2012 Wagner Staff Meeting

Today we held our yearly staff meeting. I still get a little nervous for the multiple presentations that have to be given but it is a great time to review our accomplishments and plan for the coming year. As is common in business meetings, we started with a team building exercise. Since we all know each other we skipped the "getting to know you" stuff. This years game we had to guess each others soap opera stage name. This is arrived at by taking your middle name as your first name and combining it with the name of the street you live on for your last name. My new name is Byron Fir (I'm never going to be famous with that name). Once we had that figured out I had everyone write their new name on a note card and we divided into two teams. The teams switched cards and then got points for all the correct names they guessed on the other side. Nothing like starting the day laughing.

While a chunk of the day was spent on training in policy/procedures the most interesting section for me was led by Sarah when she unveiled our new mission and vision statement for the Farm.

Vision - To be an innovative and enjoyable museum within the Chicagoland area.

Mission - To promote an educational and memorable experience through programs and site visits that ignite the imagination, inspire our visitors, and preserve our local agricultural history.

I think this new mission and vision does a good job of telling people who we are and what we do. As the staff spends the rest of the winter working on new programs and events it will serve as a helpful reminder of our ultimate goal.

Done!

When you think about the types of jobs staff perform at Wagner, book keeping isn't likely high on the list. Still, the Farm is a business and we do our best to run it as such. Each December - January the Park District puts their faith in a bunch of history majors to develop a one year budget. The process is actually fun because it gives us a chance to dream up new programs and offerings for the coming year. From the first draft to the last it really does take about two months and a lot of brain strain. Sarah and I were happy to hand in the completed draft today!

Town hall meeting

Our State Representative, Dan Biss had a busy weekend. On Friday he was given the Illinois Parks and Recreation award for Legislator of the Year. Then on Sunday he came to Wagner Farm for a town hall meeting. It was the first time we have hosted this kind of an event and it went really well. There were over 90 people in attendance.

Our first harvest

Today we had a notable achievement at the Farm. For the last couple months we have been working together with North Shore Special Education to offer farm experiences to their students. Their toil produced a reward in the harvest of their first popcorn crop. The ears look a little smaller than what you might be used to seeing. They used a heirloom variety of corn because we needed something smaller for the space we had in the greenhouse. The students will be able to take the corn back to their school and pop it for the class to enjoy. With the growing cycle complete, the story of what it takes to put food on the table will be something these kids will never forget.

Here's a factoid - Popcorn is the oldest type of corn know in the world. In the late 1940's researchers working in New Mexico found a cave that had human artifacts that dated over 3,000 years old. Amongst the tools and other finds was a cache of popcorn kernals. When the the men got back to their offices at Harvard they took a couple of the kernals and put them in hot oil and they actually got it to pop! No report on how it tasted.

Staking our claim

I'm going to be honest, I am not a big fan of winter. Of all the seasons, the cold and dark that blanket the land this time of year doesn't do anything for me. However, it does give all of us a chance to get ready for the spring. One of the new programs that we are working hard on right now is the Community Garden. For the last few years we have offered a small garden plot program that specialized in heirloom plant varieties. With so many requests to participate we felt the need to expand and enhance the program. Besides the addition of over 60 plots we are also developing programs that will tie into the themes of gardening and food preservation. In December the Glenview Park District board approved the program which allowed staff to get started in earnest. While it is somewhat hard to see the markers in the picture, we did have the area staked out so that we are ready for plowing and fencing as soon as the ground is thawed.

White everywhere

Tapas 1920's style

Last night Allison hosted another great volunteer meeting at the Farm. The presentation tied in with the historic dinners program we offer during the winter. Samples of all of the major dishes were served up with the historical background and the recipe. It is really interesting to research the types of food that were common in the 1920's for this area. Factors such as ethinic heritage, economic level and profession all play an important roll. As an example, the Wagners came from southwestern Germany. The dishes that reminded them of home would have been more along the meat and potatoes type versus the fish that was common in northern Germany.