American Country Life Association

[1] The ACLA maintained administrative offices and staff at 1849 Grand Central Terminal Building in New York City.

It was attended by 175 persons from 30 states, who represented 25 national organizations and five federal bureaus engaged in country life work.

The work already accomplished by the association, demonstrated its usefulness for bringing together the various national and state organizations and agencies engaged in the improvement of country life.

It aimed "to facilitate discussion of the problems and objectives of country life and the means of their solution and attainment; to further the efforts and increase the efficiency of agencies and institutions engaged in this field; to disseminate information calculated to promote a better understanding of country life, and to aid in rural improvement.

The association, while American in origin and in its main line of work, had an international point of view and was in communication with similar movements all over the world.

[2] By 1963, the ACLA's primary concern became the establishment of a Presidential commission that would study the entire area of country life.

It merely arranged to spread out at a convening at least annual the country life programs of many organizations with a view of securing closer cooperation between them.