Pennsylvania and Penn State's Agricultural Heritage:
A Chronology
 1900-1949 
Hildebrandt Library Home
1900-1909
1900
 The School of Agriculture begins a "building program and expansion of facilities under the aegis of the Allied Agricultural Societies" (The Penn State Collegian, September 2, 1937, p. 3).
"Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station chemist William Frear finds water in the lard and other illegal additives in some commercial foods which he tests for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture" ("Milestones, 1855-1987," Penn State Agriculture, Spring 1987, p. 6).
1901
 May 1-November 2: The Pan-American Exposition is held in Buffalo, New York. The Exposition attracts over 8,000,000 visitors.
 The Pennsylvania Department of Forestry is established. Its name is later changed to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry.
1902
"Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station director Henry P. Armsby conducts the first experiment with his newly completed respiration calorimeter, a device used to measure the energy value of feeds and the ways animals use that energy. These nutrition experiments will attract worldwide scientific attention" ("Milestones, 1855-1987," Penn State Agriculture, Spring 1987, p. 6).
January 9: President Goodell of the Massachusetts Agricultural College delivers a lecture "on the agricultural products of the island of Jersey. He has been a recent visitor to the Channel Islands and is well fitted to tell of the peculiar customs, features, and products of these small countries. The address, while primarily for the agricultural students, was of unusual interest
1903
1904
"Results from the first calorimeter experiments" are published "in The Available Energy of Timothy Hay, a USDA bulletin" ("Milestones, 1855-1987," Penn State Agriculture, Spring 1987, p. 6).
Professor William Buckhout, a 1868 graduate of the College, becomes acting dean of the School of Agriculture. He remains in the position until 1907. Buckhout also is the recipient of the College's first honorary doctorate.
1905
"The first wooden forest fire observation tower built by the Department of Forestry" is erected in Franklin County (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection).
"The Purity of Waters Act is passed to protect public health. It is the first to begin to set standards for domestic sewage disposal (Act 182, repealed by Act 43 1984)" (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection).
The College celebrates its Semi-Centennial.
1906
President George W. Atherton dies. The Board of Trustees names president of the Board, former Pennsylvania governor, judge, and Civil War general James A. Beaver the College's Acting President.
The Federal Food and Drugs Act of 1906 is passed. 1907
1907-1908
The United States experiences a nationwide economic depression.
The 1907-08 Catalog begins to include numbered courses (Kern, n.d.).
1908
The American Phytopathological Society (APS) is founded with 130 charter members.
Ohio native Edwin Erle Sparks becomes president of the College.
The Department of Horticulture is "separated from [the Department of] Botany and established as a new department. Dr. Buckhout continues as Head of the Department of Botany" (Kern, n.d.).
1909
"Penn State's A Study of Pennsylvania Butter is the first reported use of taste panels in research" ("Milestones, 1855-1987," Penn State Agriculture, Spring 1987, p. 6).
J. Ben Hill becomes an instructor in the Department of Botany (Kern, n.d.).
Back to top of page 1910-1919
1910
Pennsylvania's urban population (4,631,000) exceeds the state's rural population (3,034,000) for the first time.
"The four-year course in Plant Pathology is changed to a course in Botany" (Kern, n.d., p. 4).
Ralph A. Waldron becomes an instructor in the Department of Botany (Kern, n.d., p. 4).
1911
A broken lumber dam (the Bayliss Dam) in Austin, Potter County triggers the second worst flood disaster in the state's history, killing 78 people.
September 21: "[T]here were 608 new students, including 477 freshmen. The faculty has 32 new members, making a total number of 171 in that body....three years ago Penn State's enrollment was 1186, it has now increased to over 2000. The Freshman class will have between 500 and 600 members, and although 24 new houses have been erected in the village since last fall, a few have found difficulty in securing lodging" (Penn State Collegian, v. 8, no. 1, September 28, 1911).
1912
February 20-21: A two-day conference of representatives from twenty eastern U.S. states to discuss the nature and origin of the chestnut blight and methods for combating it is held in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. To date, the blight "has destroyed millions of dollars' worth of timber and threatens to wipe out millions and hundreds of millions more" ("Chestnut Blight War in 20 States: Pennsylvania's Plan of Campaign Approved at Harrisburg," Philadelphia Inquirer, February 22, 1912, p. 2).
December 3: Professor William A. Buckhout dies. 1913
July 1: Ralph U. Blasingame is appointed instructor of agronomy.
