4-H Club Members in Spokane, Washington Become Radio Pioneers


The following story is from the National Compendium of 4-H Promotion and Visibility on the National 4-H History website at

http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com/History/4-H_Promotion/


Club members from the Sunset community, Spokane County, Washington, organized the first radio club in the state with Claude Senge local leader. The Sunset Radio Club was composed of 12 members including Jack Adams, Gordon Brown, Helen Brown, Edward Gassman, Maude Hamilton, Halbert Hewett, Elsie Johnson, Jack Stainer, Harold Stoll, Martin Tuttle, and Mark Wells.

In writing about the club in the September 1922 issue of Farm Boys and Girls Leader, Mr. Senge states: “Some people think we can’t make a success of the club, but I believe that it can be put over all right. Although the club may not be a money making proposition at present, we will be able to get farm reports, weather reports and news out to our community.”

1922 seemed to be a key year for getting radio on its feet. A station in Atlanta in March of that year became the first radio station in the entire South. Operated by the Atlanta Journal, it was the first station in America to adopt a slogan – “The Voice of the South.” Station WEAF in New York City broadcasted the first radio commercial in 1922… starting the birth of commercial radio.

A complete section on the National 4-H History Preservation website is devoted to 4-H and Radio… Early Days, Growing Up Together, located at http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com/History/Radio/


 

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Thomas E. Wilson Day


The following story is from the National Compendium of 4-H Promotion and Visibility on the National 4-H History website at

http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com/History/4-H_Promotion/


This picture really tells the story. DiAnne Mathre of Illinois and Dwight E. Nelson of Iowa, top Citizenship boy and girl at the 1949 National 4-H Congress stand with Thomas E. Wilson. The awards were made in honor of Mr. Wilson. The deep admiration of Thomas E. Wilson by the Congress delegates for four decades is reflected in the faces of these two winners.

This picture really tells the story. DiAnne Mathre of Illinois and Dwight E. Nelson of Iowa, top Citizenship boy and girl at the 1949 National 4-H Congress stand with Thomas E. Wilson. The awards were made in honor of Mr. Wilson. The deep admiration of Thomas E. Wilson by the Congress delegates for four decades is reflected in the faces of these two winners.

For tens of thousands of 4-H delegates who journeyed to Chicago for National 4-H Congress and the International Live Stock Exposition, you needn’t say anything more by way of explanation. Thomas E. Wilson Day says it all. The much anticipated annual event was unique. It was thrilling. It lived up to all expectations. And, no one enjoyed it more than Thomas E. Wilson – the man who planned it. The man who paid for it.

Thomas E. Wilson Day actually started before National 4-H Congress. The very first one – held by happenstance – occurred on December 6, 1916 during the International Live Stock Exposition – the largest livestock show in the world, held annually at the Chicago Union Stockyards. During that year’s Exposition Thomas E. Wilson had come to view the cattle. He owned one of the top herds of Shorthorns in the country. He happened to see a group of club boys examining the exhibits and stopped to talk to them. He saw that they were keenly interested in what they were viewing. Years later, Wilson recalled, “I thought perhaps I could help them in some way.” He started that very day by inviting the 11 boys and their leader to lunch with him.

Little did he anticipate that these few boys and their leader, breaking bread with him over lunch, would grow to an annual event with well over 2,000 in attendance and continue for over 40 years. So who was Thomas E. Wilson? In 1917 he was hired to take over the management of a failing meat packing company in Chicago, which was subsequently named after him, making Wilson and Company the third largest meat packing company in the country. In 1926 he created one of the most recognizable brand names in the world, known as Wilson Sporting Goods. He served as President and Chairman of the Board of Wilson and Company for 35 years. He was one of a small group of businessmen who created the National Committee on Boys and Girls Club Work (forerunner to National 4-H Council) in 1921 and served as the National Committee’s president for 34 years, from 1924 to 1958, the year he died. He was one of the greatest friends in the long 4-H history.

