The existence of corn clubs that eventually evolved into 4-H clubs and agricultural education classes in high schools has been well documented (for example see the Boy’s Corn Clubs Footnote from 11/15/2019 or “I” is for Illinois – The Corn Club State from 2/23/2024). However, in Maine, Potato Clubs were popular in the early 1910s. The existence of these clubs has not been widely documented.
In 1912 the State Superintendent of Schools, Payson Smith, sent out a mailing advocating the establishment of Boys and Girls agricultural clubs in rural schools.
Figure 1. The Independent-Reporter, Skowhegan, Maine, April 11, 1912.
Later in the article cited above (p. 8) the circular information is quoted:
The Superintendent of schools of each town will be glad to attend a meeting to help in the work of organizing…The teacher of the school will be glad to be a learner while she leads in making plans for the work…The local Grange will probably cooperate by giving place on its program to a discussion of plans [and} by providing a place for holding an exhibition. The state lecturer of the Grange, B. Walker McKeen. of Fryeburg, will advise freely any clubs in their work.
The instructors of agriculture of the High schools and academies will respond by letter and, when possible, in person for the purpose of giving instruction or assistance. Such instructor may be addressed at: Skowhegan High School, Wells High School, East Maine Conference Seminary, Bucksport, Fryeburg Academy, Leavitt Institute, Turner Center, Maine Wesleyan Seminary, Kent’s Hill, Parsonfield Seminary, Madawaska Training School, Fort Kent.
The College of Agriculture at the University of Maine will answer any inquiries sent there. The United States department of agriculture will send, free of cost, valuable pamphlets that will instruct the members on any phase of work they may undertake.
When I read the above information, I was reminded of the 1971 Coke commercial about teaching the world to sing [the commercial featured a wide array of people}. It seems like everyone in Maine was to be involved in the Boys’ and Girls’ Agricultural Club work according to the State Superintendent of Schools.
In case you are curious about the mention of agriculture teachers, they did exist in Maine at that time. In 1907 the Maine state legislature enacted an Industrial Education Act. This Act provided an annual subsidy of $250 annually to any academy in the state teaching mechanical arts, domestic science or agriculture. Two years later the legislation was amended to include high schools, and the subsidy was increased to $500. In 1910, at the request of State Superintendent Smith, the University of Maine developed a statewide curriculum in agriculture for use in the high schools and academies. By 1915 thirteen high schools and academies in Maine were teaching agriculture (Stimson & Lathrop, 1942).
The Movement Grows
The University of Maine’s Department of Extension started promoting the idea of Boys’ and Girls’ Agricultural Clubs in 1913. With support from the State Superintendent of Schools and local Grange organizations the idea of these clubs caught on. The work started in 1914 with 80 boys and 15 girls. A year later there were 332 boys and 138 girls involved in club work. By 1919 this number had increased to 4,660.
The Granges provided their meeting halls for club meetings, gave prizes or solicited prizes for youngsters who excelled with their club work, staged contests, and featured the club work at one or more grange meetings. The Kennebec Journal reported (April 6, 1916, p. 14) the “Subordinate[local] and Pomona {county] Granges have been asked to appoint committees on Agricultural Extension Work. One of the duties of these committees is to promote the organization and continuance of Boys’ and Girls’ Agricultural Clubs. If you are not familiar with the Grange, actually the Patrons of Husbandry, refer to the September 16, 2022 Friday Footnote.
The Bangor Daily Commercial (December 18, 1919) reported:
The gradual increase of membership in this work has been caused by the development of a community interest which has been aroused by the achievement of the boys and girls. Citizens have come to believe that the boys and girls of our state are the greatest asset that we have and thus the success of the members and increase enrollment has been due entirely to efforts by people in their respective communities,
The subordinate and Pomona granges of Maine have stood by club work and promoted it at every opportunity possible.
