We visited an intriguing farmers group in Beaminster. Beaminster Young Farmers started in 1935 under the umbrella of the Dorset County Federation of Young Farmers Clubs, only recently came into association with Dorset Youth Association as dropping numbers of older young people led to a switch to welcoming those from 10 and up in 2006. Since then they have celebrated a 75 year anniversary in 2010 and a proud success of winning the Upton Oil Cup of various competitions and sports. So what has made this unusual youth club so successful for so long and why have so many young people joined in the club's diverse activities? Lorna Johnson, along with fellow DYR members Elizabeth and Rosie Silk, went to find out.
Meeting long-time associative of the club 'Uncle' Evered Way and his great niece, Helen Waybridge, they discussed just some of their fond memories when members of the youth club. Talking about their famous annual harvest suppers and competitions, in which it was always an important event for any member of the club, Uncle Evered said that people always dressed smartly and men turning out in suits and ties! Other competitions such as tractor ploughing, sheep shearing and bull rearing activities were designed to help young people in their future lives as farmers. Evered, who helped raised and rear animal stock such as bull to sell at later farming markets, admitted that when the time came to sell his efforts to other buyers "it is a sort of a friend, isn't it." For women, dressmaking, fashion shows and jam making were more the order back in those days although women did take on ploughing etc.. The young farmers group also has the distinction of the title of a being a 'marriage bureau' in which members as young as 16 would meet their potential life partners and be married to other members of the club. Evered, who was the first in a long line of a generation of the group, met his wife at the club and has since descended from, eventually Evered's sister giving birth to the father of Helen and she giving birth to a son when she was 23. With visits from Holland to New York to test out the latest tractor designs, this club doesn't just stay fixed in its one location and there are ongoing competitions to test young members' skills in debating, proving that this club has a wide range of activities.
Finally ending the interview, Beaminster Young Farmers turned out to be a great place to have fun and try fun activities.
Dorset Young Remembers is a unique project. We are twenty young volunteers helping Dorset youth clubs discover their 70 year old history. It goes from tents to twitter and from hiking to hot pants. We are using games, oral history recordings, Geocaching and an exhibition at Dorset County Museum in 2012 to make this story come alive.
