Organizational History
Scope and Contents
Arrangement
Conditions Governing Use
Conditions Governing Access
Preferred Citation
Contributing Institution:
University of California, Merced Library
Title: University of California Cooperative Extension Records, Merced County
source:
Grass, J.F., Jr.
source:
Walker, Ralph
source:
Tiffany, F.G.
source:
Graham, W.A.
source:
Quail, John Lester
source:
Alison, W.H., Jr. (William H.)
source:
Wright, R.V.
source:
Bennion, L.L.
source:
Volz, Albert G.
source:
Jackson, Sheldon N.
source:
Burlingame, B.B.
source:
Robertson-Fiske, Ada
source:
Burgess, Marion C.
source:
Smith, Freda
source:
Eddy, Eleanor
source:
Peterson, Don A.
source:
Voskuil, Glenn
source:
Carlson, Verner
source:
Conley, Chester C.
source:
Price, Fred
source:
Schroeder, J. Price
source:
Stewart, J. Ian
source:
Gibson, Alex
source:
Hendricks, Lonnie C.
source:
Scheuerman, Robert W.
source:
Farley, Jim (James)
source:
Hauser, Deanna F.
source:
Coulson, Joan (Dade)
source:
Weir, Bill L.
source:
Mahacek, Richard L.
source:
Hardwood, Jan (Holly)
source:
Norton, Maxwell V.
source:
Manton, Linda Marie
Identifier/Call Number: UCCE.MER
Physical Description:
69 Linear Feet
Located at UC Merced Library
Physical Description:
220.5 Linear Feet
Located at UC Cooperative Extension Merced County Office
Date (inclusive): 1916-2003
Language of Material:
English
Organizational History
At the turn of the previous century, growing concern over the quality of life for rural Americans prompted President Theodore
Roosevelt to appoint a Commission on Country Life in 1908. One of the direct outcomes of the Commission's recommendations
was the passage of the Smith-Lever Act in 1914, which established a national extension service to place the knowledge generated
at land-grant universities into the hands of farmers and rural citizens. The Agricultural Extension Service formalized and
built upon existing efforts of land-grant universities to enhance the knowledge of farmers and apply scientific discoveries
for improved agricultural practices.
Beginning in 1913, the Agriculture Extension Service, later known as UC Cooperative Extension, placed farm advisors employed
by the University of California in every county that formed a farm bureau and agreed to sponsor Extension Service work. While
arrangements have evolved, advisors continue to work in all California counties today and address problems ranging from soil
conditions and land reclamation to irrigation; from livestock breeding to improved varietals; and from mechanization to disease
and pest management, to enable farms to increase efficiency and productivity.
Cooperative Extension was established in Merced County in 1917 with a unanimous vote by the County Board of Supervisors. In
its first year, Cooperative Extension had a membership of 406 members. J.F. Grass, Jr was the first Farm Advisor in Merced.
Cooperative Extension has played an important role in the county with the formation of the irrigation districts, fire suppression,
cow testing, farm visits, home economics, and pest extermination campaigns. Farm Advisors and Home Demonstration Agents addressed
both statewide and local priorities and programs. Prior to the 1950s, the Merced County office had limited staff and the Farm
Advisors did not specialize in areas. Their work was largely dictated by federal and state programs, such as wartime activities
and the Agricultural Adjustment Act. These federal and state programs at times curtailed their local programs and priorities,
which included cow testing, 4-H club work, and vine and tree fertilizer work. After the 1950s, as the county office staff
grew in size, the farm advisors started to specialize in different commodities, with a focus on sweet potatoes, tomatoes,
nuts, fruit trees, cattle, and dairy, as well as youth development and nutrition.
County Directors:
J.F. Grass Jr., 1917-1923
John L. Quail, 1923-1931
W.H. Alison Jr., 1931-1953
Don A. Peterson, 1953-1973
Glenn Voskuil, 1974-1983
Robert W. Scheuerman, 1983-1985
Linda M. Manton, 1985-1990
James Farley, 1991-2005
Richard L. Mahacek, 2005-2012
Maxwell V. Norton, 2012-2015
Scott Stoddard, 2015-Present
Scope and Contents
The University of California Cooperative Extension Records for Merced County span the years of 1916-2000. Records include
reports and information on irrigation districts, fire protection districts, infrastructure improvement, economic outlook,
migrant workers, rodent eradication, WWI and WWII home front activities, Great Depression impact and relief programs, land
management, rural development, and correspondence. A large portion of the records are related to agriculture in Merced County,
San Joaquin Valley, and California and include trial reports and reference material on crops, domesticated animals, wildlife,
integrated pest management, fertilizer, pesticides, water, soil, and climate. These records also include reports and information
on the work of the Home Demonstration Agents, who later became the 4-H advisors. Subjects include: home economics, nutrition
education, home gardens, home beautification, youth development, and lesson plans. The collection includes a wide variety
of formats: typed reports, data sets, local newsletters and press releases, maps, audiovisual material, photographs, slides,
scrapbooks, and a variety of publications from the county, state, and national level.
