The Wilmington morning star., 1947-11-15
Taken From Life
BY H. A. STALLINGS

SA>AA
lands, in Onslow county has a
school that is tackling coura-
geously and intelligently the
problems of Southeast
ern North Carolina and is max
ing noticeable progress towards
their solution.
Take the problem of d~iversifi-
cation Of farm income, admit
ted by all to be the outstand-
ing problem Of this section.
Richlands is placing on farms
young men trained in balanced
farming, thoroughly sold on the
need and the wisdom of diversi-
fled crops, men who have an
intelligent program for the
most profitable use of farm
acreage. Richlands has a voca-
tional agricultural class pur-
posed openly to halt the train
ing of farm boys for small-sal-
aried jobs off the farm and to
guarantee the farm boy, after
being educated and trained, will
return to the farm with the idea
of being a farmer all the rest
of his life. To achieve this end
Richlands has a committee of
citizens, not teachers, who 60
over the list of applicants for
admission to the vocational ag-
ricultural department, inquire
about them, talk with them, in
terview their parents, and thus
admit only those who plan to
return to the farm after gradu-
alton. AS a matter of fact they
are farm boys now. and it is a
question Of staying on the farm
from intelligent choice. Rich
lands now has thirty such
students. On January l it is ad-
hitting go more and will have
a class of sixty at Richlands and
a class of thirty at Jackson
vile, a under the same IN
structor. The prospect now is a
hundred to nothing that every
one of these ninety young men
will be a farmer all the rest
of his life. Thus Southeastern
North Carolina will gain ninety
farmers, trained in the most in
telligent methods of farming
known, and sold on the fact that
wise Investigation alone can
prevent agricultural disaster.
Richlands is providing exam
pies. It has a herb garden in
charge Of the girls in the Home
Economics Department. 1t has
an orchard of peach trees and
apple trees with grapes being
planted in charge of the voca-
tional agricultural department.
These are demonstrations and
proofs. One of the boys in the
agricultural department, Alan
Horne, recently led Onslow
county and is one of the state
leaders in corn. production with
a yield of 1877 bushels per acre
Several others in the same
department had a yield per
acre Of over a hundred bushels.
Take the problem of losing
students between the first and
18th grades. In the 18th grade
at Richlands are is boys and
% girls and each of the 80 is
over the compulsory school age.
Each student in the 18th grade
is remaining in school from
choice, not from compulsion.
Richlands has 1903 pupils with
889 in the e e m e n t a y
school and 204 in the high
school. In the grade school are
$50 boys and 439 girls. In the
high school are IS boys and 1l6
girls. You sense the problem
when you compare 889 in the
elementary school with 204 in
the high school. Compare $50
boys in the elementary school
with SO boys in the high school.
1t is quite a problem. What is
Richards doing to persuade pu-
pills to want to remain in school
through the 18th grade? In adj
dition to the regular curric-
u1um, Richards provides in
struction in music, instruction
in art, and supervised athletics.
In athletics there is an intra-
mural program including tag
football, volley ball, soccer foot
ball, soft ball, basketball for
boys and girls. David Johnson
is the basketball coach and
Floyd Ingram the baseball
coach. There is a large athletic
field purchased for that purpose
and an extension of the cam
pus. There is a gymnasium for
indoor games. Time is sched-
uled during the school day as
well as after school hours for
supervised play and athletics.
At Richland there is enjoyment
and exercise as well as study
and recitation and there is a
rounded out program that in