Well I may have grown up on a farm, but I still don’t think it is my job to promote this among the boys in our district. What will those wisenheimers in Manhattan think of next!
Since there is no local organization who wants to take this on, it is designated to me, the county school superintendent, to find farmers’ boys between twelve and eighteen to plant and grow corn.
It looks like I may be making more home visits than usual, since some of those boys stopped attending school to help out at home while others decided to hop a train for parts unknown.
The higher ups must be planning a lollapalooza of a corn growing contest. Take a look at this poster: Wanted: Ten Thousand Boys to Enter This Contest.
Sounds like where I grew UP. Lots of farms, lots of corn, lots of hay, lots of tobacco.
ReplyDeleteThe farming life involved a lot of hard work with "all hands on deck" to get it all done.
DeleteI can imagine the competition will be quite steep with 10,000 entrants! Perfect six!
ReplyDeleteI think that is what they were hoping.
Deletefor some reason, I immediately thought of a military recruiting poster... join the Navy and see the world kind of thing.
ReplyDeleteIt does kind of have a similar sound.
DeleteWow, 10,000 is a lot of boys. Nice six!
ReplyDeleteThat is a lot of boys, and the numbers went up a few years later.
DeleteLeaves us wondering what is going on. Well done!
ReplyDeleteThere is quite a story, but way to much to squeeze into a SSS!
DeleteI remember from reading Laura Ingalls Wilder books that the big boys didn't come to school in the fall until after the harvest was over. Nice 6!
ReplyDeleteThat is so true if they didn't have to quit completely to help provide for the family.
Delete10,000?! I can't even imagine that number of people. That's a heck of a lot of corn!! 12 years old seems young to tackle such an enormous and laborious task.
ReplyDeleteGood Six!
It was quite a story that I came across in old newspapers.
DeleteDid you actually find a poster wanting 10,000 boys? Wow!
ReplyDeleteI found several stories about this contest in newspapers.com. It was so interesting. It made me think a little bit about the beginnings of 4-H. If I remember right 4-H began a little after when these corn raising contests started.
DeleteThere may have been posters that were displayed to go along with the huge headlines in the newspaper trying to get the attention of the boys. So interesting. I just couldn't imagine a school district superintendent having to take on such a project if there wasn't an association in the town to do it.
Rural life sure has priorities!
ReplyDeleteEveryone better pitch in to help. :-)
DeleteFarm life isn't for everyone, that's for sure!
ReplyDeleteIt requires a lot of physical labor and net profit isn't always guaranteed, hence some left to get a job with better pay so they could send money back to those still trying to eke out a living on the farm.
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