Samuel F. Ridlen Biography

Samuel Franklin "Sam" Ridlen, the son of Will and Josephine Ridlen, was born April 24, 1916, on his parents' farm south of Marion, Ill. Sam attended a one-room elementary school and Marion High School. In high school, he was in the Honor Society, a member of Teenarians (Junior Rotary), and on the Student Council, yearbook Editor, Annual Mock Trial Judge, and chairman of his homeroom. A four-year FFA member, he was president of his chapter as a sophomore and was on the FFA judging teams all four years in high school. In the State Poultry Contest, he placed fifth out of 395 participants. He received the State FFA Farmer degree. In his senior year, Sam was elected Most Representative Boy in the school by popular vote of the student body and was awarded the Scholastic Key for having the highest GPA of any boy in the school. A 4-H member eight years, he participated in many activities, including judging in which he was high individudal in the State Poultry Contest. He was a delegate to National 4-H Club Congress in 1935.
Upon receiving a County Farmers Institute Scholarship via written examination, Sam enrolled at the University of Illinois in the fall of 1936. he financed his schooling with the scholarship, waiting tables for his meals, and during his first two years, held a job for his room and another one for cash. He majored in general agriculture with emphasis on animal husbandry and agricultural education. In college, he was president of the poultry Science and General Agriculture Clubs and chairman of the Agricultural Council. he was a member of the Agricultural Education Club, University YMCA, and Alpha Tau Alpha and was active in the Disciples of Christ (Christian) Foundation and University Place Christian Church. Sam was a member of the University's Poultry Judging Team that won the 1939 Midwest Intercollegiate Contest and also participated in the World's Poultry Congress, where he rated "Excellent Judge." He received his B.S. degree in 1940 from Illinois and an M.S. at Michigan State, where he also did additional graduate study.
Following graduation from the U of I, Sam organized the Vocational Agriculture Department at the high school in Westville, Ill. He taught there until being drafted into the Army in April 1943. Assigned to Anti-Aircraft in california, he received his First Sergeant's stripes in March 1944. Sent to Texas in late 1944 to retrain as an infantry-man, Sam also helped train replacements for the Battle of the Bulge in Europe. He was then sent to India in the China-India-Burma Theater of Operations in 1945 and was discharged from the Army in July 1946.
On April 17, 1946, Sam married Helen L. Camp of Westville, Ill. Helen graduated from Lakeview School of Nursing in Danville, Ill., in 1946 and was a registered nurse. She worked as a nurse for nearly 25 years, the last 20 at the University's McKinley Health Center, where she was an administrative nurse when she retired. Sam and Helen had three children, Judith Elaine ('48), Barbara Jo ('51), and Mark Ellis ('59). Mark also lived at Nabor House.
Soon after Sam was discharged from the Army in 1946, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Poultry Extension at the University of Illinois. In 1953, he joined the staff of Honegger Breeder hathcery at Forrest, Ill., where he became General Manager. Enrolling in graduate school at Michigan State in 1956, he completed his M.S. in 1957 and became Associate Professor of Poultry Science at the University of Connecticut. He rejoined the faculty at Illinois in 1958 as Associate Professor of Poultry Extension, was promoted to full professor in 1965 and was assigned the additional posts of Extension Program Leader in 1977 and Assistant Department Head in 1978 in the Department of Animal Sciences. Sam came to be recognized nationally and internationally for his poultry extension programs, especially in the areas of management and production, classroom incubation projects, judging, and writing. His subject matter newsletter was distributed in 39 states and 29 foreign countries.
As an undergraduate, Sam contributed in various was to Nabor House in the development and progress of organizational structures and procedures. His participation in extracurricular activities provided a base for this contribution. Sam had a steadying influence on the discussions from which Nabor House evolved. He could be depended upon to moderate the lively differences of opinion with his level-headed style. His most significant and sustained contributions to the Fraternity came after he joined the faculty of the U of I. As the immediate post-war Fraternity president, Sam was instrumental in helping the organization get back on its feet. He worked tirelessly to recover the ground lost during the war and to move the Fraternity toward its potential. He served as the Fraternity's first Business Agent from 1959-81, introducing and installing many new procedures and practices. He was Faculty Adviser to the Illinois Chapter for many years, and his influence has done much to maintain the distinctive character of Nabor House. Sam's efforts in the production of the newsletter over an extended period are now refelected in a remarkable sense of unity among all of the alumni.
Sam was actively involved in church for much of his life and was Moderator of the Chair of Trustees, as well as an Elder in his church. He was active in a number of professional organizations during his career and was a 4-H leader 14 years. Sam retired in 1986.
- As written in "An Idea and an Ideal," a history of Nabor House published in 1989.
