Evening star., 1936-03-08
u. s. FARM WOMEN'S LEADER
PLANS WORLD CONFERENCES HERE
Grace Frysinger, Senior
Home Economist, Has Broad
Viewpoint in Work.
Holds Many important Of.
fices in Groups Promoting
Rural Welfare.
BY JESSIE FAINT EVANS.

Rural Welfare.
BY JESSIE FAINT EVANS.
I<~ HE'S the farm women's best
friend" said a member of
the Bethesda Farm Women's
- Home Market group, which
does business running near 100000
a year, pointing to Miss Grace e.
Frysinger, senior home economist of
the Office Of Cooperative Extension
Work, United States Department of
Agriculture.
For l6 years this virile, gracious
woman, with her sane viewpoint on
life and living, has given wise notiva-
tion and brilliant leadership to home
economics extension work in general
with specialization in particular upon
that part of our farming country
which is included in the l3 Central
States. The work Of her Office covers
Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
Miss Frysinger's headquarters are
in Washington, and here you meeI
her when she isn't consulting with
farm Women's groups over her far
flung constituency.
Hers is case of being born for the
job. With Southern grandmother.
a New England grandfather and a
father and mother from Illinois,
there isn't any need for her to feel
out inherent sectional prejudices, op-
positions and inclinations by a long
and costly system of tryouts. That
varied background of hers provided
her with a national viewpoint, so to
speak, before she even started her life
work. And as If to follow up this
au-American heredity. her education
was equally varied. Dread Institute,
worcester, Mass, proudly claims her
as its alumna, as does Drexel Instl-
tute. Philadelphia. BY way of boxing
the compass. Miss Frysinger then pro-
ceeded to do graduate work at Chi
cago University, at the School of
Cookery. London, and at LIE Corden
Bleu, Paris.
Background Is Varied.
Equally comprehensive has been the
teaching background and experience
she has brought to her job, beginning
with an instructorship in the School
OF Domestic Science and Art in Chi
cago. Next she headed the home
economics department of Belmont COL
lege, going from there to be the direc-
tor OF household sciences in the Des
Moines High School. Then came the
World War. Miss Frysinger came
East to take the post of lecturer and
writer In the program of food con-
servation for New York City, which
developed into 24-hour- day Job
during those trying days.
Since 1918 Grace Frysinger has
been in her present position.
To her panoramic viewpoint she has
added an International one, beginning
with 1926, when she was United States
delegate to the first International
Rural Life Conference, held in Bel
gium. That same year she made a
hve-month study for the Department
OF Agriculture Of how governmental
agencies in IA countries in Europe
contributed to rural women and to
rural women's organizations, If, indeed.
they contributed at all.
In 1927 she was the only English
speaking woman in the world to re-
ceive the Agricultural Decoration from
Albert, King of the Belgians.
The year 1880 saw her representing
the Agricultural Extension Service of
the United States Department of Agri-
culture at the international Confer
ence of Rural Women in Vienna.
From simple beginnings the scope
OF Miss Frysingers work in the Agri-
culture Department has grown until.
from the latest figures obtainable, 1t
includes $4,000 rural women in home
demonstration groups in 10000 COM
munities. What is the story behind
these figures? They mean that In a
little less than 100000 homes in the
great central area of our Nation as
many farm women are organized for
selt-inaprovement. Alert, conscious
OF the problems of their era, they are,
to quote Miss Frysinger, "veritable
wizards in not only making the family
dollar stretch by helping make the
farm provide more for their families,
but through their wayside markets
and other outlets providing immediate
cash for other purchases"
Do you wonder at the enthusiasm Of
our nearby Bethesda group for the
motivation that has been theirs from
this work of Miss Frysinger's?
Started as Teacher.
In the opinion OF those Of us who
have had teaching background, the
accent which Miss Frysinger has put
upon the possibilities of development
in rural homes through an organized
adult educational program in home
economics has come about because she
herself started out in life as a teach
er. In fact, she is still one in the
broadest sense, for hers is a task that
has to do with fitting her rural woman
compatriots to deal more intelligently
with their environments. The only
value Of theory to Miss Frysinger is
its workability in practical form. Here
is the executive type Of ability which
has the power to vision, to analyze
and patiently to carry out q broad
scope Of activity, sanely and practic-
ally, to its final degree of detail There's
the pedagogic mind for you again.
In the beginning Of home demon
strationN work, the home demonstration
agent was the energizing spirit among
farm unnoep Howe u,oe fha &,s1- 80