Last week Dr. Conners educated us about “County Poor Farms.” This week we start exploring agricultural education in Montana. Would you believe there is a connection between a county poor farm and the history of agricultural education in Montana?
The Advisory Committee Said No! The Banker Said Yes!
In 1948, Henry Robinson, one of the agricultural teachers at Flathead High School in Kalispell, Montana came up with an idea. He thought a good approach to teaching soils and modern farming techniques would be to find a worn-out farm with unproductive soil and have his students remediate the land and farm it.
So, Mr. Robinson and his students started looking for such a property in Flathead County. And they found it – the worst farmland in the county was on the county poor farm. If you are not familiar with a poor farm you might want to read last week’s Footnote. A poor farm was home to the county’s poor people (thus its name). The designation as a poor farm didn’t necessarily mean the land was poor.
Figure 1. County Map of Montana
A County Poor Farm was a farm operated by the residents (often referred to as inmates) of the farm who had been placed on the farm by the government because they were broke and could not pay their bills or they were mentally incapacitated or they were old with no place to go or had physical infirmities or might even have contagious diseases. It is estimated that there were over 130,000 poor farms across the country in 1935. If a person was physically able to work, he or she performed farm work.
After the site with the poorest soil was found, the students conducted soil tests. An article in The Rotarian magazine (1956, July, p. 53) reported the results -excessive alkalinity. See Figure 2.
Figure 2. From The Rotarian, Volume 89, Issue 1, July 1956, p. 53
What happened next surprised Mr. Robinson. He shared his plan with his advisory committee made up of local farmers and businessmen. The Rotarian reports (p. 53) the advisory committee “…flatly refused to help raise money to farm this dead-end land. Kindly but firmly they told Robinson that the venture was being hooted at as ‘the Future Farmers’ folly.’”
For the first time in his career, Robinson chose to go against the recommendations of the advisory committee. He believed the school should lead the community, not the other way around. Robinson said “the students are going to grow something in that sand or bust trying.”
To finance this farming project the Flathead FFA chapter incorporated and sold $2,100 worth of membership at $10 each. By incorporating they could then legally apply for loans. Some boys bought multiple shares of stocks.
J. G Edmiston, the president of the Conrad National Bank, was approached and asked for a loan. After examining the plan, Banker Edmiston said “Yes” and loaned the FFA $5,000 for machinery and fertilizer.
The Times-Monitor newspaper of Kalispell published the actions taken by the county commissioners during the spring of 1949. One of the action items indicated the Commissioners had leased a portion of the County Poor Farm to the Flathead FFA chapter for a 10 year period. The lease was for 96 acres of land. See Figure 3.
Figure 3. From the Kalispell Times-Monitor, July 28, 1949
As part of the lease agreement the FFA agreed to grow about two aces of vegetables for use in the local county hospital.
Turning Folly into Jolly
The typical method of remediating excessive soil alkalinity was to apply manure. However, there was little manure available. So, the first thing Robinson and his students did was to truck in tons and tons of sawdust from local sawmills. The boys worked diligently at incorporating the sawdust into the land to increase the organic matter and improve soil drainage. The boys formed labor crews and spent weeks working the sawdust into the land. Then nitrogen could be applied to increase fertility.
Observers just shook their heads at the application of sawdust to the soil. Then, the installation of an overhead irrigation system in this dryland farming area completely flabbergasted the onlookers. However, within two years the land that once barely produced six to ten bushels of barley was producing 140 bushels to the acre.
The boys then began producing certified seed in varieties that were in short supply – bromegrass, birds foot trefoil, red fescue, wheatgrass and orchard grass. By 1954 the Flathead FFA was one of the major producers of certified seed in the nation.
After the first year, the farming venture was proving to be profitable. The boys were earning 3% interest on their initial stock investment and the chapter owned thousands of dollars worth of farm equipment.
Robinson was a strong component of diversified farming. He was an advocate for specialty crops, dairy farming, and poultry and swine operations. He also believed irrigation was critical in crop production. The lease continued to be renewed for years. See Figure 4.
Figure 4. The Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT, March 20, 1957
Fast Forward to Today
Yes, the FFA still leases the “poor farm” land and still farms it today (2026). About 75 acres are in crops and 45 acres are in pasture. But there have been some changes since the 1950s.
In 1976 the Flathead school district bought 10 acres of land that was once part of the poor farm from the county. The H. E. Robinson Agricultural Education Center was built on this land and dedicated in 1977. It is located about 3 miles from Flathead High School. The center has classrooms, shops, labs, barns and sheds. Students at Flathead High School are transported to the Center where they spend half a day. In addition to taking agricultural classes they also take academic subjects such as English, Social Studies and Biology.
Figure 5. The H. E. Robinson Ag Center
The original “poor farm” land around the Ag Center is leased and is used as a land lab. In 1978 60 acres were used for hay production, 40 acres were in wheat, 10 acres were in barley, and 11 acres were used for pasture. Additionally the chapter had 29 head of beef cattle in 1978.
In 2020 a major addition was made to the center. The new construction was 21,660 square feet and included a new north main entrance, commons, offices, bathrooms, welding shop, classrooms and science lab. Please click on this link (https://www.lpwarchitecture.com/work/he-robinson-ag-education-center) to see images of the Ag Education Center. Additional images of the agricultural education program can be found at https://www.facebook.com/FlatheadFFA/photos.
Because of population growth a second high school was built in Flathead County in 2007 – Glacier High School. Agricultural students at this high school are also bussed to the Ag Center and follow a schedule similar to the Flathead students.
Since the two schools are now involved in the same FFA chapter, the name of the FFA chapter was changed from the Flathead FFA to the Kalispell FFA in 2016
Some Additional Notes:
The Flathead/Kalispell FFA Chapter has received more national-level Chapter awards than any FFA Chapter in America. This Footnote doesn’t have the space to detail all the accomplishments of the FFA chapter. In 2005-2006 the Ag Ed program was was recognized as the NAAE Region 1 Outstanding program.
Henry Robinson started teaching agriculture in 1932. After teaching stints at Cardwell (1 year) and Harlowtown (4 years) he taught for 40 years at Flathead High School. He retired in 1977. His B.S. degree was from Montana State University, and his M.S. degree was from Michigan State University. He assisted in organizing the first FFA chapter in Canada. He passed away in 1981.
Figure 6. Henry Robinson. Photo from The Daily Inter Lake, July 21, 1981
A member of the Lalum family has taught at Flathead for 50 plus years. Luther Lalum was a former student of Henry’s and taught at Flathead with Henry for years (1952-1981). In 1974-75 Luther was national president of the National Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association. Later, Luthur’s son Mark (who had also been taught by Henry) taught at Flathead from 1977 to 2000. He served as President of the Montana Ag Teachers Association and was recognized as the National Agriscience Teacher of the Year by the FFA in 1990.
Conclusion
Henry Adams, an American historian, said “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” This is certainly true of Henry Robinson. Despite the doubters who questioned his desire to farm the sorriest soil that could be found, he persisted. Much of the agriculture found today in Flathead County, Montana has roots in the work of Henry Robinson. Agriculture teachers do make a difference in the lives of their students and in the communities where they teach.
References
Rummel, Frances V. (1956, July). Futures in Dirt. The Rotarian. Volume 89, Issue 1, pp. 52-54. This article was later repubished in the Reader’s Digest.