The first Thomas E. Wilson events were very low key. The January 1919 issue of “The Wilsonian,” the Wilson & Co. employee newsletter, reports that 76 boys and girls from Oklahoma, Mississippi, Indiana and Wisconsin were guests of Wilson and Co. on December 4, 1918 to celebrate their success in winning trips to th International Live Stock Exposition. “Mr. Wilson was host to the boys and girls at a luncheon in the company’s restaurant. Many of the youthful livestock raisers were attending the convention at the expense of the packing company. The boys and girls were taken through the various departments of the packing plant and were told of methods of handling food products. They were interested in noting the slaughter, dressing, chilling, cutting and shipping of beef. When Mr. Wilson explained to them the different cuts of beef and told them how certain breeds of animals produced certain grades of beef, they listened attentively and made many notes.”

By 1921 National 4-H Club Congress was established, held at the same time as the International Live Stock Exposition, and Thos. E. Wilson Day became a key event of the Club Congress. Mr. Wilson thrilled in being the special host to these boys and girls from across America and he wanted to give them new experiences for them to remember for many years to come. The dissertations on meat packing evolved in a Thos. E. Wilson Day of tours and a huge banquet, music and entertainment, and was especially noted for its guest appearances — people like Explorer Admiral Richard E. Byrd, Amelia Earhart, Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Bears Quarterback Johnny Lujack, professional golfer and Olympic gold medalist in track and field Babe Didrickson Zaharias, Hollywood stars Dennis Day and James Cagney and others. One of the highlights of the 1948 Thos. E. Wilson Day party was the first national preview of Walt Disney’s new motion picture, “So Dear to My Heart” with the personal appearance of the boy star, Bobby Driscoll. In later years an impressive Thos. E. Wilson Day printed program was distributed. Several copies of these have been digitized and are in the Print archives on the National 4-H History Preservation website.


 

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Canning Girls Head for France


The following story is from the National Compendium of 4-H Promotion and Visibility on the National 4-H History website at

http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com/History/4-H_Promotion/


In 1922 Guy Noble, director, National Committee on Boys and Girls Club Work, and Bernice Carter Davis, educational director of the Hazel-Atlas Glass Company, arranged a trip to France for the national champion canners of the United States, the expenses of the trip to be donated by the American Committee for Devastated France, a committee headed by Anne Morgan, sister of J. Pierpont Morgan.

Five sectional contests were set up, and the first and second place winning teams in each section were to compete at the International Live Stock Exposition as part of the 1922 National 4-H Congress. Out of the 10 finalists, the first and second place teams would be sent to France.

The nationwide canning demonstration contest was held in the old International building at the end of the cattle barn. Only a board partition separated the demonstrators from the cattle. Despite their surroundings, the contestants, dressed in plain cotton uniforms, worked skillfully at tables, canning one fruit by either hot water or steam bath, and one vegetable by either hot water or steam pressure. The roving public, strolling past this spectacle of intent industry, noting the array of foods, kettles, and cookers, could hardly have suspected that this was a part of a nationwide system of practical education. To them, it must have seemed to be an advertising stunt. But the girls were eager to compete for the prize – a two months’ trip to Europe. The winning Iowa and Colorado teams toured France in June and July, 1923, giving demonstrations of their skills, attending French schools of home economics, and sightseeing. Their trip, which was highly publicized, did much to interest Europe in the new kind of youth Extension education being conducted in the United States.

Bound for Europe! In 1923, the Iowa and Colorado canning teams won trips to Europe. Pictured with the group and their chaperones is Secretary of Agriculture Henry C. Wallace. This photograph appeared on page 183 of "The 4-H Story" by Franklin Reck.

Bound for Europe! In 1923, the Iowa and Colorado canning teams won trips to Europe. Pictured with the group and their chaperones is Secretary of Agriculture Henry C. Wallace.
This photograph appeared on page 183 of “The 4-H Story” by Franklin Reck.



 

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Early Motion Pictures in 4-H Club Work


The following story is from the National Compendium of 4-H Promotion and Visibility on the National 4-H History website at

http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com/History/4-H_Promotion/



In Louisiana, club work was promoted by one of the earliest known instances of the use of motion pictures. In Baton Rouge, the enterprising E. S. Richardson, who had succeeded V. L. Roy as state club leader, braved the office of Thomas D. Boyd, president of Louisiana State, with an idea.

At that time – 1914 – there were few gas buggies in Baton Rouge. President Boyd had recently taken a trip by auto to Shreveport, and the journey, interrupted by tire changes and mechanical troubles, had taken three days. As a result, the president took a dim view of the future of the automobile age.

