USA > Indiana > Grant County > Centennial history of Grant County, Indiana, 1812 to 1912 : compiled from records of the Grant county historical society, archives of the county, data of personal interviews, and other authentic sources of local information > Part 14
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Leading up to what later developed into the Farmer's Institute was the Chant County Farmer's Association, organized in 1891. The membership was open to all on payment of $1.00 annual dues, and was supported by representative men from all parts of the county. Regular meetings were held monthly in the courthouse and subjects discussed that pertained to farming and its interests. Some of the names asso- ciated with that organization were John b. Thompson, Joshua Strange, Isaiah R. Shugart, 1. M. Miller, Eli Coggeshall, Clarkson Willents and others. This society continued to hold its meetings until 1887, when it was merged into the present Farmer's Institute, and the first meeting held was on St. Patrick's day, 1887, in the old Sweetser opera house. A slight freeze the previous night had crusted the mud so that a horse would break through at every step. The day was a genuine demonstra- tion of real March weather at its worst, and as a result even though the committee had prepared a splendid program, when the time came for meeting, the officers and speakers were all that were present. Something had to be done. So John b. Thompson and the other members of the committee went out on the streets and succeeded after diligent work in gathering an audience of fourteen for the first day. The second day the weather was less severe and the crowd more satisfactory. The speakers for the occasion were J. D. Conner, of Wabash, (present sec- retary of the American Belgian Record Association ) and Colonel Bridgeland, of Indianapolis, a horse importer who spoke on "The Horses of France." Mr. Comer's subjeet was "The Horse, " and from the reports of those present it was a most splendid effort. Mrs. Kate Busick. a Jersey cattle breeder of Wabash, was also on the program, presenting a dairy subject. The effort was again repeated in 1888 and in 1889 the State Institute Law was passed, and in the autumn of that year the Farmer's Institute work was commenced under state control. Grant county, while not being the pioneer in the institute work, of Indiana. was among the first counties to begin such work and today it stands as one of the state's best centers of institute attendance, enthusiasm. and interest. While the institute has been, in the past, a splendid school
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for the busy farmer, yet at this writing it bids l'air to be supplanted by the three days short course, and like innovations of a more popular character. Yet it should be said by way of "just deserts" that the institute, with its corps of able speakers, both men and women, has exerted a marked influence for good on Grant county's agriculture. From a single meeting in the county, the institute organization has grown until the towns of Swayzee, Sweetser, Upland, Van Buren, Fair- mount and Marion are holding from one to two days sessions annually. From the standpoint of interest and enthusiasm the Swayze Institute organized November 30, 1904, bas always set the pace. They were first in the giving of badges for paid up membership, and when it comes to "getting out a crowd, " they are an unqualified success. The man who stands out in this particular institute is W. S. Glessner, who secured it for western Grant county. Others of course have shared the respon- sibility with Mr. Glessner, but upon him has fallen a great deal of the work of directing and enthusing.
The Fairmount Institute, organized February 6, 1905, is a close second to Swayzee in point of interest and attendance, and for the past three years has held in connection with and under the manage- ment of the institute, a short course, which promises to be a popular venture. These later meetings have been held at the Fairmount academy, where the gymnasium offers splendid opportunities for the exhibition of livestock for judging purposes. Plans have been made and com- mittees appointed to manage a big two days' short course in 1914. It is not out of place to mention the effective and faithini work of E. J. Seale in connection with the carly meetings. llis relation to the Fair- mount lustitnte being similar to that of Mr. Glessner to the Swayzee Institute.
The other institutes of the county were organized as follows: Van Buren, February 9, 1909; Upland, February 10, 1909; Sweetser, Janu- ary 3, 1912. While not as strong as the other institutes of the county, yet they are steadily growing and bid fair in time to even eclipse some of the older ones. A list of the county chairmen of institutes is as follows: Joshua Strange, I. M. Miller, J. M. Ballard, W. E. Willeuts, V. A. Burrier, W. A. Winner, Wm. M. Jones, Thurlow W. Shugart and L. O. Chasey. Of these several chairmen, A. A. Burrier probably held the longest term, being chairman for seven years. Associated with him for these seven years were Mr. Rena P. Smith, vice chairman : E. J. Seale, secretary and Win. F. Knote, treasurer. This continued service speaks loudly for the efficiency of the above corps of officers. While, as has been previously mentioned, the popularity of the institute is being threatened by the coming of the short courses, yet the attendance at the sessions for 1913, just closed, indicates some years of usefulness yet for the Farmers' Institute.