In some locations these clubs were identified as Boys’ and Girls’ Agricultural Clubs. However, in many locations these clubs were identified specifically as Potato Clubs, Canning Clubs, Garden and Canning Clubs, and Poultry Clubs. The Independent Reporter of Skowhegan reported the following enrollments in February 17, 1916:
During the year 1915, 250 boys were enrolled in 30 potato clubs, 138 girls in 15 garden and canning clubs, and 82 boys and 9 girls in Poultry Clubs.
The success of these clubs led to the creation of two additional types of clubs in 1916 – Pig Clubs and Sweet Corn Clubs. Also the garden and canning clubs were divided into two separate clubs, however many girls enrolled in both.
Figure 2. Map of Agricultural Clubs in Maine in 1915. Source: University of Maine Extension Bulletin.
Club Rules and Requirements
Canning Clubs – The girls had to be between 10 and 18 years of age. Each member had to can (typically in jars) at least 50 pints of fruit or vegetables. However, there had to be at least 10 different kinds of produce. Because of the plethora of berries in Maine, girls could also can wild berries. A few girls also canned meat (primarily pork).
The girls were required to keep detailed financial records including actual receipts. The girls also had to write an essay titled “My Season’s Work” about their experience and include a record of profits or loss. They also had to exhibit their produce at a local or county exhibit. The winners at the county level could then participate at the state gathering on the campus of the University of Maine in December.
In 1915 Chrystal Waddell, a twelve year old from Mapleton, won state acclaim for earning $39.03 for the 1900 pints of beets she raised and canned (in glass jars).
In 1917 three boys participated in canning clubs. One boy, Clyne Page of Hancock, canned the fish he had caught.
Garden Clubs – There were two type of garden club entries. The large project involved a one-twentieth acre truck garden while the small project involved a one square rod home garden (a rod is 16.5 feet).
Pig Clubs – Members had to procure a pig born between April and June and care for it until fall.
Potato Clubs – Like the garden club girls, there were two divisions for potato clubs. The boys had to raise 1/8 acre of potatoes (Division 2) or one-half acre (Division 1) and keep records like the girls’ canning club did. The Maine Seed Improvement Association sponsored two competitions for Potato Club boys – Best Peck of Potatoes and Best Essay. Club members often had more acreage than the minimum.
Poultry Clubs – Members had to make two settings of 13 eggs each and have them hatch by May 15 and care for the chickens until fall.
Sweet Corn Club – Members had to have a quarter acre sweet corn plot. Records had to be kept.
The State Meeting
In December of 1914 there was a statewide meeting of the Boys’ and Girls’ Agricultural Clubs at the College of Agriculture in Orono. The Maine Central and Bangor & Aroostook Railroads offered reduced rates to encourage the youngsters to attend. Exhibits from the Boys’ Potato Club members and the Girls’ Canning Club members were judged.
Club members had to place 1st or 2nd at the local level to attend this state meeting. The winning entries at the state meeting in 1916 were reported in the Evening Express of Portland, Main on May 9, 1917. See Figure 3.
Figure 3. Evening Express, Portland, Maine. May 9, 1917
A Potato Club Essay
On January 27, 1917 the Sun-Journal of Lewiston, Maine printed the prize winning essay from the Stephens High School Boys’ Potato Club in Rumford, Maine. Stanley E. White, a sophomore, had the first place essay. What follows is his essay.
How I Raised My Potatoes
When Mr. Mitchell came here from the University of Maine and spoke about the good work the potato clubs of Maine were doing and what good money there was in the project, I decided that I would try it.
I joined the club and from my uncle I obtained the use of a quarter acre of land. Perhaps you would be interested to know that my uncle lives on the summit of heill part of Mexico known as Hale, which is about 5 ½ miles from Rumford. Thus, it is no easy job to go there often enough to properly care for a piece of potatoes.
I bought my see of Mr. Paine, who obtained them from Hon. Walso Pettengill. They were the gold coin variety and I secured four bushels of seed at the remarkably low price of $1 per bushel.
I got the potatoes home and the following Saturday soaked them in formaldehyde, the rate being one pint of formaldehyde in 30 gallons of water. This process was to prevent scab, a potato disease. I soaked them in this solution for two hours and then spread them out to dry. I then bought 200 pounds of potato phosphate and a bag of land plaster.
