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Nearly half a century after graduating from Castleford High School in southern Idaho, Dwaine Tesnohlidek still remembers his ag teacher Clarence Beckman as a close friend and mentor. Beckman was largely responsible for opening the door to Future Farmers of America (FFA) for Tesnohlidek and for creating a legacy in Idaho agriculture that continues to grow like ivy.
“He was the best teacher I ever had,” said Tesnohlidek, who followed Beckman’s example by devoting a career and about 80 percent of his years to FFA.

Tesnohlidek remembers his freshman year like it was yesterday. He was a gifted athlete and member of the football team; he also was interested in studying agriculture. On sports trips he and other players often pitched in to help buy their coach snacks or pay for meals. In contrast, Beckman always seemed to have the resources to make sure his FFA students enjoyed a first-class ride; no scrimping on his part.

“It looked like a more promising career to me, because we always went first-class in FFA,” Tesnohlidek said. Football faded upon high school graduation; FFA continues today, 50 years later.

“[FFA] provided an opportunity, as a student, to develop leadership qualities and to learn about agriculture,” Tesnohlidek says. “It’s a way to empower children through doing. The ag teacher relationship is much stronger and closer to students…a kinship. You get bonded to your students.

“They come back to me now…some are bald, have put on 50 pounds, or have whiskers. Sometimes I forget their names…” But none of his former students have forgotten the impact of FFA on their lives. More than 20 of his program’s alumni have become agriculture teachers (including two of his six children), and some went on to become educators in UI’s extension program.

“It’s a way to empower children through doing. The ag teacher relationship is much stronger and closer to students… a kinship. You get bonded to your students.”

When considering where to continue his education, there really was no choice, Tesnohlidek said. He picked the University of Idaho because its programs complemented and built on the ag education he received through FFA. “I never looked any place else, really,” he said. He and high school sweetheart Carolyn Flatters both migrated to Moscow, graduated in 1958, became teachers, and married. Carolyn, who earned an elementary education degree from UI, taught about 10 years before turning her attention to raising a family and helping with the growing family farm in Fruitland.

Dwaine began teaching in Wilder, where he spent one year before establishing a career at Fruitland High School that lasted 35 years. He retired in 1995 at age 59 and now devotes time to his 220-acre farm and keeping track of more than 100 head of cattle. The diversified operation also includes wheat, corn, hay, pasture, and this year potatoes.

FFA success came early to Tesnohlidek as a young ag teacher and FFA advisor, no doubt a legacy of his own high school mentor. In his first year teaching at Fruitland, Tesnohlidek took two teams to the national FFA judging contest/convention. The meats team returned with three individual gold medals, a performance shared with only one other state that year. (Incidentally, Milt Osgood, a member of that team, went on to become an agriculture teacher at Middleton where he has been the past 33 years.) Fruitland’s second team that year, in dairy products, claimed a silver award.

Since then, two teams won farm business management contests at the national level and one claimed a first in national dairy products judging. The legendary FFA advisor accompanied his teams to nationals in all but about four of his 35 years at Fruitland. He estimates that more than 60 teams or individuals competed at the national level after winning state contests.

The FFA program he introduced at Fruitland attracted about 70 students each year in the early days and became so popular Tesnohlidek had to limit enrollment. At the close of his career in Fruitland, the program drew about 150 students each year. In all, about 1,000 went through the Fruitland FFA program during his tenure—including six who shared his last name.
All of the Tesnohlidek children were intimately involved and highly successful in the program their father directed. All six used FFA as a springboard to a college degree from the UI and highly successful careers.

• Teresa (Tesnohlidek) Fabricius graduated from the UI in 1982 with bachelor’s degrees in education and in communication. The following year she earned a master’s in guidance counseling and, after nine years of teaching at Genesee High School, returned to Fruitland High School as a counselor. Although she doesn’t teach ag classes, she has remained active in FFA, especially when husband Jon was an FFA advisor at Genesee. She judged public speaking at the national level last year and was presented an honorary Fruitland Chapter degree for her continued service.
• Cathy (Tesnohlidek) Mosman earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural education in 1983 and 1987, and taught and ushered in a new FFA chapter at Glenns Ferry. She remains active in judging contests at the UI, even though she has put her formal teaching career on hold to raise children and help with the Mosman farm in Nezperce.
• Tony graduated in 1985 with a degree in microbiology, which led to a medical degree from the University of Washington in 1989. He completed a residency at Virginia Mason and now is a surgeon in Ontario, Ore. Wife Barbara (Rahe), a ’85 UI graduate in microbiology also, earned a medical degree from UW and is an anesthesiologist in Ontario.
• Vicki (Tesnohlidek) Milander (’86) earned an elementary education degree from UI and teaches second grade at Bainbridge Island, Wash.
• John, who served as student body vice president while attending UI, earned business and political science degrees in 1997. He is a human resources manager for a national chain store in Boise.
• Mike (’99) followed his father’s footsteps after graduating from UI with an agricultural education degree. He re-introduced agriculture classes and FFA at Nyssa High School in eastern Oregon, where he has taught the past two years.

John, Teresa, and Tony received the prestigious Theophilus Award from the UI for their leadership, involvement, service, and academics.

Five of the Tesnohlidek children graduated from Fruitland as valedictorian or co-valedictorian of their senior class; the other was salutatorian. They turned that academic success and their FFA experience into lucrative scholarships at the UI. Combined with summer work on the farm, they had the financial resources to avoid student loans or the need for employment during the school year.

FFA was a catalyst that led to their outstanding achievement, explains their father. It also was a way for the family to stay connected, explains Cathy. Many of their family trips were FFA related, including driving excursions to the national conference in Kansas City. “We were all pretty competitive, and FFA gave us a chance to compete in a lot of different events and gave us a chance to travel.”

In fact, FFA was so important that it became an unofficial filter through which potential dates for the Tesnohlidek daughters had to pass, Cathy recalls. “My father would never let us date someone unless they were in FFA. To him, those were the best kids.”

Tesnohlidek’s years of service and success at the national level earned him the distinguished Honorary American Farmer degree, FFA’s highest honor, in 1973. Again, following their father’s lead, all six of the Tesnohlidek children also received American Farmer degrees.
The UI College of Agriculture presented him its Distinguished Alumni Award last fall. Carolyn, an FFA honorary state farmer, is a member of the UI alumni board along with Teresa.
Approaching its 75th anniversary, FFA has not lost its appeal nationwide, instilling in high school students a passion for agriculture and equipping them for success. It was established in 1928 and has chapters in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Idaho was among the first states to join the new organization, creating its state charter in 1929.

“FFA leads to success in all walks of life, not just agriculture,” Tesnohlidek claims, citing public speaking, decision making, confidence, and depth of knowledge as valuable by-products of the organization. “There’s something for everybody. It helps students in all of their classes and in life. It’s a great program. I guess that’s why two of our kids grew up to be ag teachers.”
 

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