It was a joy to share the experiences of the 2008 NCAFCS Conference in Greensboro March 13-15 with my children. One observation my six-year-old twins had was that Ellen Swallow Richards (AKA Joyce Miles) wore lots of hats! As we embark on the centennial year of the FCS profession, our founder Ellen Richards provides a wonderful example for us as to celebrate.
In her classic text, The Life of Ellen H. Richards, Caroline Hunt presents examples of many life experiences that shaped the type of professional who Ellen Richards became. Hunt (1912) describes an account from Richard’s early adolescent when she was responsible for running the family store.
“The store being of the kind known as a general store, she was obliged to sell tobacco, which she hated. It is said that at one time a group of men who had bought tobacco of her, filled and lighted their pipes in the store, seating themselves around the stove according to the usual custom. When the youthful storekeeper objected, they said, “Why do you sell us tobacco if you don’t expect us to smoke it?” “We sell you molasses, too,’ she replied quickly, ‘but we don’t expect you to stay here and cook it up.”
At a young age, Richards communicated her beliefs even in challenging situations. She was true to her values and beliefs, despite the circumstances. As FCS professionals we are challenged to communicate the potential benefit of our profession even in adverse situations. Many of us have had experiences such experiences. The NCAFCS project titled “Rich Conversations across North Carolina: 100 Counties Celebrating 100 years of Home Economics/Family & Consumer Sciences” is an opportunity to share these other meaningful experiences about the profession throughout the state. Joyce Miles and the NCAFCS Centennial Committee are leading the charge in collaboration with, DPI and the FACS leadership team. These conversations will at the 91st NCAFCS conference, March 26-26, 2008 in Winston Salem, NC.
Richards is also credited with finding common meanings. Hunt (1912) explains another occurrence in this family general store (p. 12):
“Two women customers, one of whom insisted upon having saleratus because she never could cook with soda, the other of whom demanded soda because saleratus did not make good biscuits, and who having been supplied from the same package were both satisfied and both confirmed in their original opinion…. “
Finding common purpose has been a professional pursuit for all of the FCS professionals that we share with our founder. Also at the 2009 NCAFCS Annual Meeting, all of the NCAFCS Communities of Interest will display their history over the last 100 years including: Extension, University/College, Elementary School/Adult Education, and Student Unit.
The AAFCS 2009 Annual Meeting June 25 through 28 in Knoxville Tennessee titled Celebrating the Past, Sustaining the Future provides another opportunity to share our rich history and look to the future. With all of these opportunities, we may need to consider some new hats for our generation of FCS professionals!
Regards,
Dr. Jody L. Roubanis, CFCS
2008-2009 NCAFCS President
