BRADFORD ACADEMY FFA: This photo from the 1969 BA yearbook include a number of my former students. I believe they are listening to a presentation by Bruce Limlaw and advisor J. Arthur Peters. Perhaps they were planning the next Connecticut Valley Fair. (Courtesy Photo Bradford Historical Society)
Journal Opinion Oct 16, 2024
This column explores
the history of student vocational organizations in local high schools. These
include the Future Farmers of America (FFA), the Future Homemakers of America
(FHA), and the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) chapters, as well as
other local vocational organizations.
Over the years, Future Farmers of America activities received
more newspaper coverage their other organizations, while they set a pattern for
other vocational groups.
Before the early 20th century, youngsters acquired
agriculture and homemaking life skills from their parents. High school courses
often focused on traditional studies rather than vocational. In 1917, the
Smith-Hughes Act authorized federal funds for vocational classes.
At the beginning of the 20th century, local organizations of
young farmers emerged. Agricultural vocational educators recognized the need to
create a national organization, and the Future Farmers of America (FFA) was
organized in Kansas City, Missouri in November 1928. Delegates from 18 states
attended that first national convention.
The Middlebury Register published an editorial recognizing
the need for the organization. “It is
designed to recognize and encourage the natural instincts and tendencies of
boys to organize themselves into groups or gangs. An outlet for these instincts
and tendencies is offered to vocational students.”
The need was apparent in the organization’s rapid growth. By
1929, there were 30,000 members in 1,500 local chapters. That year, national
blue and corn gold were adopted as the official FFA colors. In 1930, the FFA
Creed was adopted, and, in 1933, the blue corduroy jacket became the official
dress.
Segregation in some
states restricted membership to white students. In 1935, the New Farmers of
America, an organization for Black vocational students, was formed in Tuskegee,
Alabama. In 1965, the two organizations merged.
Until 1969, membership was restricted to young men. The
battle to open membership to girls was lengthy.
Now, more than half of the members are young women.
In April, 1927, Bradford’s United Opinion mentioned the need
for organizations for young farmers and homemakers. Under the direction of the
New Hampshire Extension Service, groups began to form in New Hampshire.
In 1929, a meeting
was held at Bellows Free Academy in Fairfax, VT which led to the establishment
of FFA chapters in Vermont. The first state convention was in 1931, the same
year that the New Hampshire state FFA was established.
One of the first local FFA chapters was formed at Groton
High School. In 1932, the boys had organized a local Future Farmers club until
a state chapter was established and they could become affiliated.
In 1933-34, Thetford Academy established a vocational
agriculture course. An FFA chapter was first mentioned there in 1935 when some
members attended the state convention.
In 1937, chapter member Howard Maxfield was elected state president, and
Gordon George received the State Farmer degree, the highest award given by the
state organization.
In 1938, 22 Bradford Academy students formed a Young Farmers
Association and began investigating affiliation with the state FFA. At that time there were 35 chapters in
Vermont. In September 1938, they voted to become an FFA chapter. Bradford’s Frank Peters was elected as the
chapter’s first president.
Newbury High FFA was chartered around 1940 and, as with
other chapters, enthusiastically planned activities. I could not determine when
the FFA chapter at Woodsville High was established. The first newspaper notice
of their activities was in 1981.
The FFA motto is: “Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning
to Live, Living to Serve.” My newspaper research covering the period from 1933
to 1982 included hundreds of local FFA activities that reflected this
dedication to career education, personal development, and community
service. The following are just a few
examples of those activities.
The local organizations were an outgrowth and an extension
of agricultural vocational education courses. What might be considered homework
for other courses, took on the trappings of a youth fraternal organization,
complete with membership degrees, officers, rituals, and a jacket uniform.
Members participated in local, regional, state, and national
judging competitions. Categories
included dairy, poultry, agricultural mechanics, tractor driving, and land
judging.
Parliamentary procedure and public speaking were just two of
the social skills developed.
When Orford’s Peter Thomson retired from a 46-year career as
town moderator in 2016, he attributed his abilities to his experience in the
FFA. He said a boy had to “learn about a subject, stand up and tell everyone
about it.” In 1962, Thomson was the
president of the NH FFA association.
Chapters engaged in commercial projects to support member
activities. Woodsville’s chapter sold rat poison in 1940, and later, firewood
and Christmas trees. Other chapters sold seeds, dry beans, chicks, and
calendars.
For over two decades, the Orford chapter operated a sugaring
operation making 40-60 gallons of syrup annually. Paul Messer of Orford was chapter president
from 1956-1958 and was involved in the maple project. He came on weekends to
tend to the project. His resulting interest in sugaring led to his development
of Orford’s Sunday Mountain Maple Farm. Messer spoke of the influence on his
life of Orford’s FFA advisor Leroy Guptill.
One of the most elaborate local FFA projects was Bradford
Academy’s FFA operation of the Connecticut Valley Fair. Beginning in 1948, the
chapter members, under the leadership of advisor J. Arthur Peters and later Joe
Button, organized this annual three-day fair on Bradford’s Memorial Field.
Larry Martin of
Fairlee, chapter president in 1967, recalled how hard the members worked on the
annual event, raising funds for chapter activities and scholarships.
Field trips were a significant FFA activity. Trips included
visits to dairy processing and food manufacturing plants, urban farmers
markets, and the Eastern States Exposition. Members also attended regional and
state conventions. Selection to attend the annual convention in Kansas City,
Missouri was a highlight for many members.
