Historians often celebrate milestone events such as the 50th or 100th anniversary of an important happening. In 2014 we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Smith-Lever Act that provided for a national system of Extension. In 2017 we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Smith-Hughes Act which provided federal support for the teaching of agriculture in the public schools.
Last week the Friday Footnote achieved a milestone – the 100th Footnote. So, we are going to have a brief celebration but more importantly, we are providing educators with an index of the past Footnotes. In case you have recently started getting the Footnote or might have missed some along the way, this index along with active links might be useful.
With the start of school this fall you might want to brush up on some of the unknown or forgotten history of agricultural education to augment your teaching. With numerous schools operating virtually, there might even be some Footnotes that you might assign as readings to your students.
How did the Friday Footnote get started?
Two years ago, in July I was heading to Remington, Indiana (from North Carolina) to speak at the Fountain Park Chautauqua. Along the way I stopped at several historic camp meeting grounds in Kentucky. Then I detoured through Danville, Illinois.
At one time many of the agricultural education textbooks came from Interstate Printers and Publishers in Danville. The Chapter Supply Company, an early supplier of FFA paraphernalia, was also headquartered in Danville as was the American Farm Youth magazine. I wanted to learn more about these important players in the history of agricultural education.
While in Danville I interviewed a long-time employee of Interstate and visited with the daughter of the founder of the Chapter Supply Company. I also spent half a day in the Danville Public library researching these businesses. I discovered an article about the Russian plagiarism of a book published by Interstate (the Russians just reprinted the book in Russian) I found this plagiarism to be so interesting that I just had to share my discovery with someone.
So, the idea came to me to send it out to the NAAE and AAAE listserves. I did and called it the Friday Footnote. The responses I received to the posting were positive, so I decided to continue to share my research and knowledge of the profession. We are now 100 Footnotes later. And looking forward to the next 100.
In keeping with the theme of this Footnote the following are some of the milestones:
- 1st Footnote – Russia, Plagiarism and Agricultural Education
- 25th Footnote – Don’t You Just Want Me for Me? – Authored by Breanna Holbert, the first Female African American National FFA President. She shared her experiences.
- 50th Footnote – The Death of Mrs. Henry Groseclose – Introduced the readers to the 2nd Mrs. Henry Groseclose who died in 2019.
- 75th Footnote – In the Room Where it Happened – Personal experiences of those involved in the effort to rewrite the FFA creed in 1989-90.
- 100th Footnote – Black Blizzards – Describes the impact of the Dust Bowl on agriculture and how this led to the creation of the Soil Conservation Service.
How does one get the Friday Footnote?
Originally, I sent the Footnote out to the listservs associated with the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE) and the American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE). I still do. Most readers receive the Footnote from being subscribed to one of these listservs. If someone forwards the Footnote to you, you can go to this link for information on how to join the NAAE listserv or to this link to join the AAAE listserve. I also maintain a small mailing list for retirees and others interested in receiving the Friday Footnote. You can drop me a note at gmoore@ncsu.edu to be added to my mailing list.
Shortly after starting the Friday Footnote the NAAE asked me to also post the Footnotes on the Communities of Practice. Therefore, you can find copies of the Footnotes at https://communities.naae.org/groups/friday-footnotes.
I also archive all the Footnotes at https://footnote.wordpress.ncsu.edu/. At this site you can search for individual words found in the Footnotes. If you are trying to find a past Footnote and remember the word Utah, or Stimson, or NFA, etc. just type the word in the search box and you will be able to retrieve the Footnote.
How Can You Participate in the Friday Footnote?
Even though I write the majority of the Footnotes, I welcome guest contributors. Sometimes I ask individuals with specialized knowledge of an event to serve as guest editors. Then there are times when people just send me something they believe would be of interest to the profession. I make every effort to publish these unsolicited contributions and welcome them.
If you would like to contribute a potential Footnote, I would encourage you to do so. Or if you have a suggestion or idea for a Footnote, please pass that on to me.
The guidelines I try to follow (not always successfully) are:
- Limit text to 4 single spaced pages (not counting references or pictures)
- Include 3-6 photographs or illustration
- Have 3-5 references in case people want to delve deeper into the material
- Depending on the content, at times teaching ideas or tips are appropriate
Who is the Friday Footnote Curator?
