In 1869, the Indiana legislature accepted the offer of John Purdue of 100 acres of land and $150,000 if the state would establish the Indiana land grant university in Tippecanoe County and name it Purdue University. Such universities following the dictates of the federal Morrill Act of 1862 were to give special attention to the education of the agricultural and industrial classes.

This special orientation to agriculture was not difficult for Indiana in the last half of the 1800's. The number of Indiana farms had been increasing rapidly as the portion of the state in forests and unimproved land declined. By 1880 there were 194,013 farms and these farms included about 90% of the state's acres. The day of unclaimed land for farm settlement was drawing to a close.

Times for farming had been tough, however, and since the Civil War farm prices had declined sharply. The average farm in the 1880's had 105 acres: 59 acres in crops, 13 acres in orchards and pasture and the remainder in virgin woodlands. Of the cultivated land, 32% was in "Indian corn;" 23% in wheat; 16% in hay and oats and the remainder in barley, rye, potatoes and truck crops. The average farm was highly diversified with livestock.

In spite of this strong agricultural orientation of the Hoosier scene, the early years of agriculture at Purdue were turbulent and floundering. The Purdue catalog of 1874-75 announced a full schedule of classes for the Bachelor's degree in Agriculture. There were no takers! In 1878 it was reported that a few acres would be devoted to agricultural experiments. In 1879, Charles Ingersoll arrived to become the first professor of agriculture. In 1882 Ingersoll left and another new professor of agriculture, Professor W. C. Latta, started to teach.

Hoosier farmers in general did not believe that higher education had much to offer their sons in preparation for a future career in farming and agriculture. They did not flock to the new university! In 1882 the first Bachelor's degree following an agricultural curriculum was granted. (There is disagreement in early records as to whether there were 1 or 3 such graduates.) By 1895, records indicate that a staggering total of 25 (or 28) individuals received Bachelor's degrees in Agriculture. In 1887, the winter short course program for rural young people desiring something less than a full college degree was initiated. This was to develop into a very popular educational activity and to become a very important source of Ag Alumni and Purdue support. In 1909, over 1,000 were enrolled in short courses of various lengths and subjects.

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Ag Alumni - The Early Years

Though records are scanty, tradition has it that the first meeting of Agricultural Alumni occurred in 1895. Tradition further has it that the nine graduates of the class of 1901 organized and started an annual get-together of Purdue college and short-course graduates. Records also indicate that in the early 1920's, the meeting of Ag Alumni during the annual state fair had become an ongoing custom.

Of course, most agricultural graduates in these early years returned to operate farms in their home communities. These individuals became a natural ally of the county agents and the early extension activities of the university. The first experimental work dealt with how to improve agronomic and livestock production practices. These findings were carried out to farmers throughout the state through the operation of "institutes" of two or three day's length. Farmers, who were Purdue Ag Alumni, played an important note in getting attendance at these early meetings. Additionally the early 1900's saw the birth of multiple organizations dealing with all facets of the farming operation. Here again, Ag Alumni provided key leadership roles.

During these years, many different clubs were organized to encourage and reward outstanding production practices. By the early thirties, these awards and clubs included the 100 Bushel Corn Club, Ten Letter Club, Gold Metal Clubs for sheep, calf, and colt, special production clubs for eggs, potatoes, onions and sweet potatoes and a meritorious Dairy Herd and Dairy Sire Award. Again Ag degree and short course graduates were prime organizers of these activities.

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Formal Organization and Early Programs

In the mid-twenties, W. O. "Brick" Mills was hired as a field man for the Purdue College of Agriculture. One of his first assignments from Dean Skinner was to visit all Indiana counties, identify their Ag Alumni and initiate their organization into county Ag Alumni Clubs. On January 13, 1927 the Annual Meeting of the Purdue Agricultural Alumni Association was held during the January Ag Conference week. A capacity crowd of 200 attended the banquet in the Memorial Union. F. C. Gaylord was elected President, H. J. Reed, Vice President, and W. O. Mills, Secretary

The Board Meeting minutes of the next few years indicated that the formal association got off to a fast start. The "Purdue Threshing Ring" program was initiated as a night program in December over Chicago radio station WLS, which was owned by Prairie Farmer. The name referred to the sound of a threshing machine that began the program. It carried agricultural information from Purdue people. Local county associations were encouraged to hold their meetings featuring the programs. This radio activity continued throughout the 1930's. However, in the mid thirties, the special relationship with WLS was discontinued and the program was picked up by WOWO, Fort Wayne, WFBM, Indianapolis, and WHAS, Louisville.

