The Riverside County Farm Bureau: The Murrieta Farm Center (1917)
The first meeting of the Riverside County Farm Bureau was on May 5, 1917. Its purpose was to promote and represent agriculture in Riverside County. Of the thirteen Farm Centers organized within the county, the second largest was in Murrieta. The Bureau provided a monthly meeting venue where armers could learn the latest expert agricultural innovations and theories, and voice their needs. Farm Bureaus became instruments to meet American government requests for agricultural products during World War I through a cooperative effort. Murrieta farmers could purchase products in bulk and collaborate to find solutions to improve crop and live-stock production.
A county farm bureau employed a university farm advisor who would communicate up-to-date agricultural information and find solutions for local farming needs. The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 provided federal and state funding for the farm advisor’s salary. Each county was asked to provide an annual budget of $2,000 for the farm advisor’s traveling and operating expenses.
To form a county farm bureau, one-fifth of the farmers had to become members. There were 2,688 registered farmers in Riverside County in 1917, which meant 550 paid members were needed. An annual membership cost $1.00, which is roughly equal to about $21 dollars in 2017. There were many benefits for members. For example, the farm adviser taught how to operate farms more efficiently,
how to increase crop production, and how to prevent crop and livestock diseases.
On March 24, 1917, farmers from Temecula, Murrieta, Wildomar, and Auld Valley gathered at the Murrieta Town Hall to discuss the formation of the Riverside County Farm Bureau. On March 31st, the Murrieta Farm Center was organized and at least sixty-two farmers joined. Joseph V. Thompson was elected director and George L. Black was named secretary/treasurer.
The first board of directors meeting of the Riverside County Farm Bureau took place on April 18, 1917 in Riverside. The Bureau was organized and a constitution and bylaws were adopted. Farm Centers were
established in Arlington, Highgrove, Corona, Nuevo, Perris, Jurupa, Elsinore, Murrieta, Fruitvale, Little Lake, Banning, Palo Verde Valley, and Blythe. The organization was presented to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors that afternoon, and the Board voted an annual appropriation of $2,000 for three
years for the farm advisor.
Professor William B. Parker, of the University of California, Berkeley, was named the farm advisor for Riverside County. Parker was the Assistant State Leader of Farm Advisors and had worked tirelessly
with elected Riverside County Farm Bureau President, John L. Bishop in organizing the thirteen
farm centers. On May 1st, Parker began working in Riverside and the first bureau meeting took
place four days later.
The Bureau was the first one organized in California after President Woodrow Wilson declared war on Germany in April. The government believed that the war could last between one to three years and so began many war preparations. The first mandate the President requested was an increase in wheat production for the following year.
Monthly Farm Center meetings discussed how to meet the government’s demands. An increase in crops meant an increase in labor, but with the draft, farm labor shortages were predicted. Seed dealers saw an opportunity to raise prices, but the cooperative spirit of the Bureau allowed farmers to buy in
bulk at a lower price.
A home front war campaign began between the farmers, ground squirrels, and crop diseases. All the challenges the farmers faced, the Bureau provided the means to find solutions to support the war effort. As one reporter explained, “The hoe is mightier than the sword” (May 8, 1917 Riverside Independent
Enterprise).
The first Murrieta Farm Center monthly meeting was held on Tuesday night, May 15th. The next month, Murrieta farmers began to plan for a large harvest. “A farm bureau warehouse, in which may be stored
the products from the entire district, is being considered by the farmers of the Murrieta center, who have a big harvest of beans, potatoes and other crops coming on.” (June 23, 1917, Riverside
Daily Press)
The farm center was not a men’s club, but a farming community center. There were programs for men, women and children. The first work of the Farm Bureau for women was a demonstration on canning, drying and curing fruits and vegetables held in Murrieta on June 22nd. Tin cans were needed for the war effort. Women were asked to use glass jars for preserving food and to store food for winter use so that more food could be sent to Europe.
Professor Parker sent out 800 postcards in June to Riverside County farmers to see if there were any fears of labor shortage. He only received 45 responses, which indicated that farmers were confident that they had enough laborers for the year’s harvest. By July, the Hemet Co-operative Cannery put out a call for workers. The Women’s Labor Relief Corps was quickly formed and women were summoned to do their patriotic duty and fill the cannery labor shortage. Within a year, the Women’s Land Army would
march into the Elsinore Valley to meet the area’s labor needs. The Farm Bureau office in Riverside soon became an employment center for farmers and laborers.
In July at the Arlington Farm Center, a proposal was made to establish a cow testing department within the Farm Bureau. The organization was responsible for hiring a tester and purchasing the necessary supplies, paying expenses, etc. “The object of the test is to weed out the poor cows and determine
the value of the good ones. The Babcock tester is being used to determine the percent of butter fat (a cow produces).” (September 17, 1917, Riverside Daily Press). One dairyman who joined the department was Mahlon Vail, owner of the Vail Ranch in Temecula. He operated one of the county’s largest dairies with 120 cows.