One bright day in May, I rode up to my uncle’s to select my piece of land. I finally found a place that suited me. There was plenty of witchgrass on it, but there were not as many rocks as on the other pieces. I induced my uncle to plow it and harrow in some manure. During the next week he carried my phosphate and land plaster and potatoes up to the piece of land, so the next week I went up and cut the potatoes, leaving at least two eyes on each piece. I put the land plaster on the cut parts to dry them and also to prevent them from rotting in the ground before they germinated.
After I had done this, I planted them. I made furrows and dropped a handful of phosphate every 15 or 20 inches and put a little dirt on it. On this I dropped the potatoes and covered them with about four inches of dirt. The plants were up in about two weeks and a half. I cultivated and hoed them twice with the horse hoe and cultivator and hoed the dirt over the grass between the plants in the rows.
The next two weeks were spent at the Boy Scout Camp.
When I returned I found that the plants had grown quite large and the witchgrass had grown quite thick, although there was none when I left. This proves to my satisfaction that witchgrass can grow very quickly. Since the plants had grown so large, I decided that it would be impractical to destroy the grass, for it I did, it would probably injure some of the tiny root fibers of the potato plants and in that way affect the yield. The plants were now large enough to be sprayed with paris green and bordeaux mixture. I mixed the paris green with water and sprayed it on then did the same with the Bordeaux mixture. The paris green killed the potato bugs and the Bordeaux mixture prevented blight and rot. From this time one, for about two months, they were left to grow undisturbed.
Then came the digging. Of all the work on the farm, this is considered the most tiresome, and think it thus rightly considered. It took me about four and a half eight-hour days to get them dug, and I was some tired when I got thru. I thought that I had dug about 40 bushels, but when I sorted and measured them I found that I had only 37 bushels. Of these, 10 bushels were small and slightly rotten. The majority of the culls were more rotten instead of small. That left 27 bushels of good, sound potatoes.
From my estimate of what I have sold of them and what I will sell at present prices, I figure that I will make a clear gain of from $20 to $25 which is quite good for this year as it is not a good potato year.
From the knowledge and experience I have gained from my piece of land, this year, I would advise the following to prospective raisers:
- Select level, loamy land, free from witchgrass and large rocks, also well drained. My piece of land was quite wet on the upper side, so much so that the potatoes did not come up good and thereby I estimate that I lost about 10 bushels.
- Cultivate and hoe often so as to conserve moisture, kill weeds and give the plants a chance to spread out and properly develop.
- Spray with bordeaux mixture three or four times, the more the better.
- Follow instructions carefully and success is bound to be yours.
STANLEY E. WHITE
Concluding Remarks
It appears that Stanley White learned from his potato club project. This type of learning was occurring all through Maine by both girls and boys in their respective clubs. I would love to include more essays in this Footnote but am running out of space. A canning club girl, Frances Loweree of Ellsworth Falls, canned a variety of vegetables and concluded “Beets I found to be the most difficult of all to can. It takes such a long time to blanche them, rub off the skins, pack and cook.”
In researching this topic I discovered that several western states and northern states also had potato clubs for boys. In some high school yearbooks students listed membership in potato clubs as one of their school activities.
To summarize the impact of the Boys’ and Girls’ Agricultural Clubs the University of Maine Agricultural Extension Service in their 1915 report stated:
The club work gives training in business methods, creates a spirit of thrift and enterprise; establishes a business instinct through keeping of records; develops quick and keen perception; leads to selection and adaptation of methods; gives social opportunities in connection with the business affairs of the young people; ties the work of the school to the work of the home; interests the parents; and last, but far from least, brings the boy or girl a cash income as a direct result of his or her own effort
While the above statement was written in 1915, shouldn’t it apply to what agricultural educators of today are trying to accomplish with the Supervised Agricultural Experience programs?
If you want to dig deeper into the Club work in Maine refer to the Boys’ and Girls’ Agricultural Clubs Extension Bulletin at the following URL. The Agricultural Club bulletin starts on page 123. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112033635571&seq=7
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.