The Distinguished Purdue Ag award program was established. A first, it was limited to superior production records of alumni farmers. The requirement was having won two or more gold medals in extension activities during the year (particularly in the special clubs mentioned earlier). Harry Caldwell of Connersville and Claude Wickard of Camden received the first certificates in 1928. In 1936, rules were amended to permit award eligibility to alumni other than farmers. From this time on the Certificate of Distinction has been received by outstanding Purdue Alumni for excellence in a wide diversity of activities.

The senior recognition dinner was initiated in 1928. This activity has continued throughout the years as a form of induction ceremony of the new Ag Alumni. Four district-wide Ag Alumni summer picnics were held which were organized and supervised by county agents of the area. Additionally, county clubs were urged to sponsor some sort of Farm Record Project.During 1931 steps were taken to initiate a museum type collection of old farm tools and implements. The collection was to be housed in the Agricultural Engineering Building.

Special research cooperation with the Botany Department was initiated. Experimental plots of the new hybrid corn were grown by farmers throughout the state. Cooperative work with other seeds and poultry and livestock breeding was also started. In 1932, thirty Ag Alumni farmers had cooperative seed plots with the university.

In 1928 the annual Ag Alumni Meeting, with 300 attending, was held during conference week. It was set up as a big farm dinner in the laboratory of the Agricultural Engineering Building. President Elliott, in his remarks, noted that it was the noisiest and most enthusiastic meeting he had ever attended. In 1931 the January meeting attendance increased to 500 and a special quartet from Indianapolis entertained. At one board meeting in a later year it was suggested that the annual meeting be broadcast over radio. However, it was concluded that such activity would "cramp the style of the meeting and be very unsatisfactory."

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The Great Depression

The depression began to take its toll. The January 1932 annual meeting attendance fell to 338. Action was taken to lower the price of the 1933 dinner to two tickets for one dollar. It was also decided to eliminate the barbecue that had been held at the state fair meeting and simply serve lemonade and wafers. Discussion was held on the organizing of pool transportation for the drive to Chicago as a cost-seducing measure for the radio show participants.

The depression was also affecting attendance at the University. This initiated student recruitment and support activities, which were to become long-time activities of the Ag Alumni Association. A county essay contest for short-course scholarships was initiated and the association undertook a special student-oriented advertising campaign to stimulate short-course attendance. The Ag Alumni Student Loan Fund was initiated with a collection of $30; counties were notified that donations of $1 or more were most acceptable. When funds were available, loans were to be made to worthy juniors and seniors of "no more than $100 with proper security." A special relationship was initiated during these difficult years with the student publication, the Agriculturalist. The Agriculturalist was to carry a special page of Alumni news and in return students were permitted to canvass the annual meeting for subscriptions. Two other activities were noted during these years that indicated the far ranging interest and involvement of the Association. There had been some complaints about weaknesses in the school teaching staff. A committee met with concerned students and concluded that "some teachers need to be informed that they do not have a life tenure at the University." The committee report was sent to the President.

Also, there were complaints that there was need for improvement in campus agricultural facilities on the campus. The Association was informed that "Indiana taxpayers money was being used more and more toward creating a national institution rather than a service institution to the taxpayers of Indiana."

In 1938, two significant formal actions were taken. The incorporation of the Purdue Agricultural Alumni Association as a nonprofit corporation was completed. The objectives of this organization are to promote and assist in the development of Agriculture in Indiana, to foster cooperation among graduates, ex-students and short-course students of the College of Agriculture for their mutual benefit and to cooperate with the Purdue College of Agriculture, Agricultural Experiment Station and Extension Department in the dissemination of Agricultural information.

Also, the Improved Seed Committee which had been supervisor of the continuing cooperative work with Botany Department in hybrid corn development announced the incorporation of a non-profit subsidiary organization under the name of "The Agricultural Alumni Seed Improvement Association, Inc." The purpose of this organization was to assist "in the development of Agriculture in Indiana through the selection, breeding, production and distribution of improved strains and varieties of agricultural crops." In accomplishing this they were to be of special assistance to the Agricultural Experiment Station in disseminating and multiplying research discoveries to the seedsmen and farmers of Indiana.