To the president, Richardson proposed a novel and untried scheme involving extensive use of an auto. He wanted to rig a generator to the engine of a flivver. The generator would provide current to operate a motion picture machine and lantern slide projector. With this outfit, plus a couple of shovels to dig the car out of the mud, he proposed to travel the gravel and gumbo roads of the state, bringing pictures of club work to one-room schools. Much to his surprise, the president gave his assent, no doubt with certain mental reservations.

Richardson bought his car, dynamo, and projection equipment. With the help of Dean W. T. Atkinson of the college of engineering, he perfected the device, adding that marvel of modern inventions, an electric stove, with which to give cooking demonstrations in the schools.

Bravely the visual-education automobile set out on its journey with a young photographer named Jasper Ewing at the wheel. Arriving at a country school, Ewing and Richardson, with the help of the local teacher and eager students – many of whom had never seen a motion picture – took the dynamo from the car and staked it firmly to the ground with long metal pins. They jacked up the rear wheels and slung a belt drive between generator pulley and axe.

This is one of the first-known visual education trucks. It was used in Louisiana to bring the story of club work to rural schools. The Model T engine ran a dynamo that generated current for the movie machine. This photograph appeared on page 130 of "The 4-H Story" by Franklin Reck.

This is one of the first-known visual education trucks. It was used in Louisiana to bring the story of club work to rural schools. The Model T engine ran a dynamo that generated current for the movie machine.
This photograph appeared on page 130 of “The 4-H Story” by Franklin Reck.

Meanwhile, inside the school, others were hanging heavy curtains over the windows to keep out the light. Ewing then set up his movie projector and screen, and presently the hushed and awed youngsters were seeing with their own eyes the miracle of motion pictures.

The pioneering venture in visual education was a success from the start. “Louisiana School Work” reported in 1915 that “This contrivance combines two of the latest inventions – namely, the moving picture machine and the automobile.”

As for results: “During the first seven months of 1915, the Junior Extension Service of the Louisiana State University visited 140 schools in 17 parishes and rendered programs with autostereopticon and moving picture machine to an estimated attendance of 23,340 school children, school patrons, and farmers. In addition to educational movies, there were shown at each school stereopticon slides depicting the various phases of corn, pig, poultry and canning club work.


 

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4-H Council’s Board Visits The White House


The following story is from the National Compendium of 4-H Promotion and Visibility on the National 4-H History website at

http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com/History/4-H_Promotion/



PIC_038[1]

The annual board meeting of National 4-H Council in 1984 was a special day with multiple highlights. Harold A. Poling, executive vice president, North American Automotive Operations, Ford Motor Company, was elected the new chairman of the board of trustees of National 4-H Council on May 31, 1984. Laurie Thomas, president, Amoco Oil Company, was elected a new vice chairman.

The major highlight of the day occurred when the entire board went to the White House for a session with the honorary chairman of National 4-H Council, President Ronald Reagan. The President told the group: “Today’s 4-H is built on the experience of an impressive past. I am proud to commend the large numbers of volunteers who are involved in the 4-H program and committed to its goals. Their efforts serve as an inspiring display of the American spirit.”

Council’s new chairman lived with his family in Virginia during most of his childhood and participated in 4-H there. Harold Poling not only was a 4-H member, but also a winner as part of the first place demonstration team at the National 4-H Dairy Show in 1940. During the board meeting he relived that experience when Tom Tuton, vice president, sales, Elgin Watch International, Inc., presented him with a special 4-H gold watch to replace one he had won 44 years previously at the dairy show. In reminiscing about that experience, Poling recalled that it was the first time he had traveled alone, out of state. Staying in a large hotel in Harrisburg was an experience of a lifetime for himself and Lester Harris, his teammate. The two-hour winning demonstration given by the two boys was titled “Making American Cheese on the Farm.” Poling recalled how impressed he was with the hospitality of the two donor companies involved, the Elgin Watch Company and Kraft Cheese Company.


 

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4-H History Preservation Newsletter
April 2016

It’s April Already!

For some that means sunny spring is well underway; for others it’s time for one last snow storm; for still others, it’s the proverbial month of showers which bring May flowers. Whichever it is for you climatologically, it’s another busy 4-H month; another month when 4-H history is being made and celebrated.


First Woman’s World’s Fair

In 1925, 4-H girls exhibited ideal (for the time) standards of home decoration at this first of four-only women’s world-wide expositions, intended to showcase skills and empower women. 4-H girls did both.


