A crowd of more than 200 gathered Nov. 13 in Tyler to celebrate the anniversary
of the hiring of the first Extension agent in the nation 100 years ago.
Pictured are Ed Smith, director of Extension (foreground); Linda
Willis, dean, Prairie View A&M University, (background, left);
Becky Dempsey, Smith County judge, Tyler; Colien Hefferan, administrator,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington D.C.; Gale Buchanan, U.S. Department
of Agriculture undersecretary for Research, Education and Economics, Washington
D.C.; and Lowell Randel, executive assistant to Buchanan. (Texas Cooperative
Extension photo by Robert Burns)
(Tyler)—"For the little money the county gives to (Texas Cooperative) Extension, the return is probably 50-fold," said Becky Dempsey, Smith County judge.
Dempsey spoke on Nov. 13 at the Women's Building in Tyler, where more than 200 Texas Cooperative Extension administrators, agricultural producers, 4-H leaders, county-based Extension agents, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials and elected officials met to celebrate the anniversary of the hiring of the first county Extension agent.
Holding the celebration in Tyler was appropriate, said Derrick Bruton, Extension agent for 4-H and youth development in Smith County, because it was the Tyler business community that on Nov. 12, 1906, voted to support W.C. Stallings, the first Extension agent to serve a single county in the U.S.
"From agrarian beginnings, the roots of our organization have spread from the countryside . . . into our urban areas, quenching the thirst of all people seeking practical solutions to the challenges of their daily lives," said Brian Triplett, Extension agent for agriculture and natural resources, who served as emcee for the event.
"One of the things about Smith County that makes this exciting is that (W.C. Stallings) was really the product of citizen efforts to establish an education program here, and that's a very important, fundamental element of Extension programs across the nation," said Colien Hefferan, administrator with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"Today is a very special day for our country," said Gale Buchanan, U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary for Research, Education and Economics. "Celebrating the centennial of the first county agent in this country marks a historical occasion and one that has important meaning for everyone who has anything to do with agriculture, families and anything Extension touches."
Extension Director Ed Smith, who began his Extension career as an assistant agent in Gaines County in 1975, gave a brief history of Extension and the science-based continuing education delivered by the agency.
Smith reminded the audience that Stallings' appointment was preceded by the first agricultural demonstration farm, established by Seaman Knapp, in 1903 in nearby Kaufman County. It was Knapp who developed the cooperative Extension demonstration model and paved the way for Stallings' appointment, said Smith, who was named director of Extension in 2005.
"'Extension agents must be people their neighbors will listen to and believe in,'" Smith said, quoting Knapp.
Smith noted that Booker T. Washington, who founded Tuskegee University in Alabama in 1881, "instituted methods of outreach education to rural poor and pointed the way to progress through education and industry."
That led to the appointment of Thomas M. Campbell on the same day as Stallings to serve the Macon County African American community, Smith said.
Both Stallings and Campbell were supported by federal contributions, with Stallings having the distinction of local funding support, as county agents do today, Smith said. It wasn't until the U.S. Congress passed the Smith-Lever Act in 1914 that land-grant universities were authorized to build state-supported cooperative Extension services.
The Texas Legislature adopted the Smith-Lever Act in 1915, and established an Extension division at Texas A&M University. At the same time, the legislature established an Extension program for African-Americans at Prairie View A&M University, the other land-grant university in Texas.
In 1917, it was resolved that Extension agents would be supported through a partnership between the Texas Legislature and county commissioners. This close partnership continues today, Smith said.
"(Stallings’ appointment) was to basically bring sound science to the agriculture community of the time," Smith said. "Why that is significant is that it set the model for the Extension program that operates throughout the United States. I would argue that it's just as relevant today as it was in 1906."
Mark Chamblee, owner of Chamblee's Rose Nursery in Tyler and a member of the Smith County Extension Leadership Advisory Board, wrapped up the presentation.
Citing Judge Dempsey's statement about the payback realized from a small investment in Extension, Chamblee said the payback was more like a "100-fold" than "50-fold" in his case.
"If it wasn't for Extension, I wouldn't be in business today," said
Chamblee, who earned a business degree in accounting from the University of
Texas. 