Almost every farmer can recall the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Asso- ciation, commonly called the "F. M. B. A," which began in Grant County in 1889. The society made arrangements with manufacturing fimmus and local merchants whereby their members could get a certain per cent discount on all purchases. The motive prompting this organ- ization was entirely good, but due to political ambitions of some of the membership, and the rivalry among local dealers for patronage, the projeet was finally abandoned and its demise is another example of the futility of attempting co-operation among farmers.
On January 24, 1891, there was filed with the county recorder articles of incorporation for a society that was destined to serve the farmer in a practical and economic way. This society was called the Grant County Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and its arti- «les of incorporation, written on the old business stationery of Joshua Strange, were signed by the following men: I. M. Miller, Luther T. Vol I- 6
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IJale, Levi M. Cole, John HI. Null, Barclay L. Johnson, Joshua Strange, Hezekiah Steelman, Harvey Ballinger, F. M. Weaver, Jesse M. Ballard, Darius Nesbitt, Aloin Thomas, Harmon Fisherbuck, Michael Seiben, J J. Pulley and S. P. Barley.
For the first few years of its existence the company made assess- ments only as a loss occurred. The "pinch time" came when one of the members, was repeatedly burned out by parties holding personal enmity against him. Paying these heavy losses while the society was still young and not very firmly established came near wrecking a splen- did undertaking. This member, however, withdrew temporarily from the company and its officers by a careful, conservative policy have pushed the business forward until today their published statement, November 25, 1913, shows them to have $1,039,484 worth of farm prop- erty insurance in force in Grant county. In 1911 the association gained $430,000 increase in business over 1910, and in 1912 an increase of $425,000 over 1911. During the twenty-two years of the company's existence there have been only three secretaries, viz: Joshua Strange, Luther Hale and Robert L. Smith. Mr. Hale being the present incum- hent. Of late years the society's rate per $100 of insurance has been below that of the old line companies and tends to explain the splendid growth of the organization. Great credit must be given to those men associated with the movement in its inception, For their determination to push a good thing through to a successful culmination, and it is no doubt gratifying to them to be permitted to see the realization of what was by many condemned as a costly experiment.
The next society coming in chronological order is the Swayzee Fair Association, which had its beginning in 1892. B. N. Leisure was the first president and W. F. Smith, the secretary. Under this organization twelve very successful meetings were held, but in 1904 and 1905 the venture was temporarily abandoned, to be taken up again in June, 1906, under new management. Of this new association Darius Nesbitt was president and William Ammon, secretary. Only two meetings were held, and in 1905 the fair was given up and the grounds. comprising thirty acres, originally leased of A. J. Pence, were converted into Farm land. Inability to finance the proposition successfully is the reason given by those in charge for the final disbanding of the association.
In 1902 an organization known as the Van Buren Driving Associa- tion was incorporated and held its first meeting in July, of that year. Its officers were E. W. Landers, president and George W. Camblin, see- retary. As the name signifies, this was not a regular fair association, but rather an organization that catered to the admirers of the light harness horse, to those who relished a good "hoss race." Only two meet. ings were held under the original association management, when Messrs. T. B. Camblin and J. M. Hedrick took the proposition in hand, and for a few years held race meetings nuder their own supervision and on their own initiative. The last person to be actively identified with the propo- sition was "Jim" Sullivan, who acted in the capacity of "master of cere- monies, " the merchants and citizens contributing to the support of the enterprise by more or less liberal donations. Under this system were held some of the most successful meetings in the history of the associa- tion. While the track and buildings are still intact, the forty acres, the amount originally leased for the use of the society, is being farmed, and last year a erop of corn was raised in the center field, all of which indicate that the Van Buren Driving Association is largely a matter of history.