April 22 is Earth Day

What better way to celebrate Earth Day 2016 than to start a garden, either productive, beautiful, or both. That’s this month’s “Hands-on-History” activity.


Jmaes Cagney loved 4-H

That’s just one of the new stories highlighted from the 4-H Promotion and Visibility Compendium on the 4-H History Website.


April 20, 1970…

…was an important and long-awaited day for 4-H. Mr. J. C. Penney, Tricia Nixon, Art Linkletter and National Conference delegates helped mark the meaningful occasion. Any guesses?>


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Tricia Nixon and Art Linkletter share podium.


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Secretary of Agriculture, Clifford Harding, J.C. Penney and Janice Glover, 4-H’er from NY share groundbreaking duty.



Who Made 4-H Great?

This month we learn about a man who had a big impact on many basics of the local 4-H Club program. And his records have helped many historians along the way.


4-H Novels

The impact, challenges, successes, and fun of 4-H are recorded throughout literature, whether academic or recreational. Here’s a list of novels written about 4-H – just the titles we’ve been able to uncover.


Whether the weather…

…is warming you in sunshine, dousing you in rain, or freezing you in snow, stay focused on the coming May flowers – and the next issue of the National 4-H History Newsletter. Whether with sunglasses, umbrellas or ear muffs, enjoy this issue.


4-H Photo Fun Club


The following story is from the National Compendium of 4-H Promotion and Visibility on the National 4-H History website at

http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com/History/4-H_Promotion/




Photo Fun Logo

Photo Fun Logo

In 1970, Eastman Kodak Company, sponsor of the National 4-H Photography Awards and Recognition program, with the help of the Extension Service and National 4-H Service Committee, produced the first national 4-H television series on videotape rather than film. The series of six half-hour programs was designed for 9- to 12-year olds and takes place in photography project leader Dick Arnold’s rec room (on the TV studio set).

The series introduces young people to cameras, film, picture composition and turns common errors into learning situations. They learn to tell stories with photos, and how photographs can help record progress made in 4-H projects.


Premiered at a national television workshop in Colorado in mid-1970, 4-H Photo Fun Club was shown on more than 90 commercial and educational stations during its first several months. During the first year over 70% of the stations programming the series were commercial stations, most of them using the series in what was considered prime viewing hours for the targeted audience – 44% programming the series on Saturday mornings; 27% on weekday afternoons after school; and 18% on weekday evenings during the early hours. Stations in Chicago, Baltimore, Boston, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Orlando, Sacramento, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Honolulu and Raleigh were some of the cities showing the series. Studies showed that 70% of the young viewers enrolled in the series had no previous experience with 4-H and two-thirds of these youth wanted to stay a part of 4-H after the series was completed. The series was successful and a strong visibility plus for 4-H.



A more thorough history of 4-H Photo Fun Club can be found on the 4-H History website in the segment on National 4-H Television Series in the National 4-H History Section.

Elbert and Maria, members of the 4-H Photo Fun Club television series, demonstrate during the first program two of the things needed to take a picture -- light and subject.

Elbert and Maria, members of the 4-H Photo Fun Club television series, demonstrate during the first program two of the things needed to take a picture — light and subject.


Members of the 4-H Photo Fun Club television series listen to photography project leader Dick Arnold explain the meaning of good composition when taking pictures.

Members of the 4-H Photo Fun Club television series listen to photography project leader Dick Arnold explain the meaning of good composition when taking pictures.




 

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“Yard-long Photos” a Popular 4-H Souvenir


The following story is from the National Compendium of 4-H Promotion and Visibility on the National 4-H History website at

http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com/History/4-H_Promotion/


Panoramic pictures – commonly called “yard-long” photos – became popular in the early 1900’s and were a World War I craze. They were popular through the 1950s and are still being made today. Scenic panoramas were not the best seller. All commercial panoramic photographers specialized in pictures of large groups. (People bought pictures in which they were included, so the more people in the shot, the better the sales.)

The photos were made by a large Cirkut camera which sat on a platform on a tripod. Both the camera and the film moved in such an ingenious, synchronized way as to create a yard-long image.
Cirkut Camera No. 6

Delegates to National 4-H Camp on the Mall and to National 4-H Congress in Chicago often posed for the long pictures. Normally there was no attempt to identify the individuals in the photos, however most of them were amazingly clear and people could readily identify themselves and their friends.

