Farm, Vegetables, and FFA
1948
Mrs. Lula Buchanan assisted by Hattie Brown and Ruby Browning ran a nursery school for Gilchrist County children from 1948 until 1964. Later when Mrs. Buchanan retired Mrs. Ruby Browning ran the nursery school.
1949
School Board members were Ralph Taylor, R.R. Beauchamp, Lonnie Downing, W.W. Beach, and Theatis Thomas with E.P. Turner serving as School Superintendent.
Murphy Everett and Jimmie Davis enlisted in the U.S. Army. They were stationed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Both young men had been standout football players on the Trenton High School football team before joining the Army right after graduation.
Clyde Roberts Jr., and Adele Roberts represented Bell High School FFA Chapter at the National FFA Convention in Kansas City that year. They traveled to Jacksonville where they boarded a train for the trip along with some 200 other FFA members from Florida. Also on board was Doyle Conner who had served the year before as the National FFA President. Along the way they stopped and picked up FFA Chapter members in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee.
Smith’s Grocery in Trenton installed their first modern electric Frigidaire open view vegetable cooling case. Mr. LeRoy Smith said the modern fixture keeps the vegetables fresh and crisp. He had plans to stock a wider variety of vegetables going forward.
The Gilchrist Beef Cattle Show was held in November. Entering cattle were Gordon Love, Lonnie Downing, Roy Akins, A.M. Kelley Sr., Angus Swilley, Percy W. Jones, W.O. Pridgeon, J. F. Beach, A.M. Kelley Jr., Brinson Sanchez, Vasco NesSmith, Forest Beach, John Hardee and Clyde Colson. The County Agent during that time was Harry George.
1952
Trenton High School student Mary Jo Mansfield was elected Vice President of the State Future Homemakers of America. Jackson Brownlee also of Trenton was elected State FFA President.
That year about 600 acres of the county was planted in tobacco and it averaged about 1000 pounds per acre. Sweet potatoes, sugar cane, truck crops (vegetables), and turkeys were produced on county farms. Of course the main source of income for farmers was hogs, cattle, corn, watermelons, and seed crops.