The people mover is outside!

While the newest wagon isn't completely finished I just couldn't wait to get pictures out and share with everyone. The new people mover was pulled from the basement this afternoon and is ready for the installation of the horse neck yoke and eveners. Once this is on we will be ready for action. Great job to the whole team who worked on this project. A special shout out to Andy, thanks so much! More pictures to follow

Hoard's Dairyman contest

You know how every trade and interest out there has a magazine dedicated to it, well in the milk cow world it is Hoard's Dairyman. One of the really neat things they offer is an annual contest for their subscribers. In the magazine they feature four cows from each of the 5 major breeds and then let you pick which ones you think rank best from 1-4. For the last couple years our 4-H dairy leader Julie has gotten the kids together and worked this contest into a really good learning opportunity. This year the guys from Golden Oaks Dairy Farm came down to lend a hand and help the kids better understand what they were looking for in the different animals and breeds. Picking the the winner is somewhat subjective but there are important traits that make a good cow stand out. Qualities like how well she stands, the make up and attachment of her udder and the line of her back all weigh in. I'll keep you posted if we end up with a winner from Glenview!

By the way, the cow pictured at the bottom is our own Boo, the 2009 Lake County Fair Grand Champion.

A day out west

Just like the old days, we farmers still get together to help one another out when it comes to some of the jobs on the farm. However, in Cook County, Illinois we have to go a bit further to find a farm neighbor. The Volkening Heritage Farm located in Schaumburg (about 20 miles to the west) interprets the settlement of that part of the country by German immigrants in the 1880's. As the storyline goes, Wagner Farm fits well with Volkening in that we also interpret the German farmer. The contrast is the level of assimilation that the different generations of immigrants had to their adoptive country. By the 1920's the Wagners, and most of the surrounding Germans were speaking English and considering themselves as Americans. Especially since there had just been a World War against Germany.

The task that I went over to help out with was working pigs. When a sow has a litter of babies there are a number of things that should be done to keep them healthy. It was also good to check in and catch up with Evan and Patti who run the museum.

Snow toys

With another snow we have a whole new crop of icicles. Cassidy was especially excited to find the one that was bigger than she is.

Staff meetings

Once a year our staff takes a few days to get together to look back at the last year and make plans for the future. In the early years, our staff was so small that we could have had the meeting around a card table. This time we took up the double classroom (in all we have 29 employees at the farm). For me, these meetings are really energizing. Besides talking about the operations of the farm we also had some lively debates. In one session we watched the movie Food Inc. and then spent some time talking about the state of modern agriculture and the relationship between farmers, consumers and the retail/producers. In our society this is one of the many complex issues out there that has to find a resolution soon. The final part of the meetings were spent working in teams around the farm. This year we tackled cleaning the farmhouse, relabeling cans in the 1930's store and splitting wood. All in all it was a productive couple days.

200th post

While it is only a little milestone it is worth noting, this is Wagner Feed post #200! I have saved a special story for this post.

Back in December my mom gave me a gift that I thought was blog-worthy both because of its beauty and also for its historical tie to the period of time that WF interprets. My mom created a quilt using the patterns from Ruby Short McKim that were first published in the magazine Farm Life in the 1930's. During the Depression magazines had to work to try to find ways to keep their subscribers on the roll. One of the more ingenious ideas was to put in special patterns that the farm wives might find useful. Ruby McKim's patterns were highly sought after so this dramatically helped finances the Farm Life magazine. Each new issue would bring the next pattern in the series. Another industry that creatively tapped into this market was the livestock feed and flour companies. Prior to the Depression, when a customer went to the store to purchase feed or flour the bags were made of plain white fabric. In an effort to lure buyers someone came up with the idea to make the sacks from decorative fabrics that farm wives might find useful. With money tight many households were forced to make their own clothes and the prospect of having "free cloth" was a big deal. To get more or matching cloth you would have to stick with the same brand when considering your next purchase. This is where the term flour sack dress comes from. Today when quilters use flour sack for material it is general reproduction fabric because the originals are so expensive. In this quilt my mom used reproductions to form the border of the quilt. Besides the historical value that the quilt has there is also an emotional value since she created it last year with my dad, and that is what makes it one of my favorite things. Thanks mom

Cats

I have to admit that I'm really a dog person but the farm cats around here are pretty funny and quite photogenic.

Winter workout

During the winter it is hard not to get that feeling of being out of shape. The same goes for the animals. For a draft horse it is really easy to loose muscle tone and get over conditioned. Over conditioned is just a very polite way to say fat. It is especially important to keep farm horses in good shape because one of the hardest jobs they will do all season is in the spring during plowing. At Wagner we will do some of the plowing with the horses and some of the work with our tractors. Still the ponies can get over conditioned if we don't make the effort to keep them in harness and working during the cold winter months. One of the workouts that we have them do is pull an old tractor tire. The tire, which I nabbed from my dad weights a couple hundred pounds. We chain the tire to what is called a fore cart and that gives the drivers somewhere to sit and control the team. With the ground frozen and a fluffy coat of snow on the ground the workout was not too hard for the horses today.

