|
|
|
Oliver H Kelley Farm One of the Minnesota Historical Society's National Historic Landmark sites. |
Archived FRIENDS EVENTS - this page is where I am archiving former Front Page items: Upcoming Farm events are available on the Minnesota Historical Society's site.
Board Meetings: Every First Thursday at 7 p.m. These meetings are open to ALL interested Friends and friends! Come share your ideas and join us. There's always more room!
Dictionary Project with the Grange The Friends are helping to distribute dictionaries to an elementary school in the Big Lake area which will include an insert on the Kelley Farm. The Friends are happy to be a part of this important effort to continue Oliver Kelley's legacy of encouraging reading and thinking!
Billboards!
Kelley Farm Fest - Saturday, Sept 2, 2006
Summer Reading Program
Work Day at the Farm: Saturday March 4 2006, 9am to 5pm with the March
Friends Meeting.
March 13 2006 History Day
Rally at the Capitol
The Kelley Farm: Homeschool Smorgasbord
One of the most successful program opportunities the staff enjoys are the many homeschool field trips to the farm. If you would like more information on possible lesson ideas, please feel free to contact the farm staff.
Nice description of a visit from a homeschool family.
If you have a homeschool experience you'd like to share with others, please send your story to the webmaster.
The Friends of the Kelley Farm: Vision, Mission, Goals, Strategies: Activity Groups! The Board invites all Friends members and interested people to join our monthly meetings (1st Thursdays) to participate in the ongoing life of the Friends of the Kelley Farm (and listen to the ... AG Reports!). With a more stable funding situation, we have new opportunities to help the farm meet its own vision! The future of the Oliver H Kelley Farm looks just fine and we can have a positive influence on ensuring that our communities make use of the many educational and recreational opportunities available there! Celebrating our success! (And working toward a more secure future) August 18, 2005 was a day to remember for the Friends of the Kelley Farm. After 2 1/2 years of scrambling for funds, seeking recognition, and educating public officials, we received notice on August 18 that the Minnesota Historical Society (MHS) had restored funding to the Kelley Farm for the next two fiscal years. This will keep the Farm open through June 30, 2007! I admit, I jumped up and down and then burst into tears when I heard the news. After the Minnesota legislature earmarked $700,000 for the
seven historic sites which had been cut by the MHS in 2003, we still wondered
what the Kelley Farm budget would be. MHS administrators recognized how hard the
Friends have worked; they also saw how important our contact with legislators
and testimony at the Capitol was for funding of historic sites and MHS as a
whole. We demonstrated the huge effect a grass-roots community group can have. Who was Oliver H Kelley?Excerpt from a biographical article on Oliver H Kelley by Rhoda R. Gilman and Patricia Smith as published on the MHS web site:
... Kelley was in truth a simple man. Even then he was privately dreaming of a
great brotherhood of farmers that would unite the depressed and isolated men and
women who filled the soil; "Encourage them to read and think; to plant fruits
and flowers, - beautify their homes; elevate them; make them progressive." This
vision he described in a letter to a friend and added: "I long to see the great
army of producers in our country, turn their eyes up from their work; stir up
those brains, now mere machines ... set them to thinking, - let them feel that
they are human beings, and the strength of the nation, their labor honorable,
and farming the highest calling on earth." No one could have then predicted that
this particular dream was the one to answer the wordless yearnings of thousands
across the nation's farm belt - that promoted with the single-minded fervor of a
man like Kelley, it would give birth to a movement which in a few short years
was to shake the social and political foundations of the Midwest.