Dr. Frank Kern is appointed as the new Head of the Department of Botany (Kern, n.d., p. 5). 1914
May 8: The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 "establishes the Cooperative Extension Service and provides funds for cooperative extension activities" (USDA, April 13, 2007).
J. P. Kelly is hired as a new member of the Department of Botany faculty.
"A plan of numbering bulletins and journal articles as Contributions from the Department of Botany" begins (Kern, n.d., p. 9).
1914-1918
World War I.
1915
L. O. Overholts joins the faculty of the Department of Botany (Kern, n.d., p. 6). 1916
A two-year Agriculture program begins.
W. G. Edwards and G. A. Meckstroth are added to the Department of Botany faculty (Kern, n.d., p. 6). September 21: "Even the Ag students saw the bright side of engineering this summer. It is reported that many worked in the shops and received large salaries" (Penn State Collegian, p. 2).
September 21: "C. H. Hadley has been selected as the extension entomologist and he will tour the state to advance the knowledge of the farmers in regard to insect life and problems. Mr. Il Knundel will have charge of the poultry extension and Mr. X. Schmetzis will travel as the extension agronomist. Dr. H. H. Hanver, late of the faculty here, has been detailed to the animal husbandry work in the extension department and will take up his new work this fall...Dr. Clemens of the faculty has taken up his work among the young people of the rural districts in regard to outdoor work and Miss McDonald and Miss Newcomb have been busy demonstrating canning operations to the housewives of the state. The tour of the two ladies was arranged and advertised by the county representative in the respective districts..and was unusually successful since they accomplished wonders in their efforts to teach the women new and efficient methods of their products" (Penn State Collegian, p. 3).
September 21: "The governor has become interested in this extension idea and is undertaking three tours, which are now underway in which he will attempt to become better acquainted with the agricultural conditions of the state and with the producers. One of these trips brought the governor to State College last Wednesday for a short time. These campaigns last for three days each and during that time the governor is accompanied by several men of our faculty, including Dean Watts and Professor McDowell" (Penn State Collegian, p. 3).
September 21: "The usual agricultural exhibits are now going the round of county fairs. There are two of these now in circulation which contain all records, information, and models of the experimental and educational work being done by this Agricultural school" (Penn State Collegian, p. 3).
September 21: "Dr. W. S. Fletcher, director of the Virginia Agriculture Experimental Station, has been appointed professor of horticulture at the Pennsylvania State College School of Agriculture and Experiment Station" (Penn State Collegian, p. 3).
September 21: "The agricultural extension work under the direction of Professor M. S. McDowell and his associates has continued during the summer and several new ideas of work have been introduced. The courses of the department will continue as usual for the coming year with several new features of which a field day at Snow Shoe, Pa., will be the most important. At this place experiments have been progressing for several years with the idea of reclaiming abandoned farm lands and cut over timber sections by means of fertilizers" (Penn State Collegian, p. 3).
December 27-January 3, 1917: "Nearly 900 enthusiastic agriculturalists from the different parts of Pennsylvania and states nearby, the Pennsylvania State College held its twelfth annual Farmer's Week...The attendance this year was somewhat lower than last year, owing, it is believed to the 'scarcity of labor in rural centers'"
1917
J. W. Miller and H. W. Popp join the Department of Botany faculty (Kern, n.d., p. 6). January: The first (Pennsylvania) Farm Show is held in Harrisburg.
January 10: The Agricultural School purchased 23 registered Holsteins last week and "expects to receive seven pure bred Clydesdale horses" this week ("Livestock Purchased, January 10, 1917, p. 3).
January 8?-11: "The fifth annual winter conference of the county agents of Pennsylvania is being held in State College...Thirty-six counties, as these having organized farm bureau work are represented in the conference" ("County Agents Hold Annual Conference," Penn State Collegian, January 10, 1917, p. 3).
January 17: "Many members of the faculty of the agricultural school are actively connected with the state corn, fruit, wool, and dairy shows that will be held in Harrisburg next week" ("College Interested in Shows at Harrisburg," Penn State Collegian, January 17, 1917, p. 1).
1918
R. C. Walton, W. S. Beach, J. H. Muncie, L. E. Yocum, and E. A. Siegler join the faculty of the Department of Botany (Kern, n.d., p. 6).
January 1: "Fifteen hundred farm tractors will by sent to France by the Food Administration in increasing the French food crops" ("1,500 Farm Tractors to be Sent to France," New York Times, January 1, 1918, p. 10). March 18: Enrollment for "young men from high schools throughout the state for the farm training course to be given here-after the close of this semester" begins ("Agricultural Notes," Penn State Collegian, April 3, 1918, p. 2).