Upon receiving a County Farmers Institute Scholarship via written examination, Sam enrolled at the University of Illinois in the fall of 1936. he financed his schooling with the scholarship, waiting tables for his meals, and during his first two years, held a job for his room and another one for cash. He majored in general agriculture with emphasis on animal husbandry and agricultural education. In college, he was president of the poultry Science and General Agriculture Clubs and chairman of the Agricultural Council. he was a member of the Agricultural Education Club, University YMCA, and Alpha Tau Alpha and was active in the Disciples of Christ (Christian) Foundation and University Place Christian Church. Sam was a member of the University's Poultry Judging Team that won the 1939 Midwest Intercollegiate Contest and also participated in the World's Poultry Congress, where he rated "Excellent Judge." He received his B.S. degree in 1940 from Illinois and an M.S. at Michigan State, where he also did additional graduate study.
Following graduation from the U of I, Sam organized the Vocational Agriculture Department at the high school in Westville, Ill. He taught there until being drafted into the Army in April 1943. Assigned to Anti-Aircraft in california, he received his First Sergeant's stripes in March 1944. Sent to Texas in late 1944 to retrain as an infantry-man, Sam also helped train replacements for the Battle of the Bulge in Europe. He was then sent to India in the China-India-Burma Theater of Operations in 1945 and was discharged from the Army in July 1946.
On April 17, 1946, Sam married Helen L. Camp of Westville, Ill. Helen graduated from Lakeview School of Nursing in Danville, Ill., in 1946 and was a registered nurse. She worked as a nurse for nearly 25 years, the last 20 at the University's McKinley Health Center, where she was an administrative nurse when she retired. Sam and Helen had three children, Judith Elaine ('48), Barbara Jo ('51), and Mark Ellis ('59). Mark also lived at Nabor House.
Soon after Sam was discharged from the Army in 1946, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Poultry Extension at the University of Illinois. In 1953, he joined the staff of Honegger Breeder hathcery at Forrest, Ill., where he became General Manager. Enrolling in graduate school at Michigan State in 1956, he completed his M.S. in 1957 and became Associate Professor of Poultry Science at the University of Connecticut. He rejoined the faculty at Illinois in 1958 as Associate Professor of Poultry Extension, was promoted to full professor in 1965 and was assigned the additional posts of Extension Program Leader in 1977 and Assistant Department Head in 1978 in the Department of Animal Sciences. Sam came to be recognized nationally and internationally for his poultry extension programs, especially in the areas of management and production, classroom incubation projects, judging, and writing. His subject matter newsletter was distributed in 39 states and 29 foreign countries.
As an undergraduate, Sam contributed in various was to Nabor House in the development and progress of organizational structures and procedures. His participation in extracurricular activities provided a base for this contribution. Sam had a steadying influence on the discussions from which Nabor House evolved. He could be depended upon to moderate the lively differences of opinion with his level-headed style. His most significant and sustained contributions to the Fraternity came after he joined the faculty of the U of I. As the immediate post-war Fraternity president, Sam was instrumental in helping the organization get back on its feet. He worked tirelessly to recover the ground lost during the war and to move the Fraternity toward its potential. He served as the Fraternity's first Business Agent from 1959-81, introducing and installing many new procedures and practices. He was Faculty Adviser to the Illinois Chapter for many years, and his influence has done much to maintain the distinctive character of Nabor House. Sam's efforts in the production of the newsletter over an extended period are now refelected in a remarkable sense of unity among all of the alumni.
Sam was actively involved in church for much of his life and was Moderator of the Chair of Trustees, as well as an Elder in his church. He was active in a number of professional organizations during his career and was a 4-H leader 14 years. Sam retired in 1986.
- As written in "An Idea and an Ideal," a history of Nabor House published in 1989.
Ridlen's Obituary
CHAMPAIGN – A longtime University of Illinois educator and co-founder of the campus fraternity Nabor House, Samuel Franklin Ridlen died Oct. 30, 2010, in Urbana after a long career as a poultry expert.
Professor Emeritus Doug Parrett recalled his former colleague as a natural leader.
"He was intelligent and outgoing, and he always saw the good in people," Parrett said. "He always listened more than he spoke. He was really good at managing a group."
Barbara Evans of Champaign wrote a tribute to her father. In it, she writes that he was born on a farm near Marion on April 24, 1916, the youngest of nine children.
"Theirs was a subsistence farm life that required the labor of every child to provide for the family. As such, dad was the only member of his family to be educated beyond the 8th grade," she wrote.
"Living 5 miles out of town, and having no other way to get to school, dad walked those 5 miles twice a day through all kinds of weather. For a time, he helped a neighbor deliver milk in the mornings in exchange for a ride on the back of the milk wagon. Despite his determination and perseverance, there were years when Dad could not attend school as the family simply could not raise the $5 tuition."
