In the late 1940s, Norman Rockwell painted a series of small-town, working Americans: a country editor, a school teacher, a family doctor, and, here, a county agent. His name was Herald Rippey, and he served farmers in eastern Indiana’s Jay County.
Rockwell captured him as he looked over a new Guernsey calf belonging to 14-year-old 4-H member Jama Sue Steeds. At this moment, he is telling her, “Plenty of heart girth — that’s important for a good cow.”
Working with the USDA and Purdue Extension Service, Rippey had visited more than 800 farms, given advice to over 3,800 farmers in his office, and attended 369 meetings.
“County agents come and go,” he told Rockwell, “but this work goes right on.” He wished he had more time for his family and for fishing and hunting. But when his wife suggested he find a job with more money and fewer hours, he replied, “Sure, I’ll change — if you can name one where I’ll be as well satisfied.”
Rockwell always admired strength, and he was impressed by Rippey. “He’s a farm expert, educator, organizer, diplomat, and trouble shooter,” he told the editors. “An agent has to be all man.”
This article is featured in the July/August 2023 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Subscribe to the magazine for more art, inspiring stories, fiction, humor, and features from our archives.
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