MS 370 - Sandusky County Farm Bureau Federation
MLA Citation
Tags
| Title | MS 370 - Sandusky County Farm Bureau Federation |
|---|---|
| Subject | Agriculture |
| Introduction | This collection of 10.3 linear feet contains a variety of materials generated by the Sandusky County Farm Bureau Federation, including membership lists, correspondence, pamphlets and reports from meetings. The collection also includes photographs and audio tapes of Farm Bureau activities. The materials date from 1943 through 1984, covering the period when Robert Roush of Lindsey, Ohio, served as both the Bureau's President and Organizational Director. The records of the Sandusky County Farm Bureau Federation were donated and transferred to the Center for Archival Collections through the cooperation of Robert Roush in the fall of 1985. No restrictions exist on the use of this collection and duplication is permitted for research purposes. This collection was described by Mark D. Howell, graduate student, in May 1992, and processed and arranged by Alexandra Hutchings, student intern, and Stephen W. Badenhop, archival assistant, in August 2008. |
| Agency History | The Sandusky County Farm Bureau Federation is a part of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, which is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. This Ohio organization in based on a similar cooperative based in Broome County, New York, that was founded in 1910. The Sandusky County Farm Bureau Federation was organized on September 1, 1915, and is one of the eighty-eight county agencies that make up the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation is primarily responsible for organizing hospitalization and automobile insurance for Ohio farm families who are participating members. The Nationwide Insurance Organization was created by the Ohio Farm Bureau. Other endeavors for the Bureau include Landmark Incorporated, Ohio's largest grain and farm supply cooperative, Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives and the Producers Livestock Association. The Ohio Farm Bureau also developed an Advisory Council program. This program gives rural families the opportunity to discuss and resolve problems of national importance from a grassroots level. Federation members are dedicated to making young people part of the Farm Bureau system, so they might strive for agricultural prosperity. The Ohio Farm Bureau is devoted to improving the standard of living for Ohio's farm families. This organization, through the work of its eight-eight county affiliates, seeks to preserve and enrich the rural way of life in Ohio for future generations. The Bureau also has a Women's Committee, which unites women living and working within the Ohio farming community, and a Youth Council, which gets young people involved with Farm Bureau activities. This organization has generated a large number of charts and lists concerning membership. Membership campaigns are essential to the unity and strength of the Ohio Farm Bureau and its county branches. The Sandusky County Farm Bureau Federation maintained regular and official correspondence with the Ohio Farm Bureau offices in Columbus. A number of records involve business conducted at monthly meetings of the Sandusky Farm Bureau branch and its Women and Youth Committees. Knott C. Egbert was the first administrator of the Sandusky County Farm Bureau Federation and its 500 members. This number would grow to 7,814 members by 1979. In 1954, Robert Roush was named President of the Sandusky Farm Bureau. Roush, from Lindsey, Ohio, also served as Organizational Director, a post he held until 1976 after twenty-five years of service. For more information see the Ohio Farm Bureau Story: 1919-1979 by William Turner (Columbus: Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, Inc., 1982). |
| Scope and Content | The papers of the Sandusky County Farm Bureau Federation are primarily composed of meeting reports, membership records, printed materials from the main office in Columbus, subject files and correspondence. A large number of the documents date from the mid to late 1970s, but some go back as far as 1943. The documents are not complete, with gaps existing in many of the meeting reports and membership records. Some proceedings give statistics for all Ohio Farm Bureau Federation counties, especially concerning membership quotas and insurance information. Some of the collection involves correspondence both to and from Robert Roush. The letters are mostly typewritten and on some kind of official letterhead, usually from the Ohio Bureau offices in Columbus. Most of these letters pertain to Farm Bureau business, especially concerning membership campaigns. There is a large amount of printed materials - most supplied from the Ohio Farm Bureau Office in Columbus - within the collection. Some of these items are promotional flyers to be used in membership and public relations campaigns. Other printed materials are regularly published newsletters, magazines and newspapers that concern the Ohio Farm Bureau and the Sandusky County Farm Bureau. Many clippings - some in scrapbooks - are included within the collection. This collection also contains photographic materials. Black and white photographs and negatives provide information concerning people and events that were part of the Sandusky County Farm Bureau. The negatives are of a 126mm format along with two 35mm slide shows - with text - that was a part of the Sandusky Farm Bureau's 1981 and 1982 membership kick-off rally. Some audio tapes are another part of the collection. Two of the tapes are reel-to-reel and three are cassettes. These contain radio reports concerning the Sandusky Bureau's activities and business. The Sandusky County Farm Bureau Federation collection allows researchers to obtain a detailed look into the day-to-day operations of an important and influential organization. A drawback to the collection is that many of the documents are simply lists of names and addresses, and even more are statistics concerning membership drives across the state. As a part of daily business, one can see how membership equated into legislative and cooperative strength. From a qualitative approach, however, the numbers and lists do not tell a great deal. For this kind of material, it would be best to examine the printed materials and regular publications. The monthly meeting reports can provide some information about topics of discussion, especially those made by the Women's Committee. |
| Series Description |
MINUTES MEMBERSHIP RECORDS CORRESPONDENCE - GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE - ORGANIZATIONAL DIRECTORS CORRESPONDENCE - PRESIDENTS CORRESPONDENCE - MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECT FILES - MISCELLANEOUS STATISTICAL REPORTS SCRAPBOOKS AND SCRAPBOOK MATERIALS SCRAPBOOKS NEWSCLIPPINGS PRINTED MATERIAL PRINTED MATERIAL - NEWSPAPERS PRINTED MATERIAL - MISCELLANEOUS POSITIVE PRINTS NEGATIVES SLIDES AUDIO RECORDINGS Oversized materials consist of additional scrapbooks and printed material |
| Inventory |
Folders
Box 2 Folder
Box 3 Folder
Box 4 Folder
Box 5 Folder
Box 6 Folder
Box 7 Folder
Box 8 Folder
Box 9 Folder
Box 11 Folder
Box 13 Folder
Box 14 Folder
Box 15 Folder
Box 16 Folder
Box 17 Folders
Box 18 Folder
Box 20 Folder
Box 23 Folder
Box 24 Folder
Box 25 Folder
Box 29 (Oversize) Folder
Box 30 (Oversize) Folder
Box 31 (Oversize) Folder
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