April 3: "Immediately upon the close of the college year the Senior Horts will start on a one week's auto trip through the northern part of this state and the fruit growing sections of New York. They are scheduled to leave here April 24th and will go directly to Ithaca, thence to Geneva, and from there to the great fruit belt of western New York. Some time will be spent in the orchards, truck gardens and greenhouses near Rochester, after which the grape growing section near Chautauqua, New York, will be visited. The trip will end with the inspection of the truck gardens and greenhouses of Erie county, Pennsylvania" ("Agricultural Notes," Penn State Collegian, April 3, 1918, p. 2).
1919
January 2: The winter short courses in agriculture begin with an enrollment of 52. "This number includes several women, a few of whom are taking the short courses in home economics. Labor shortage prevailing throughout the state has cut down attendance this year and has made it necessary to shorten the courses from the usual twelve weeks to eight" ("Short Courses Start," Penn State Collegian, January 8, 1919, p. 1).
1920-1929
1920
President Edwin Erle Sparks resigns; he remains at the College as a lecturer in American history until his death in 1924.
H. W. Thurston is hired as a faculty member in the Department of Botany (Kern, n.d., p. 6). "A pine plantation is started to determine proper spacing for top return" ("Milestones, 1855-1987," Penn State Agriculture, Spring 1987, p. 6).
February 1: J. R. Haswell is appointed as the College's first extension agricultural engineer (Pennsylvania State University, Dept. of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, "Brief History of the Department," n.d.).
November 20: The Board of Trustees approves the establishment of the Department of Farm Machinery. Ralph U. Blasingame is appointed Head of the new department (Pennsylvania State University, Dept. of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, "Brief History of the Department," n.d.).
1921
John Martin Thomas becomes president of the College.
The Senate, a legislative body composed of administrative and elected faculty representatives is formed at the College.
"Pennsylvania 44 wheat, a variety bred at Penn State...produces the largest yield of 12 varieties tested.
Milling and baking tests of the varieties were performed, in an unusual interdisciplinary trial, by milling engineer Benjamin Dedrick" (Pennsylvania State University, Senior Vice President for Research, "History of Research at Penn State," 2006).
"Research upon the effect of radiation on seed plants" begins (Kern, n.d., p. 11).
1922
January: Prices of farm products are "from 25 to 40 percent below the average prices of the five years before." According to Henry Wallace, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, "the purchasing power of the American farmer was probably at the lowest point ever known" (Henry C. Wallace, "[Untitled article]," New York Times, January 1, 1923, p. 13).
January: At the request of U.S. President Warren Harding, a National Agricultural Conference is held in Washington, DC. The Conference is convened "for the purpose of formulating a plan to help the farmers" of the United States ("Financial History of 1922 by Months," New York Times, December 31, 1922, p. 93).
July 1: The U.S. Department of Agriculture merges three bureaus--the Bureau of Crop Estimates, the Bureau of Markets, and the Office of Farm Management and Farm Economics--into one bureau, the Bureau of Agricultural Economics. As a result of the consolidation, "all of the economic work of the department" will be conducted by a single bureau (Henry C. Wallace, "[Untitled article]," New York Times, January 1, 1923, p. 13).
The Graduate School is created. Frank D. Kern is appointed the School's first dean. Kern is "a world-renowned expert in the gymnosperangium-fungi that attack cedars, conifers, and apples" (Pennsylvania State University, Senior Vice President for Research, "History of Research at Penn State," 2006).
1923
December 31: The U.S. Department of Agriculture adopts "new standards and definitions for bread, butter, condensed milk, cocoa products, ginger ale, cayenne pepper and oil of cassia." Under the new regulations, "butter must contain not less than 80 percent of milk fat and less than 16 percent of water, and may by acts of Congress also contain added coloring matter. Bread is limited to not more than 38 percent moisture one hour or more after baking, and milk bread to not less than one-third of the water ingredient replaced by milk" ("Food Standards Adopted," New York Times, January 1, 1923, p. 17).
The Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters is established.
The modern Pennsylvania Fish Commission is established. Its name is later changed to the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission.
The Allegheny National Forest is established in northwestern Pennsylvania. The Forest, covering 512,000 acres, "remains the only national forest in Pennsylvania" (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection).
Dr. Popp takes a leave of absence from the Department of Botany to "continue research on the effect of different regions of the spectrum on plant growth at the Boyce Thompson Institute" (Kern, n.d., p. 12).