A few examples of 4-H “yard-long” photos are shown here and others are being posted in the National 4-H Photography Gallery soon to be added to the National 4-H History website.

National 4-H Club at the White House, June 23, 1931


 

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4-H’ers Love for Western Movie Stars and Vice Versa


The following story is from the National Compendium of 4-H Promotion and Visibility on the National 4-H History website at

http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com/History/4-H_Promotion/


While it perhaps wasn’t as easy for rural youth to get into town to see the latest matinee performance of their favorite western idols at the local movie theater as it was for their big city cousins, they were true fans nonetheless. And, the western movie stars of the 1940s and 1950s seemed to be well aware of this. For many of the western stars, if not most of them, there was a direct connection with 4-H. Some grew up on farms or ranches. Some had been 4-H members. All of them made regular appearances at horse shows, state fairs and county 4-H fairs.

A few of these western idols and their 4-H connections are documented below:

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Roy Rogers

Roy Rogers was a huge star during the 1940s and 1950s, known as the “King of the Cowboys.” He was one of the singing cowboys which was prominent in western movies at that time, appearing in over 100 films between 1935 and 1984.

Rogers (born Leonard Slye) was born in Cincinnati but grew up on the family farm in Duck Run, Ohio, having a pig as a 4-H project. The April 1957 National 4-H News, p. 18, has a photo of Roy Rogers w/alumni plaque awarded as state 4-H alumni winner in Ohio. He was honored as a national 4-H alumni recipient in 1958.

Roy Rogers appeared in a 1984 promotional film, “4-H is More,” creating public awareness for 4-H. He also assisted National 4-H Council through a national direct mail letter over his name which went to alumni as a fund raising appeal in 1985. Roy Rogers (and his wife, Dale Evans) attended National 4-H Congress in Chicago several times. Their famous theme song, “Happy Trails,” was written by Dale Evans.

Gene Autry

Gene Autry was known as America’s favorite singing cowboy. “Back In The Saddle Again” was Autry’s signature song which he co-wrote with Ray Whitley. “Here Comes Santa Claus (Down Santa Claus Lane) was written and originally performed by Autry.

Gene Autry was one of the top money-making western stars in film history. Autry’s film and recording careers, along with wise investments, made him extremely wealthy. Gene Autry sponsored national 4-H scholarship awards at National 4-H Congress for several years during the 1950s. He entertained at National 4-H Congress in 1945 as part of the WLS Barn Dance Show for the Congress delegates.

William Boyd (Hopalong Cassidy)

The small town of Hendrysburg, south of Piedmont Lake in Ohio, is the birthplace of William Boyd who portrayed Hopalong Cassidy in western movies during the 1940s and 1950s. Hopalong Cassidy was one of the “good guy” western stars to dress in black. Boyd made 66 films as Hopalong Cassidy. Unlike the other two major western stars of the 1940’s-50’s, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy’s character did not sing and, in fact, Boyd disliked Western music. Like Rogers and Autry, however, Boyd licensed much merchandise supporting the Hopalong Cassidy brand, a wise move which made all three stars extremely wealthy.

Hopalong Cassidy attended the Thomas E. Wilson Day dinner at the 1955 National 4-H Club Congress in Chicago where he entertained the delegates.

Duncan Renando (The Cisco Kid)

Duncan Renando was an American actor best remembered as The Cisco Kid in films in the 1950’s and the TV series, “The Cisco Kid.” He attended the 1955 Thomas E. Wilson dinner at National 4-H Congress in Chicago, entertaining the 4-H Congress delegates at the height of his popularity.

Rex Allen

Rex Allen was a film actor, singer and songwriter born on a ranch in Mud Springs Canyon, Arizona. He became a rodeo rider and then headed to Chicago where in the 1940’s he was a performer on the WLS program, National Barn Dance (with 4-H Congress delegates as one of his audiences). Beginning in 1950 Rex Allen became a film star for Republic Pictures in Hollywood, making 19 Western movies, becoming one of the top 10 box office draws of the day.

Rex Allen starred in Universal Pictures 1961 4-H film, “Tom Boy and the Champ,” produced in honor of 4-H Clubs across the country. Allen also entertained 4-H delegates at the National 4-H Congress in Chicago in 1945 at the Thomas E. Wilson Day banquet.

