The DeKalb Christmas Tree!

Last week, The DeKalb Area Agricultural Heritage Association, Inc. had the wonderful opportunity to participate in the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce Holiday Open House.  In celebration of the event, Kate Koski, a DAAHA member kindly donated a "DEKALB Ag" themed Christmas Tree! 

The tree boasts many unique ornaments celebrating the rich history of the organization and local agricultural from corn cob salt shakers-turned-ornaments to handmade cornhusk snowmen, to cow tags! 

Our cornhusk Angel guarding a winged ear of corn even adorns the top!  

Kate, her sister Ann (our V.P), and I had such a great time decorating.   We are not officially open yet, but we hope you can make it by the museum this month to take a look at it!  As a bonus you'll get a sneak peak at our upcoming exhibits scheduled to open on January 8, 2012!

COLLECTIONS CORNER:: The Evolution of the Corn Seed Bag

Bag One: DAAHA Original Collection

Since its beginning in 1936, the DeKalb seed bag has been evolving. Often overlooked, the seed bag is a combination of utility and art for each product.  Since corn is one of the widely grown crops in America and in the northern Illinois region, this Artifact of the Month will examine the changes in the corn seed bag.

Bag Two: Donation from Charles Lindhart

One of the first things to look at when determining the differences between the each corn seed bag is the design of the bag itself.  If one looks closely at bag one (shown above), the catch phrase in the center box states “The Corn the Farmers Like.”  This may not mean a lot to an average person; however, this phrase was used before the commonly known slogan “More farmers plant DEKALB than any other brand” as can be seen on bag two (shown on the left).  What this tells us is that the date on   bag one is around 1940-1943, while  the date on bag two is after 1944.

Bag Three: Donation from David Smith

Another factor with dating the bag is whether it is made from cloth or paper. Both bags one and two are made from cloth, whereas bag three, shown on the right, is the new paper material.  But why does this matter?  As seed technology improved, so did seed bag technology.  Newer seeds had chemical treatments that could leak into the cloth bags. Paper bags have four layers – paper, brown kraft paper, plastic, and brown kraft paper – each layer helps to control the chemical seed treatment so that it does not leak through. 

Bag Four: Donation from David Smith

THE EVOLUTION OF THE DEKALB CORN SEED BAG

The DeKalb Area Agricultural Heritage Association

Presents

A Noon Presentation

The Evolution of the DEKALB

Corn Seed Bag

A Panel Discussion

Panel Members: Emerson Wells, Stan Bozdech, Rosemary Evans, Charles Lindhart, and Nate McGuire

The panel will discuss how, why, and when this innovative packing was used and how it helped make the flying ear one of the most recognizable symbols in corn production.  The panel features individuals who were involved in the design, development, utilization and production of the bags.

November 2, 2011@ 12:00 PM

Ellwood House Visitors Center

509 North 1^st Street

DeKalb, Il 60115

Bring Your Lunch!

BROWN BAG!

The DeKalb Area Agricultural Heritage Association

Presents

A Noon Presentation

Farming the Midwest: Farming Innovations in the 18^th Century

Presented by Jim Moffett

Jim Moffett is from Stockton, IL.  He is an agricultural historian and collector of historic farm equipment.

October 19, 2011 @ 12:00 PM

Ellwood House Visitors Center

509 North 1^st Street

DeKalb, Il 60115

BRING YOUR LUNCH!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

Today, nearly 80% of Illinois' total land area is covered with 76,000 farms, but the history of agriculture is slowing fading away!

The DeKalb Area Agricultural Heritage Association needs your help to preserve and share this history with our community!  

NO PRIOR EXPERIENCE IS NECESSARY!

Volunteer opportunities include cataloging, exhibit design and construction, social media networking, ad design, designing and implementing school programs, and being a docent!

If you are interested and have a few hours per month to volunteer, please contact us for an application and appointment.

815-756-8737 or daaha.inc@gmail.com

An Awesome and Productive Thursday!