1924
The Board of "Trustees approves the Faculty Senate's recommendation that the College be authorized to award Ph.D. degrees" (Penn State University Libraries, 1996).
"Penn State researchers begin groundbreaking studies of the vitamin needs of dairy cattle, proving that vitamin B complex is synthesized in the rumen of the cow" ("Milestones, 1855-1987," Penn State Agriculture, Spring 1987, p. 6).
1925
Pennsylvania 's farm products are valued at US$10 million (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection).
President John Martin Thomas resigns to become president of Rutgers University.
1926
Ralph Dorn Hetzel becomes the tenth president of the College.
Department of Botany faculty member R. C. Walton dies (Kern, n.d., p. 6).
H. A. Wahl joins the Department of Botany (Kern, n.d., p. 6). 1927
The 6,055 acre Cook Forest becomes the first land purchased as a State Park in Pennsylvania in order to protect a natural landmark (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection).
E. L. Nixon, a member of the Plant Pathology Extension staff for the past ten years, joins the Department of Botany (Kern, n.d., p. 6). 1928
Dr. C. R. Orton resigns from the Department of Botany.
1929
October 29: Stock market crash; also known as Black Tuesday.
Buckhout Laboratory erected.
"This was recognized as only a part of an ultimate building" (Kern, n.d., p. 7).
Back to top of page 1930-1939
1930
The Hemlock is adopted as the official state tree of Pennsylvania.
The State College Air Depot is established. Originally located at Boalsburg, the airport is later moved to one mile southwest of State College.
The College celebrates its seventy-fifth anniversary.
A new Old Main is built, using blocks from the first Old Main which was constructed on the site in 1863.
The first unit of the Botany Building (Buckhout Laboratory) is completed.
J. W. Sinden joins the Department of Botany (Kern, n.d., p. 6). The Experiment Station begins a "new project on the nutrition of white-tailed deer" ("Milestones, 1855-1987," Penn State Agriculture, Spring 1987, p. 6).
March 27: The Department of Farm Machinery is renamed the Department of Agricultural Engineering (Pennsylvania State University, Dept. of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, "Brief History of the Department," n.d.).
June 17: The Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act (aka Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act) is signed into law in the United States. The Act raises U.S. tariffs on a wide array of imported goods.
Summer: “The most severe drought ever in Pennsylvania occurs, … resulting in many tributaries drying up entirely” (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection).
1931
D. A. Kribs joins the Department of Botany (Kern, n.d., p. 6).
May 7: Pennsylvania Governor Gifford Pinchot accuses public utilities of 'gouging the public' in a speech at the Bradford County Courthouse (Merrill, 1985, p. 34). December 8: "Registrations for the eighth annual Horticulture Week to be held under the auspices of the department of horticulture have been arriving daily during the last fortnight in anticipation of the opening of the course tomorrow, says Dr. Stevenson W. Fletcher, head of the department. The conference will last three days, closing Friday night. The program as planned calls for the first three half-day sessions to be devoted to the fundamentals of plant nutrition with botanists, agronomists, and horticulturists lending the discussion. The remainder of the course will be given over to separate programs for the three groups represented" (Penn State Collegian, December 8, 1931, p. 1).
1932
Gypsy moth are first discovered in Pennsylvania after being imported to support the state's growing silk industry. The gypsy moth eventually "infest every county in the Commonwealth. Because the non-native gypsy moth has few natural controls in the state, it is still considered the most serious forest insect pest" (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection).
The Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania is established. The Arboretum "is Pennsylvania's official arboretum and a U.S. Forest Service Center for Urban Forestry" (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection).
The first B.S. degrees in Agricultural Engineering are awarded (Pennsylvania State University, Dept. of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, "Brief History of the Department," n.d.). "The use of grain spawn for mushroom seeding is developed by J. W. Sinden, and several patents are granted. Compared to the manure spawn currently in use, grain spawn is easier to produce and use, more vigorous, and more effective" ("Milestones, 1855-1987," Penn State Agriculture, Spring 1987, p. 6).
January 5: "A university of twelve to fifteen thousand resident students with a comparable research organization is the vision of Penn State fifty years from now which President Ralph D. Hetzel presented to the State Education Association at its meeting in Pittsburgh last week" (Penn State Collegian, January 5, 1932, p. 1).
