never been dedicated to anyone prior to 1953. The Yearbooks contain information about County officers, Clubs and their presidents, meeting dates, club programs and leaders, hostesses, devotions, reminders, and other information.
The local Red Cross Chapter had drives each month for their Bloodmobile. On March 5, 1953 the HD members conducted the drive to recruit 219 donors as their quota was 150 pints of blood. They exceeded their quota as they collected 171 pints.
April was Cancer Month. Under the leadership of Miss Agnes Shirley, Home Agent, a Cancer Campaign to raise money for the Cancer program was started April 9, 1953. Movies - "Crusade" - were shown and lectures were presented. The following chair- men were appointed : Mrs. Bryan Kerns, Gore; Mrs. Zelda Bayliss, Friendly Grove; Mrs. Katie Patton, Albin; Mrs. James Swing, Mid- dle Road; Mrs. Delilah Bell, Mt. Williams; Mrs. Landon Whitacre, North Frederick; Mrs. Oren Snapp, Shawnee; Miss Genevieve Massey, Stephens City; Mrs. Clarence Robinson, Stonewall; Mrs.
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Walter Bowman, West Frederick; Mrs. William Lockhart, Hayfield; Mrs. Charles Hammack, Middletown; Mrs. Ada Ebersole, Valley Mill; Mrs. Nora Newcome, Evandale: Mrs. Naomi Lamp, County Chairman. The campaign was a big success.
Frederick county was changed to District IX when the State H.D.C. was divided into 12 Districts.
The 1953 District IX meeting was held in Woodstock. Each county presented a play representing work done in their county. Mrs. Will S. Dickinson, State HDC President, was guest speaker. She told the audience that 51/2 million women in all parts of the U.S. were taking part in observance of Home Demonstration Week in observance of a half century since the first "Learning by Doing" demonstration was established by Dr. Seaman A. Knapp of USDA and the people of Terrell, Texas with the Mr. and Mrs. W. C. Por- ter giving the use of their farm. From this start has grown the Extension work of Land Grant Colleges. Dr. Knapp once said, "The home eventually controls the viewpoint of a man; you may do all that you have a mind to do in schools, but unless you reach in and get hold of that home and change its conditions you are nullifying the uplift of the school. We are reaching for the home." From his early work, home demonstration clubs have been established in al- most every county in the U.S.A. and 4-H clubs have developed for the training of young people.
Other activities during 1953 were: the Mothers March on Polio, taking a Red Cross First Aid Course, and a tour of the newly remodelled kitchens of Mrs. Mary Whitacre and Mrs. Esther Snapp. Demonstrations included: poldon lamps; fiber glass lamp shades; winter salads, ices and sherbets; simple carpentry; hammered and etched aluminum trays; chair seating with cane and rope; stencil- ing; textile painting; winter flower arrangements; sewing machine clinic for cleaning and adjusting sewing machines; furniture clinic; upholstering clinic; re-styling hats; Christmas corsages and cookie recipes; clothing finishes.
The Achievement Day program held at the James Wood School on November 6, 1953 began with a buffet supper at 6:30 P.M. It was the first Achievement Day held in three years. A report on accomplishments the past three years was given by Mrs. William Owings, County Vice-Chairman. Mrs. Frank Whitacre led group singing, Mrs. Landon Whitacre played the piano accompaniment. Mrs. John Whitacre, County Chairman, conducted the meeting. Bebe and Tucker Campbell performed special dance numbers. Work done and completed the past three years was exhibited by the 15 clubs. They included: chair seating and repairing with cane and rope; stenciling; textile painting; hammered and etched aluminum trays; wired lamps; fiber glass and plastic lamp shades; simple car- pentry; plaited rugs made; and sewing machines cleaned. Robert E. Aylor, Supt. of Schools, substituted for guest speaker G. H. Clark, District Agent, who was unable to attend because of the
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snow storm. His talk was titled "Fifty Years of Extension Work." Approximately 150 attended the program.
Frederick County HD club members covered all the roads in the county for the Mothers' March of the 1954 Polio Campaign, and netted $1225.00 for the drive, which was opened by fire sirens and factory whistles. Donors were asked to leave porch lights on, or use a light of any kind, such as candles or lanterns, in a con- spicuous place. Mrs. Joseph Sharp was chairman of the HDC drive. Mrs. Murl Hannum was co-chairman. Captains of the 21 districts were: Mrs. Katy Patton, Miss Agnes V. Shirley, Mrs. John Whit- acre, Mrs. H. M. Carbaugh, Mrs. Roy Wisecarver, Mrs. Genevieve Mason, Mrs. Ada Ebersole, Mrs. Helen Knight, Mrs. Leslie Lucas, Mrs. Ralph Bauserman, Mrs. Bryan Kerns, Mrs. Sharp, Mrs. Mary Hannum, Mrs. Vernon Unger, Mrs. Anne LaRue, Mrs. Rosemary Philips, Mrs. Helen Story, Mrs. Areta Sperry, Mrs. Jack William- son, Mrs. Bertha Venskoske, Mrs. C. L. Butler, Mrs. Allen Carter, Mrs. George Bywaters, Mrs. Daisy Hopkins, Mrs. Orndorff of Star Tannery, and Mrs. Robert Duncan.
HD club members sponsored the Red Cross Bloodmobile on March 23. This was the first time in more than eight weeks and a quota of 150 pints was seriously needed for the Armed Forces and the local hospital, and also to supply gamma globulin which was used in inoculations against polio. They exceeded their quota by 26 pints.
