A special thank you to all those who have participated in our “I Remember Rippey” series. Your remembrances have allowed readers to share in our town’s history, activities, sports, school, church, and daily life covering 150 years.
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Remembering The FFA Trips by Lynn Wilson
One of the highlights each summer for Rippey High School boys was the annual FFA trip, or, as most of us called it, the AG trip. The Vocational Agriculture class, sponsored by Jake Peters, would sell fertilizer to the farmers each spring, and this money would go towards funding the trip. Usually between 15 and 20 boys would go on the trip, and each attendee would also contribute $20 to cover expenses. The trips began soon after World War II ended, and continued until Jake stepped down as Ag class instructor and sponsor in 1959.
A stock truck with a tarp over it was the transportation vehicle utilized for about the first ten years. The truck bed had wooden planks on the sides for the boys to sit on. A local Rippey resident would usually volunteer to drive the truck, with Jake often doing some of the driving, too. Jake would try to find a park that the group could camp in each night, and the boys slept in sleeping bags outside when the weather was good. If it rained, they’d be cooped up in the truck all night. Jake would buy the food for the trip, and would usually cook breakfast and dinner for the group. Sometimes breakfast included such delectable delights as powdered eggs. Snacks would be provided during the day.
In the early years, some of the trips were as long as thirteen days, including such destinations as Colorado and the Rocky Mountains, New Mexico, and the Carlsbad Caverns. Other trips included the Black Hills and the Ozarks. Later the trips were usually one week in length, and occurred in August. When I started going on the trips in 1956, a school bus was utilized instead of the truck, which was a good thing for everyone, as we could see the sights outside during the day, and had a much more comfortable ride. It was also good for Jake, as he could then keep a closer eye on us. Wes Rittgers was our bus driver on these trips.
When it came time each year to plan the next trip, we would usually meet either at Jake’s house or the school in early August to choose the next destination. I went on three trips: Black Hills, Colorado & Rocky Mountains, and the Ozarks. Jake would pre-plan the trips and did a great job of showing us the main sights to see in each area, and we really enjoyed each trip, and had a whole lot of fun.
When we went on the trips most of us wore our blue & gold FFA jackets, which had the circle logo and our town and state on the back. When some of us would leave camp at night, which we weren’t supposed to do, and go into the towns with our jackets on, some of the locals mistook us for a gang, and some unfortunate incidents occurred. Luckily, nothing serious happened, but more than once Jake seemed to sense that he needed to check on us, and the school bus arrived just in time to rescue us.
When I think about the Ag trips now, I realize what a wonderful, fun experience it was for those of us who were fortunate enough to be included. Some of the boys had never been outside of Iowa, so these trips were a real adventure for them. I also realize now what an awesome responsibility these trips were for Jake. I can’t imagine anyone else back then who would even have considered taking a bunch of kids on a long trip, and assuming responsibility for their wellbeing, but Jake did it year after year because he knew how much it meant to the kids. We were so fortunate that this great and good man was at Rippey School for so many years.