January 5: "The sixth annual Institutional Farmers' Week conducted by the School of Agriculture opened today and will continue tomorrow and Thursday. Superintendents, managers, and farm operators as representatives of charitable, and educational institutions are attending the three-day program. Included in the list of speakers for today are Prof. Andrew A. Borland, head of the department of dairy husbandry, Prof. Frank D. Gardner, head of the agronomy department, Dr. Charles F. Nell, superintendent of the College farms, and Prof. Ralph U. Blasingame, head of the agricultural engineering department" ("Annual Institutional Week for Farmers Opens Today," Penn State Collegian, January 5, 1932, p. 1).
January 5: "The winter short courses in agriculture and dairy manufacturing offered by the School of Agriculture opened yesterday with sixty students enrolled. Courses in general farming, horticulture, poultry husbandry, vegetable gardening, ice cream making, milk testing, dairy production, and butter and cheese making are among the wide range of subjects being given" ("60 Students Register for Agriculture Short Course," Penn State Collegian, January 5, 1932, p. 1).
February 16: The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, the second in the United States, is established.
March: Some parts of Pennsylvania receive 17 inches of snow.
1933
The U.S. Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 restricts farmers' freedom "to raise crops and livestock"
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) begins an "eight year program to improve" Pennsylvania's "woodlands, waters, roads, trails, and recreation areas as a Depression-era employment program" (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection).
Extension centers are established at Sayre, Towanda, Bradford, and Warren.
Buckhout Laboratory is dedicated.
The first M.S. degree in Agricultural Engineering is awarded (Pennsylvania State University, Dept. of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, "Brief History of the Department," n.d.).
1934
Two-year undergraduate centers are established at Pottsville and Hazleton.
The American Council on Education approves "three divisions of the botanical field--General Botany, Plant Physiology, and Plant Pathology" in its survey of Graduate Schools (Kern, n.d., p. 9).
August 28: Penn State announces that its Upper Susquehanna Valley Undergraduate Center at Sayre and Towanda will be continued (Merrill, 1985, p. 66).
1935
Extension agronomist Fred Grau discovers Penngift Crown Vetch on the Robert Gift farm near Reading (Pennsylvania State University, Senior Vice President for Research, "History of Research at Penn State," 2006).
May 16: Penn State announces that its Upper Susquehanna Valley Undergraduate Center at Sayre and Towanda "will not re-open next term due to a lack of interest (Merrill, 1985, p. 72).
1936
"Penn State is chosen as the site of the U.S. Regional Pasture Research Laboratory, which will study pasture improvement in the northeastern United States" ("Milestones, 1855-1987," Penn State Agriculture, Spring 1987, p. 6).
C. C. Wernham joins the Department of Botany (Kern, n.d., p. 6).
Department of Botany staff members J. Ben Hill, Lee O. Overholts, and Henry W. Popp publish a textbook, Botany (McGraw-Hill) (Kern, n.d., p. 8).
"As a member of a Committee on Radiation of the National Research Council," Henry W. Popp "edits the plant science papers of the two volume book, Biological Effects of Radiation," published by McGraw-Hill Co." (Kern, n.d., p. 12). March: A major flood hits Pennsylvania.
May 15: "Tomorrow night at 12 o'clock, the Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania will throw a switch in their new office on South Allen street that will introduce to students and townspeople the dial telephone system" ("Dial Phones to go Into Use Tomorrow Night at 12 O'clock," Penn State Collegian, May 15, 1936, p. 2).
June 8: Approximately 780 seniors receive degrees at the 1936 Commencement, the 76th of the College. The graduates included 129 students from the School of Agriculture.
1937
H. J. Miller joins the Department of Botany (Kern, n.d., p. 6).
September 2: "The largest freshman class in history will begin four years of college next Wednesday when 1,405 high school graduates report to the campus for the opening of freshman week. Included in the 1,405 total are 105 students of forestry who will spend their first year at Mont Alto, forestry division of the college." The freshman class includes 264 women students. Also, 253 students are enrolled in the school of Agriculture ("1,141 Male Enrollment Greatest in History; Women Number 264," Penn State Collegian, September 2, 1937, p. 1). 1938
February 26: "Claiming its present title was 'absolutely a misnomer,' Governor George H. Earle advocated a change in the official name of the Pennsylvania State College to the University of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at the ground-breaking ceremonies inaugurating the General State Authority's $5 million building program before 6,000 persons in Recreation Hall" ("Earle Advocates Change in College Name," Penn State Collegian, March 1, 1938, p. 1).