The idea that later took form in the Northern Indiana Poultry Asso- ciation, had its beginning in the office of Dr. F. A. Priest, when Frank Sherwin called to discuss such an organization with him. These two men appointed a meeting in the office of Dr. G. R. Daniels on February
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1, 1911, and all town lot poultry faneiers as well as interested farmers, were given an invitation to be present. At this meeting Dr. Daniels was made president; Mr. Sherwin, secretary ; and Dr. Priest, treasurer. The object to be gained by this society was better poultry and the co- operative buying of food supplies. Public meetings have been held in the city library and prominent poultry specialists have addressed them. Three successful poultry shows have been held and the society numbers among its membership prominent fanciers and breeders.
There had been previous attempts at organization of poultrymen, but the Northern ludiana Poultry Association is the first to incorporate under the Pet Stock Laws of Indiana. With this we conclude our brief chapter on the agricultural societies of Grant county, hoping that the future will see the establishment of many organizations that will per- manently benefit our agricultural interest.
XI. THE EVOLUTION OF AGRICULTURE
By W. S. Glessner
This is the greatest age that the world has ever known. Progress and improvement along all lines of human activity are more rapid now than at any time in history. Agriculture is keeping pace with other industries. In fact, it must be in the lead, for it is the fundamental occupation on which all other industries depend. All are essential for a high civilization, but agriculture is essential for any civilization. The civilization of any country will not advance any Faster than the develop- ment of its agriculture. Consider the countries where the methods of agriculture are crude and the civilization is not of the highest order.
Little the stranger thinks, as he rides through the green fields of our country in an electric car or along the well-improved highways in an automobile. that only a few years ago the greater portion of it was unim- proved and the things that would have met his vision would have been a little log cabin in the midst of a clearing from which the smoke curled from a clay and stiek chimney. Instead of the lowing of many herds, he would have heard the ring of the woodsman's ox or the crack of the huntsman's ritle as he was endeavoring to supply his family with meat from the wild animals of the forest.
There are many living today who are familiar with the early con- ditions of the farmer of the county, familiar with erude methods of farming and privations of the carly settlers, with tallow candles made at home; with the steel and Hint which were used in making fires instead of matches or a child was sent to a neighbor's to "borrow a chunk of fire" if the fire at home went out; with stage coach for travel and ox-cart and four-horse wagons for transportations; pens of goose-quills; no envelopes ; letters on four-page sheets, folded and sealed with wafers or wax; live-stock, fruit, vegetables and Howers of an indifferent quality and style. You see where we are now and can compare all these things with the comforts, conveniences, facilities, and delights-including countless books and publications- - that make up the life of the farmer today.
Improvements and inventions never come sooner than needed. Think of using our modern harvesting machinery among the stumps and swamps of the early days. It would have been a hopeless task to try to run one of the twenty horse-power, heavy traction engines over the highways only a few years ago. So the wheat was harvested with cradles, and the sheaves of grain bound by hand were stored in the barn. In the winter father and sons thrashed it out with fails or with
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horses tramping it out on the threshing floor. It was the duty of the boys to drive the horses endlessly around and around until the grain was trodden from the straw. When finished the grain was winnowed out first in a strong breeze, then finished in a fanning mill. To produce wheat in such fashion was costly. The mind of man became active and a machine was invented to thresh the grain and the threshing floor, that had been in use since the beginning of time, was abandoned. Since then there has been a continual improvement in harvesting and thresh- ing machinery. Today we have the improved self-binding wheat har- Vester-cutting a swath from seven to eight feet wide and drawn by three or four massive horses. In threshing machinery the massive twenty horse-power traction engine has displaced the horse power and the small plain, portable engine. The separator of fifteen hundred bushel capacity has superseded the earlier makes. Once it took a little more than three hours of a man's labor to produce a bushel of wheat; now with modern machinery it takes but ten minutes.
