County Extension celebrates 100th anniversary

The Montgomery County Extension celebrated their 100th anniversary with a Chamber Coffee Wednesday at the Gold Fair Building.

The event featured guest speaker John Lawrence, Vice President for Extension Agriculture at Iowa State University. There were also scrapbooks and annual reports from throughout the extension’s history on display.
Lawrence explained the extension’s history, which began with President Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the Morrill Act in 1862, which formed land grant universities.  This new form of education shifted focus to the mechanical and agricultural arts.

Locally, two farmers from the early 1900s are responsible for bringing the extension to Montgomery County. They had attended a short course at Iowa State College in Ames and enjoyed it so much they worked to bring that same type of education to the county. By 1905, their efforts paid off, and the first course was held in Red Oak with 250 farmers in attendance. By 1912, the extension found a permanent home in Montgomery County.  

“It was folks like yourself who first organized to bring education from campus to the count on an ongoing basis,” Lawrence said. “We want the Iowa State University Extension to best serve the state of Iowa, to have practical services available and tailored to the citizen’s needs.”

“I’m proud of the 100 years of success,” he added. “We will continue to work together as people advancing people and putting practice to work.”

Following Lawrence’s speech, he presented Montgomery County Extension Council Chair Joe Jardon with a plaque recognizing their anniversary and achievements throughout the years.