Ag Alumni was to loan such funds, as they had to help the new subsidiary get started. Though the next few years presented many beginning problems, Ag Alumni Seed played an important future role in Indiana seed industry and in the financing of the Ag Alumni parent organization.

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Maturity and Change

The years of World War II were challenging ones for Purdue and its agricultural operations. Agricultural enrollment fell from about 900 in 1939 to about 100 during the last year of the war. Only with dedicated effort was the winter short course maintained.

Rural men were either in the armed services or at home struggling to produce more and more as wartime shortages grew more acute. In 1939, Indiana had 199,000 farms - slightly more than in 1895! The transition from horse to tractor power was well under way. In many ways, though the acreage in crops had increased, the average farm was about the same size and organization as in the late 1800's.

The wartime returned some prosperity to Hoosier farms. During the post-war years, all the outpouring of new science and technology was eagerly adopted. Great leaps in livestock productivity and crop yields occurred. By the early 1990's the number of Indiana farms had declined to about 65,000 and the average size had increased to 246 acres. More importantly the dominance of the general diversified farm had given way to highly specialized operations. Where in former times all farms were about alike, now there were relatively few, very large specialized farms and relatively many smaller ones on which the farmer also had substantial employment in another job.

Supporting this production revolution was a growing number of other agricultural and food related businesses. Fertilizer, feed, chemicals, machinery, and various food processing businesses expanded greatly. Also in the complex system there also arose increasing concern with resource conservation and preservation of the environment. Hoosier agriculture was big complex business, but fewer and fewer participants were practicing farmers.

The College of Agriculture had to change and adapt to all these changes. Enrollment bounced back rapidly after the war with the return of the veterans. In 1951, there were 1135 students enrolled with the largest fields of student interest being Vo-Ag teaching and General Agriculture. During the coming decade, new areas of study were continuously added to the standard production curricula. Some of these were as follows:

Farm and Business Management, Food Engineering, Turf Management, Agricultural Meteorology, Urban and Industrial Pest Control, Wildlife Management, Landscape Architecture, Natural Resources and Environmental Science, Food Science and International Agriculture. Students for these expanded offerings will be recruited from urban as well as rural schools. Placement of these alumni graduates will be in a wide spectrum of businesses and locations.

The Ag Alumni Association after the war took steps to better position itself for the changing future. In 1949, the Association hired Gordon Graham, a 1948 Ag graduate, as its first full-time Executive Secretary. Graham resigned in 1952 and Maurice Williamson, a 1950 Ag graduate was hired to replace him. Mauri, as he is widely known was to guide the evolution of the Association until 1990.

How to staff and equip the Ag Alumni office was a first concern. In cooperation with Dean Reed, office space and equipment was assembled. After several locations, the Ag Alumni office was located in the basement of the present Ag Administration Building.

The first efforts of both Graham and Williamson were to revitalize the county organizations. A great deal of time was spent in visiting the counties, stimulating membership and helping furnish speakers and programs for meetings. In 1955, it was noted that 45 counties had four or more meetings and an additional 20 counties had 1 to 3 meetings yearly. Throughout the years, counties would come and go on the active list in response to changing county leadership. In the early 1950's the bringing of delegate couples from the counties to the campus in the fall for party and some type of campus program was initiated. Faculty couples hosted the alumni over-night.

Annual district meetings, were another effort to strengthen county participation. These varied widely ranging from hog roasts and picnics to banquets. The program was generally a speaker from the campus. In 1993 there were six such district meetings held. These efforts sent an annual vaccination of Purdue spirit back to the counties!

