The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-02-12
BY F. H. JETER

It's been a long time, from the
standpoint of accomplishment IN
home demonstration work, since
O. H. Martin went from Washing
ton down to Aiken county, South
Carolina, and talked with Marie
Cromer about teaching farm girls
how to grow and can tomatoes. He
made this memorable trip IN NO
vember, 1909. Miss Cromer work
ed for the School Improvement AS
ISOLATION and when she heard Mr..
Martin tell the South Carolina
teachers about his plan for club
work for girls, she decided to get
more information and to try to
organize the work among her own
pupils. The next spring 46 girls
in the community organized club
and planted about one-tenth OF an
acre of tomatoes each.
At the same time, in North Caro-
lima, there was very talented
young woman working for the old
Farmers Institute Division of the
State Department of Agriculture.
This talented young woman was
Mrs. Jane S. McKimmon and she
went over the State with parties
-of trained agricultural workers
and experienced farmers giving
demonstrations and lecturing about
improved methods of cooking and
homemaking. She used crude ma
terials and such equipment as
could be rounded up locally for
use in the school rooms where
the meetings were held. But Mrs.
McKimmon had personality and
she was an accomplished home
maker.
1t was no surprise then, when in
1911, home and farm demonstration
work was started in the South
under DIR. Seaman A. Knapp that
Mrs. McKimmon should have been
chosen to head this work with the
farm girls of North Carolina.
Later when the Smith-Lever Act
was passed by Congress in 1914,
it was only step forward for her
to organize what now is known as
home demonstration work. Mrs.
had the happy facility
OF working with what she had and
OF interesting everyone in her
work. She was one of five pioneer
State home agents in the South
and She began her work in four
teen counties with home agents
hired for the summer to work with
the Tomato Club Girls" That
was the beginning of one of the
greatest movements that has ever
blessed the rural sections of North
Carolina.
From 1911 until 1887, Mrs. Nc
Klmmon worked as State home
demonstration agent and as assist
ant director of Extension. The she
gave up her administrative duties
IN 1887, she was able to use a por-
ton of her time, thus released, to
prepare the story of what had hap
pened during those portentous
years That story has just been
published in book form by the
university of North Carolina Press
and it is offered to the reading pub
nc under the title, when We Are
Green We Crow" The book should
be available in every library of the
State, whether in town or country,
ana every organized home demon
stratlon club should have at least
two copies for reference and study.
1t Should be in every rural school
mat young men and women grow
Ing up on the farms should know
something of how this great move
ment came about and something
OF what it has meant in the lives
OF those it has reached.
The book contains 353 pages. 1t
is well printed, well illustrated and
wen prepared in attractive form.
But 1t IS not the physical appear
ance OF the publication that should
!end itself to a wide demand. 1t
IS the heartwarming, human in
terest stories of how rural home
makers came to adopt the teach
lngs OF home demonstration and
thus lift the level of human living