Hello Everyone!  Liz and I (and our Board Members) have been working hard cataloging the collection and developing policies and procedures!  Everything seems to be coming together and we've had such a productive day, I thought we'd share it with you!

This morning we finalized our volunteer program! We are looking for volunteers in all aspects of museum work.  If you are interested in volunteering for us please email us at daaha.inc@gmail.com or call us at 815-756-8737.  All volunteers must be willing to submit to a background check.

In exhibits news, I've been brainstorming all morning on a new DeKalb Ag exhibit, highlighting the history and the major accomplishments of the company in celebration of the 100th year of the DeKalb Brand.  I also ordered materials for our new children's exhibit, SPROUTS, this afternoon.  I cannot wait for all of you to see it and I will blog about it soon.  We are  also looking to do exhibits on major agricultural innovations developed right here in northern Illinois including the Marsh Harvester, the John Deere plow, the McCormick Reaper, and Barbed Wire.

We've calculated that Liz is approximately two to three weeks away from completing the object inventory of our Original Collection.  (YEAH LIZ!!)  From there she will move onto cataloging our paper documents.

Looking around, its hard to believe Liz and I have only been here for about three months!  We've turned this place upside down! But we can't wait to get it back in shape and ready for our new exhibits!  We'll keep you all posted!

Jenn

COLLECTIONS CORNER:: Embosser

The featured artifact for this month is an embosser.  Embossing is a technique of creating an impression of some kind of design, lettering, or pattern on another surface like paper, cloth, or metal to make a relief. Embossing can be used for aesthetic purposes or, as in this case,  functionally. 

This Corporate Seal Embosser was used by the DeKalb Ag Research Incorporation of Delaware in 1938.  This is an important piece of the company’s history because the DeKalb Agricultural Association, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware during this year.  An employee would have used the embosser to mark legal papers to certify or cause to become certified through a notary public or bill. 

COLLECTIONS CORNER:: Organizing the Collection

     Since beginning in mid-August, one of my biggest tasks has been to re-organize and re-store the object and archival collections.  The picture on the right shows how the storage area in DAAHA looked before I began on this project.  This is only one out of five shelves in the storage area, which has boxes stacked all the way to the top.  Most of the boxes are filled with documents pertaining to the DeKalb Agricultural Association, but what was a surprise to me was the collection of objects housed in these boxes as well.  The first step to take was to determine if the objects or the documents were more important than the other.  With help from the DAAHA Board members, cataloging and rehousing the objects became the top priority.  By knowing what types of objects DAAHA has I will be able to establish what needs to be collected in the future to expand our collection.

     Many interesting objects have been found so far – from a modern day corn hook to an embosser used by the DeKalb AgResearch department in the late 1930s.  We even have numerous DeKalb jackets and shirts. Though I am only halfway through the process of cataloging the objects originally given to DAAHA in 2005, I have documented over 260 artifacts, most pertaining to the DeKalb Company, and I still have many more to go through.  Not only do I have the original collection to record, but also I have over twenty donations consisting of multiple objects in each donation from generous DAAHA supporters that I need to examine and arrange within the existing collection.

     While I catalog the objects, I also work on storing these items in an appropriate manner to preserve for future generations.  When I began, boxes held both documents and objects.  This should not be done because either the object or document could be damaged if left inappropriately stored for a long period of time.  In addition, some of the boxes contained many objects, which caused the container to become too heavy and damaged the box and storage material.  As an example, in the above left picture,  you can see the jackets were not hung in a correct manner.  Thus, I had to find a solution and institute a new way to store the collection.  The picture on the right demonstrates the new system I am following, which is a standard for museums.  Each box contains a certain amount of objects that can fit properly within and will not harm each other from deterioration or damage.  Once the box is filled, I place it on a temporary shelf in the storage area since that space will be reorganized once I finished cataloging everything.

