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Farm and Home Week records

 Collection
Identifier: 499

Scope and Content

This collection is a virtually complete record of Farm and Home Week activities from 1911 to 1962. All aspects of Farm and Home week are documented in this collection including course offerings, food service, housing, transportation, and publicity. The collection is arranged intellectually into 5 series:

Series 1: Events documents special events held for attendees, including mixers and exhibits.

Series 2: Programs includes correspondence, minutes, speeches, and bulletins highlighting all activities and services offered during Farm and Home Week.

Series 3: Publicity includes press releases, posters, and announcements advertising Farm and Home Week offerings.

Series 4: Records and reports include financial and attendance reports (1939-1943, 1945, 1955) which show the popularity and subsequent decline of Farm and Home Week.

Series 5: Subject files includes housing and room schedules, transportation information, and information regarding various clubs.

Dates

  • 1911-1963

Creator

Language of Materials

English

Use of Materials

Items in this collection do not circulate and may be used in-house only.

Copyright

Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision of the copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code). Requests to publish should be arranged with the University of Minnesota Archives.

Historical Note

Farm and Home Week began in January, 1901 as a one week series of day-long lectures and roundtable discussions for farmers interested in agricultural problems, issues and innovations. Sessions were lead by University faculty drawn from departments in the College of Agriculture and later from Agricultural Extension. In 1903, the event name was formalized to Short Course for Farmers. In 1909, farm women were invited to attend, and in 1934 the event name was changed to Farmers and Homemakers Short Course. The format for the week standardized in 1915 into multiple one-week courses offered at University Farm in St Paul. The courses were held in January every year, except for postponements in 1919 (due to the influenza epidemic) and in 1946 (due to a housing shortage near the campus).

Farm and Home Week was extremely popular; for farmers and their families, it was an opportunity to socialize and a chance for a winter vacation in the Twin Cities. Between 1914 and 1915, when the first one week course was established, attendance shot from 627 to 1251. Subsidized room, board and transportation was made available in the 1920s and evening mixers and banquets proliferated in the 1930s. By the late 1950s, with improvements in rural transportation and communications, attendance had begun to decline: the last Farm and Home Week was held in 1962.

Extent

3.0 Cubic Feet (3)

Abstract

This collection documents the history and activities of the extension course Farm and Home Week, offered by the College of Agriculture at the University of Minnesota.

Arrangement

The collection was received with a folder arrangement that was chronological and then alphabetical by folder heading. This physical arrangement has been maintained. The collection is intellectually arranged into the following series:

  1. Events
  2. Programs
  3. Publicity
  4. Records and Reports
  5. Subject Files

Source of acquisition

The collection was deposited in University Archives by the College of Agriculture.

Processing Information

This collection was processed with funds provided by the State of Minnesota through the Minnesota Historical Society from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

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Title
Farm and Home Week Records, 1911-1963
Author
Carol O'Brien; updated by Karen Spilman
Date
September 1990; updated April 2004
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English

Collecting Area Details

Contact The University Archives Collecting Area

Contact:

612-624-0562