STORIES OF ACHIEVEMENT
A few typical stories taken from numerous narratives of success quoted by negro extension agents will suffice to give trends and tendencies. Floyd Stokes, of Gloucester County, Va., told the following story of the help given him through extension work (fig.9):
When I got married back in 1903, I left home to begin life as a renter. The little house to which I moved was on 3 acres of land which I worked when not engaged in fishing or oystering. After having lived on this place three years, a young man, the first demonstration agent I had ever heard of, came to me and began talking soil improvement and how I could make a living out of it. Justabout this time the agent induced me to buy 9 acres of land near by which were for sale. Four of these acres had been cleared and there was an old house on the land that had been used as a barn. I sawed some timber, had some doors and windows made for the barn, and moved into my own home.Under the instruction of the agent I planted the 3 rented acres to melons and sowed cowpeas between the rows at the last cultivation to be turned under as green manure. This crop of melons netted me $300. On the 4 cleared acres I began soil building and the rotation of crops, as follows: In the spring I sowed cowpeas for hay, followed by crimson clover, which was turned under the following spring and planted to corn. Cowpeas were sown at the last cultivation. A good crop of corn was produced the first year. The cornland was planted to garden peas the next year, followed by crimson clover to be turned under and by potatoes the year following. The potatoes were followed by cowpeas, which were cut for hay in the fall. In the meantime, I had cleared the other 5 acres on which I planted melons, followed by crimson clover to be turned under for soil improvement.Fig. 9.—Farm home and buildings of Floyd Stokes, of Gloucester County, Va., an outstanding negro farmer who attributes his unusual success to following the advice and suggestions of the negro extension agent.Back in the early days when I began work with the agent, my land was very thin and light, being of a sandy texture; hence, it would not produce over 15 bushels to the acre. By following closely the system of crop rotation taughtme, the same land is producing at this time an average of 45 bushels of corn per acre and other crops are doing equally well. From a sand bed, my land has been brought to a high state of cultivation.In the fourth year after I had bought my first 9 acres, I purchased 7 additional acres. From 1911 to 1917 I rented 13 acres adjoining the 16 acres I owned. At the expiration of this period I succeeded in buying this piece of land, paying cash for it at the rate of $100 per acre. Two years later I bought 20 acres more for which I paid $3,000 in cash, making my total holdings at this time 49 acres. The land on which my house stands cost me $800. I have since been offered $6,000 for it. On the 20-acre plot is a good house which I rent out, although the land is retained for my own use.In 1923 I began to remodel my house. The necessary timber was cut from the 20 acres purchased last. I planned to add all modern conveniences to the house. A lighting system has been installed and I plan to put in a complete water system next year. I have sheds for housing the farm tools when not in use, and insist that they be kept there. My net income averages around $2,000 per year. I have sold $1,600 worth of green peas this season and just to-day received $300 in small checks from neighboring farmers for seeds and plants grown by me. My farm is self-supporting. I do not buy anything that I can grow, and sell all surplus crops. I have eight children, all of whom are being educated as fast as they are ready for it. Two of my children are graduates of Hampton Institute.I was one of the first to take up demonstration work in Gloucester County and through it showed that money could be made out of growing garden peas and other truck crops. Since most people at that time were practicing fishing and oystering, no one believed that truck gardening could be successful. When my success became known, one after the other began to take it up until to-day Gloucester County has become a great trucking center.What success I have had in land buying, soil improvement, home making, and education of my children may be credited to the extension service through its agents who have rendered me most valuable service for which I am deeply grateful.
When I got married back in 1903, I left home to begin life as a renter. The little house to which I moved was on 3 acres of land which I worked when not engaged in fishing or oystering. After having lived on this place three years, a young man, the first demonstration agent I had ever heard of, came to me and began talking soil improvement and how I could make a living out of it. Justabout this time the agent induced me to buy 9 acres of land near by which were for sale. Four of these acres had been cleared and there was an old house on the land that had been used as a barn. I sawed some timber, had some doors and windows made for the barn, and moved into my own home.
