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demands, FFA has continued to evolve as well and continually looks to
the future to meet each member’s needs. The rising sun signifies
progress and holds the promise that tomorrow will bring a new day,
glowing with opportunity.
The
plow signifies labor and tillage of the soil. FFA is an
organization founded in agriculture, the backbone of our country. The
plow, as mentioned earlier, demonstrates labor and tillage of the soil
and is the historic foundation of our country’s strength. As the vice
president states in the FFA opening ceremony, "...without labor
neither knowledge nor wisdom can accomplish much."
The
next symbol is the eagle, which symbolizes freedom. It also
represents the national scope of the organization. The eagle is a
national symbol which reminds FFA members of their freedom and the
ability to explore new horizons for the future of agriculture.
The
owl represents knowledge. Long recognized as a symbol of wisdom
and knowledge, the owl symbolizes the knowledge required to be
successful in the industry of agriculture.
The
words Agricultural Education and FFA also appear on
the FFA emblem. Emblazoned in the center of the emblem, they signify the
combination of learning and leadership necessary for progressive
agriculture. From 1928 to 1988 the words Vocational Agriculture and
Future Farmers of America were on the emblem and the jackets. In
1988 the Future Farmers of America changed its name to FFA and changed
the usage of vocational agriculture to agricultural education.
As
important as the emblem and its symbols are to FFA, one almost never
sees the emblem by itself. It is almost always seen on an FFA jacket,
which is one of FFA’s most widely recognized symbols. Dr. J.L.
"Gus" Lintner, advisor of the Fredericktown FFA Chapter in
Ohio, was looking for a uniform for the Fredericktown Chapter Band,
which was to appear at the 1933 National Convention. His design of the
blue corduroy jacket captured the attention of the official delegates
and they voted to adopt it as FFA’s official dress.
The
30-member Fredericktown Chapter Band had been in existence for only a
year and was in need of a uniform. According to Lintner, the official
FFA uniform was dark trousers, white shirt with a yellow silk tie and a
blue cotton cap. Linter is quoted as saying, "This sufficed for
summer wear, but some other garment was needed for the nippy October
weather in Kansas City." Thus, the beginning of the FFA jacket was
because there was a need to stay warm.
The
reason corduroy was chosen was simply because corduroy was popular in
the 1930s. The original color was navy blue since national blue was not
available. On the back of the jacket the emblem was affixed. The early
version of the emblem did not include the eagle; only the cross section
of ear of corn, the owl and the plow were featured.
At
the outset, only three Fredericktown jackets were made. From the first
navy blue jacket to other shades of blue, FFA jackets have been black
and white. Today, however, the jackets are national blue.
It
was not until the Utah State FFA Band showed up at the 1934 National
Convention in the blue jackets and white pants that the sales of the FFA
jackets went through the roof.
About
20 years following the first FFA jacket, Gus Lintner presented the first
official jacket to the Ohio FFA Association. In 1952, there were 54,000
jackets sold; 60,000 were produced in 1953. The one millionth FFA jacket
was sold in 1964. Twelve years later, in 1976, two million jackets had
been sold. Today, more than 66,000 jackets are sold yearly.
The
cotton used to make the corduroy used in FFA jackets is grown in
Tennessee; the corduroy is woven in North Carolina and dyed in South
Carolina. It takes 1.5 yards of corduroy to make one FFA jacket, so 1.5
yards times 66,000 jackets equals 99,000 yards of fabric!
In
2003 the Only Blue Will Do campaign was launched. It focused on
restoring the official FFA jacket to true national blue and corn gold,
as well as improving the overall jacket fit. The FFA jacket has also
gone "Hollywood" having appeared in such movies as Napoleon
Dynamite, Paris Texas and Charlotte’s Web.
The
following appeared in the American Farm Youth magazine in 1961
about the FFA jacket. It is just as meaningful today as it was when it
was printed.
"Be
careful – your jacket is showing. Your colors of blue and gold, the
motif carried out in the design of your jacket, marks you as a young man
chosen by your leaders to represent the best we have in agriculture.
"It
is your obligation...to conduct yourself in such a manner that will not
degrade the great agricultural group the jacket symbolizes. When you don
this cloth, think of it as a soldier does the uniform he wears...
"As
you accept the dignity of wearing the jacket that carries the emblem and
colors of FFA into the battle of life, may the world be greatly pleased
with the good deeds it will see performed by the chosen few. When they
see the FFA jacket they feel the leaders are being trained."
Maybe
that’s why many former members still possess their jackets long after
leaving FFA. |