     We have had to rearrange many things around the museum that it almost appears as a tornado has hit DAAHA.  One thing that has been taking up a lot of space in our work area, is the sorting of archival material that our curator/educator has been working on.  Though it looks like a cluttered mess in the picture on the left, Jenn is separating each document so she can determine if documents are new, similar to each other, or duplicates of those documents already in our collection.  Jenn needs to spread the documents out on the tables to get a good look at everything as well as to determine its condition. After her assessment, documents are placed in appropriate folders and each new folder is placed in an archival box so that when it comes time to catalog the archival collection everything will be in order and easier to go through.  

     I hope that in a month from now, I will have a new update for you on this project and that the storage and exhibit space of the museum will be coming together in a cleaner manner.

So you can dance your Ph.D., Huh?

According to it's website, "That's the idea behind "Dance Your Ph.D." Over the past 3 years, scientists from around the world have teamed up to create dance videos based on their graduate research. This year's contest, launched in June by Science, received 45 brave submissions."

Someone even danced their Ph.D. on MODERN AGRICULTURE! Check it out!

http://vimeo.com/19758906

COLLECTIONS CORNER:: The Corn Husker

We were originally going to begin this feature in September.  We know it's not September yet, but we're so excited about our new feature we wanted to post early!  Our Collections Corner blog posts will feature a unique item from our collection every month.  Thanks to our intern Liz Horoszko for our September Collections Corner post!

Many people take technological advances for granted, especially farm equipment.  What many people do not know, is that many of our recent ancestors worked hard in the fields with their hands and farmed for their own subsistence as well as for cash crops.  In the late 1890s, a farmer would work 75-90 hours a week, hand planting corn using a walking plow and harrow in order to produce  just 2 ½ acres of corn. Come harvest time, farmers would have to harvest by hand, using a corn hook.

The featured artifact for this month is a modern-day corn hook.  Although this hook likely dates the 1970s or 1980s, it is very much the same construction as a historic corn hook.

The original corn hook, also known as a corn husker, was invented by W.F. Lillie in the 1890s. The hook, comprised of a metal point that looks like a church-key can-opener attached to a leather strap, was strapped onto the right hand. The metal point was used to penetrate the husk top and remove it.  When the hook was used, the best of corn shuckers could shuck 100 bushels a day! However, harvesting by hand meant farmers would work from late fall to early spring. To make the work more fun during harvest time, people would throw corn husking parties, where both men and women were involved. By the mid-1890s, other inventors were applying for  patents to create corn picking machines, which would assist farmers in producing more acres of corn and would reduce the amount of physical labor.

Today, the corn husker has been replaced by the combine equipped with a grain platform specialized for corn. The head of the platform has snap rolls that strip the stalk and leaf away from the ear, so that only the ear (and husk) enter the combine.  Farmers can now harvest up to 2,000 bushels a day, saving themselves time, money, and labor.

INTERNSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT

INTERNSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT

Internship Type:  General Internship

Supervisor:  Jennifer Abplanalp, Curator and Educator

About DAAHA:  DAAHA is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and sharing the rich agricultural history of northern Illinois.  Our collection contains memorabilia, photographs, advertisements, and other documents from the DeKalb Agricultural Association.  We are looking to expand our collection to include items related to agriculture in general, including, but not limited to, pre-machinery farming tools, photographs, correspondence and personal yield records.  We are located in the Nehring Gallery at 111 S. 2^nd Street in Historic Downtown DeKalb.  For more information please visit dekalbaaha.blogspot.com.

Objective: Interns will gain an understanding of day-to-day museum operations, collections processing, collections management, and exhibit planning through hands on activities.

Responsibilities: Interns will assist with the following: cataloging and imaging of objects and documents; exhibit planning, development, and design; the development of collections based educational programs for all ages; and entering data into Past Perfect. Additional duties may be assigned as time allows.

Qualifications:  The candidate must be an undergraduate or graduate college student and be pursuing a career in Museum Studies, Historical Administration, Archives, History, Anthropology, or a related topic. The candidate must have completed their freshman year of college. This an internship for class credit and preference will be given to those who need an internship to complete their coursework.  The successful candidate will be self-motivated, innovative, creative, have strong organization skills, and have an interest in agriculture.