Johnny Western

Johnny Western (born Johnny Westerlund) is an American country singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He was born in 1934 in Two Harbors, Minnesota and began recording at his local 4-H Club singing Gene Autry’s “Riding Down the Canyon” and other songs. He was in several movies and performed with Gene Autry and was part of the Johnny Cash Road Show for a 40 year period. In 1958 Johnny Western wrote and performed the theme song, “The Ballad of Paladin” for the CBS television program “Have Gun – Will Travel” with Richard Boone. Through the shows 225 episodes, and reruns, the show has technically never been off the air. Western’s last tour and performance was in 2013, the 4-H alum retiring from show business except for doing one or two planned projects a year.

Tom Mix and Clayton Moore (The Lone Ranger)

Tom Mix was the first movie superstar and was paid an enormous salary. He established the form of the western movies for decades to come by making western movies flamboyant and action oriented. He appeared in 291 films between 1909 and 1935… mostly silent.

Clayton Moore was an American actor best known for playing the fictional western character the Lone Ranger and it became his life-long occupation. In addition to a number of films, “The Lone Ranger” TV series became the ABC network’s first true hit program.

Both Tom Mix and Clayton Moore exemplify the western stars who appeared over the years at country events at state and county levels including many 4-H fairs and horse shows.

Randolph Scott, Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Burt Lancaster, Henry Fonda, Joel McCrea, Lee Marvin, James Arness, Walter Brennan and dozens more all made western films during this 1940s-1950s era but are also known in a much broader context than the “cowboy movie stars” listed above.


 

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4-H’er Created NASA’s ‘Chix in Space’ Project by Larry Krug


The following story is from the National Compendium of 4-H Promotion and Visibility on the National 4-H History website at

http://4-HHistoryPreservation.com/History/4-H_Promotion/


Chix_in_Space_Vellinger_Mission_Patch[1]

The Challenger disaster of January, 1986 was a tremendous loss for NASA and for the United States in many ways. The science project of 4-H alumnus (and Purdue University senior) John C. Vellinger was part of the payload aboard the ill-fated space craft. The science project, “Chix in Space,” was lost.

Vellinger had been working on the chick embryo project since he was a ninth-grade 4-H member. The experiment consisted of a special incubator designed to cradle the fertile eggs during their journey. Vellinger’s experience in wiring and building circuits as a 4-H electric energy project member was valuable in his work designing and building the incubator.

The idea for the space chicks project began to take shape when Vellinger was a student at Tecumseh Junior High School in Lafayette, Indiana. He entered a national contest sponsored by NASA and the National Science Teachers Association while still in high school as an eighth grader. Not winning that first contest, Vellinger redesigned the project several times before succeeding in getting it selected at the national level on the third try in 1983.

After his first year at Purdue in 1985, NASA arranged for mentorship by Mark Deuser, an engineer who was working for Kentucky Fried Chicken, the corporation that sponsored the $50,000 incubation project. On the challenger flight, the experiment was to be monitored in-flight by S. Christa McAuliffe, who would have been the first schoolteacher in space. The project consisted of carrying chick embryos at two different stages of development into the weightlessness of space and comparing them against a control group.

After the shuttle accident, Vellinger and Deuser carried on with NASA on development of the hardware and integration for Student Experiment (SE) 83-9 Chicken Embryo Development in space a.k.a. “Chix in Space.” The experiment finally reached its goal when it went into space on a Discovery Mission STS-29 in 1989.

Of those incubated for the full term, in the young embryo group, not a single egg hatched, while all of the eight more mature eggs, subjected to the nine-day pre-incubation on Earth, hatched and proved to be viable. Dissection revealed that in the younger embryos, development ceased at varied stages during exposure to microgravity conditions aboard the space craft.

After this pilot experiment, NASA scientists launched chicken embryos again in late 1992 aboard Endeavor STS-47 for collaborative study with Japan, and the research of chicken embryos in space is ongoing worldwide. For NASA, the “Chix in Space” hardware served as the prototype for additional space embryotic studies.

John Vellinger and Mark Deuser later went on to co-found IKOTECH, a company with design teams which develop and provide equipment for life science experiments on space shuttle missions and other commercial and government applications.


 

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