[Illustration]

[Illustration: A 4-H Club display at the county "Achievement Day,"
showing the stress on nutrition of the Oakton and Pope's Head Clubs.
Photos in H. B. Derr Report, 1930, Virginiana Collection, Fairfax County
Public Library.]

[Illustration: A community fair, c. 1922, similar to those held in the
Floris area. Photo in H. B. Derr Report, 1922, Virginiana Collection,
Fairfax County Public Library.]

[Illustration: A suggested model farm for Fairfax County developed in
1924 by County Agent H. B. Derr. The model includes crop rotation,
annual budget and a schedule of livestock feeding and purchase. Photo in
H. B. Derr Report, 1924, Virginiana Collection, Fairfax County Public
Library.]

Women and children were also encouraged to professionalize. Working
jointly with the agricultural agent was a "home demonstration agent" who
gave advice, lectures and demonstrations geared toward increased economy
and convenience for the homemaker. Home Demonstration Clubs were
organized in each community to acquaint farm women with the newest
research on food preservation, household efficiency and organizational
skills. Courses in fancy needlework and cake-baking were sometimes
featured but the home demonstration agents' work more frequently took a
pragmatic bent. The seriousness with which the homemaker was regarded,
and the new image of professionalism which she hoped to evoke is
evidenced in the schedule of classes led by agent Lucy Blake in early
1938:

January Home Lighting and Wiring
February The Homemaker as Planner--Her Job and the Planning Center
March Schedules and Deadlines
April Citizenship
May The Homemaker as Handyman
June The Homemaker as Buyer[168]

In addition, the clubs raised money for neighborhood beautification and
worked on community projects. The Floris Club annually canned fruits,
vegetables and meats for a hot school lunch program and also donated
their time to serve it. As in the more male-oriented Farmer's Clubs, the
organizations fostered pride and identity among the farm women, as well
as concretely improving conditions on the farm.[169]

The home demonstration agent also ran the county's 4-H clubs, branches
of a nationwide organization founded in 1903. Four-H members dedicated
their "heads, hearts, hands and health" to improving rural conditions;
the club's goal was to give practical training to children whose life
was likely to be spent on the far