Chapters’ activities had a social side, with local school
fairs, parties, and dances, often in cooperation with the local Future
Homemakers chapter. An annual FFA winter carnival brought local chapters
together in friendly competition.
Public service projects included building bleachers, cleaning
up storm damage, and, during World War II, collecting salvage and selling
bonds.
When Oxbow High School opened in 1971, an FFA chapter was
chartered. The Bradford chapter was discontinued, but local chapters continued
in Woodsville, Thetford, and Newbury. As the number of dairy farms declined and
agricultural programs were discontinued, interest in the Future Farmers
organization waned. In the period after
1982, the number of FFA activities reported in local newspapers declined
significantly.
Home economics was introduced in the late 19th century with
the intention of teaching young women the practical skills necessary to manage
their homes and families.
In 1939, the Future Homemakers of Vermont organization was
established, and local chapters began to be chartered. The purpose was “to
promote the development of girls in assuming responsibilities in the home,
school and community.”
As early as 1937, there was a future homemakers’ group at
Thetford Academy. In 1939, a Jr. Future Homemakers Club met at Groton High
School, and the following year, Future Homemakers chapters were established in
both Groton and Newbury.
In 1945, the Future Homemakers of America (FHA) national
organization was founded in Chicago. It brought together 42 state associations
and over 2.400 local chapters. Another national organization, the New
Homemakers of America was created to include African American students in
states where racial segregation persisted. Like their FFA counterparts, the two
organizations merged in 1965.
The Orford High School FHA chapter was established in early
1948 and published reports of activities included the accepting of new members
and a field trip to the University of New Hampshire.
The FHA members often coordinated their activities with the
Orford FFA chapter including joint field trips and community projects.
In 1953, a group met at Bradford Academy to establish a
Vermont FHA Association. Orford’s
chapter presented a panel discussion in support of that move. Presenters
included Doris Davis, NH state president, and Nettie DeGoosh, local
president. The Vermont Association was
established at that meeting, and Bradford’s Barbara Kellerup was elected as the
first VT state president.
Muriel Chase Nutting of Essex Junction was the Bradford
Academy chapter president in 1963. She recently spoke of the activities of its
30 members and the strong encouragement of advisor Virginia Smith. The members
often attended regional and state FHA meetings, sharing ideas with girls from
other schools. Nutting also attended the 1963 national FHA convention in Kansas
City, MO.
Nutting said the FHA members often provided refreshments for
school events. They raised money for chapter activities with food sales and a
record hop. The annual activities included observance of FHA Week and a
Mother-Daughter Dinner.
The Bradford Academy FHA transferred to Oxbow High in
1971-72. That year, members were involved in the state competition. In 1974
they held a Spring Fashion Show to benefit CARE. In the early 1980s, the
national organization encouraged the incorporation of traditional chapter
activities into the classroom rather than after school.
Irene Shover, who
began teaching at Oxbow in 1978, said that the last FHA yearbook photo was in
1981, but the students continued to have chapter-like activities such as a
benefit for low birth weight children and one for hurricane victims.
In 1978, there was mention of FHA chapter activities at Blue
Mountain High School. In 1993, it was
“judged one of the outstanding chapters in the state.” Woodsville High also had
an FHA chapter.
In 1995, there was a River
Bend chapter of Home Economic Related
Occupations (HERO). Members competed at the state level on topics such as child
care and job interviews. That same year,
newspaper articles mention an FHA chapter at Woodsville High. If readers know about other FHA activities,
please share them with me.
The Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) was
established in 1937 and, by the early 1970s, had become the largest business
career and technical student organization.
Its mission was “to inspire and prepare students to become community-minded
business leaders in global society through relevant career preparation and
leadership experiences.”
A local chapter was formed at Oxbow Vocational in 1972-1973,
with Betty Balch as the advisor. At the same time, the Thetford Academy
business club joined FBLA. Woodsville’s chapter began in 1982.
Meroa Shepard Benjamin of Bradford recently spoke of her
two-year experience as Oxbow’s chapter president in the chapter’s early years.
She recalled activities such as food sales, raffles, and an annual talent
show. Service projects included typing
the school newspaper and working on the March of Dimes campaign.
They hosted six other schools for a Day of Competition.
Local, state and national competitions allowed members to highlight skills
learned in class. Benjamin said she had to “up my game,” when competing at the
national public speaking event in Washington, D.C.
My daughter, Sarah Coffin Robbins of Fairlee, recalled her
experience with the Oxbow Vocational FBLA in 1987-88 with advisor Sue
Ladd. She went on to said that being
exposed to the possibilities of business leadership “completely changed the
course of my career choices.”
Oxbow/Riverbend also sponsored a Vocational Industrial Club
(VICA). Centered in the automotive class, with Joel Moore as advisor. it was
active by 1978. By the early 1990s, the club had expanded to other vocational
course areas, including building trades and commercial foods. Members participated in regional and state
competitions, and two students attended the national convention in Louisville,
KY. About 2002, the charter joined the SkillsUSA program.
Several other vocational student groups have existed
locally. The Future Teachers of America was founded in 1937 and had school
chapters in Bradford, Newbury, and Thetford.
In 1955, Thetford Academy had a Future Nurses chapter, the only one in
Vermont at the time.
For over a century, local high school vocational classes
have offered career training for generations of local students. The vocational
organizations described above augmented classroom and workshop experiences.
They offered organizational skills and leadership training as well as travel to
regional, state, and national competitions.
The adults I interviewed recalled experiences of decades
earlier. They also credited the teacher/advisors who organized the local
chapters. Their testimonies speak highly of these vocational organizations’
value. They were truly more than just clubs.
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