World War One

This song booklet was distributed to young club members in 1918 after their successes during WWI and demonstrates the club's committment to their state.

The organization of the Extension Service “furnished the best possible vehicle for quickly disseminating information” during World War One. During the war, club members had many opportunities to serve their families, communities, and nation, and increased appropriations to support food production and preservation efforts created new jobs and expanded the Negro Extension Service.[1]

State and county agents received letters from club members who had a strong desire to help in the war effort. A young man’s letter was recounted in the report on the boys’ club in 1917 that demonstrated his determination in helping in the war effort:

“One little boy in Craven County wrote that his father had been sick most of the year, his mother an invalid, and he had most of the work to do, yet he was going to plant an acre of corn, 1/8 of an acre of potatoes, and that he had his acre of wheat sown. He said he wanted to do all he could to help feed our soldiers and our Allies, although they had been living about as close as they could.”

Children especially, within both the white and black club divisions, were active in the Liberty Bonds, War Saving Stamps, Red Cross, and United War Work campaigns. John D. Wray formed the “Uncle Sam’s Saturday Service League,” a program where members committed to work every Saturday afternoon until the war was over. However, many members continued to work after the war finished.[2] During WWI, children experienced how their club efforts made a difference far beyond their communities.

The North Carolina Extension Service created new jobs directly and indirectly between 1916 and 1917. In many cases, county agents secured yearlong employment in counties that previously only had a supervisor available to residents a few months a year. Many African American club alumni continued to be involved in club efforts by becoming agents. In addition, in nineteen counties and two cities the Extension Service hired a black assistant for every white county supervisor to expand extension efforts to more black families. These new agents were successful in establishing programs like the War Cookery Classes and easily developed Extension programs in new communities.[3]

Girls involved in 4-H also achieved higher statuses during the war. County agents encouraged canning club members to sell their products directly to grocers. It was originally difficult to get grocery stores to buy and sell 4-H canned goods. However, with rising prices in 1916, grocers began to work with the canning clubs. After struggling to get her club’s products sold in grocery stores, a Guilford county agent joined efforts with the Chamber of Commerce and Farm Bureau to have a group of grocers examine her canned goods. During the taste test, the 4-H canned tomatoes came in first.[4]

War efforts also gave club members a chance to be leaders in their communities by starting local canneries and gardens. Tomato club members collaborated with other agencies, such as the Social Service Department of the Women’s Clubs in Raleigh, to educate others on food preservation. Such outreach occasionally led to paid positions for club members. For example, in Roanoke rapids, the Patterson Mills employed a club member to teach food preservation to women in the community. After working in the mill community for a few months, the girl’s five month contract turned into a year’s employment.[5] The war allowed opportunities for young women to extend beyond the farm and become business owners and engaged citizens.