The Keynote Presenter

It felt like old home week at Purdue University this past week. The occasion was the annual meeting of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA). This group is comprised of university professors of agriculture who value teaching and want to learn more about being better instructors. I presented a research paper about when is the best time to share the PowerPoint presentation used in teaching with the students. The basic question was should the presentation be shared with the students prior to the class in which the PowerPoint is used or after the class. There are some very strong opinions among students and professors. I don’t claim to have the answer but the audience did learn more about the views of both groups and the issues involved.

I was on the faculty at Purdue between 1976 and 1982 and had a chance to see if the house I built on Moore’s Bay Road still existed.

June 27 marked the 7th consecutive year that I have spoken at Chautauqua. The topic this year was “World War I, Food Production, and Suffrage: The Story of the Woman’s Land Army.” The venue was different this year (the Hall of Philosophy) which does not have facilities for showing slides, so I asked various members of the audience to hold placards (such as we demand the vote) and had them march around at appropriate times during the presentation. The audience seemed to enjoy this activity and I think it made the presentation come alive. I really would have loved to use some slides because there are great images of the Women’s Land Army. The bottom line is that women proved themselves equal to men during WW I by going to work on the farms to produce the food that was needed for the war effort. And shortly after the war, they were given the vote. One can read about the presentation at http://chqdaily.com/2017/06/agricultural-academic-gary-moore-to-share-history-of-trail-blazing-farmerettes/

I had never been to Camp Oswegatchie in New York State.  It was impressive. There are 1,200 acres and they have horses, mountain bikes, ropes courses and a number of other activities in a beautiful location.   There are 4 lakes on the property and 15 campsites for groups of students. This is a crown jewel among FFA camps (even if they are so remote there is no cell service). I spoke about the Smith-Hughes Act during their awards banquet for the New York Association of Agricultural Educators. The banquet was in the Gettman lodge and was typical of the Adirondack region. I then spent the next 36  hours exploring the Adirondacks. I had never been in this part of New York before and thoroughly enjoyed it. I arrived back home just in time to pack my car and head back to New York, this time to the western edge of the state.

It was a treat to speak at the North Carolina FFA Convention as my alter ego – Representative Dudley Hughes who co-sponsored the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917. A number of teachers told me their students really believed I was Dudley Hughes. Gray’s Creek FFA decorated the statue of Sir Walter Raleigh outside the Raleigh convention center.

After a good bit of traveling in the past few weeks, it was nice to drive just 30 miles to speak to the Johnston County Government workers about balancing work and their personal life. We meet at the extension service facility which was very nice. The photo shows the facility – Neat and Intimate. The presentation was done twice – once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

It is always exciting to attend a state FFA convention. The Wisconsin FFA Convention was no exception. They really did a bang up job. I enjoyed making a surprise visit as the Honorable Dudley Hughes, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1908 to 1917. He co-sponsored the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 which provided federal funds to support the teaching of agriculture in the public schools. I discussed why the act was needed and the consequences if it had not been enacted. As I posed with students for photos after the presentation, one wanted to know if I was the real Dudley Hughes. This student might be knowledgeable of agriculture but could use some help with math as the real Dudley Hughes would be over 150 years old.

It was interesting being at Andrews Air Force Base (that is what most people still call it even though it is now Joint Base Andrews because several branches of the military are stationed there) this past Wednesday. The Air Force is moving to implementing a Performance Improvement Process that involves collaborative teams. So a colleague and I did a workshop on how to get that process started. We enjoyed interacting with the Air Force personnel and civilians who will be involved in this process.

It was nice being in California recently at the annual meeting of the American Association for Agricultural Education. I was pleased that the GALA presentation received a 3rd place honor. I also enjoyed touring California agriculture and learning more about such crops as avocados and lettuce.  Touring the coast was fun and seeing elephant seals packed tightly on the beach was interesting. Spending a day in Sequoia National Park was also enjoyable. Speaking at Andrews Air Force Base next week will be a real contrast to California.

I was at at the beach yesterday. I had the opportunity to speak about “Live Like You Were Dying” to the Carteret County government employees. It was a double-header. I spoke to the employess in Beaufort in the morning and to the ones in Morehead City in the afternoon.

What was a shame was being at the beach and having such cold weather!!! I typically take a walk along the beach in this part of the world but it was just too cold and windy. But on the way home I did stop at a Piggly Wiggly grocery store in the town of Maysville. You don’t see many Piggly Wiggle stores these days unless you get in the rural areas of the state.

Have you heard of the Women’s Land Army? Since 2017 is the 100th anniversary of the USA entering WWI, it might be good to learn more about the Women’s Land Army. I will be making a presentation at Chautauqua this summer about the Women’s Land Army. The Women proved they could do farm work and deserved to be on equal footing with men – including the right to vote.  This forthcoming article in the Tar Heel Junior Historian Magazine previews what that presentation will be about – THJHmagazine_GaryMoore.