Another staple grain of Grant county is corn. It has undergone diverse methods of cultivation. The carly settler would burn off a patch of ground around his cabin and plant the corn by stakes, without first plowing the ground. After the corn came up, he would cultivate the soil both ways with a home made single shovel plow. The plow was generally equipped with a coulter, which extended from the beam to the point of the shovel. This arrangement would prevent the plow from catching on the roots of stumps and trees. Later the settler began plowing the ground before planting. It was then marked off both ways with a plow and the women of the farm dropped the corn at the crosses made by the plow, while the men covered it with hoes. The hoe was sup- planted by the hop jack and straddle bug in covering the corn. Both of these implements were drawn by a horse. The construction of the hop jack was similar to the single shovel plow, the frame being much lighter and in place of a pointed shovel a square one was used, which seraped the dirt over the corn. Some made a straddle bug by using a small Forked sapling. A beam similar to a plow beam was inserted into this and a small shovel was bolted to each fork, with handles attached the operator would straddle the furrow with this implement and the corn would be covered with dispatch. It required some skill to pick up four grains of corn each time and deposit them exactly in the cross so that the man with the hop jack only needed to see the cross and the corn was covered at one stroke.
The Wakefield hand corn planter came in the '70s, and five dollars was the purchase price. All over the county men and boys in the plant- ing season were jobbing them in the ground, and it was necessary to hit the eross or the rows would be crooked. As the stumps began to dis- appear in the fields, two-horse planters were introduced. It required two men to operate them, one to drive the team, the other to drop the corn. This planter required the field to be marked one way, which was usually done with a sled which had three runners. The planter was then driven at right angles to the furrows and the man or boy on the planter endeavored to drop the corn, by means of a lever, in the Furrow. This planter was soon supplanted by the check row planter, which is nsed at the present day. The operation of this planter requires only one man.
With corn a similar change to that of wheat, but less striking, has come about. The introduction of a few simple machines -- the better plow, the rapid pulverizer, the corn planter and two-horse cultivator- has reduced, it is said, the man labor cost of growing one bushel of corn from four and one-half hours to forty minutes.
The early settlers were annoyed by the birds and wild animals in
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taking up corn after being planted, and later the deer would look for the ripened grain in the fields.
The old-time haymaker ent his grass with a seythe, raked and loaded and unloaded it by hand, which was a very laborious process. We now mow it down with a six-foot mower, load it on better wagons with a hay loader, unload it at the barn with a hay fork or sling and a horse at the rate of a ton in ten minutes.
One of the early meadows sown in the county was that of George Strange, who brought a gallon of timothy seed when he came from Ohio -Highland county-and brushed it in August 10, 1842. The field was never plowed; and, when he died in 1909, it afforded an excellent hay erop. John S. Miller, of Jefferson township, started a meadow the same year by brushing in a patch of turnip seed, followed with grass seed.
Many Factors could be mentioned that have aided in the production of better farm erops, and the one that stands at the head is drainage. Besides improving the general conditions of the soil, drainage has added materially to the general health of the county. During the existence of ponds and swamps the early settler was greatly troubled with malarial fever. But through the energy of the settlers, large open drains were dug which removed the surface water and drained the swamps and ponds. This drainage was followed by smaller field drains called "blind ditehes." They were constructed of timber. Blocks were ent from oak timber fourteen to sixteen inches long and split into slabs. These slabs were laid on stringers in the bottom of the ditch. These stringers were tive to six inches wide, split from the same kind of tim- her. These ditches served their purpose very well for eight or ten years. They were soon displaced by the more permanent tile drain. A great many of the open drains are now being tiled, thus facilitating the tillage of farins through which they run.
AD the farm drainage has been done with the spade and shovel. Iu 1912 Baum and Williamson, tile manufacturers of Sweetser, introduced the first ditching machine in the county. It does the work successfully, digging and leveling eighty rods of ditch in a day. They brought the second machine into the county in 1913 ...
The Irishman with his spade was a necessity in the early day -- an angel of mercy, but the ditching machine bids fair to put him out of business.
