the Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums
Hidden in the stories of African American involvement in agriculture are the truths that African Americans struggled, sometimes at the cost of their lives, to obtain land and to become productive citizens by cultivating it. In addition, African Americans were involved in the creation of educational institutions and business organizations dedicated to the self-help and economic and spiritual improvement of Black farmers and their families in the South.
Since I began working for the Oklahoma Historical Society, Tillers International has been on my bucket list of places to visit. When ALHFAM announced the first STP (Skills, Training, and Preservation) plowing workshop was going to be held at Tillers I was excited.
by Jessica Michonski Monticello Gardens, photo by the author To visit the home of a historical figure is always an experience to be partaken…especially for a historian. In July 2019, I had the privilege to visit Monticello – Jefferson’s estate in the mountains of Virginia – while on vacation with my family. I was enthralled… Continue reading Farmer Tom…Forgotten?
Calling all farmers (new, historic, museum, and aspiring)! Learn how to use draft horses and oxen in your historic farming programing and to power your farms sustainably and productively. ALHFAM Institutional member Tillers International (Michigan) is offering scholarships that will cover 60% of the tuition cost for many of their draft animal training sessions including:… Continue reading Draft Animal Training Scholarships
Many great opportunities to learn new skills, meet new people, and see new places are available in the next few months thanks to ALHFAM regional and Professional Interest Group gatherings. Take advantage if you can: The Mid-Atlantic region has put together a fabulous program for their meeting being held April 1-2 at Historic St. Mary's… Continue reading Interpreting & Plowing & Bookbinding & More
Last week I blogged about my ALHFAM plow match experience and how it allowed me to experience an "artifact" in a new and thought-provoking way. I believe these experiences help museum professionals interpret the past. The knowledge we gain when we try our hand at a historic skill, using appropriate tools, far surpasses anything we… Continue reading Romanticizing the Past?
Good question. Logic would dictate that it is a heritage breed being carefully preserved at one of the ALHFAM member historic sites. Not the case. In ALHFAM, PIG = Professional Interest Group. There are many and they do important work. ALHFAM Professional Interest Groups give members the opportunity to explore and share information on specific… Continue reading What is an ALHFAM PIG?
Poultry flock inspection, blade sheep shearing, English formal gardens in America, heritage potatoes, preservation of period clothing, spinning and weaving, behaviorism applications for tourists . . . What a wonderfully eclectic mix of topics; articles about which are found in just two issues of the Bulletin, ALHFAM's quarterly journal. Every issue I receive has something… Continue reading Poultry to Period Clothing: The Bulletin
ALHFAM will be unveiling a new and greatly improved website soon. One of the advantages of the new site includes a Membership Management System (MMS). Our Communications team has been hard at work on this project and wants to make every member comfortable with the new site and system. To this end they've created very… Continue reading New Website Coming
The ALHFAM Historic Agriculture Resources Map is now live on the ALHFAM website. The map features information about ALHFAM members that have and/or use historic agricultural collections and techniques. This tool was created to help us share our historic agricultural assets with each other and the general public. The map is keyword searchable so if… Continue reading ALHFAM Historic Agriculture Resources Map
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