Time Commitment:  Candidates should be available 10-12 hours per week, Monday through Friday, between the hours of 7 a.m. and 4 p.m..  These hours are negotiable based on the students schedule and the availability of staff.

Final Product: Interns will conduct an independent project of their choosing for the completion of their internship.  This project should be based on requirements for their school program.  Projects may consist of developing an exhibit or educational program, organization and cataloging of a collection, a research project, etc. and must be approved by the Supervisor.  The final product will remain the property of DAAHA.

Interns will be required to evaluate their performance as well as DAAHA’s throughout the internship.

How to Apply:  Please send a completed application form, a one page personal statement describing your reasons for seeking an internship with DAAHA, and a copy of your CV or resume to the attention of Jennifer Abplanalp at daaha.inc@gmail.com.  Please email us for an application form.

DAAHA's New Logo

We'd like to thank Alex Bauer for our new DAAHA logo!

Alex's design was chosen among the 15 entries we received for our Logo Contest.  We'd like to thank all who participated.

Alex is a Sycamore native, attending school for graphic design.  Alex received a $250.00 prize courtesy of Waterman Winery and Vineyards, in Waterman, Illinois.

Congrats, Alex!

Hello and Welcome!

Hello! Welcome to An Ear Full: The official blog of the DeKalb Area Agricultural Association (DAAHA).    We are located in the Nehring Gallery at 111 2^nd Street, Suite 204, in historic downtown DeKalb, Il.  The DeKalb Park District has so graciously leased us this space to help us develop our mission of preserving and sharing the rich agricultural history of northern Illinois.  

We will open in early 2012 with exciting new exhibits showcasing the historical aspects of farming and agricultural in the area as well as our DeKalb Agricultural Association (DeKalb Ag) memorabilia. Our Collections Intern, Elizabeth, is hard at work cataloging DeKalb Ag artifacts and memorabilia that were donated by the Monsanto Company, members of the DeKalb Agricultural Alumni Association, and former employees of DeKalb Ag.   We also have a collection of photographs, documents, advertisements, and correspondence that we need to curate in the near future. By next year we hope to have a rotating exhibit featuring the history of a local farm family, with a new family every few months.  We are also in the process of developing a website, a newsletter for members and endowment contributors, and educational materials for the classroom as well as programs for the museum.  Educational lessons and materials will eventually be available on our website.

Please check back often as we will be updating the blog with our progress and with some interesting treasures we find!

If you are interested in supporting DAAHA, you can help in a number of ways:

Volunteer:  We will need assistance designing and creating new exhibits as well as processing our archival collection.  If you are a farm family interested in being showcased please call us to set up a meeting.  If you do not want to physically volunteer, please feel free to submit your exhibit ideas to the attention of Jennifer Abplanalp at daaha.inc@gmail.com.

Join:  Memberships to DAAHA are available at $50 for a one year membership and $1,000 for lifetime membership.  Please call us at 815-756-8737 for a membership application or send your name, phone number, home address, and email address along with a check to the address below. Please make checks payable to DAAHA.  At this time we cannot accept credit or debit cards. 

Donate:  If you have any items related to the DeKalb Agricultural Association or just general  items related to agriculture (tools, pictures, memorabilia, etc.) we would love to talk with you!

Contribute:  If you would like to contribute to our endowment fund, please call us at 815-756-8737 for an endowment form or send your name, phone number, home address, and email address along with a check to the address below.   Please make checks payable to DAAHA.  At this time we cannot accept credit or debit cards. 

Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/DekalbAAHA

We would love to meet all our donors, members, and endowment contributors.   We may not be open for a few months, but please call us to set up a meeting if you are interested in viewing our ‘behind-the-scene’ progress. 

Contact Information:

DeKalb Area Agricultural Historical Association

111 South Second Street, Suite 204

DeKalb, IL 60115

Phone: 815-756-8737

Email:  dahaa.inc@gmail.com