March: "With an increase over last year of 101 students, making a total of 262 at present, the agricultural engineering course this year is the largest in the history of the College, according to Prof. Ralph U. Blasingame, head of the department of agricultural engineering. This increase, which is prevalent in many parts of the country where agricultural engineering is offered, is probably due to the present trend which calls for more development and expansion in this field, Blasingame claims" ("Ag. Eng. Course Gets 101 Student Increase," Penn State Collegian, March 1, 1938, p. 4).
September: "Carrying on widespread experiments, Dr. Ernest L. Nixon, plant pathologist of the Agricultural Experiment Station, is seeking new potato varieties resisting diseases which cause heavy losses. More than 40,000 seedlings have been reared from various crosses. The crossing is done in greenhouses, and the seedlings are multiplied in Potter County. About 3,000 of the 40,000 seedlings have been saved for further trial" ("Nixon Experiments with Potato Crop," Penn State Collegian, September 30, 1938, p. 2).
October 3: "Professors Andrew A. Borland and Robert H. Olmstead of the Dairy Husbandry department left yesterday for York, Pa., where they will attend the York Fair today and tomorrow. Professors Borland and Olmstead will officiate in the judging of dairy cattle" ("Profs Attend Fair," Penn State Collegian, October 3, 1938, p. 1).
October 4-6: "Garden Days, an annual activity sponsored by the Department of Horticulture," is held at Penn State. The event is "open to all garden clubs and amateur florists;" prizes will be awarded to the individual traveling the greatest distance to attend and to the largest group attending outside Centre County. Faculty members and leaders of garden clubs will lead discussions on topics relevant to growing and preparing flowers for exhibit, maintaining fertility in the soil, control of garden pests, pruning, and other problems which confront gardeners" ("Garden Clubs to Meet Here," October 3, 1938, p. 2).
1939
The Pennsylvania Roadside Council, later renamed the Pennsylvania Resources Council, is established. The Council "is the oldest citizen environmental action group in the Commonwealth and the originator of the Litterbug" (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection).
Philipsburg Airport is constructed by the Federal government. The airport is located on Pennsylvania Route 504, between Unionville and Philipsburg, one mile west of Black Moshannon Park (Centre County Sequi-centennial Committee, 1950).
1939-1945
World War II
"The extension services mobilized farm workers and train almost 150,000 persons in 235 Pennsylvania communities for industrial jobs under the aegis of the Federal Engineering Defense Training Program" (The Penn State University Libraries, 1996).
Back to top of page 1940-1949
1940
Dr. E. L. Nixon resigns from the Department of Botany (Kern, n.d., p. 6).
A greenhouse range is attached to the building now known as Buckhout Laboratory (Kern, n.d., p. 7).
January: "While Hitler's armies were massed along the Dutch border a few weeks ago, negotiations were being completed for the transfer of a million tulips to the United States. Today, as a result of a suggestion made by Herbert Askwith of New York, publicity director in America for the Holland Bulb Growers, Penn State will be the recipient of 2,000 of those tulips...Askwith moved by the pleas of his daughter, Majorie, Penn State senior, and by the general conviction that the College has 'the most beautiful campus in America,' requested the Dutch government to select Penn State as the lone institution in the country to receive the choicest varieties of tulips to be planted as a demonstration campus display." The tulips should be in bloom "on the campus next May" ("College Presented Netherlands Tulips," Penn State Collegian, January 12, 1940, p. 1).
January: "The Penn State chapter of the Future Farmers of America elected Robert Peters '43, president for the coming year. He succeeds Samuel Dum. Other members elected to office were Clifford Peel '42, vice president, Kermit Birth '42 secretary, Alexander Ruth '42 treasurer, Harold Loy '43, reporter, and Samuel Dum '41, as Agriculture Student Council representative. Mr. Russel Dickerson, department of rural education, was chosen as chapter adviser" ("Peters Chosen to Head Penn State FFA Chapter," Penn State Collegian, January 16, 1940, p. 1).
March 5: "Accepting an invitation from the Federal Bureau of Plant Industry, Dr. D. E. Haley, department of agricultural biochemistry, will go to Washington, DC next week to confer with the bureau on problems concerning Pennsylvania tobacco" ("U.S. Asks Haley's Advice," Penn State Collegian, March 5, 1940, p. 4).
April 27: The Block and Bridle Club holds the 1940 Little International Live Stock Show in the Stock Pavilion. The show features a "meat auction, coed pig race, student sheep shearing, and a College teamsters contest" ("Block, Bridle Club Sets Date of Livestock Show, Penn State Collegian, March 1, 1940, p. 1).