As I was writing this Footnote, I realized that some of you might not know who I am. In case you don’t, let me introduce myself. I am Gary Moore. I grew up in Central Texas and obtained a B.S. degree in Agricultural Education from Tarleton State University. I then taught high school agriculture at Medicine Lodge High School (KS) (1969-70) and Fort Frye High School (OH) (1970-73). I then spent a couple of years as a graduate teaching associate at Ohio State where I obtained a Masters and Doctorate in Agricultural Education.
After graduating from Ohio State, I taught at Alabama A&M University (1975-76), Purdue University (1976-1982), Louisiana State University (1982-1989), and North Carolina State University (1989-2017). I retired from university life in 2017 but not from the profession.
During my university career I conducted research primarily on teacher effectiveness, SAE, distance education, and historical and philosophical aspects of agricultural education. I was active in professional organizations serving as national president of Alpha Tau Alpha, the American Vocational Education Research Association, the American Association for Agricultural Education, and the Association of Career and Technical Education.
I stay involved in the profession by curating the Friday Footnote (a curator is a keeper or custodian of a museum or other collection) and speaking at a variety of professional conferences. If you want to know where I speak or what I speak about go to http://thekeynotepresenter.com/. Some of my topics might surprise you.
I consider it an honor and privilege to share my knowledge with you. But the greatest thrill is searching for materials to share with you. When I was teaching full time, I didn’t take the time to dig into the past as much as I desired to do. Now I get to do that. Thank you for allowing me to do that.
What follows is an index of all past Friday Footnotes. I have also attached the following Word document Index of Friday Footnotes 7.31.2020. The titles of the Footnotes are live links.
Index of Friday Footnotes
| # | Date | Friday Footnote Title | Author | Synopsis of Footnote |
| 1 | 8/3/2018 | Russia, Plagiarism and Agricultural Education | Gary Moore | Tells about the Russian Plagiarism of an Interstate agricultural textbook |
| 2 | 8/10/2018 | The Womens Land Army | Gary Moore | Describes the Womens Land Army of World War I and II |
| 3 | 8/17/2018 | The American Farm Youth Magazine | Gary Moore | Looks at an early youth orientated magazine popular with FFA members |
| 4 | 8/24/2018 | Songs of the New Farmers of America | Gary Moore | Identifies songs popular with the New Farmers of America |
| 5 | 8/31/2018 | The 4-H & FFA Postage Stamps | Gary Moore | Contains information about the U.S. Postal Service 4-H and FFA stamps and their first day covers |
| 6 | 9/7/2018 | Rosenwald Schools and Agricultural Education | Gary Moore | Describes the building of 5,000 schools in the South for children of color with matching funds from Julius Rosenwald |
| 7 | 9/14/2018 | The First FFA Manual | Gary Moore | Focuses on information in the first FFA manual and the subsequent changes |
| 8 | 9/21/2018 | The Wise Owl Club | Jim Connors | Discusses an early eye safety program |
| 9 | 9/28/2018 | I Hear the Train a Comin | Gary Moore | Describes pre-extension demonstration trains that carried agricultural knowledge to rural America |
| 10 | 10/5/2018 | The Green Hand | Gary Moore | A juvenile novel and movie written about a wayward youth, FFA saves the day |
| 11 | 10/12/2018 | What is a Staddle Stone | Gary Moore | Looks at agricultural education in England, especially the Young Farmers’ Clubs |
| 12 | 10/19/2018 | The Mystery of the FFA Emblem | Gary Moore | Describes how the FFA emblem came to be |
| 13 | 10/26/2018 | The Poor Scholar’s Soliloquy | Stephen Corey | A thought provoking articles about the value of education that first appeared in Childhood Education in 1944. |
| 14 | 11/2/2018 | Origins of the FFA Ceremonies | Gary Moore | Looks at the influence of the Masons on the FFA Ceremonies |
