Amanuensis Monday: Future Farmers of America (1938)

An Amanuensis is a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. 

Source: Alexandria-Monroe High School Spectrum, Alexandria, Indiana, 1938

First Row: Billy Cranfield, Keith Sizelove, John Featherston, David Cade, Leroy Waymire, John Nacoff, Omer Young, Virgil Hughes

Second Row: Herman Brown, Bernard Balser, William Wright, Orville Wright, Thurman Fuller, Harold Sayre, Paul Thurston, Charles Sayre

Third Row: Mr. Disque, Ralph Porter, Forest McMahan, Harold Bess, Verle Allen, Barney March, Dale Blacklidge

Fourth Row: Donald Wilson, Robert Hobbs, Fred Johnson, Eugene Fields

Future Farmers of America

The Future Farmers of America is a national organization of farm boy studying agriculture in the public high schools throughout the United States, Territory of Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.  The F.F.A. colors are gold and blue.  Each year the State Organization selects two per cent of its membership for the Hoosier Farmer Degree.  The selection is made on the basis of scholarship, leadership, and record as a vocational agriculture student.  The Alexandria chapter has two members who have acquired the Hoosier Farmer Degree.  These boys are Paul Thurston and Thurman Fuller.  The local organization has twenty-nine active members.  The club has a basketball team and have played several good games this year.  Mr. Disque is the faculty adviser for the group.  The officers are :

President - Charles Sayre

Vice President - Paul Thurston

Secretary - William Wright

Treasurer - Dale Blacklidge

Newspaper Reporter - Herman Brown

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My maternal grandfather, William Wright, was the secretary of the F.F.A. for this year.  The Orville Wright mentioned in the membership roster is his second cousin.

Amanuensis Monday is a daily blogging theme which encourages the family historian to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Amanuensis Monday is a popular ongoing series created by John Newmark at Transylvanian Dutch.

The Light of Christmas

Miss Vera Haley

Portland, Ind.

Route 9

Did Santa Clause forget you?  

Love and best wishes to all.

Beck

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This postcard, postmarked Midland, Michigan December 20 ____, was sent to my paternal greataunt, Vera HALEY.  I do not know yet who Beck was.  Vera was married in 1915, so that would place this postcard pre-1915.

Advent Calendar : Charitible / Volunteer Work

Did your family ever volunteer with a charity such as a soup kitchen, homeless or battered women’s shelter during the holidays? Or perhaps were your ancestors involved with church groups that assisted others during the holiday?


I'm not aware of my ancestors' activities regarding charitable work during the Christmas holiday.
Growing up, I do not remember any specific activity directly tied to Christmas.


As an adult, our family has been involved with one small endeavor during Christmas-time, and that is Operation Christmas Child. Eileen helped to spearhead the collection of items and we all helped with the packaging and deliver of the shoeboxes to the drop-off site. We became involved with this organization several years ago, when we members of a small United Methodist Church. After we switched churches and denominations to the larger Southern Baptist mega-church, we continued to be a part of the organization and distribution of the shoeboxes. Sad to say, the participation rate and output was greater in the smaller church (30 or so in attendance) than in the mega-church (nearly 1000 attendees).


For the past few Christmases, we have been church-homeless, and I admit that I miss participating in this project. I know that I don't have to be tied into a church to participate, but somehow, it has fallen to the wayside.