May 11: "The 18th annual Dairy Show, sponsored by the Penn State Dairy Science Association," is held in the Stock Judging Pavilion. "As in previous years the feature contest of the show will be a milking contest for coeds. Prizes totaling between $300 and $400 will be awarded to the winners of the various contests. Other contests will be a fitting and showing contest, a clean milk production contest, a dairy cattle judging contest, and a dairy products contest" ("18th Annual Dairy Show is Slated for Tomorrow," Penn State Collegian, March 8, 1940, p. 2).
November 14: The Agricultural Engineering Building is dedicated.
1941
W. R. Mills and A. R. Grove join the Department of Botany (Kern, n.d., p. 6).
January 8: "The old education building is having its face lifted slightly to make room for the Central Extension offices of the College. When changes are completed, probably within a week, the field service, class center, and informal instruction divisions of extension will be moved into the finished rooms from their present quarters in Engineering F" ("Building Being Renovated for Extension Offices," Daily Collegian, January 8, 1941, p. 2). February 3: "An average yearly production of 430 pounds of butterfat won recognition on the National Honor Roll and a diploma from the National Dairy Association for the 124 cows in the College dairy herd for the period August 1, 1939 to July 31, 1940. A purple ribbon was awarded the College by the Pennsylvania Dairyman's Association in recognition of the exceptional accomplishments in producing the butterfat and the 10,937 pounds of milk per cow. Composed of Ayrshires, Brown Swiss, Guernseys, Holsteins, and Jerseys, the College herd totaled 1,363,777 pounds of milk containing 55,621.8 pounds of butterfat in 1940. This product was valued at $42,300.01 while the food cost was $13,449.17 or 99 cents per hundred pounds of milk" ("College Cows Win National Honors," Daily Collegian, February 3, 1941, p. 2).
1942
January 8: "Students and faculty may discard their ear muffs and overcoats" because of a predicted "a slight let-up in the frigid weather." Officially, yesterday's temperature did not pass Centre County's all-time record of 43 years ago, 20 below zero. However, the mercury dived to 8 below on the roof of the Mineral Industries Building, College weather station, and 10 below downtown" ("Cold Streak Snaps Today," Daily Collegian, January 8, 1942, p. 2).
January 21: The first of the two final segments "of Penn State's part in the KDKA Farm Hour program" airs today. Ernest W. Callenbach, professor of poultry husbandry will speak on "'Free Choice Feeding.'" On Wednesday, January 28th, H. C. Knandel, professor of poultry husbandry will speak on '"1,172 Eggs Per Second'" ("Campus News Briefs: Two Ag Professors to Broadcast over KDKA," Daily Collegian, January 10, 1942, p. 1).
January: "Henry W. Popp, professor of botany, was recently elected chairman of the physiological section of the Botanical Society of America at a convention in Dallas, Texas" ("Popp Elected Chairman," Daily Collegian, January 16, 1942, p. 1).
January 15: Randolph H. Thompson, Pennsylvania Game Commissioner delivers a speech on 'Wild Life' at a meeting of the Penn State Forestry Society held in the Forestry Building ("Around the Campus: Forestry Society Meets," Daily Collegian, January 14, 1942, p. 1).
February: "Two members of Penn State's better-than-average livestock judging team, which won the Eastern States Exposition title during the past season, are anticipating a call from Uncle Sam following their graduation in February. James H. Swart and Donald S. Gaige are the two members of the all-senior team who will don the khaki after the completion of their college requirements" ("Draft Calls Stock Judges," Daily Collegian, January 10, 1942, p. 2).
February 4-18: The School of Agriculture is sponsoring a special two-week short course in home gardening. "The departments of horticulture, agronomy, botany, and entomology will co-operate in presenting the subject matter." The "purpose of the course is primarily to train workers in civilian defense organizations" ("Around the Campus: Gardening Course," Daily Collegian, January 14, 1942, p. 1).
January 21: "Set up under the direction of the School of Agriculture, the College is sponsoring exhibits at the Pennsylvania Farm Show now in progress in at Harrisburg. The Penn State display is based on the theme of showing farm people in the Commonwealth how they can meet the present war-time demands for more food and better health without hazardous expansion of their farm business" ("College Exhibits at Farm Show," Daily Collegian, January 21, 1942, p. 1).
January 19: "Irvin K. Curry '43 was chosen president of 4-H Club at the club's annual elections...Other newly elected officers are Mabel E. Satterwaite '43, vice president; Esther M. Cook '45, secretary; and John M. Graham '42, treasurer. Representative to Agricultural Student Council for the club is Dorothy M. Boring '44, while Frederick A. Hughes '45 is song leader" ("Curry '43 Elected 4-H Club Head," Daily Collegian, January 21, 1942, p. 4).
