If you visit the Gladden farm during the spring planting season or fall harvest, you'll likely find Phyllis Baker Gladden, BS '60, on a tractor in the field. Phyllis is an equal partner with her husband, Frank, in their farming operation that includes 560 acres at their Avon, Indiana, home plus another 3,500 acres at other locations.

They run the farm with the help of their son, Dale, and three additional workers. "Our farmland is scattered, so three of us go one way and three of us go another," Phyllis says.

For Phyllis, farming has always been a way of life. She grew up as one of three sisters on a dairy farm just outside of Indianapolis. When their father lost his right hand in a corn picker accident, the girls pitched in to help.

When it came time to attend college, the decision wasn't difficult. "My dad was a Purdue graduate, and he gave you three choices: Purdue, Purdue, or Purdue," she laughs. "So we gave our kids the same choices!"

At Purdue, Phyllis majored in home economics education upon the advice of her high school home economics teacher. After graduation, she married Frank, whom she had known growing up, and they settled down on a 500-acre Plainfield farm. For two years, Phyllis taught high school home economics while she and Frank raised corn, beans, wheat, and cattle. When they started their family, Phyllis decided to stay home to raise her children.

In addition to taking care of the kids, Phyllis worked in the field, managed the farm bookkeeping, and did "anything else that had to be done." She also volunteered in her community. She is a 40-year member of the Home Economists Guild of Indianapolis and served as its president in 1999-2000. She also founded the Fairfield Historic Preservation Society and successfully saved a community of historic homes in the path of an airport expansion.

Phyllis took special interest in organizations in which her three children, Dale, Marilyn, and Julie, were involved. Having been a 10-year 4-H member herself, Phyllis volunteered in many capacities with 4-H. She was a leader for 20 years to a large 4-H club and also judged 4-H at county fairs.

One of her lasting contributions to the 4-H program is the annual geranium sale that 4-H clubs throughout the state hold each spring to raise money. In the late 1970s, her 4-H club needed to raise funds and Phyllis's committee had the idea to sell geranium plants.

"We were hoping to make $5,000 and we actually made $12,000 that first year," she recalls. "The sale has continued every year since, plus it has spread all over the state to other counties."

Phyllis was also instrumental in establishing the Ag Day program for fourth graders in Hendricks County. Students visit the county fairgrounds, where they learn about food and fiber production by visiting different stations that feature demonstrations, farm equipment, and animals.

"I think it's very important to share your knowledge, especially with youth, and to be a mentor to someone," she says. "When I was a 4-H leader, I tried to make the kids in my club as enthusiastic about their projects as I was about mine when I was in 4-H."

With her children grown, Phyllis's volunteer activities now center around something else near and dear to her heart: china painting. A relatively obscure art form, china painting is exactly that - painting on china. Phyllis discovered china painting in 1979 quite by accident.

"There was an old barn on the back side of our property and when I needed a gift for the kids' teachers at Christmas, I'd go out and knock off a barn board and paint a snowy scene on it," Phyllis says. "I always knew I could draw things, but I never considered myself an artist."

One year, the teacher who had received the gift (a china painter herself) contacted Phyllis to say she loved the painting and to ask her if she had heard of china painting. Soon after, Phyllis began taking lessons in china painting from that teacher, scheduling the lessons during the less busy winter season.

Today, Phyllis is a renowned china painter and teacher. She is president of the Porcelain Art School of Indiana, twice past president of the Indiana World Organization of China Painters, and an area director overseeing six states for the World Organization of China Painters. She also teaches china painting classes in her home studio, scheduling her students around the farm work that needs to be done.

"I really want to further the fine art of china painting," Phyllis says. "There's not many teachers, so I feel obligated to promote it. Without teachers, I am afraid it will become a lost art."

It was this philosophy that motivated Phyllis to become involved with the Porcelain Art School of Indiana in the early 1990s. The school is held for one week in the summer. When she accepted the leadership, the school enrollment was only 40 students. Now, more than 100 students attend the five-day school each summer. Everyone from beginning to advanced china painters practice and hone their skills, learning from some of the world's most well-known artists.

In 2000, Phyllis spearheaded an effort to coordinate china painters across the state in a project that involved painting Indiana wildflowers on a 240-piece set of china that now resides in the Indiana governor's residence and is the official china of the Frank O'Bannon administration.

"I had originally planned for 24 pieces to be completed," Phyllis says. "There was such a good response though from members across the state that we ended up with 240 pieces!"

That project soon gave rise to another one involving the creation of ornaments for the official White House Christmas tree. The White House requested each state send four handmade ornaments, and Phyllis and some fellow china painters were asked to make the ornaments from Indiana.

These days, Phyllis doesn't have any big painting projects going, but that doesn't mean you won't find her with a paintbrush in hand. "I always have something going," she laughs. "Instead of going shopping, I paint!"

In fall 2001, Phyllis received the Hidden Diamond Award during the CFS 75th anniversary celebration. The award honored 75 of the school's alumni who had made significant contributions to communities or families and who had never received an award from the school.