Great strides have been made in the tilling of the land and stock raising. But what about the work of the house-wife? The pioneer women who cooked before the open fireplace and knew how to manipu- late the crane and pot-trammel would be mystified in a modern farm kitchen of today. Kitchen cabinets, ranges and oil-stoves were unheard of. While writing this an old lady said to me that she remembered very well the first meal that was cooked on her father's new stove, cook- ing up to that time before the open fire, it was the preparation of her eldest sister's wedding dimmer. The pioneer house-wife spun, wove, colored, cut and made the cloth by hand into garments for the entire family. Today if she sews at all, it is for the girls of the family ; and the work is done on a fine sewing machine. The male portion of the family is elothed with ready-made garments.
The Civil war was the turning point in home manufacture of almost every commodity before the war. The war created greater demand and the women no longer did so much home mannfacture. Machinery was invented that relieved them of the necessity and the factory product was much cheaper. So the enstom passed out after the war and there were no weaving and coloring at home when cloth with prints and colors already woven into them could be bought much cheaper. But still there is work on the farm for women. Instead of a one-room cabin with a
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bare floor to set aright, she now has a house from eight to twelve rooms, with carpets, rugs and tapestry to keep free from dust and dirt. And she is also interested in poultry, the garden and flowers, which furnish her diversions which cannot be equaled.
The boy and girl of the farm are receiving their share of the uplift of the county. They are found in the high school and colleges, ranking as high as their city cousin, if not higher, in their studies.
At this time there is a great interest taken by all classes in agricul- tural education. Between 1908 and 1910 the number of institutions teaching agriculture was practically doubled, and between 1910 and 1912 this number was trebled.
The sixty-eighth session of the Indiana legislature passed a voca- tional educational law authorizing school cities, towns and townships to maintain and carry on instruction in elementary domestic science, indus trial and agricultural subjects as a part of the regular course of instruc- nons. Section 5 of the law reads: "Elementary agriculture shall be taught in the grades in all town and township schools; elementary indus- trial work shall be taught in the grades in all city and town schools, and elementary domestic science shall be taught in the grades in all city, town and township schools. The state board of education shall outline a course of study for each of such grades as they may determine which shall he followed as a minimum requirement. The board shall also ont- line a course of study in agriculture, domestic science and industrial work, which they may require city, town and township high schools to offer as regular courses. After September 1, 1915, all teachers required to teach elementary agriculture, industrial work or domestic science shall have passed an examination in such subjects prepared by the state board of education."
And another provision of the law which is now interesting the Grant county farmer is that concerning the county agent. Section 12 reads: "Whenever twenty or more residents of a county, who are actively interested in agriculture, shall file a petition with the county board of education for a county agent, together with a deposit of $500 to be used in defraying expenses of such agent, the county board of education shall file said petition, within thirty days of its receipt, with the county conneil, which body shall, upon receipt of such petition, appropriate annually the sum of $1,500 to be used in paying the salary and other expenses of said county agent. When the county appropriation has been made the county board of education shall apply to Purdue Uni- versity for the appointment of a county agent, whose appointment shall be made ammually and be subject to the approval of the county board of education and the state board of education. When such appoint- ment has been made, there shall be paid annually from the state fund provided for in this act, to Purdue University, to be paid to the county providing for a county agent, an amount sufficient to pay one-half the annual salary of the county agent appointed as herein provided: Provided, That not more than $1,000 shall be appro- priated to any one county: Provided, further, That not more than thirty counties during the year ending September 30, 1914, and sixty counties during the year ending September 30, 1915, shall be entitled to state aid. It shall be the duty of such agent, under the supervision of Purdue University, to co-operate with farmers' institutes, farmers' elnbs and other organizations, conduct practical farm demon- strations, boys' and girls' clubs and contest work and other movements for the advancement of agriculture and country life and to give advice to farmers on practical farm problems and aid the county superin- tendent of schools and the teachers in giving practical education in agriculture and domestic science. The county board of education is hereby authorized to file monthly bills covering salary and expenses of
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