The National Live Stock and Meat Board had ample influence in the home economics classrooms of the 1920s, 30s and 40s. From small towns to big cities, home economics courses in high schools and colleges trained young women in the skills needed to run a home.
Students learned how to shop for and prepare meals with guidance provided by a textbook specifically dedicated to meat. To further encourage interest in meat, the National Live Stock and Meat Board launched a series of contests for students. Enticing scholarships and cash prizes were offered. Tens of thousands of students wrote essays and drafted posters about meat. They created recipes and designed menus featuring beef, pork and lamb.
Wyoming’s own Edith Belle Holmes of Rock Springs was one of the top ten finalists in 1925.
Contest themes changed with the times. Frugal recipes featured during the Great Depression, while “Meat as a Weapon of War” was the theme of one of the World War II era contests.
Learn more by reading the National Live Stock and Meat Board records at UW’s American Heritage Center.
For more information, visit the American Heritage Center site.