W.H. Hood
Affectionately known as “Papa Hood” by his students and the community, W.H. Hood, prepared many young Pleasant Hope vocational agriculture students for the roles they would play throughout their lives. Besides teaching the curriculum, Hood supported and inspired his students as a mentor, counselor and visionary. He taught them lessons in investing for the future, public speaking and most significantly, striving for excellence.
Hood led many Pleasant Hope FFA dairy cattle judging teams to compete at the district and state levels. His 1958 team scored so highly that they were chosen to represent Missouri in the National Dairy Cattle Judging competition, taking second place. Noel and Lloyd Boyd were members of that team.
In 1976, Hood’s dairy judging team won the national contest which led to the Pleasant Hope team representing the U.S. in the International Dairy Cattle Judging completion in Europe. In 1977, they won the World Dairy Judging contest at the Royal Welsh Show in the United Kingdom. To prepare for the international level of competition, Hood took the team to Europe to study breeds prior to the competition. They traveled to various locations, learning about the qualifications set for the different breeds. They went to Friesland to study Holsteins, the English Channel islands of Guernsey and Jersey to study the cows with those namesakes, and Wales to study the Ayrshire.
Teaching for thirty-four years, Hood had a huge impact on the community that lasted for decades. The new Pleasant Hope Vocational Agriculture building has been named in his honor. He was known to be tough by expecting excellence from his students, but he also gave them the tools to achieve excellence. In addition to teaching at Pleasant Hope and coaching the dairy judging teams, W.H. Hood taught night classes for returning veterans after the war.
In his nomination letter, William Auston Erwin wrote that W.H. Hood taught him key business and life skills. Hood worked with Erwin to enable him to buy his first registered heifer. Under Hood’s guidance, in 1974 he put together $1,200 from hauling hay and milking neighbor’s cows. Erwin stated that Hood walked him through the process, resulting with that heifer ultimately winning as the Southwest Missouri Junior Champion.
Subsequently, Erwin purchased other Holsteins enabling him to pay his way through college, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in Computer Science and Business Administration. Erwin credits W.H. Hood for teaching him the skills to achieve his lifetime goals, remembering him as a remarkable person. “He knew just how far to stretch a student for them to reach their fullest potential—to help them believe in themselves and achieve their dreams.” Erwin was a member of the 1977 team that won the World Dairy Judging Contest in Europe.
Through Hood’s leadership, mentorship and friendship, he encouraged many students such as the Lloyd and Noel Boyd, Larry Laney, Duane Weatherly, Chuck Gettle, Stan Sechler and Mark Highfill to reach their goals.
In support of Hood’s nomination for the Missouri Dairy Hall of Honors Pioneer Award, dairy writer and historian Dr. John Underwood wrote, “Papa Hood did not care if you were the superintendent’s son or from the poorest family in town, he treated each student equally and was responsible for many of their later successes in life. People still talk about “Papa” Hood in reverent tones,” said Underwood. “Hood knew how to teach, and instilled in his students his expectations of excellence. His final legacy was the impact he had on hundreds of FFA students at Pleasant Hope, as well as the national and international recognition he brought to the state.”
W.H. Hood earned an undergraduate and a master’s degree in Dairy Management at the University of Missouri. His son, Dennis Hood is a well-respected large animal veterinarian in Bolivar and his grandson, Bruce Hood, D.V.M., specializes in small animals. Bruce Hood owns and operates the Countryside Veterinary Clinic in Bolivar, originally founded by his father Dennis.