Arrangement
The arrangement is based on the original order of the collection at the time of accession. Series 2 through 5 reflect the
original order and name of the farm advisor who was the last custodian of the records in that series. The records in these
series reflect the custodian's research focus and tenure but also include records inherited from previous farm advisors.
This collection consists of 14 series and 44 subseries:
Series 1. Administrative Files
Subseries 1. Annual and Weekly Reports
Subseries 2. Trial Reports
Series 2. Maxwell Norton Files
Subseries 1. Correspondence and Reports
Subseries 2. Fruit Trials
Subseries 3. Historic Files
Series 3. Robert Scheuerman Files
Series 4. Bill Weir Files
Subseries 1. Meeting, Talks, and Project Materials
Subseries 2. Soil
Subseries 3. Crops
Subseries 4. Water
Subseries 5. Publications
Subseries 6. Lab Materials
Series 5. Lonnie Hendricks Jr. Files
Subseries 1. Pomology
Subseries 2. Almonds
Subseries 3. Apricots and Pistachios
Subseries 4. Walnuts
Subseries 5. Soils, Weather, and Weeds
Subseries 6. Fruit
Subseries 7. Grant Funded Project Files
Subseries 8. Old Files
Series 6. Crops
Subseries 1. Sweet Potatoes
Subseries 2. Tomatoes
Subseries 3. Vegetables
Subseries 4. Fruit and Nut Trees
Subseries 5. Grains and Soils
Series 7. Livestock
Subseries 1. Dairy Science
Subseries 2. Poultry
Series 8. 4-H
Subseries 1. Photographs
Subseries 2. Judging Forms
Subseries 3. Lesson Plans
Subseries 4. Publications
Subseries 5. Scrapbooks
Subseries 6. Inactive 4-H Records
Subseries 7. Motion Picture Film and VHS Tapes
Subseries 8. Artifacts
Subseries 9. Outreach Material
Series 9. Photographs and Audiovisual Material
Subseries 1. Aerial Photographs
Subseries 2. Agricultural and Historical Photographs
Subseries 3. Motion Picture Film and Audio Recordings
Subseries 4. Slides
Series 10. Publications
Subseries 1. Cooperative Extension Publications
Subseries 2. Experiment Station Publications
Subseries 3. Fruit Notes and Tree and Vine Notes
Subseries 4. USDA Publications
Subseries 5. Other Publications
Series 11. Maps
Series 12. Specimens
Series 13. Trophies
Series 14. Antique Farm Equipment
Conditions Governing Use
This collection is intended to support teaching, research, and private study. Copyright belongs to the Regents of the University
of California. Use of the materials beyond that allowed by fair use or by any Creative Commons licenses assigned requires
the written permission of the copyright owner(s). For further information, please contact the University of California, Merced
Library at library@ucmerced.edu.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research. A portion of the records have been digitized and are freely available online. Series
1 through 7 are located at UC Merced Library, Series 8 through 14 are located at the Merced Cooperative Extension Office.
For help locating material please contact library@ucmerced.edu.
Access to files containing information on University personnel matters is restricted for fifty years from the latest date
of the materials in those files.
Preferred Citation
University of California Cooperative Extension Records, Merced County, UCCE MER, UC Cooperative Extension Archive, University
of California, Merced Library, 5200 North Lake Road, Merced, CA 95343
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Merced County (Calif.)
Merced County (Calif.)--History
University of California Agricultural Extension Service--Merced County (Calif.)--Farm and Home Advisors Office.
Farm Bureau--Merced County (Calif.)
Dairy products--Merced County (Calif.)
Sweet potatoes--Merced County (Calif.)
Nuts--Merced County (Calif.)
Fruit trees--Merced County (Calif.)
Agriculture--California--Merced County--History
4-H clubs--California--History
Grass, J.F., Jr.
Walker, Ralph
Tiffany, F.G.
Graham, W.A.
Quail, John Lester
Alison, W.H., Jr. (William H.)
Wright, R.V.
Bennion, L.L.
Volz, Albert G.
Jackson, Sheldon N.
Burlingame, B.B.
Robertson-Fiske, Ada
Burgess, Marion C.
Smith, Freda
Eddy, Eleanor
Peterson, Don A.
Voskuil, Glenn
Carlson, Verner
Conley, Chester C.
Price, Fred
Schroeder, J. Price
Stewart, J. Ian
Gibson, Alex
Hendricks, Lonnie C.
Scheuerman, Robert W.
Farley, Jim (James)
Hauser, Deanna F.
Coulson, Joan (Dade)
Weir, Bill L.
Mahacek, Richard L.
Hardwood, Jan (Holly)
Norton, Maxwell V.
Manton, Linda Marie