County Extension Agent, Dick Carroll

Mickey O'Brien, Trinity Valley Motor Company, Handing Over Keys to a 1951 Chevy PU to J. R. Dick Carroll, County Agent ~ 4 Aug 1951

The Chambers County Youth Project Show program was conceived by a small group of people who had not only the interests of Chambers County, but those of its young people at heart. Mr. J. R. “Dick” Carroll said that three men, himself, Grover Chambliss of Anahuac and Floyd Dugat of Winnie had attended a West Chambers County Farm Bureau meeting. During the trip home from the meeting, an organization for the youth of Chambers County was discussed. The bridge over the Trinity River had not been completed, nor the road to the bridge at this time, and a temporary ramp was in use at the bridge approaches. The bridge was dedicated July 4, 1955. 

Up until 1955, it was very difficult for East and West Chambers County to cultivate a close relationship between the two sides; without a bridge to close the gap between them, travel had to go from Barbers Hill through Dayton and Liberty and then south to Mid and East Chambers County, a long and sometimes arduous trip. After the completion of the Trinity River bridge, what appears to be the first move towards establishing a youth organization occurred on July 30, 1955. According to a 1955 Progress article, members of the families of East and West Chambers County gathered at Fort Anahuac Park for an old- fashioned picnic lunch and games.

At noon, a huge picnic table was spread with fried chicken, chicken and dumplings, and baked chicken for the main course. Ice cold red soda pop served out of bottles in true country style proved to be a favorite with the youngsters. Mr. Bill Wedemeyer of the Texas Farm Bureau spoke on the national and state rice program, and the group was entertained with recorded music and selections by a girls quartet from Mont Belvieu.

After the noon meal, the group played games with both adults and youngsters participating. Highlight of the game period was attempts of some of the youngsters to climb a greased pole, on top of which were several $1 bills. Dick Carroll said they never tried that again, nor the greased pig catching contest. He recalls the young man catching the pig was hardly distinguishable from the pig before the catch was secured.  

The event proved very successful at acquainting those from both sides of the Trinity that had previously been geographically separated and was the beginning of an organization to promote good will and interest in the activities of our young people. By January of 1956, the Chambers County 4-H Council had appointed a committee to formulate definite plans to participate in the Chambers County Youth Project Show to be held on May 12 of that year. 

Prior to the formation of the Youth Project Show, Chambers County youth, along with other civic groups, had participated in the Trinity Valley Exposition at Liberty. Chambers County was heavily involved in TVE, channeling resources from our County Road and Bridge department to prepare for the exposition. They gradually withdrew participation in the Liberty Fair and began channeling their efforts into our own county, and the Youth Project Show was showcased in 1956. The first steering committee members were: Susie Braham, county home demonstration agent, the motivating force; Warren Griffith, Anahuac vocational agriculture teacher; J. R. Dick Carroll, longtime Chambers County agent; Bonnie Hutchinson, Art; Carolyn Larrison, homemaking; A. L. Freeman, industrial art teacher from Winnie; Bob Schultz, Boy Scout leader; Maybell Purcell, handcraft and Anahuac teacher.

The Chambers County Commissioners Court cooperated wholeheartedly in the creation of this new project, providing the park area and funds to provide for the exhibits, and tents to house the exhibits, which quickly outgrew the American Legion Hall where they were being displayed. During YPS formation, the commissioners court was comprised of: Floyd E. Williams, county judge; G. V. Mayes Sr., precinct 1; Sherwood Blair, precinct 2; Joe Lagow, precinct 3; H. H. McCollum, precinct 4, and J. B. Wooldridge, county and district clerk. 

"Alma Lois Turner and the county commissioners, Joe Lagow, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. McCall, another from Winnie, and especially Dick Carroll, decided they needed to have somewhere for the kids to show their projects and compete with others, so they started the Youth Project Show,” said Janet Lagow.

“The first arena was just a roped off area on the south side of the American Legion Hall at Fort Anahuac Park," said Janet. "The rope followed the road around to mark off the area. The rope was the gate to get in and out, you just untied it. Eventually they got the arena set up and started building the barns. I'm telling you, if you got a ribbon, it was really something. Nowadays they get a buckle right away, you get it too soon and then there's nothing to look forward to," Janet reflected. 

“Ihad a close working relationship with Dick Carroll,” said Steve Kole, “but it was as a 4-H kid. When I was 13, I had caught a calf in the Liberty Exposition calf scramble. You catch the calf in October, but that’s not the one you get, they give you a calf the next spring. Purina Feed Company had a program that year and Dick Carroll was involved in it. If you would feed your calf with Purina Feed, keep records, and turn them into the county agent every month, and your calf won first place at the next TVE, you would win a trip to St Louis to the Purina Headquarters Research Farm. I diligently kept records and turned them into Mr. Carroll every month. Mr. Carroll held my hand the whole time I was feeding that calf. He’d come out to the farm and check on me. We had moved over to My grandma’s place in Bancroft because that was during the time my daddy was building that big house, which took 13-14 months,” explained Steve.

