DAAHA's Grand Opening

WE'RE OPEN! 

Our Gallery Opening last Sunday was a success!  Around 50 people came to view our debut exhibit DEKALB AG: 100 years of Agricultural Innovation and were also able to preview our children's exhibit Sprouts.   Thanks to everyone who made it out to support us!  

The  DeKalb Area Agricultural Heritage Association, Inc. is currently open to the public Wednesday and Sunday from 2pm to 4pm or by appointment. 

 

Enjoy some pictures of the Gallery Opening below and don't forget to check out our website at www.daaha.org for our CALENDER OF EVENTS, where to DONATE, how to VOLUNTEER, or for general information about DAAHA.

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