Under the instruction of the agent I planted the 3 rented acres to melons and sowed cowpeas between the rows at the last cultivation to be turned under as green manure. This crop of melons netted me $300. On the 4 cleared acres I began soil building and the rotation of crops, as follows: In the spring I sowed cowpeas for hay, followed by crimson clover, which was turned under the following spring and planted to corn. Cowpeas were sown at the last cultivation. A good crop of corn was produced the first year. The cornland was planted to garden peas the next year, followed by crimson clover to be turned under and by potatoes the year following. The potatoes were followed by cowpeas, which were cut for hay in the fall. In the meantime, I had cleared the other 5 acres on which I planted melons, followed by crimson clover to be turned under for soil improvement.
Fig. 9.—Farm home and buildings of Floyd Stokes, of Gloucester County, Va., an outstanding negro farmer who attributes his unusual success to following the advice and suggestions of the negro extension agent.
Fig. 9.—Farm home and buildings of Floyd Stokes, of Gloucester County, Va., an outstanding negro farmer who attributes his unusual success to following the advice and suggestions of the negro extension agent.
Fig. 9.—Farm home and buildings of Floyd Stokes, of Gloucester County, Va., an outstanding negro farmer who attributes his unusual success to following the advice and suggestions of the negro extension agent.
Fig. 9.—Farm home and buildings of Floyd Stokes, of Gloucester County, Va., an outstanding negro farmer who attributes his unusual success to following the advice and suggestions of the negro extension agent.
Back in the early days when I began work with the agent, my land was very thin and light, being of a sandy texture; hence, it would not produce over 15 bushels to the acre. By following closely the system of crop rotation taughtme, the same land is producing at this time an average of 45 bushels of corn per acre and other crops are doing equally well. From a sand bed, my land has been brought to a high state of cultivation.
In the fourth year after I had bought my first 9 acres, I purchased 7 additional acres. From 1911 to 1917 I rented 13 acres adjoining the 16 acres I owned. At the expiration of this period I succeeded in buying this piece of land, paying cash for it at the rate of $100 per acre. Two years later I bought 20 acres more for which I paid $3,000 in cash, making my total holdings at this time 49 acres. The land on which my house stands cost me $800. I have since been offered $6,000 for it. On the 20-acre plot is a good house which I rent out, although the land is retained for my own use.
In 1923 I began to remodel my house. The necessary timber was cut from the 20 acres purchased last. I planned to add all modern conveniences to the house. A lighting system has been installed and I plan to put in a complete water system next year. I have sheds for housing the farm tools when not in use, and insist that they be kept there. My net income averages around $2,000 per year. I have sold $1,600 worth of green peas this season and just to-day received $300 in small checks from neighboring farmers for seeds and plants grown by me. My farm is self-supporting. I do not buy anything that I can grow, and sell all surplus crops. I have eight children, all of whom are being educated as fast as they are ready for it. Two of my children are graduates of Hampton Institute.
I was one of the first to take up demonstration work in Gloucester County and through it showed that money could be made out of growing garden peas and other truck crops. Since most people at that time were practicing fishing and oystering, no one believed that truck gardening could be successful. When my success became known, one after the other began to take it up until to-day Gloucester County has become a great trucking center.
What success I have had in land buying, soil improvement, home making, and education of my children may be credited to the extension service through its agents who have rendered me most valuable service for which I am deeply grateful.
In Gloucester County, Va., more than 90 per cent of the heads of negro families own their own homes, the jail is usually empty, and the courts have little to do.
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)
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)
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)
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 toexcel 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.
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.”
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.
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.
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:
Lena Williams, age 16, of Washington County, Tex., has learned to can vegetables and make jelly and pickles so well that her services are in great demand. This year, after attending to her work at home and keeping up her club activities, Lena made a profit of $63 by canning for other people and even a greater profit from the sale of some of her products, both canned and fresh. With this money she bought a purebred Poland China pig, costing $10, and 12 purebred Rhode Island Red pullets and 1 cockerel, costing $14. Lena also attributes her good fortune in having some good warm, tasty apparel for school to her activity in canning, as she invested the remaining $39 in clothes for school wear, and plans to start a bank account from her investment in chickens and pigs.