A silo raising demonstration was held October 2nd in Arlington. The Farm Bureau strongly advocated the erecting of silos for storing livestock feed. “The products of a given area can be stored in less space
as silage than as dry forage.” (September 4, 1917, Riverside Independent Enterprise) The silo movement may have planted the “seed” for Murrieta farmers to build a grain elevator the following year.
California Governor William D. Stephens attended a luncheon at the Mission Inn with the Farm Bureau directors on October 9th. He was in Riverside for the opening ceremonies of the fifth annual Riverside
County Fair. He spoke of America’s commitment to defeat Germany and the importance of California’s agricultural resources for the war effort. During the meeting, Joseph V. Thompson gave a brief report of
the progress in the Murrieta Valley.
In October, the U.S. Department of Agriculture sent W. S. Wilkinson, a specialist on growing grain, to speak at the Farm Centers in order to assist county farmers in meeting the government’s request for an increase in wheat planting. He discussed a fungal infection called smut that was invisible to the naked eye. Smut was affecting the germination of wheat seeds, reducing crop production. He offered a few proven solutions to county farmers.
One solution was washing wheat with bluestone. The smut was removed from the seeds and government reports showed an increase in crop production after the treatment. Murrieta farmers banded together and bought a barrel of bluestone at a cheaper rate. They began immediately treating
their crops in hopes of high yields the following year.
There were ninety-two in attendance at the November meeting of the Murrieta Farm Center. There were discussions of the Farm Bureau creating a county cooperative market.
“A marketing committee, to get a census of crops which might be marketed through the farm bureau organization was appointed, comprising H. E. Davis, H. D. Small (Smohl), Roy Roripaugh, H. M. Wickard and Glen Torbet” (November 22, 1917, Riverside Daily Press)
The cooperative market concept was that farmers with similar products could work together and save money on shipping costs to the buyer’s market. A county cooperative market was almost established on December 8th, but concerns halted the process until expert legal council could be sought. In the
past, few Murrieta farmers had used a cooperative market strategy to gain better prices. The farmers now understood its benefits and would utilize it the next year with the formation of the grain elevator co-op.
As the year came to a close, American troops were entrenched in Europe and more troops were in route. The Farm Bureau had rallied the county farmers into a cooperative organization with 750 members.
To win the war, farmers pledged 4,480 acres for wheat planting. With new knowledge and expert
training the farming communities stood proud in their patriotic duty to meet the government’s
demands.
One hundred years later, the Riverside County Farm Bureau continues to serve the needs of
the county farmers. The Murrieta Town Hall that served as a farm center is no longer standing
and large scale dry farming in Murrieta Valley is a thing of the past. Today one monument remains as a testimony to the farmers’ collaborative efforts as members of the Farm Bureau; the Murrieta Valley Grain Elevator.
POST OFFICE POLITICS By David Johnson
In the 40's and well into the1950's, a messenger from the central post office in Riverside, California delivered all U.S. mail to the backdoor of the Murrieta Post Office. The post office was then located on the northwest corner of Washington and C Street in downtown Murrieta. (The original building, now housing a real estate office, sits at the same location today.)
Deliveries were daily between the hours of 9:30 and 10:30 am, except Saturday, Sunday and federal holidays. It was during this relatively narrow window of time that all political issues were discussed, disputed and polled.
Every morning, rain or shine, the likes of Urban Tarwater, Amos Sykes, Vic Garrison, Ray Thompson, Mike Mance, Hugo Guenther, Frank Burnham, Gordon Knott, Ira Rail, Oscar Madison, and others, gathered on the post office steps, anticipating what fortunes might befall them in the daily post. All
participants were male and of voting age. Although never stated, being male was a prerequisite for membership in this exclusive fraternity.
It was during these unannounced assemblies that local, state and federal policies were dissected, examined, reassembled and decided on - at least to the satisfaction of those local voting men. I am not sure how much impact the ritual had on the overall outcome, but that didn’t seem to concern the participants.
A second and very important prerequisite to membership was the length of time in the community. If not a first or second generation member of the settlement, you were considered a newcomer. Every now and then a “newcomer” would offer his thoughts about a current event, only to be ignored. I
think it was at meetings like this where the phrase “Good Old Boys” was coined.
By today’s standard, impromptu meetings such as these would be viewed as unconstitutional, illegal, or at the very least, unethical. However, bear in mind, that this was a time before cell phones, computers, and television. Trust was earned, not sold, and the individual had a very real interest in the evolving
community affairs and the outcome of political issues. The community benefitted in many ways from these gatherings. A fire department was created, a water district materialized, dirt streets were paved, electrical service expanded and community service organizations were formed.
All in all, Murrieta is a better place, in a large part due to the efforts of the Post Office Politicians. It all may have happened sooner if newcomers and women had been more involved; but, I guess that is
something we will never know.
The town of Murrieta that evolved into a thriving city with a population of more than 105,000 that exists today is here because of those efforts. We can only speculate as to what might have been.
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