| 15 | 11/9/2018 | The Yellow Dogs | Gary Moore | Explores a “secret” agricultural education society. |
| 16 | 11/16/2018 | The FFA Sweetheart | Gary Moore, Jillian Ford | A look at the past and present of FFA sweethearts |
| 17 | 11/23/2018 | When an Old Man Gets to Thinking | Gary Moore | A 1920s era poem about the truly important things in life |
| 18 | 11/30/2018 | Tom of Peace Valley | Gary Moore | Describes a juvenile novel written in 1925 about vocational agriculture and a corn club |
| 19 | 12/7/2018 | The Answer is NOT Amazon | Gary Moore | Identifies sources for obtaining FFA Paraphernalia in the early days of FFA |
| 20 | 12/14/2018 | Joe Writes Santa | E. V. Walton | A humorous 1950 era story about Joe Scatterscrew, a fictious ag teacher |
| 21 | 1/4/2019 | The Massachusetts Situation – The Fight to Allow Girls in the FFA Begins | Gary Moore | Focuses on early attempts to allow females to be in the FFA |
| 22 | 1/11/2019 | The Massachusetts Situation – a Profile in Courage | Gary Moore | Introduces the Massachusetts state ag ed supervisor – Rufus Stimson |
| 23 | 1/18/2019 | The Massachusetts Situation – The Rest of the Story | Gary Moore, Frankie Farbotko | Describes the 1930 era compromise that allowed females to belong to the FFA at the state level |
| 24 | 1/25/2019 | The Age of Aquarius – the 1960s and Girls in the FFA | Gary Moore | Events in the 1960s leading to females obtaining FFA membership |
| 25 | 2/1/2019 | Don’t You Just Want Me for Me? | Breanna Holbert | The first Female African American National FFA President shares her experiences |
| 26 | 2/8/2019 | The New Farmers of America | Gary Moore | A quiz about your knowledge of the New Farmers of America (NFA) |
| 27 | 2/15/2019 | The “Merger” of the FFA and NFA | Gary Moore | Events leading to the merger of the FFA and NFA |
| 28 | 2/22/2019 | Forty Long Years | Gary Moore | Focuses on Ag Ed/FFA/NFA concerns from the African American perspective |
| 29 | 3/1/2019 | Through the Looking Glass | Gary Moore | Views of diverse agricultural educators regarding the NFA-FFA merger |
| 30 | 3/8/2019 | The Final Act | Gary Moore | Describes the convention at which the FFA/NFA merger occurred |
| 31 | 3/15/2019 | Future Indian Farmers of America | Gary Moore | Describes a youth agricultural organization for Native Americans |
| 32 | 3/22/2019 | Down on the Farm | Gary Moore | The story of the U. S. Boys Working Reserve during World War I |
| 33 | 3/29/2019 | George Washington and the FFA | Jim Connors | A look at the relationship between George Washington and the FFA |
| 34 | 4/5/2019 | Booker T. Washington and the NFA | Gary Moore | A look at the life of Booker T. Washington and his agricultural ties
|
| 35 | 4/12/2019 | The FFA Pilgrimage to Jefferson’s Monticello | Jim Connors | A description of the FFA pilgrimage to Monticello – the home of Thomas Jefferson |
| 36 | 4/19/2029 | 1862 Land Grant Colleges | Gary Moore | An in-depth examination of the 1862 Morrill Act and the results |
| 37 | 4/26/2019 | The 1890 & 1994 Land Grant Colleges | Gary Moore | A look at the 1890 Morrill Act and the awarding of land grant status to Native American institutions in 1994 |
| 38 | 5/3/2019 | Livestock Chains | Gary Moore | An examination of various livestock and poultry chains in the 4-H and FFA |
| 39 | 5/10/2019 | The FFA Slogan??? | Gary Moore | Does the FFA have a slogan? |
| 40 | 5/17/2019 | The Successful Leader of Tomorrow is … | Jim Connors | Identification of former FFA members who have attained major elective offices |
| 41 | 5/24/2019 | In Remembrance | Gary Moore | Remembering FFA members who lost their lives in service to America |
| 42 | 5/31/2019 | FFA Contributions to Winning World War II | Gary Moore | Activities of FFA & NFA members and chapters to support the war effort |
| 43 | 6/7/2019 | D-Day and FFA Members | Gary Moore | True stories of FFA members who were involved in D-Day/ |
