Marie Cromer and the Early 4-H Clubs

By Linda Harris Sittig

This summer, when you bite into a delicious ripe tomato, I want you to think about Marie Samuella Cromer.

Born in 1882 in rural Abbeville County, South Carolina, Marie grew up surrounded by farmland in a life punctuated by the crops. Encouraged to attend college by her parents, she took a job as a rural schoolteacher in 1907 in a one-teacher school in Aiken County, South Carlina.

Two years later, while attending a state teachers’ meeting, she listened to a speech by a representative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He spoke about the virtues of the Boys’ Corn Clubs of America, where boys from farm families were being taught to use agricultural resources more efficiently in their families’ lives.

THE REAL STORY BEGINS

Marie apparently thought of raising her hand and asking the question, “But what are we doing to help farm girls?” She didn’t verbalize that thought that day. But the incident nurtured an idea. Within one year, she organized the Aiken County Girls’ Tomato Club – the first of its kind anywhere in the United States.

Marie wasn’t trying to compete with the Boys’ Corn Clubs; she wanted a way for girls from rural backgrounds to learn more about agriculture, become involved, and earn money for themselves.

To encourage participation, Marie offered a $140 scholarship to Winthrop College for the girl who planted, grew, and harvested the most tomatoes on their 1/10-acre plot. Because of the restrictive Jim Crow laws, only White girls initially took part.

Within one year of the Tomato Club starting, 47 girls had enrolled.

The U.S. Farm Demonstration Service took note and awarded Marie’s program $5,000.00 for canning equipment and instructors who would teach the girls how to can. During the first summer of 1910, Katie Gunter won the scholarship by putting up 512 cans of tomatoes and received $40 from her tenth of an acre, equivalent to $1,276.00 in today’s economy —an astounding amount of money earned by a young girl in 1910. For many girls, the money earned from canning tomatoes was the first step toward having their own bank account.

By 1913, some twenty thousand girls throughout the southern states were participating. The General Education Board of New York City awarded the clubs $25,000 for equipment, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture distributed instructional literature. The following year, the U.S. government, with the federal Smith-Lever Act of 1914, provided funding through land-grant colleges, including Clemson College.

MARIE CONTINUES TO INNOVATE

Marie Cromer married Cecil Seigler, the superintendent of Aiken County schools, in April 1912. She remained active with the Girls’ Canning Clubs while raising her children. With her husband’s help, she established Home Demonstration Clubs in Aiken and initiated Home Economics courses in Aiken County schools. She eventually pivoted to the background of the movement and let others take on the leadership.

It would not be until 1933 that the Girls’ Tomato Clubs in America began welcoming girls of color to join their programs.

Marie’s efforts eventually led to the formation of a co-ed organization called 4-H Clubs, which still exists in many rural counties today, providing experiences in agricultural leadership and social opportunities.

 In 1953, at the national 4-H camp, President Dwight D. Eisenhower honored Marie Cromer Seigler for her role in founding the precursor to the 4-H program.

MARIE’S LEGACY

 Marie died on June 14, 1964, and was buried in the Seigler family cemetery near Johnston, South Carolina. By then, thousands upon thousands of young women from rural backgrounds in the South had benefited from the idea that girls could participate in family farming and earn their own money.

So, bite into that juicy summer tomato and think of Marie Cromer Seigler.

Thank you to blog follower Harley Gamble for alerting me to the story of Marie, and who, by the way, also loves a good summer tomato.

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Right now, I am working feverishly to complete the final editing of my latest novel, Chasing the Tides, about women on the home front in WWII. Stay tuned and in the meantime, check out my other five books – all with strong women. My books are available in bookstores and online.

Cut From Strong Cloth – Civil War 1861

Last Curtain Call – 1890s coal mining wars

Counting Crows – 1918 flu epidemic

B- 52 DOWN – 1964 Cold War

Opening Closed Doors – 1957 early Civil Rights Movement (ages 8 -12)

Linda😊   www.lindasittig.com