Due to increasing size of HD clubs, existing clubs pledged to help newly-formed clubs and to carry six or more meetings with-' out aid of the home agent being present, and to provide some of- fice help for the home agent.
District IX meeting for 1954 was held on May 5 at Front Royal. Sixty women from 15 Frederick County HD clubs attended the meeting. Total attendance was 400, from the six counties in Dis- trict IX - Clarke, Frederick, Loudoun, Page, Shenandoah and Warren. Frederick County gave $300.60 toward the VPI Education Center Building Fund as part of a State-wide HD Federation pro- ject; this was more than any other county in the District. They also gave $15.00 to Pennies for Friendship. Mrs. Harvey Koester of. Front Royal, District President, presided. The principle speaker was Mrs. W. H. Carr of Appomattox, State HDC President.
Seven Frederick County HDC members attended the annual Institute of Rural Affairs at VPI in Blacksburg July 27. They were: Mrs. Vernon Unger, Chr. of Albin HDC and a county dele- gate; Mrs. Curtis Loy, member of Valley Mill HDC and a county delegate; Mrs. Charles Bass, Stephens City HDC and a member of the State Executive Board; Mrs. Mabel Brown, Valley Mill HDC; Mrs. Alfred Snapp, Middle Road HDC; Mrs. John Perry, West Fred- erick HDC; and Miss Agnes V. Shirley, home agent. Specialists discussed improvement of medical services in rural areas, market-
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ing of farm products, international relations and other subjects pertaining to agriculture.
On October 15, hurricane Hazel struck a 200-mile-wide path of death and destruction through the center of Virginia. Winds of 100 miles per hour caused a 700,000 bushels apple loss in Frederick and Clarke counties. Over 4 inches of rain sent the Back Creek on a rampage that washed away a bridge and a car, isolated the home of Mr. and Mrs. Eldridge Pugh, and necessitated rescue of the fam- ily by the Gore Fire Company by using a ladder to cross over where the bridge had been. Their home was completely surrounded by water. Streets of towns and many acres of farmland were flooded. School children were dismissed early but one group of school chil- dren could not get home as the bridge on their bus route had been washed away so they spent the night in the schoolhouse. This brought back memories of the terrible flood in March 1936. That was the most rain since the same day 12 years before when 6.51 inches set a record. Hurricane Hazel ravaged 8 States, District of Columbia and Canada.
The 1954 Achievement Day held at the James Wood School began with a Buffet supper, November 18. The 13 Frederick Coun- ty HD clubs displayed exhibits as follows: Albin, simple carpentry; Evandale, oil stenciling; Friendly Grove, textile painting; Gaines- boro, lamp shades; Gore, hooked rugs; Middle Road, braided rugs; Middletown, tailoring techniques; North Frederick, making and wiring lamps; Shawnee, split bottom chairs; Stonewall, tray etch- ing; Stephens City, federation goals activities and gifts suggestions; Valley Mill, chair caning; West Frederick, rope chair seating. Wilda Jean Adams, IFYE delegate to Finland, reported on her stay in that country and showed colored slides. More than 300 members, their families and friends attended the event.
Other demonstrations during the year included: plan, design and dye fabrics for hooked rugs on burlap; clothing finishes; make- ing dress forms; improving clothes storage; diets for overweight, sick and aged persons; advanced textile painting; small fruits and grape pruning; First Aid Course, upholstery clinic.
The 1955 Mothers March on Polio was again opened with the sounds of fire sirens and factory whistles. The donors used porch lights or some kind of a light or a handkerchief tied on door knob in apartment or hotel rooms as a signal for the Mothers to stop for their donation. The goal was increased as funds were needed for the development of the Salk polio vaccine. Mrs. Anne LaRue, HD March Chairman, and her 14 Captains netted $3,289.00. There were 100 volunteers in the city and 150 in the county. Mrs. Lester Sing- hass was the city chairman. HD Team Captains were: Mrs. J. W. Sharpe, HDC Chairman; Mrs. Robert Duncan; Mrs. Mary Hannum; Mrs. Harry Carbaugh; Mrs. Gwen Lunsford; Mrs. Garnet Heish- man; Mrs. John Knight; Mrs. Paul Ebersole; Mrs. Carl Whittaker; Mrs. Katie Patton; Mrs. Irvin Williams; Mrs. Roy Wisecarver; Miss
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Agnes Shirley, Extension Agent; and Mrs. Anne LaRue.
A big highlight of 1955 was the Beauty Jamboree sponsored by Curtis Publishing Company, publishers of Better Farming, for- merly Country Gentleman. A color film to be shown on TV was made on February 2, 3, and 4 at the Round Hill Community Center with 50 Frederick County women participating in the Jamboree. Frederick County was chosen as one of three locations in the U.S. to be featured in the Beauty Jamboree.
The first day featured discussion and experiments to help each woman determine her beauty potential. The second day, they in- tensified their experiments and the third day, they discussed basic rules of dressing well and demonstrated the beauty in fashion knowledge they had gained. A story about the Beauty Jamboree appeared later in an issue of the Better Farming Magazine.
Mrs. Trudy Dye, Woman Editor, and Miss Jane Cleeland, Fash- ion Editor, helped with 25 executives of the magazine company and the companies whose products were used. They arrived by chart- ered plane from New York. Twenty country girls acted as models in a demonstration of cosmetic coordination conducted by the Beauty Editor, Miss Ruth Hoagland. Six Frederick County women acted as hostesses at the covered dish luncheons held each day.
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