| 44 | 6/14/2019 | The FFA Flyboys of World War II | Gary Moore | Stories of former FFA members who served in the air during WWII |
| 45 | 6/21/2019 | FFA Conventions During World War II | Gary Moore | Describes the scaled down FFA conventions during WWII |
| 46 | 6/28/2019 | The Victory Convention | Gary Moore | FFA members celebrated the end of WWII with a special convention |
| 47 | 7/5/2019 | The FFA Service Flag | Gary Moore | The National FFA and some chapters had Military Service Flags during WWII. |
| 48 | 7/12/2019 | When Johnny Comes Marching Home | Gary Moore | Explores the Institutional On-Farm Training Program conducted by ag teachers after WWII for returning veterans. |
| 49 | 7/19/2019 | A Corn Crib in Illinois | Gary Moore | Describes the discovery of a cache of FFA memorabilia in Danville, Illinois |
| 50 | 7/26/2019 | The Death of Mrs. Henry Groseclose | Gary Moore | Introduces the readers to the 2nd Mrs. Henry Groseclose who died in 2019 |
| 51 | 8/2/2019 | When Johnny Comes Marching Home, Verse 2 | Gary Moore | Describes how the GI Bill impacted collegiate level agricultural education programs. |
| 52 | 8/9/2019 | Victory Gardens | Emma Cannon, Victoria Brewer, Barbara Kirby, Joy Morgan |
Explains the FFA and 4-H Victory Garden program during WWII |
| 53 | 8/16/2019 | School-Community Canneries | Gary Moore | Looks at school canneries – past and present |
| 54 | 8/23/2019 | Joe Scatterscrew – Organizing for a New Year | E. V. Walton | Joe Scatterscrew plans for a new school year. |
| 55 | 8/30/2019 | Did the Smith-Hughes Act REALLY Start the Teaching of Agricultural Education? | Gary Moore | Looks at the impact of the Hatch Act (1887) on the development of Agricultural Education |
| 56 | 9/6/2019 | Alfred C. True | Jim Connors | Introduces the profession to the unrecognized “Father” of Agricultural Education |
| 57 | 9/13/2019 | Who is Henry C. Grosecose? | Gary Moore | Describes the life of the “Father” of the FFA |
| 58 | 9/20/2019 | The Henry Groseclose/FFA Museum | Gary Moore | Showcases the Groseclose/FFA Museum in Ceres, Virginia |
| 59 | 9/27/2019 | Thomas Monroe Campbell and the Tuskegee Movable School | Gary Moore | Describes early extension efforts at Tuskegee Institution. |
| 60 | 10/4/2019 | The Founders of the New Farmers of America | Gary Moore | Examines the life of H. O. Sargent and George Washington Owens |
| 61 | 10/11/2019 | Celebrating 100 Years of the American Farm Bureau Federation – Part I | Gary Moore | Looks at the early close relationship between Extension and Farm Bureaus |
| 62 | 10/18/2019 | The Farm Bureau – Part II – The Divorce | Gary Moore | Describes the events that led to the separation of the Farm Bureau from the Extension Service |
| 63 | 10/25/2019 | The Farm Bureau – Part III – Today’s Farm Bureau | Gary Moore | Looks at activities of the Farm Bureau today of which Agricultural Educators should be aware |
| 64 | 11/1/2019 | The White City | Jim Connors | Looks at the agriculture exhibits at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1892-93 |
| 65 | 11/8/2019 | Farmers Institutes | Gary Moore | Describes agricultural institutes which were early adult education meetings |
| 66 | 11/15/2019 | Boys’ Corn Clubs | Gary Moore | The history of boy’s corn clubs, the forerunner for 4-H and FFA |
| 67 | 11/22/2019 | Girls’ Tomato and Canning Clubs | Gary Moore | The history of girl’s tomato clubs |
| 68 | 11/29/2019 | Thanksgiving Thoughts | Gary Moore | Reflections on a teaching assignment in a Nigerian agricultural college |
| 69 | 12/6/2019 | Agriculture in the Classroom | Debra Spielmaker | Explains how the Ag in Classroom program came into existence |
| 70 | 12/13/2019 | Presidents and National FFA Conventions | Jim Connors | Lists the various U. S. Presidents who have spoken at the FFA Convention |
| 71 | 12/20/2019 | Follow-Up to the Friday Footnote from Last Week – Presidents & FFA Convention | Jim Connors | Provides additional information about FFA conventions and the Presidents |
| 72 | 1/10/2020 | A Bad New Year | E. V. Walton | The hapless Joe Scatterscrew experiences a fire in the agricultural building |