When he left for college in the fall of 1936, times were tough. "His parents gave him a quarter, a postage stamp and their blessing. The remainder of his expenses and needs were his responsibility," Evans wrote.
"He secured a room in the attic on the Poultry Research Farm in exchange for tending the flocks and incubators. He studied by the furnace for warmth and subsisted on a diet of boiled eggs cooked in a tin can placed inside the furnace," his daughter said.
At the UI, Ridlen served as president of the Agriculture Club and the Poultry Club. He was a member of the championship intercollegiate Poultry Judging Team.
"He was enormously respected by generation after generation of students, and people in the poultry industry," Parrett said.
With four other young men in similar economic circumstances, he came up with the idea for a cooperative living group, Nabor House fraternity.
Victor Johnson, the active chapter president of Nabor House, said Mr. Ridlen was critical in the history of the fraternity.
"He was also instrumental in the adoption of our founding principles of education, cooperation and recreation, altogether united through Christian fellowship. He could often be depended upon to moderate the lively differences of opinion among the founding group through his level-headed style," he said.
After graduation in 1940, Mr. Ridlen became the vocational agriculture teacher at Westville High School for two years before being drafted into the Army in World War II. He was deployed to India to fight the Japanese in China.
Upon his discharge from the Army, he became a UI poultry Extension specialist.
He coached scores of poultry judging teams; his teams won 10 national championships. Among the awards and honors he received were the Pfizer Extension Teaching Award, the Paul A. Funk Award for his contributions to agriculture through teaching, and the Golden Feather Award from the Illinois poultry industry. He was the first recipient of the G.R. Carlisle Award for excellence in Extension teaching.
He served as a deacon and elder at University Place Christian Church and on the board for the Illinois Disciples Foundation. He was a co-founder of the Disciples of Christ Community Church.
He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Helen Ridlen; three children, Dr. Judith Ridlen of St. Louis; Barbara Evans of Champaign; and Mark Ridlen of Carmel, Ind.; six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; and a sister, Frieda White of Marion.
Professor Emeritus Doug Parrett recalled his former colleague as a natural leader.
"He was intelligent and outgoing, and he always saw the good in people," Parrett said. "He always listened more than he spoke. He was really good at managing a group."
Barbara Evans of Champaign wrote a tribute to her father. In it, she writes that he was born on a farm near Marion on April 24, 1916, the youngest of nine children.
"Theirs was a subsistence farm life that required the labor of every child to provide for the family. As such, dad was the only member of his family to be educated beyond the 8th grade," she wrote.
"Living 5 miles out of town, and having no other way to get to school, dad walked those 5 miles twice a day through all kinds of weather. For a time, he helped a neighbor deliver milk in the mornings in exchange for a ride on the back of the milk wagon. Despite his determination and perseverance, there were years when Dad could not attend school as the family simply could not raise the $5 tuition."
When he left for college in the fall of 1936, times were tough. "His parents gave him a quarter, a postage stamp and their blessing. The remainder of his expenses and needs were his responsibility," Evans wrote.
"He secured a room in the attic on the Poultry Research Farm in exchange for tending the flocks and incubators. He studied by the furnace for warmth and subsisted on a diet of boiled eggs cooked in a tin can placed inside the furnace," his daughter said.
At the UI, Ridlen served as president of the Agriculture Club and the Poultry Club. He was a member of the championship intercollegiate Poultry Judging Team.
"He was enormously respected by generation after generation of students, and people in the poultry industry," Parrett said.
With four other young men in similar economic circumstances, he came up with the idea for a cooperative living group, Nabor House fraternity.
Victor Johnson, the active chapter president of Nabor House, said Mr. Ridlen was critical in the history of the fraternity.
"He was also instrumental in the adoption of our founding principles of education, cooperation and recreation, altogether united through Christian fellowship. He could often be depended upon to moderate the lively differences of opinion among the founding group through his level-headed style," he said.
After graduation in 1940, Mr. Ridlen became the vocational agriculture teacher at Westville High School for two years before being drafted into the Army in World War II. He was deployed to India to fight the Japanese in China.
Upon his discharge from the Army, he became a UI poultry Extension specialist.
He coached scores of poultry judging teams; his teams won 10 national championships. Among the awards and honors he received were the Pfizer Extension Teaching Award, the Paul A. Funk Award for his contributions to agriculture through teaching, and the Golden Feather Award from the Illinois poultry industry. He was the first recipient of the G.R. Carlisle Award for excellence in Extension teaching.
He served as a deacon and elder at University Place Christian Church and on the board for the Illinois Disciples Foundation. He was a co-founder of the Disciples of Christ Community Church.
He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Helen Ridlen; three children, Dr. Judith Ridlen of St. Louis; Barbara Evans of Champaign; and Mark Ridlen of Carmel, Ind.; six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; and a sister, Frieda White of Marion.