1943
F. H. Lewis joins the Department of Botany (Kern, n.d., p. 6).
April 6: "Nearly a million and a half Victory Gardens will cover Pennsylvania this year, according to an estimate by Dr. Warren B. Mack, executive secretary of the State Advisory Victory Garden Committee. Dr. Mack, professor of vegetable gardening at the College, reports that there will probably be as many as 1,400,000 gardens in the state this spring. This represents an increase of more than 50 percent over the total number of gardens in Pennsylvania last year. 'Pennsylvania gardeners,' Dr. Mack said, 'will plant approximately seven percent of the estimated 18,000,000 Victory Gardens in the United States this year.' The rationing of canned, processed, and frozen food; the high price and scarcity of certain products; and the government's appeal for citizens to establish their own gardens are the reason for the increase in Pennsylvania gardens, the College specialist reported." U.S. Steel, International Harvester, and the Standard Oil Company of Pennsylvania, and many other companies are also helping in the effort "by offering plots of ground surrounding their plants to workers interested in vegetable growing" ("Pennsylvanians to Plant Seven Per Cent of U.S. Victory Gardens in 1943," Daily Collegian, April 6, 1943, p. 4). April: President Ralph D. Hetzel announces that military leave has been granted to A. R. Grove, instructor in botany and R. W. Kerns, associate professor of rural sociology extension. In addition, Dr. Lawrence L. Huber, Ohio State University has been appointed professor of agriculture ("Hetzel Announces Leaves, New Staff Appointments," Daily Collegian, April 9, 1943, p. 1).
1944
"F. G. Merkle reports the value of surface mulches to prevent runoff and to control soil moisture. This research will will lead to experiments with minimum-tillage crops" ("Milestones, 1855-1987," Penn State Agriculture, Spring 1987, p. 6).
1945
The "State Conservation Commission is created to help establish and support county conservation districts to provide educational services to the farm community" in Pennsylvania (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection). 1946
Thanks to returning service personnel taking advantage of the G. I. Bill, enrollment at the College rises from 3,300 in 1944 to 10,600 in 1946. "Since available space on campus could not possibly cope with such numbers, a 'cooperative freshman program' is initiated...through which 22 off-campus institutions (5 Penn State centers, 13 state colleges, 4 private colleges) enroll Penn State's entire freshman class--as 'Penn State students' with the privilege of transfer to the main campus as sophomores. Temporary housing and classroom facilities...are provided on campus in converted barracks and trailers" (The Penn State University Libraries, 1996).
John Almquist "begins studying artificial insemination techniques in dairy cattle" (Pennsylvania State University, Senior Vice President for Research, "History of Research at Penn State," 2006).
Longtime Department of Botany faculty member L. O. Overholts dies (Kern, n.d., p. 6). 1947
Department of Botany faculty member Frank D. Kern publishes a textbook, Essentials of Plant Pathology (Harpers).
October: President Ralph Dorn Hetzel dies suddenly. James Milholland, president of the Board of Trustees is named Acting President.
Julia M. Haber joins the Botany department (Kern, n.d., p. 7). 1948
"The Erie County Field Research Laboratory at North East is opened. It will focus on grape research" ("Milestones, 1855-1987," Penn State Agriculture, Spring 1987, p. 7).
"J. O. Almquist adds penicillin and streptomycin to diluted bull semen to control bacteria and increase fertility in cattle" ("Milestones, 1855-1987," Penn State Agriculture, Spring 1987, p. 7).
Dr. H. J. Miller resigns from the Department of Botany (Kern, n.d., p. 6).
C. L. Fergus joins the Department of Botany (Kern, n.d., p. 7). 1949
"The completion of Buckhout Laboratory is included in a building program submitted by the Board of Trustees to the General State Authority" (Kern, n.d., p. 7).
The use of grain spawn for mushroom seeding, developed by J. W. Sinden in 1932, has thus far "saved growers more than $3 million" ("Milestones, 1855-1987," Penn State Agriculture, Spring 1987, p. 6).
Dr. J. Ben Hill resigns from the Department of Botany after 40 years of service.
John S. Boyle and James E. Wright join the Department of Botany (Kern, n.d., p. 7). June 20: The first scheduled commercial air transport in Centre County begins at the State College Air Depot (Centre County Sequi-centennial Committee, 1950). Back to top of page
|
