Chester County

Ag Issues Forum

  Welcome to the Fourth in a series of forums
addressing issues of importance to the agricultural community
in Chester County and the region.

 A Look at Agriculture
During the Dust Bowl

Willie Lockeretz will deliver a multi-media presentation on the 1930's Dust Bowl that offers impressions of life in rural America during a particularly difficult decade in our nation's history. It draws upon several wonderful sources from the time, especially the documentary photography of the USDA's Farm Security Administration. The program also uses several selections from a large oral history project done under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) as well as songs collected by folklorists from the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress, and passages of prose and poetry by John Steinbeck, Carl Sandburg, and James Agee. The emphasis is on farming, but other aspects of American life are covered as well.

Following Lockeretz, William Moore of Walmoore Holsteins, Inc., Cochranville, will give a presentation on farming in Chester County. The Moore family celebrated the centennial of their farm in 2009. Moore, an entertaining speaker, will bring a local perspective to the program and highlight the dynamic farming industry of the county.

Those attending are encouraged to view the Historical Society's exhibit What is Open Space? before or after the program.  Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. The exhibit offers a historical perspective on a contemporary issue by exploring the past and present conditions of Chester County land management.  The information is presented through artifacts, interactives and handouts.  What is Open Space? has been made possible in part through the financial support of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Natural Lands Trust, Aqua PA, The Children's County Week Association, and the Chester County Planning Commission. 

Presenters: 
Dr. Willie Lockeretz  - Recently retired professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Boston.  Lockeretz was on the faculty at Tufts University for 27 years. For 12 years he was editor of the American Journal of Alternative Agriculture, which he helped to found in 1986. He also has edited 12 books on agriculture, most recently Organic Farming: An International History. From 2000 to 2002 he served on the U. S. Department of Agriculture's National Organic Standards Board. In 2003 he received the "Spirit of Organic" award from the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements.

William Moore - Co-Owner, Walmoore Holsteins, Inc., a centennial Chester County dairy farm located in Cochranville.  Pete's Produce Farm and Participant in Chester County Gleaning Program 

REGISTER NOW!

To save a space, call 610-692-4800 or email hdyer@chestercohistorical.org. 

Payment may be paid by credit card over the phone or in person the night of the program.

You're invited to make a contribution toward relieving hunger by bringing a canned good for donation to the Forum. All items will be donated to the Chester County Food Bank.