HISTORY OF
THE WALKER COUNTY EXTENSION HOMEMAKERS CLUBS 1911-1982
(Article
written in 1982 by Willie Barton about the earlier years in
Walker County-with notes on the Walker County Homemaker
Extension Council submitted by
Willie Barton)
In the early days life centered
around the farm. Father passed his knowledge on to his son and
Mother taught the girls homemaking skills. Dreams were ever
present for a better life. Out of these dreams the Land-Grant
College (Auburn) came into being and through this program the
farmer and the homemaker began to get information to make their
roles an easier task. Farmers in Alabama began receiving help
from county agents in 1907. In 1911 the Girls' Tomato Club was
founded. This group was formed to teach the younger females how
to raise and can tomatoes. Any woman over 21 might become a
member. The only distinction between the older and younger
tomato club members was, the younger ones were allowed to
compete for prizes.
Some of the earlier records have
been destroyed, however, the first available record of a home
agent is dated 1928. Lucille Braswell was the agent then with
eleven communities active. There were 5 clubs with 97 women as
members. By the end of 1929 Mrs. Braswell listed 8 clubs with
183 members.
In July 1930 Achievement Day
(then called Women's Rally) was held at the Methodist Church in
Jasper. Eighty women attended. Seventy of these women entered
dresses they had made (55 dresses in the Voile Dress Revue and
15 dresses in the Sack Dress Revue). Mrs. F. L. Knight of Thach
won 1st place in Voile with Mrs. W. T. S. Burns winning 2nd
prize.
Clubs during this time frame were Providence,
Jasper, Union Chapel, Boldo, Prospect, Redmill, Sulphur
Springs, Slate Creek, Manchester, Curry, Lupton, Kansas,
Brown, Oak Grove, Nauvoo, Thach, Eldridge and Nix.
This period of homemaking was very difficult
due to the Great Depression. Yet the women were diligent in
their club work. They would walk several miles on dusty
roads to attend a meeting, their youngster in tow. Sometimes
the home agent would stop and pick up passengers in her car.
Once the seats were filled the 'left-overs' jumped up on the
running board and hung on for dear life as the agent drove
to the next meeting. When the council met three times a year
they met on a Saturday morning. That was when the husband
came to town and he would give his wife a lift in the wagon
to attend her meetings while he shopped and visited with
other farmers.
During World War II the women
were very busy with stamp sales, bond drives and saving bits
of scrap metal for the 'war cause'.
By 1950 the number of clubs had
increased to 37. But, the number had dropped to 22 by 1982.
Some of the demonstrations given
during these years were:
'Tie Dyeing and Dyeing' (the
Nauvoo Club dyed 297 garments in one day. )
'Princess Slips'
'Dry Cleaning'
'Foundation Corselets'
'Hot water bath canning'
'Making cotton mattresses'
'Making magazine racks'
'Care of the bed during
childbirth'
'Landscaping'
'Scrap Drives'
'Developing your Personality'
'Lightning'
'Family Religion'
'Teenagers Still Need Parents'
'Preparing a Will'
WALKER COUNTY
EXTENSION HOMEMAKERS COUNCIL PRESIDENTS
Mrs. H. S.
CORBIN
Mrs. E. E. RUSSELL
Mrs. J. R. HAWKINS
Mrs. EARNEST NUNN
Mrs. HOWARD BROWN
Mrs. C.M. STEPHENSON
Mrs. W.H. CALDWELL
Mrs. BILL KELLEY
Mrs. HOUSTON SNOW
Mrs. ALONZO RICHARDSON
Mrs. BOBBY STOVALL
Mrs. WILLARD DRUMMOND
Mrs. BUDDY HOOBLER
Mrs. WAYNE PARKER
Mrs. ANITA PATE
Mrs. WILLIAM WOLFE
Mrs. PERRY WARREN
Mrs. JIM BEASON
Mrs. ELBERT BARTON
WALKER
CO. EXTENSION HOMEMAKERS TIMELINE
1911 - Tomato Clubs organized
1928 - Lucille Braswell came to
Walker Co. as Home Agent
1930 - Pearl Rowe was appointed as
Home Agent
1930 - The Walker County Council
was organized
1937 - Mary Dell McCain came as
Home Agent
1943 - Jeannette McPhail was
appointed Home Agent
1949 - Sarah Thompson took over as
Home Agent
1950 - Margaret Poole started as
Home Agent
1958 - Jeannette McPhail Argo
returned as Home Agent
1965 - Name changed from Home
Demonstration Clubs to Extension Homemakers Clubs
1971 - Outstanding Service Awards
program set up
1972 - Extension Homemakers
Councils in Alabama became an organization independent of the
Extension Service
1975 - Arts and Crafts Show set up
as an annual event
1980 - Walker Co. Extension
Council won 1st place at District meeting
1981 - Walker County Homemakers
won 13 State Awards
1982 - History of Walker County
Homemakers written
1982 - Shirley Whitten takes over
as County Agent
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