Cooperative Extension Centennial Celebration

One of the best parts of celebrating our Centennial this year has been the opportunity to look back at little pieces of Cooperative Extension’s history in Wisconsin while also looking ahead to the ways we can continue to help build a strong state. This annual report from Pierce County in 1927 would have been shared with the county board to summarize the past year of Extension activities.

From Marvin Beatty, Extension Specialist, Program Leader and Assoc. Dean 1956-1988, a story about the values of university research in a sea of private industry: “When Cooperative Extension started in 1912 there were many “experts” with a wide variety of ideas talking to farmers about how to improve production of both crops and livestock.  Cooperative [...]

The Extension staff in Pierce County got together for a photo op just before the county board meeting that passed the Pierce County Centennial Resolution. So happy to see Centennial Celebrations happening on all scales around the state!

The Cooperative Extension Centennial has been a great opportunity to learn about Extension’s history statewide, but there are also several articles that delve further into Cooperative Extension’s impact at the local level. Check out these pieces from the Iron County Miner, Chilton Times-Journal, the Country Today, Walworth County Today and the Fond du Lac Reporter to learn more about Extension connections in communities around the state!

Wisconsin’s first Cooperative Extension agent traveled the backroads on his two-cylinder Indian motorcycle; for 100 years, agents have gone by car, train, plane or any other method necessary to share university research to citizens around the state. And sometimes, that means riding a bike through less-than-perfect conditions.

Check out a great history of Cooperative Extension in Calumet County, featured as a special section in the Chilton Times-Journal in January! The insert includes a history of Cooperative Extension, a list of past Calumet County educators and a profile of the office as it is today. Cooperative Extension: The first 100 years (PDF)

A story about a visit from the Tennessee Valley Authority, a little bit of culture shock and good Wisconsin cheese gone bad, from Marvin Beatty: Extension Specialist, Program Leader and Assoc. Dean 1956-1988.

Other stories we’ve posted have focused on the history and memories of Cooperative Extension, but more and more are coming in that tell us of the current impact that Cooperative Extension educators are having in their communities. Read on to see how one educator can mean a lot for a program:

The first county with an Extension agent is one of the first to support Cooperative Extension with a Centennial Resolution! The Oneida County Board passed the resolution on February 22, 2012, just over 100 years from the day E.L. Luther was hired to work in their county! You can see the Oneida County Centennial Resolution [...]

Gov. Scott Walker declared March 1 Cooperative Extension Day in honor of the organization’s 100th anniversary. In his proclamation, Gov. Walker indicates that Wisconsin residents benefit from more than 1.3 million educational contacts each year through Cooperative Extension’s programs in all 72 counties, including more than 500,000 related to agriculture and businesses, 497,000 related to families, and 356,000 involving youth.