Lena Williams, age 16, of Washington County, Tex., has learned to can vegetables and make jelly and pickles so well that her services are in great demand. This year, after attending to her work at home and keeping up her club activities, Lena made a profit of $63 by canning for other people and even a greater profit from the sale of some of her products, both canned and fresh. With this money she bought a purebred Poland China pig, costing $10, and 12 purebred Rhode Island Red pullets and 1 cockerel, costing $14. Lena also attributes her good fortune in having some good warm, tasty apparel for school to her activity in canning, as she invested the remaining $39 in clothes for school wear, and plans to start a bank account from her investment in chickens and pigs.
It should be noted that any girl club member who makes the right start in productive enterprises is almost sure to go ahead into other phases of better home making and self-improvement. It is therefore very essential to make the proper start. The initial stage from the viewpoint of the demonstrator is most vital. The importance of the starting point was emphasized by Seaman A. Knapp, when he said:
Where to commence is the first problem of reform. Shall we trust the people and commence by increasing their resources, or shall our efforts be directed to improving farm dwellings and home conditions, the construction of better highways, the introduction of the telephone, rural free delivery, a community library, or improved social and religious privileges? Evidently it depends upon the degree of advancement in rural communities. The remedy that would help one might be utterly unapplicable to another. For example, if it were found that the average farmer in a rural township lived in a house valued at about $100, without barn, garden, cow, or pasture, with an insufficient supply of poultry, and unable to read and heavily involved in debt, it would be the height of unwisdom to commence the rural uplift by establishing a public library or even a school. The rural toilers must be first properly nourished, clothed, and housed. It is the order of greatest necessity. The means to do this can not be given to them and if it were, there would be no uplift. They must be shown how to earn it by a better tillage of the soil, and how to husband their earnings by greater thrift. A low wage, a small amount of work accomplished in a day, and an uneconomic use of resources are a part of any civilization limited by a low earning capacity.No more frequent mistake is made than to assume that the low wage is the result of oppression. As a rule the wage is determined by the accomplishment. In India it requires from 14 to 24 servants to do the work of a small household, where 2 would do it better in some portions of the United States.Upon the farm one man in the United States with a good team and modern machinery can do the work that 50 to 100 men do in many oriental countries. Consequently, when oriental farm laborers are paid 5 to 10 cents per day they are paid up to their earning capacity and that capacity is insufficient to sustain a high civilization.... In attempting to raise the condition of the colored man, we frequently start too high up, and in talking of the higher progress talk right over his head. When I talk to a negro citizen I never talk about the better civilization, but about a better chicken, a better pig, or a whitewashed house.
Where to commence is the first problem of reform. Shall we trust the people and commence by increasing their resources, or shall our efforts be directed to improving farm dwellings and home conditions, the construction of better highways, the introduction of the telephone, rural free delivery, a community library, or improved social and religious privileges? Evidently it depends upon the degree of advancement in rural communities. The remedy that would help one might be utterly unapplicable to another. For example, if it were found that the average farmer in a rural township lived in a house valued at about $100, without barn, garden, cow, or pasture, with an insufficient supply of poultry, and unable to read and heavily involved in debt, it would be the height of unwisdom to commence the rural uplift by establishing a public library or even a school. The rural toilers must be first properly nourished, clothed, and housed. It is the order of greatest necessity. The means to do this can not be given to them and if it were, there would be no uplift. They must be shown how to earn it by a better tillage of the soil, and how to husband their earnings by greater thrift. A low wage, a small amount of work accomplished in a day, and an uneconomic use of resources are a part of any civilization limited by a low earning capacity.
No more frequent mistake is made than to assume that the low wage is the result of oppression. As a rule the wage is determined by the accomplishment. In India it requires from 14 to 24 servants to do the work of a small household, where 2 would do it better in some portions of the United States.
Upon the farm one man in the United States with a good team and modern machinery can do the work that 50 to 100 men do in many oriental countries. Consequently, when oriental farm laborers are paid 5 to 10 cents per day they are paid up to their earning capacity and that capacity is insufficient to sustain a high civilization.... In attempting to raise the condition of the colored man, we frequently start too high up, and in talking of the higher progress talk right over his head. When I talk to a negro citizen I never talk about the better civilization, but about a better chicken, a better pig, or a whitewashed house.