Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1926-03-04
SOCIAL AND INDUS
TRIAL CONDITIONS
OF BEN HILL CO
PAPER READ BEFORE THE WOM-
ANS CLUB BY MRS. BERTHA
B. LUKE, HOME DEMONSTRA-
TON AGENT.


county is good. We have fifteen
rural churches, all small. MT. Ollve,
Salem and Bethlehem have the largest
church buildings. We know that the
small rural church holding one or two
services month cannot give the
proper religious training and help
Only four out of the fifteen operate
a Sunday School.
We have eleven rural schools in the
county, five consolidated. Ashton,
with a faculty of five, operates three
trucks; Lynnwood, with faculty
bf five operates two trucks; Emory,
with a faculty of three operates one
truck. Roanoke and Dorminey High
have faculties of three but do not
arrange for transportation. The
other schools are one and two teacher
schools.
The rural child does not have the
privilege of attending an accredited
high school. The tuition at Fitzger-
aid, together with the price of board,
makes it prohibitive to the average
farm girl or boy When you know
farm conditions in the county you
will also understand that it is impos-
sible for the average farm family to
furnish transportation for the chill
dren to attend school in town
I have organized one WOman's
Home Demonstration Club at Emory.
This organization is educational and
social. | have the girls clubs pretty
well organized over the county. One
opint that | stress is the social side
of our work, AS you know our girls
and won ems work is home problems,
principally. The need for a broader
social life is very great.
The State College of Agriculture,
through hteir extension forces, is ad-
vocating broader rural social life.
monthly Community Meetings over
the county. We think best to wait
until the weather is better to begin
these meetings for our hardest prob
lem is trying to convince people they
want something different.
When we think of the industries
of Ben Hill county our minds natural
ly lead in the direction of agriculture.
Our county is considered one of the
leading agricultural couSities of Geor-
gia. We can point with consider
able degree of pride when we take
into consideration the rapid advance
made in our dairying and poultry in
dustries during the last two or three
years.
We have a modern and up-to-date
creamery which is producing from
10000 to 10000 pounds of high class
butter annually. The dairying indus
try has more than doubled. Our
farmers are now selling cream and
other milk products from something
like 1900 cows, which brings in an
income of about $125,000 annually.
The Ben Hill Cooperative Com
pany, operating the Fitzgerald Hatch
cry, has a capacity of 10000 eggs.
This was installed two years ago and
has been the means of doubling this
industry many times. The census
of 1920 showed that the farmers of
Ben Hill county only had an average
of eight chickens to the family, now
a considerable number of our farmers
have from 100 to 1000 birds to the
farm. Prospects are good for con-
siderable increase. The revenue from
this industry is now about $4,000
annually.
Seven thousand five hundred bales
of cotton was produced in Ben Hill
county last year. Including seed this
industry furnishes a revenue of ap-
proximately $1,0O0,000 annually.
We produced 775,0O0 pounds of
tOhacco last Uaar This nr0duct in
creases the farm revenue about $780,
900 annually.
Ben Hill produces 500 tons of pea
nuts worth around $4,000, peanut
hay about $4,000 per year.
We shipped twenty-five car loads
of corn from the county from last
years crop bringing in revenue Of
about $13,500.
Our peach crop brought about $10,-
900 into the county last year, pecans
approximately $4,000.
Our livestock industry brings in
about $4,000 annually. This in
cludes pork and beef sold.
= One turpentine still in the county
10 ~ OuNSAiiS q iVFCiluC VI app VAL
mately $4,000 annually. This still
has an output of 1000 barrels of
spirits per year. There are other
stills tapping our pines but the prod
ucts are handled from another
county.
Our saw mill industry is almost a
thing of the past: We have a few
small mills cutting rough lumber. yet
the lumber industry in the county is
approximately 100000 annually.
We produced 775,0OO pounds of
The cotton mill employs two hun
.dred and fifty people with pay roll
of $500 per week. Just this week
this small mill shipped fifteen tons of
bed spreads. am sorry that I can
not give you the exact output of the
mill.
The A, B. & A. railroad shops en-
ploy amout 500, with pay roll of
about $4,000 every two weeks.