Friends

Our thoughts are with E.K. and N.K. and their family right now.

Winter Red

This bird technically wasn't photographed on the 18 acres that make up Wagner Farm. But he was just too pretty not to share.

Winter Fun

Though the farm may seem a quiet place during the winter, looks can be deceiving. Step inside the heritage center and you're likely to see one of our winter programs taking place. Crafty Calves is a great program for little ones and their parents to take some time to meet our animals and do a fun craft activity. As you can see, this month featured our pigs, and the kids had a great time making muddy piggy banks. Next month we'll be meeting our horses. Hope everyone can join us in the fun!

Fresh coat of white

Like much of the country we too are getting a taste of snow. While the storm is making travel hard it does give us a chance to see our landscape in a different way. Joseph Wood Krutch once said about a snowfall, "There is no other time when the whole world seems composed of one thing and one thing only."

Kitty kitty

If you have visited the farm recently you have likely been introduced to one or more of our collection of felines. They are a huge hit with the school kids, not so much with the programmers who have to compete for the kid's attention. At present we have Blacky, Crooks, Curly, Larry and you guessed it Moe.

Cobwebs

Besides when you are cleaning around the house do you ever notice spider webs? Sometimes things that we see everyday can be amazing if you take the time to really look at them. Last week I was working the in the barn and for some reason looked up and noticed all the webs that were hanging down from the ceiling. I go in the barn everyday but stuff like webs would be one of the last things I normally look at. The shear number of webs was astounding. I read once that the only webs you actually see are the abandoned ones since new webs are nearly invisible. When the sticky fibers of the web start to collect dust they become useless to the spiders and visible to humans. Because the strands of the web are super strong they can hang for years.

Barn life in the winter

When the snow starts to fly what happens to the cows? It is a question that many folks wonder about. It might surprise some people but we have written policies that deal with issues like livestock care and handling. With the help of our veterinarian we came up with these guidelines so that we can give the farm animals the best care they can get. When the winter comes it does pose some unique challenges to "cow comfort". Generally, cows and horses do pretty good out in nature despite the cold weather. Humans like to imagine their level of temperature tolerances translated to animals but it just doesn't work that way. There are many physiological differences that make that comparison unreasonable. First, cattle and horses are naturally supplied with a fantastically thick winter coat. This protection is not just the hair but also the layer of fat that helps retain heat. They also have an ability to generate heat from their massive digestive system. As an example, a cow has four stomachs that process large amounts of grass and hay. Their digestion creates the same kind of heat that you might find in a pile of lawn clippings that start the decomposition process. With that kind of heat coming from within they almost have an internal furnace.

We also help with their protection from the elements by bringing the stock into the barn when the temperatures drop. The other morning I came with my 4-Her daughter for weekend chores and snapped a couple pictures of the animals at breakfast time. The cattle are all housed in what is called stanchions. By keeping them somewhat stationary it maintains order and allows for them to stay cleaner and more comfortable. Each evening we make them a very comfortable bed. This bed starts with a thick layer of rubber topped with plenty of straw. For the horses we isolate them in a box stall. In the morning after everyone eats we let them out of the barn to get water and some time to walk around. This gives us a chance to clean up the "evenings mess" and remake the bedding. Having grown up on a large farm I have to say that these animals have it made living at Wagner Farm.

New peace of mind

I have been asked a number of times what I thought the most valuable artifact at Wagner Farm is. I have a short list of responses for this question. One of the items would have to be the small collection of family pictures that only recently came to the museum from the Miller family (grandchildren of the Wagners). A favorite artifact of mine is the 1942 Case "SC" tractor. It was purchased by the family new and has been here working ever since. It is one of the easiest driving tractors I have ever worked on. The grand-daddy of artifacts at the farm in my opinion would have to be the buildings. When most people think of artifacts they likely visualize heirlooms of great value or cultural importance. The Wagner house, barn and associated outbuildings might not have extreme financial or national importance but I would have to say that they do mean a lot, and stand for something in our little community. The idea of preserving a "run of the mill" 4-square farmhouse and Gambreled roofed barn, and for that matter a farm says plenty about our desires to keep a reminder of our past. The Wagner buildings, and those like them in our area have made a transition. A transition from being common to being a strange exception in a matter of a few decades. Now all farming is in Glenview is what happens at the museum. So buildings like our farmhouse are so important to keep as that link to what this town was not that long ago.
To help make sure that the buildings are around for the next generation the Friends of Wagner Farm have made it possible to provide a state of the art fire and burglar system. So a huge thank you goes out to all the donors who have helped out in this effort. An effort to protect a very special artifact.