The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1911-05-18
,oins a great deal to bring their men,

son that there are not more such or.
take the lead rhe cities have 90 long
been drawing the best blood from some
rural communities that in many places
there is precious little left to build
upon With the changing conditions
that are restoring the farm to Il lead
ing place in our national life there
will be no lack of leaders. and the
time will come when every community
will have Its club or grange.
In the Mississippi valley states.
where industrial cooperation has OBJ
tanned a strong foothold. cooperative
picnics are one of the principal diver.
sions These are big affairs. including
all the people for miles around. There
are speeches aud amusements and pIen-
ty to ent. and every one goes home
happy.
number of country towns and ru.
raj communities have field day"
once or twice year. which Is In the
nature of big picnic. at which ath.
tetlc contests preUOn0n0te.
Local Fourth of July celebrations
give the country boys a chance to
work off their patriotism for week in
advance in helping to get things ready.
and they enjoy the day great deal
more than they would ready made
celebration In a big town. where all
they could do would be to stand on
the side lines and shout. The best part
of these affairs is that they develop
originality and initiative ON the part Of
the Young people. 1t teaches them to
develop auy Intent ability for leader
ship which they may possess The boy
who can get together nine farmer boys
on Saturday afternoons and organize
them into a ball team that can win
from the neighboring township Is the
one who Is going to be able to do
things when he gets older 1t il nu
small task to make an effective team
out Of nine boys when eight of them
want to pitch and the other couldn't
catch ball to save his life.
1t is the farm boys Of today who
will be foremost In the agricultural
communities OF tomorrow. One OF the
most important OF the social factors
affecting farm life Is q boys club
| Nebraska has well developed sys-
| ten of boys and girls corn clubs.
There are few in Iowa and Illinnis
and more are being organized The
members of these clubs each have
their PLOT OF corn. They meet around
from place to place. get better ac
| quainted With QUE another and study
corn growing. Often an experienced
corn grower meets with them and
gives them some practical lessons. In
some cases these clubs are under the
supervision of the agricultural college
which sends out letters Of instruction
to the boys every two weeks or SD II
the winter corn contest Is held n
the agricultural college. Some Of thu
counties have local contests Their
are prizes for the best corn and for thu
best corn judging Often the boys wht
do the best work at the local contestl
have their expenses paid to the stat,
contest at the agricultural college
Similar contests In cooking and sew
ing are held for the girls. Work u
this kind is an inspiration to the boy
and girls. They begin to see some o
the real enjoyment of farm iife
This work is being extended to tn
boys Of the cities by means Of summe
camps. where the boys are taken for ,
vacation. at the same time getting In
struction and object lessons In agri
culture Many a boy who otherwis
would have spent his life in tow
working for somebody else Is thu
started on the way to become an inde
pendent farmer.
Another big factor In rural social LII
is the country literary society. Thl
reaches more people than grange o
club can reach. Its disadvantage
that the membership Is SO large tha
only few can appear on the prt
grams. But great many can lister
and they eagerly avail themselves q
the opportunity. The country literar
society when rightly managed con
bines both the social and the educ,
tional features and is great uplift
the community.
Along with these other social factor
come the local lecture courses. Th
talent is not always the best, but usl
ally it is surprisingly good. Then thel
are ice cream suppers. picnics an
fishing excursions In the summer an
oyster suppers In the winter. The "
men often have ladies' aid societ
where they can meet and sew and Wis
to their hearts content The men ha,
a fraterual order or two, where the
can get together on Saturday evenin
During the last few years the Y. NJ.
A. has been extending to the COUNT
and doing a great deal Of good wor
Often clubrooms and a gymnasiu
are established. where the neighbo
hood boys can meet and try their ut
letic skill. Where such rooms ha'
: taken the place Of the grocery store
an evening meeting place for the bo
and young men there Is a noticeah
improvement in the community.
During vacations. when the you
people are home from school. there
no lack Of social diversions that q
peal especially to them. There Is ju
as much culture among these mode
young people of the country as the
is among the same classes in the cl
: and much more whole heartedne
The country dances and parties a
. well conducted affairs and the oct
sion Of much harmless fun. An oct
sional trip to town to attend the tha