| 73 | 1/17/2020 | The Origins and Revisions of the FFA Creed | Gary Moore | Explores the original FFA creed and later revisions |
| 74 | 1/24/2020 | The Failed Revision of the FFA Creed | Gary Moore | Looks at the 1989-90 attempt to rewrite the FFA Creed and why the attempt |
| 75 | 1/31/2020 | In the Room Where it Happened | Gary Moore | Personal experiences of those involved in the effort to rewrite the creed |
| 76 | 2/7/2020 | Follow the Leader | Gary Moore | Looks at the creeds of other Career and Technical Student Organizations |
| 77 | 2/14/2020 | The Ag Teachers Creed | Gary Moore | Looks at the Ag Teachers Creeds and early teacher creeds |
| 78 | 2/21/2020 | Creeds Associated with the Extension Service | Gary Moore | Creeds of various Extension groups |
| 79 | 2/28/2020 | The Farm Boy Cavaliers of America | Gary Moore | Examines an agricultural youth organization found in 30 states during the 1920s |
| 80 | 3/6/2020 | The West Virginia, FFA Ham. Bacon and Egg Show and Sale | Harry & Deborah Boone | A West Virginia tradition going back to 1941 |
| 81 | 3/13/2020 | Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch | Gary Moore | The story of a special agricultural school in Texas for boys who needed “a shirttail to hang to.” |
| 82 | 3/20/2020 | Three Boys Ranch Alumni | Chanda Neal | Focuses on three Boys Ranch FFA alumni who attained prominence |
| 83 | 3/27/2020 | The Farm Cadets of New York | Gary Moore | A New York program started in 1917 to get youth to volunteer to work on farms to win the war |
| 84 | 4/3/2020 | Where Did Thomas Jefferson Go? | Gary Moore | Examines how Thomas Jefferson gradually disappeared from FFA ceremonies |
| 85 | 4/10/2020 | Joe Scatterscrew Confesses | E. V. Walton | A humorous story of the trouble Joe got into while in college |
| 86 | 4/17/2020 | Idaho Industrial Institute | Jim Connors | Focuses on an early agricultural school in Idaho |
| 87 | 4/24/2020 | Here By The Owl | Gary Moore | Various renditions of the owl associated with the FFA Advisor (and controversies) |
| 88 | 5/1/2020 | We Have Been Here Before | Gary Moore | How the polio epedimic in the early 1930-1960 era impacted the FFA and 4-H |
| 89 | 5/8/2020 | Teaching Agriculture at a Distance – 1940s Style | David Laatsch | National Farm Youth Foundation correspondence classes in farm management |
| 90 | 5/15/2020 | Much More than Chocolate | Nick Isenberg | Milton Hershey School in Pennsylvania |
| 91 | 5/22/2020 | The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly | Gary Moore | Hazing in the FFA |
| 92 | 5/29/2020 | Non-Constitutional FFA Officers | Jim Connors | Examines the FFA “optional officers” – the Parliamentarian, Historian and Chaplin |
| 93 | 6/5/2020 | Mysteries of the Sentinel | Jim Connors | Delves into the history of the FFA Sentinel (i.e. the Farm Watch Dog) |
| 94 | 6/12/2020 | The Jewish Agricultural Society | Gary Moore | Documents the activities of this Society to encourage and enable Jews to be farmers |
| 95 | 6/19/2020 | The Future Jewish Farmers of America ??? | Gary Moore | A history of the Baron de Hirsch Agricultural School in Woodbine, NJ |
| 96 | 6/26/2020 | Jews and Farming in America | Lori Shaller & Judith Rosenbaum | Examines the four “eras” of Jewish farming in America |
| 97 | 7/3/2020 | The Sanitary Privy | Gary Moore | Describes the Federal Government’s Depression era WPA Privy Building Program |
| 98 | 7/10/2020 | The Night the Lights Came On | Gary Moore | Looks at the Rural Electrification Administration and bringing electricity to rural America |
| 99 | 7/17/2020 | The Night the Lights Came On – True Stories | Gary Moore | Describes the reactions of rural people as they first got electricity |
| 100 | 7/24/2020 | Black Blizzards
|
Gary Moore | The Dust Bowl events leading to the creation of the Soil Conservation Service |
| 101 | 7/31/2020 | One Hundred and Counting | Gary Moore | Contains an index of all the previous Friday Footnotes |