president; Charles Feeney, Jr., secretary-treasurer; Marion Leenhouts, Leland Morgan, Opie Hocker, Charles Taylor, and Bernard Worth of Lexington, Richard Armstrong and Clyde Brockett of Bloomington, and Orie Stalter of Hudson.
The Farmer's Club, organized March 31, 1890, is composed of couples actively engaged in farming. In recent years, the president has been elected for a two-year term and his wife automatically becomes secretary-treasurer. Mr. and Mrs. Lyle E. Armstrong are the club's officers in 1974. A potluck supper is held the third Thursday of each month at the home of one of the members, and, while there is plenty of "shop-talk," there is very rarely a planned program.
The name of the Illinois Home Bureau Federation was changed to Illinois Homemakers Extension Federation in January, 1962. Woodford County was organized in 1930 and has increased its membership yearly. Women in the El Paso area are organized in five units: El Paso, Panola, Kappa, Elwood, and Shiloh, with a total membership of 112. Over the years, lessons have varied from child care and nutrition, to home nursing, gardening, art appreciation, and handicraft. Any subject which affects the home or its members is a legitimate subject for discussion, and through the extension program of the University of Illinois, homemakers are put in touch with the latest information available on any subject with which they are concerned. Mrs. Alfred Stimpert of the Panola Unit has served two three-year terms on the state board of the organization.
The 4-H Clubs known as El Paso Champions, Cut 'n Cook, Greene Panthers, and Secor Happy Hustlers, consider some of the same problems their mothers do. They are also involved with the farmer's problems, so the care and feeding of animals, crop rotation, weed control, and related topics may be discussed at the same meeting where someone demonstrates what is included in a balanced meal for the family.
The Junior Chamber of Commerce was organized March 2, 1961. Though it disbanded in 1968, they were the moving force behind several projects. They provided the labor to build the shelter in Corn Belt Park, headed the drive for the creating of the El Paso Fire Protection District, joined their wives in urging the addition of Kindergarten classes to the school system, provided rest stop refreshments for travelers on holiday weekends, aided the Corn Festival program, and provided the labor for replacing sidewalks in Jefferson Park, among other things.
In 1973, there were 36 Boy Scouts in Troop 74 in El Paso, with Melvin Lay as Scoutmaster. A used bus was purchased in 1972 and it provides transportation for various activities. Seventeen members, with Mr. Lay as driver, attended the Scout Jamboree in Idaho in 1973, stopping enroute to visit historical and geographic landmarks. In 1974, they are engaged in an educational program on drug prevention, and
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