Club work began wherever a public-spirited person did something to give rural children respect for themselves and their ways of life and it is very difficult to credit one sole individual. Instances of work with rural boys and girls can be found all throughout the 19th century. In the spring of 1882, Delaware College announced a statewide corn contest for boys, in which each boy was to plant a quarter of an acre, according to instructions sent out from the college, and cash prizes, certificates, and subscriptions to the "American Agriculturalist" were rewarded.