In the 1930's and 1940's the emphasis was on supporting and helping the extension service get information on improved production practices out to farmers. Now in the post World War II years there was a shift toward helping inform and recruit potential students for the changing opportunities in the College of Agriculture. In the mid 1950's county efforts were initiated to bring high school seniors to the campus for a day during Christmas vacation. This activity gradually evolved into Operation Brainpower. In February 1962, 2500 high school students arrived on campus from 53 counties! This project was to phase in the 1980's into cooperation with the College of Agriculture program of student recruitment named Project Future. Also, in the 1960's program, Agriventure was introduced. For several years this program brought high school counselors to the campus to acquaint them with the changing and expanding career opportunities in Agriculture. In the mid 1980's a contest for school children called the Latta games was initiated. This was to stimulate interest in knowledge about agriculture. There were county contests with the winners coming together for a statewide competition. Though enrollment fluctuated from its peak years of the 1970's, it remained strong and was 2,250 in the fall of 1994. Compared to any other states, this was a great record and the Ag Alumni Association can take much credit for it's many and varied efforts to alert young people to the opportunities in Agriculture.

Throughout these years, many of the earlier activities of the Association continued. Soon after the war the senior recognition event was reactivated as a chili supper. A special annual Pancake Breakfast for Alumni returning in the Spring Gala week was initiated in 1961. The annual awarding of the Certificates of Distinction continued as a major activity. Several special events and developments also occurred during these years. Ag Alumni throughout the state were active in supporting the establishment of the Purdue School of Veterinary Medicine. In 1961 special action was taken to add graduates of this new school to the ranks of Ag Alumni. Growth in student enrollment in the related field of study offered by the Department of Forestry was particularly rapid. In many states, Forestry is a separate school. In recognition of the unique Purdue organization, an Alumni Club of these graduates was recognized as a special part of the Association in 1976. In 1967, the Ag Alumni Foundation was established. This was to become a recipient for monetary gifts. These funds have financed special scholarships, special needs of the School and support for Association projects. In 1970, a special arrangement was initiated to sponsor the sale of Purdue Swiss-type cheese with profits going to the trust fund.

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The Centennial

In 1969, the University celebrated its centennial. Ag Alumni had a very special effort to support this celebration. Special birthday banquets were held throughout the state with over 10,000 in attendance. The state Association helped in organizing and providing speakers and programs for these celebrations. These years of the late 1960's and early 1970's also contained another situation that was not so pleasant - the unrest and riots on College campuses. This unrest on the Purdue campus was less severe than elsewhere. Even so the situation caused considerable tension at Alumni meetings throughout the State.

Purdue agriculture, its students and Alumni were a solid core or sanity throughout this period. Even so, Dean Kohls who attended many meetings throughout the state found it hard to explain campus happenings to outraged alumni. At one such meeting, those in attendance were demanding to know why administrators didn't "do something." This was the hometown of one of the widely publicized campus agitators. The Dean recalls he mentioned that fact and questioned that if they had this young man in their schools throughout 12 years and apparently could do nothing, how could campus authorities be expected to do much in their short span of time! The Dean remembered the meeting settled down considerably after this point was made!

The Associations efforts with its agricultural museum collection continued to develop and prosper. The collection outgrew its initial space in the Ag Engineering building. In 1961, the Pioneer Farm and Home Show Exhibit was initiated at the State Fair. It was first housed in the balcony of the grandstand and in 1963 there were 37,000 visitors to the exhibit. In 1966, it was moved to the Purdue Building, in 1967 to the Horticulture Building; and in 1968 a special new building was erected to house this popular exhibit. The popularity and complexity of this activity and exhibit continued to grow. In the late 1980's, its costs were one of the largest items in the Association budget. In 1990, the Association entered into a supporting agreement with the State Fair Board. In this agreement the Association hired an individual to supervise the annual show and the Fair picked up the salary and other related costs. The Association's child had grown-up and had partially left home! No history would be complete without tracing the evolution of the one activity, which has become the major and focussing event of the Association - its annual meeting and fish fry extravaganza.

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The Fish Fry

The initiation of the annual meeting in conjunction with the winter extension conference and its graduation evolution into an annual banquet get-together has been noted previously. At the outbreak of World War II, attendance at these get-togethers was running between five and six hundred and advance sale of tickets in the counties was initiated.

Just what happened during the World War II years is not clear from the records. It is noted however, that an "annual meeting and fish fry" was held during 1949 winter conference with 749 tickets being sold. (Records show that for the next several board meetings there were discussions as to whether fish should continue to be the menu. A pork barbecue was proposed, but fish won out!)

As the years progressed, special outside speakers were headlined. Governors and other dignitaries began to attend. In 1954, about 1,000 attended and the Ag Engineering facilities were becoming inadequate.

