"Woman of the Year" was the title bestowed upon Miss Margaret Ambrose by the Progressive Farmer in 1941. In making the announcement the magazine stated:  "For twenty-eight years Miss Ambrose has endeared herself to the rural folk of Tennessee and because of her enthusiasm, friendliness, and unassuming personality has become one of the best-known and liked Home Demonstration Leaders in the South."

Born September 9, 1877, in Knoxville, Margaret was one of a family of nine children. She graduated from Girls' High School in the spring of 1895 in a class made up of twenty-five girls and one boy. In the fall she entered the Liberal Arts College of the University of Tennessee, where she continued for two years. Forced to withdraw from school because of her father's illness, she later completed her work by attending summer sessions.

Miss Ambrose taught ten years in the North Knoxville Schools, a vivacious and conscientious teacher, who always entered into her work with interest and enthusiasm. The first Parent-Teacher organizations in the city were formed through the efforts of Miss Ambrose and Miss Leah Fletcher.

In 1912 Miss Ambrose began her career with the Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service as a Girls' Club Agent. After being promoted to District Agent in East Tennessee in 1915, she was appointed Assistant State Demonstration Leader in 1920, a position which she held until her death on July 17, 1942. Her influence extended to most of the farm families in the State and to the many hundreds of women who attended Farm Women's Week, an annual program which she helped to organize and promote. More than 40,000 4-H Club girls and 30,000 rural homemakers came under her inspirational guidance each year.

Even though Miss Ambrose had trained herself for the teaching profession, she envisioned the possibilities in the field of Rural Extension Service and entered eagerly into this work. At the time of her death, the Tennessee Extension Review said of her: "This enthusiasm she never lost, and friends marveled at her endless energy and happy good humor in spite of the exaction of travel and irregular hours."

Miss Ambrose's unusual ability and splendid service were recognized far beyond the confines of her own area. She was an active member of several national and regional groups concerned with rural improvement. In February, 1942, six months before her death, she was awarded a plaque by the Association of Southern Agricultural Workers as the outstanding contributor to rural improvement in the South.

Always active in church work, Miss Ambrose was a member of Luttrell Street Methodist Church, later called Trinity Church, where she taught a young men's class, worked with young people in the Epworth League, and served as church organist. She helped organize the Business and Professional Women's Club in Knoxville and served as its first president. She maintained a keen interest in civic affairs and gave generously of her time and effort in the promotion of welfare work.

In her twenty-two years of faithful and unstinting service to the rural families of Tennessee, Miss Ambrose enshrined herself in the hearts of those whom she worked. Shortly after her death in 1942, one of her colleagues wrote, "I am sure that the only memorial Miss [Transcription stops here.]

Source: Light from Many Candles: A History of Pioneer Women in Education in Tennessee, by Lucille Rogers. Published by Xi State, Delta Kappa Gamma.McQuiddy Printing Company, Nashville, 1960. Transcribed for this site by Char.