...a Hall of Famer?Oliver H Kelley will be inducted into the Agricultural Hall of Fame on October 20, 2006. He will be joining a roster that includes names such as George Washington Carver, John Deere, Eli Whitney, Cyrus Hall McCormick and Roswell Garst. The purpose of The National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame is to educate society on the historical and present value of American agriculture and to honor leadership in Agri-Business and Academia by providing education, information, experience and recognition. Watch for a special celebration possibly featuring speeches and writings of Oliver Kelley, presentations on the current state of Minnesota Agriculture and a look at ways that Kelley shaped the lives and livelihoods of Minnesota's farmers. The Friends of the Kelley Farm present: Kelley Farm Season Passes! "Season Passes" are now available at the Kelley Farm visitor center desk! Just ask for a "Minnesota Historical Society Family Membership" and you can enjoy a FULL YEAR of opportunity and adventure. The Friends urge you to do this AT THE FARM so that the OHK Farm gets the full value of your purchasing dollars! A side benefit that we have arranged just for you: these Kelley Farm Season Passes will also grant you access to OTHER historical sites around the state! AND... we'll throw in a subscription to the MHS's magazine, too! OK. We may be claiming a bit much there, but REALLY! it's a good deal and well worth the investment in your past. Only a few of the Friends of the Kelley Farm's 2006 Calendar are still available The Friends of the Kelley Farm 2006 Calendar feature photos from all seasons and have the 2006 Schedule of Events. So, most of us by now have caught on that it's 2006! But you might still want one just for the incredibly beautiful pictures and clever layouts! Not bad for amateurs! Proceeds of this Calendar are helping to fund the ongoing activities of the Friends of the Kelley Farm. Pitch in, folks! The 2006 schedule feature many family activities to experience life on the farm. A visit to the Minnesota Historical Society’s Oliver H. Kelley Far is an adventure back in time to experience the lifestyle of the Kelley Family in the 1860s. This 189-acre National Landmark is located on the Mississippi River in Eastern Elk River, and is operated by costumed staff who encourage visitors to participate in the ongoing chores and tasks typical of 19th century farm life. In the house, visitors can help with domestic activities such as baking, pickling, sewing or laundry. In the recreated gardens and fields, visitors help plant, tend and harvest the same crops and vegetables grown here over 130 years ago. Meet chickens, sheep, hogs, horses and cattle in the barnyard and animal pens. Help the farm hands as they tend crops using horses and oxen. Winter Work Days
Many people showed up last year to help with various needed tasks at the Farm.
I'm sure we'll see you at the Work Days coming up this winter! This is a
great social activity and a MUCH NEEDED boost to the maintenance and care of the
Farm we love. Also - we will be working on coordinating our Work Days
around other scheduled activities for children so more families can have the
opportunity to help out at the Farm. Winter/Spring Activities The 2004-2005 Winter Activities Schedule featured
many family activities to experience a more intimate view of family life on the farm in the winter.
We had good attendance at all the events. Here are pictures from some of
those events: The Friends were in the Anoka Halloween Parade on October 30, 2004
"Sold the horse to save the farm!" Using a bit of humor, we got people's attention along the nearly 3 mile Anoka Halloween Parade route on October 30, 2004. Instead of using a horse to pull our authentic 1886 doctor's buggy, we used Alan Champion! We handed out Winter Season event calendars and site brochures to the crowd that had waited through several miserable Minnesota autumn hours to watch one the region's favorite parades. We were near the end of the parade which started at 1:00, but we didn't get moving until about 2:20 (after getting in line before 11:30). We enjoyed socializing and planning our next parade: bring chairs for the waiting! It was a great experience for the Friends and staff who got to interact with a very large part of our community. The kids were all excited about the Kelley Farm and many adults commented that they hadn't been to the Farm in years! Thanks again to Alan for the use of his beautiful buggy. Once again we had rain and wind, but our spirits were high! Other Recent Activities: The Friends were represented at the Nowthen Threshing Show (August 20 - 22) and the Otsego Festival (September 18). See some pictures from the The Friends in the Sherburne County Fair Parade, July 16, 2004 ALL members and friends of the Friends are welcome to participate in our community-engaging events. The more we are seen, the better we look! The Friends of the Kelley Farm is officially a 501(c)3 organization! We're REAL! All donations of money (and time!) are tax deductible per regular adherence to law, etc.
Limited quantity of Kelley Farm Commemorative Coins
|
|
Send mail to
webmaster@friendsofthekelleyfarm.org with
questions or comments about this web site - especially if you find a broken
link.
|
still
available - get yours while they're here
The Friends are selling Kelley Farm Commemorative Coins depicting the Oxen
logo on one side, and the Grange emblem on the other. Cost of the coins is
$8.00 each. Proceeds for coin sales go into the Kelley Farm Piggy
Bank!