We continue our Friday Footnote journey through Minnesota this week to learn more about agricultural education and FFA in that state. Even though the title for this Footnote might tip you off, each section of this Footnote starts with a true or false question.
Figure 1. From the Albert Lea Tribune, March 23, 1972
The reason W. J. Kortesmaki, the Minnesota FFA Executive Secretary during the 1970s, is outfitted with an umbrella, was to ward off mind rays from space aliens. True or False?
The answer is false. This image appeared in The Albert Lea Tribune on March 23, 1972. The caption that accompanied the image said “W. J. Kortesmaki, FFA executive secretary, dramatizes the group’s rain gauge program conducted in cooperation with….”. The question continues in the next paragraph
The Minnesota FFA “Operation Rain Gauge” program was conducted in cooperation with the University of Minnesota and the National Weather Service. True or False?
This is a true statement even though some references say the U.S. Weather Bureau.
“Operation Rain Gauge” was started in April of 1971 with a big kickoff event on the campus of the University of Minnesota. Those attending the event were asked to take an umbrella or wear a raincoat as water is “guaranteed.” True or False?
Another true statement. An article in the St. Cloud Times (April 26, 1971) provides some of the details (p. 12):
Figure 2. St. Cloud Times, April 26, 1971. The reason for the postponement was not excessive rain but was because the state hydrologist who was to speak at the event broke his leg before the event and had to have surgery. I wonder how rain could be guaranteed?
More details about the rain guarantee can be found in the August-September 1971 issue of The National Future Farmer magazine. This article reveals the secret. A FFA member dressed as a Native American did a rain dance. Two FFA members were on the roof of the building holding water hoses. The rain dancer signaled those on the roof to start the rain, and they did. The officials below held up their umbrellas and rain gauges to ward off the deluge.
Figure 3. From the August-September 1971 of The National Future Farmer magazine, page 13. You are encouraged to follow the link and read the article.
A rather poor image of the two FFA members on the roof creating the rain appeared in The Minneapolis Star, April 29, 1971.
Figure 4. Let it Rain!!
Operation Rain Gauge was a fundraiser to raise money to help farmers suffering from a prolonged drought. True or False?
This statement is false. FFA members across the state were recruited to record the rainfall where they lived. George Patterson, a columnist for the Minneapolis Tribune reported (July 23, 1972, p. 95):
The program got started last year and quickly proved its worth. The National Weather Service has 240 observers of its own scattered around the state, about 25 miles apart. They missed the heaviest 24-hour rainfall ever documented in Minnesota. But FFA Youngsters tabbed it – 12 inches in Renville County on June 10, 1971
The last half of the article from Figure 2 contained the following information:
“FFA Operation Rain Gauge will help us forecast weather extremes that will cause damage to life or property,” Joseph H. Strub, hydrologist with the National Weather Service, said.
“Ground observations are needed to help us interpret what we see on radar,” Strub said. “Rainfall and its intensity are an indicator of how severe a thunderstorm may be.”
“Not only do we have to forecast the thunderstorms, but after the rainfall hits we must forecast surface runoff for flash flooding, general flooding, or high water,” he said.
The goal of Operation Rain Gauge was to have at least five FFA members in each of the 87 counties in Minnesota participate in the program. True or False.
Not true. The goal actually was to have at least one FFA member in each township in the state participate in the program. The old adage “The more the merrier” could be applied to Operation Rain Gauge but we might change the adage to say “The more rainfall readings the more accurate the data.” Sometimes two locations a few miles apart could get drastically different rainfall. By having data from each township, a more accurate picture of rainfall totals could be obtained.
In George Peterson’s July 21, 1974 column in the Star Tribune of Minneapolis he reported that more than 2,000 FFA members had enrolled in Operation Rain Gauge. There are some reports that as many as 6,000 FFA members were involved. Peterson goes on to report (p. 91):
In Minnesota 270 high schools offer vocational agriculture courses and each has, or should have, an FFA chapter. Atwater (population 956) leads the state with 48 students participating in Operation Rain Gauge, Melrose has 45. At the Sight-Saving School at Faribault, two blind students take part (note: a different account stated the two students were partially sighted).
The students had to take rain gauge readings every day at the same time. They had a special form for recording the data. For years and years a regular feature in The Albert Lea Tribune was a weekly report of the rainfall in Freeborn County. See Figure 4.
Shortly after the program started snow was added as a type of precipitation to measure. At times one can find the words “Operation Rain/Snow Gauge” in newspaper articles.
Figure 5. The Albert Lea Tribune, May 8, 1981.
As a result of Operation Rain Gauge most FFA chapters in Minnesota added an additional FFA officer – A chapter climatologist. True or False?
This is true. Instead of having thousands of FFA members sending data to the state office, each FFA chapter had an elected chapter climatologist who collected the data from chapter members and then sent the results to the state Climatology office by the 10th of each month. An article in the St. Cloud Times (May 1, 1972. P. 12) stated “Several hundred Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter climatologists are expected to attend a special workshop today at the University of Minnesota St. Paul Campus gymnasium.” They were there to learn their responsibilities as chapter climatologists.
Curt Youngs, the chapter climatologist for the Winona FFA Chapter, was featured in a newspaper article in 1977. See Figure 6
Figure 6. From the Winona Daily News June 23, 1977.
An example of the value of the program was when data from the FFA was used to predict a flash flood in the Pine City area in 1972. True or False?
According to an article in The Duluth News Tribune (March 14, 1973) it was reported (p. 23):
Earl L. Kuehnast of the climatology office says, “The National Weather Service cooperative weather network coupled with the FFA Rain Gauge network provides Minnesota with a fine-scale rainfall network unparalleled in any other state.”
An example of its efficiency and use came last summer during a flash flood in the Pine City area. Joe Strube of the National Weather Service working in the area was able to predict, within a half hour, when the water would run over U.S. 65. Strube’s prediction was accurate primarily because of the FFA rain gauge and some other instruments. Strube alerted the highway patrol and the highway was barricaded and closed to traffic before the swelling waters covered the road.
So this is a true statement.
An additional benefit of Operation Rain Gauge was the employment of additional handicapped workers in Fergus Falls where the rain gauges were made. True or False.
This is a true statement. A $36,000 grant from the Great Lakes Regional Commission provided for the rain gauges but also provided jobs and training for 15 additional handicapped workers. See Figure 7.
Figure 7. An excerpt from an article titled “All-weather Rain Gauge at Work” in The Duluth News Tribune, March 14, 1973.
Concluding Remarks
Since its inception the Future Farmers of America have provided outstanding service to the communities where they were located. Some of these activities included farm safety inspections, gathering scrap iron for the war effort, keeping machinery running during World War II, community beautification projects, pest control campaigns, reading to elementary school students and the list goes on. Operation Rain Gauge ranks near the top of the list in value. It not only served local communities but was a boon to the state. It took dedication on the part of FFA members to record the rainfall every single day at the same time.
Operation Rain Gauge in Minnesota truly exemplifies the FFA Motto:
Learning to Do
Doing to Learning
Earning to Live
Living to serve