In 1958, the event was moved to the Armory with E. L. Butz, the new Dean, the featured speaker. The next several years saw a parade of scientists, politicians, and comic speakers, culminating in 1970 with Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon as featured attraction.
Beginning in the 1970's the annual event developed around different themes. Costuming and sets became more elaborate. More and more signs and gag events made fun and roasted all the dignitaries. The opening parade featured old cars, circus performers, and patriotic themes. The Purdue Glee Club and Bands became featured parts of the programs and major speeches were downplayed. Having fun at a memorable event became the goal.

As the event got bigger and more complex, more and more planning and people became involved. Committees began functioning in the early fall. Department heads and faculty became waiters. Ag student fraternities and honoraries were recruited to help. Several man hours were necessary to fill the "goodie bags" for each person attending as more and more companies wanted to supply advertising souvenirs for the event.

This event was initiated as a strictly stag affair. (After all, Ag Alumni in the early years were all male!) In the mid-1970's the inevitable occurred - a couple of women showed up! Nothing cataclysmic happened, however, and Ag Alumni continued its evolution into the new age. Attendance was 2,500 in 1984. The University now charged for labor, etc. and set-up costs were $5,600 and the food bill $6,240; tickets were $8. Every year, collective breaths were held for fear the event might be snowed out; but luck held.

This event started as a meeting held in conjunction with the winter extension conference so that alumni would come. It gradually evolved until the Ag Alumni Fish Fry far outshone the conference as a drawing card event. In 1960, the morning program, Fish Fry Science Forecast was designed as a gathering point for those attending the noon event. Here the scientists of the Ag School showcased their most recent findings. The guiding directions for their presentations were to be brief, understandable, and humorous.

Representatives from alumni associations throughout the country have come to witness and marvel at this annual meeting event. Most of you reading this think of Ag Alumni in terms of your memories of past fish fries. To help you recall, a chronology of Fish Fry themes is attached.

In 1990, the Association had another major bridge to cross. Mauri Williamson, who had been the major architect of the Association for nearly forty years, was retiring. The search committee wisely determined that Mauri, as all Alumni knew him, could not be replaced and reached out for a new talent to open the second century. They appointed Donya Lester as the new Executive Secretary. The county associations were no doubt prepared for change - but a non-Purdue graduate from Georgia and a woman! It is easy to imagine that many Purdue Ag graduates must have been in a state of shock! However, by quickly visiting the counties and after the first Fish Fry demonstrated her capacity for holding her own, Lester became widely accepted as the new leader.

The upcoming years no doubt will bring a continuing challenge of change. But, compared to many states, Indiana's and Purdue's agricultural operations have shown resiliency and vitality. The Ag Alumni Association has been a part of the vigor. What will the coming century of Ag Alumni bring?

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About the Author - Dr. Richard Kohls

Dr. Kohls, a native of Kentland, Indiana, received his B.S. degree from the Purdue College of Agriculture in 1942. After service in WWII as a captain of military intelligence in the Far East, Kohls received an M.A. degree from the University of Missouri where he also was an instructor in agricultural economics.

He joined the faculty at Purdue in 1948 as an instructor in agricultural economics and received his Ph.D. from Purdue in that discipline in 1950. As a professor of agricultural economics, Kohls taught courses and did research in agricultural marketing and prices. In 1967 he was named one of Purdue's outstanding undergraduate teachers. Kohls served as assistant head of Purdue's Department of Agricultural Economics from 1965-66.

He was assistant to Purdue's vice president for academic affairs from July, 1966 until August 1968, when he became Purdue's Dean of Agriculture. He served as dean for 12 years until August 1980. He returned to his faculty position in the Department of Agricultural Economics, and retired from that position in 1986. Upon retirement, Kohls was named Dean Emeritus of Agriculture and Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Economics.

Following retirement, Kohls continued to author a regular column "It's Your Business." Kohls also maintained close ties to the Agricultural Alumni Association, providing the Executive Secretary with an historical perspective of the Association's business. He also continued to serve on the Fish Fry gags committee that developed the satirical parodies for which that meeting was known, retiring from that role when the meeting format was changed in 2002.

Dean Emeritus Kohls passed away on May 28, 2006.

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