“Daddy dropped me off at the fair with some money and maybe a change or two of clothes. I had on some new boots, I’d never worn cowboy boots before, and I was on my own at the fair for the next five days. I slept in the stall with my calf. And I remember those boots wore blisters on my feet. I showed my Brahman calf at the fair that October, and he won 3rd place. The contestants who won first and second place did not buy into the Purina program; because they didn’t, I won the prize to go to St Louis. 

“There were no interstates to St. Louis when we headed there in 1954,” laughed Steve. “So here we go, county agent Carroll was in the driver’s seat of a two-door coupe Chevrolet with Mr. Ward riding shotgun, he was the regional guy for Purina. For some reason they recruited someone to keep me company and of all people, they recruited Larry Devillier. Larry was about two or three grades ahead of me, but we got along real well. Larry and I were sitting in the back of the coupe. We made the trip in July and it took us two days to get there and two days to get back, up and down rolling hills with no air conditioner, and I’m the guest of honor. We stopped along the way to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and one morning Mr. Ward ordered pork chops for breakfast, I’d never seen anybody order pork chops with their eggs,” chuckled Steve. “So, needless to say, I ordered pork chops, cause I’m the guest of honor. First time I ever had pork chops for breakfast,” laughed Steve, clearly thrilled. 

“There were a couple of real highlights during my trip. One was, every time we stopped to eat, the restaurants had little juke boxes in the booths you sat in, so you could select music from your table. There was one song that really rang my bell, it had just come on the market. I didn’t know who the guy was singing, whether he was white or black, I just loved the song and I played it all the way to St. Louis and all the way back. That song was called That’s All Right Mamma, if you know anything about Elvis Presley, that was the first record he made. I mean, I was an Elvis fan from day one and I didn’t even know what he looked like,” said Steve, becoming lost in laughter as he relived the memory once again. “So, I have proof, I go all the way back to the beginning with Elvis.”

“The other memorable highlight was, when we got to St. Louis and went to the research farm They had a cow grazing in the pasture with a 6-inch diameter plate in her side that could be unscrewed. They could unscrew it and reach inside her stomach to see how well her food was being digested. That just amazed me to see that.  That was quite a memorable trip for a 14-year-old kid. Mr. Carroll had a positive impact on me, he was very dedicated, so I have really positive memories of him,” Steve concluded fondly. 

“My black angus heifer, “Anita” was high-spirited and loved to kick,” said Frank Garvey, Jr. of Anahuac. “We purchased her from the Clark Angus Ranch in Huntsville, where Mr. Carroll had advised my dad and I to go. The judge at the TVE show that year was Dr. Nance from Sam Houston State University and I was just praying she wouldn’t kick him. Instead, she jumped forward and ran when Dr. Nance slapped her on the rump!” exclaimed Frank. “Sure glad “Anita” didn’t hurt him as Dr. Nance later was my professor when I attended SHSU,” laughed Frank with obvious relief. Frank and his heifer took home the Grand Champion trophy that year at the TVE show.  

“Mr. Carroll was very knowledgeable about livestock, which is partly the reason I had great success in showing my cattle,” continued Frank. “Mr. Carroll and Mr. Baham had grass plots in one of my pastures. I attended many meetings and workshops while in 4-H, which provided all of us with a wealth of information! We were fortunate to have them both; both were good men and mentors,” he said gratefully.

“I was just 10-years-old when I showed my first registered Poll Hereford, “Tom John” in 1962, under Mr. Carroll,” said Warren Sullivan, lifelong best friend of Bob Carroll, Dick’s son. “My sister, Andrea McClelland showed a Jersey Cow in 4-H about the same time period. At that time, the Youth Project Show was held at Fort Anahuac Park. The old Legion Hall, that is being torn down, housed the art work and woodwork projects. The animals and vegetables were housed under big canvas tents,” he explained. 

“Frank Garvey was pretty strong with his black angus at that time, winning most years, then I entered a Charolais F1 Cross of a registered Charolais and a registered Angus and beat him in about 1970-71, taking home the Grand Championship,” smiled Warren.

“Mr. Carroll helped me attain the Gold Star Award in 4-H. He made frequent trips to our farm to oversee how I was caring for my calf (and bull as he grew) and pointed out different techniques. He talked about feed and good beef management. As a 10-year-old kid, I was grasping what I could.” 

“Mr. Carroll was rarely seen without a pipe in his mouth.  He was such a wonderful man who touched the lives of many in Chambers County during his tenure as Chambers County Extension Agent,” proclaimed Warren with deep admiration. “He was very nice but he was also down to business, which he had to be. He was gentle with a great sense of humor, but uncompromising in his expectations that we follow high rigorous standards. He made every effort to make sure we excelled,” reflected Warren, and excel they did!