“Agricolae” is the Latin plural nominative form of the word “agricola,” which means “farmer” or “cultivator”.
It refers to farmers as a group or collective.
Long before the Future Farmers of America came into existence, organizations of vocational agriculture students were established across the country. These student clubs went by a variety of names. One such organization was the Agricolae Club of Ypsilanti, Michigan. This club was founded in 1915 by B. A. Walpole, the agricultural teacher at Ypsilanti High School.
According to Stimson and Lathrop (1942) the motto of the club was “Learn by Doing.” They go on to say (p. 231)”
Farm boys and girls at that time had little opportunity to participate in the club activities of the high school, partly because of the difficulty of getting to town to meetings, and partly because of the inherent tendency of young people to assemble in groups according to mutual interests.
To meet this need for group activities among rural boys and girls, and to improve their social and economic opportunities, Mr. Walpole promoted the organization of the club. Membership was limited to farm-minded students and their spirit and motto continued through the years…
The Ypsilanti club was active according to articles in local newspapers. In December of 1927 a speaker showed a film he took on a trip to Europe comparing American and European agriculture. In 1928 the club sponsored a banquet for the past members of the club. In 1929 there was a sleigh ride party.
Figure 1. An activity of the Ypsilanti Agricolae Club. From The Ann Arbor News, Dec. 6, 1927. G. H. Osgood is the agriculture teacher. Mr. Walpole had left the school and accepted a position at Michigan State College.
Other high schools in Michigan also had Agricolae clubs for their agricultural students. The second Agricolae Club in Michigan was formed at Lapeer High School. East Lansing High School had an Agricolae club. Holly High School also had such a club.
Not all Michigan schools called their clubs Agricolae clubs. Buchanan High School had an Alpha Agrarian Club. Allegan had an Agricultural Club. In 1921 an Agricultural Club was started at Benton Harbor High School. Their motto was “A winner never quits and a quitter never wins. Which are you?” An article in The Herald-Palladium of Benton Harbor (Feb. 25, 1926) stated (p. 1) “The club is doing much to educate young men and women in agriculture and is also stimulating interest in Berrien county’s greatest asset—its fruit.”
The agricultural clubs in the Michigan high schools had mixed parentage. Many were created by the ag teachers and others were started by the county extension agent. In some schools, both were involved.
Some of the student agricultural clubs were known as “Ag-He” clubs with “He” being for home economics. The home economics girls were interested in gardening and other agricultural pursuits and joined the boys in the clubs. See Figure 2.
Figure 2. From the 1923 Hastings (Michigan) High School Yearbook. Note the presence of females and the use of Ag-He in the text.
The formation of student agricultural clubs in high schools in Michigan spread rapidly. In 1917 a state organization of such clubs was created under the name of the Michigan High School Agricultural Association. The constitution and bylaws were modeled after the Ypsilanti Agricolae Club and the motto was similar, “I learn to do by doing.” Regional associations of high school agricultural clubs were also created and modeled after the state organization.
In 1926 the Central Michigan High School Agricultural Association conducted an AG-HE two-day exhibition in Hastings, Michigan. The Hastings High School Agricultural Club was the initiator of the event. One hundred and fifty boys were expected to attend the two-day event. See Figure 3.
Figure 3. The Kalamazoo Gazette, October 26, 1926
Transitioning to the FFA
In The FFA and You Bender, Clark, and Taylor (1962, p. 468) state “By 1917 the Michigan High School Agricultural Association became the forerunner of the FFA association in Michigan.” After the national Future Farmers of America came into being in 1928, Michigan was the 29th state to affiliate with the FFA. At the tenth annual Junior Farmers’ Week event held at Michigan State College in 1929 the agricultural students voted to affiliate with the national FFA (See Figure 4). Thereafter the student agricultural clubs transitioned into local FFA chapters.
Figure 4. Detroit Free Press, April 21, 1929
Even though Ypsilanti High School was the first chartered FFA chapter in Michigan, the Ypsilanti Agricolae Club continued to exist. The 1932 Ypsilanti High School yearbook featured the Agricolae Club on page 80 and the opposite page (81) showed the Future Farmers of America. It is interesting to note the Agricolae Club had female members while the FFA page showed no females. Mr. Osgood, the agriculture teacher, was the sponsor of both groups.
Figure 5. From the 1932 Ypsilanti High School Yearbook.
Michigan FFA Today
According to the most recent FFA manual, Michigan has 123 FFA chapters with 8,735 members. The Michigan FFA web site is https://michiganffa.org/. A copy of the Michigan application for a FFA charter is in the national FFA archives. Next week we will visit a FFA Museum in Michigan.
Concluding Remarks
In our daily routine of teaching classes, working with students, and advising the FFA we may get lulled into a sense of complacency. In preparing this Footnote I could sense the excitement of the early day agriculture teachers and their students. Having student organizations such as the Agricolae clubs was a BIG thing. It was something new and exciting. It would be wonderful to rekindle that same sense of wonder and awe today.
References
Stimson, R. & Lathrop, F. (1942). History of Agricultural Education of Less Than College Grade in the United States. Vocational Division Bulletin No. 217. Federal Security Agency. U. S. Government Printing Office.