Farm Palace - Postal History Sunday

Welcome to the second entry of Postal History Sunday for 2023.  PHS is hosted every week on the Genuine Faux Farm blog and the GFF Postal History blog.  Everyone is welcome here, regardless of the level of knowledge and expertise you might have in postal history.  Take a moment and enjoy where this one goes - because it's probably going to go some odd directions this time around!

This week, I suspect the postal history aspect will be shorter because the items I am showing today follow a theme that comes from the images illustrated on the envelopes.  Advertising covers can add color to something that might have been "just another piece of old mail" and provide us with a window as to how business was done and how people lived their lives.

The large cover shown above was an overweight letter that required a double rate of postage for it to be sent from Kansas City, Missouri to Dike, Iowa. The postage rate for letter mail internal to the United States at the time was 2 cents per ounce of letter weight (Jul 1, 1919 - Jul 5, 1932).  This large envelope probably carried a smaller catalog for the W.S. Dickey Clay Manufacturing Company and the envelope is postmarked on January 28, 1922.  There is no postmark showing when this piece of mail might have arrived in Dike, Iowa for Herman F. Velberding, which I believe is a misspelling for the family name Volberding.

I've always felt that the main barn structure on a typical Upper Midwest farm was the "palace" of the property.  It was a place where animals were provided shelter, resources (such as straw or hay bales) were stored, and a location where various farm tools could be found.  But, if the barn was the palace, the silo often got people to look there first.

The image on the front of the envelope is clearly intended to promote their product for the building of the silo at the left.  But, it is interesting to note all of the period buildings and equipment.  A steam tractor, that looks a lot like this old Case tractor from 1922, is in the foreground, driving a belt to run the harvest up an elevator on the silo. 

At the far right, there are a couple of individuals who are likely tasked with loading in the sileage so that it would be taken to the top in the elevator. 

The reverse of the envelope includes more interesting illustrations, including both a barn AND a silo clearly built with Dickey Tile products.  They dub their silo design as the "fruit jar of the field" and claim that it is the "everlasting silo."  The idea of a silo was to store the harvest for later use.  But, more specifically, it was a way to store "sileage," which is essentially a crop that is stored while the moisture content is still high.  It might be whole corn stalks or alfalfa or some other feed crop.  The harvest is chopped up and placed in the silo, where it essentially ferments without spoiling.  If you would like to learn more, this is an excellent summary that is a pretty easy read.

The whole point of a silo is to provide a storage unit that allows very little oxygen (to prevent spoiling), keeps pests out and allows the farmer to pull out feed as needed during winter months.  Sileage has more nutrients than dried hay or alfalfa and was one way dairy farmers could encourage cows to produce milk year round.

On our own farm, we had an all-purpose barn that included a milking parlor lean-to and a place where pigs could seek shelter or go out into an enclosed yard area.  We also have a granary, which some people might also call a barn, and we had sow farrowing building as well.  Our silo is a big blue Harvestore (built in the 1970s), which would post-date a Dickey silo.   But, the main barn (when it still stood) clearly qualified as the "farm palace" at our place.  In the present day, only the granary and silo remain, along with a long machine shed.  The other buildings are gone or in the process of being removed.

There were some load-bearing tile at the base of the first addition to the old barn at our farm (see above photo).  Sadly, for this story, they were not Dickey Clay Tile - which would really have been quite the coincidence.

Like many barns throughout the Midwest, the barn at our farm had not been maintained for several years prior to the beginning of our stewardship of the place.  As a result, we were not going to be able to rehabilitate the barn without far more funds, time, and energy than we had.  But, we were able to use it long enough to appreciate it.  And, we also learned more about how this particular barn was built - as it came down.

The initial barn structure was built using pegs to connect the beams (rather than nails) and we noticed roman numeral markings to help those building it to keep track of where each piece connected.

That's probably about all everyone wanted to hear about the old barn at the Genuine Faux Farm, so let's get back to our postal history items and the things related to that!

Who was Herman F. Volberding?

It might make sense if Mr. Volberding was a local farmer or, perhaps, was a sales representative for W.S. Dickey Clay Manufacturing.  So, I started with the farmer angle.  I located a plat map from 1930 and looked at Grant Township (and other nearby townships) in Grundy County, Iowa - where Dike is located.  I found both A.F. and F.L. Volberding, each with properties over 100 acres to the south of Dike.  It is possible that Herman was a brother or son who was not a landowner at the time.  But, there is clearly a presence of that family name in the area with some farming connection.

My next clue came from the IAGenWeb project.   It is here that we find a section regarding the volunteer fire department in Dike, written by John Volberding in 1950 (The Grundy Register (Grundy Center, Iowa), 25 May 1950, Dike Golden Jubilee Section of the Grundy Register).

It is here that we first find Herman F. Volberding as one of several firemen to respond to a fire in 1919 at the Dike Livery Stable and again to a fire in 1923 at the Townsend and Merrill Lumberyard.  Since we are talking about a fire department in a smaller, rural community, all members were volunteers and likely had other employment in addition to this duty.

After a cursory search, I could not find anything more about Volberding prior to 1936, when he became the Postmaster for Dike, Iowa.  It is noted in the IAGenWeb page linked above that he became postmaster in 1936 and was still postmaster at the time the May 25, 1950 Golden Jubilee writing.  I was even able to find his appointment to this position in the Congressional Record for May 7, 1936 (page 6828).

So, yes, Herman F. Volberding was in Dike at the time this was mailed.  And, yes, he had relatives who were likely farming at the time.  And it is interesting to have the connection that he became postmaster fourteen years later.  But, I can't really say why he received this mailing at this point in time.

What about the W.S. Dickey Clay Mfg Co?

image from the Frisco Archive, viewed 1/7/23

Company headquarters for the W.S. Dickey Clay Mfg Company were in Kansas City, but by the time we get to the late 1920s, the company had 21 plants across the United States and even one in Mexico City.  Established in 1885, when Dickey purchased an unsuccessful plant that manufactured burnt clay or ceramic pipes, the business initially focused on burnt clay pipes for agricultural land drainage.  Over time, the product line expanded to include pipe for sewers, conduit for Bell Telephone phone lines, and - of course - building materials for barns and the Dickey Silo kits being advertised on this 1922 cover.

image from this Kansas City Public Library site

The company grew quickly, with Dickey acquiring a number of similar businesses to expand the product line and capacity for production.  For example, the Pittsburg (Kansas) Paving Brick Company, established in 1899, was purchased by Dickey around 1910.  The company included 150 acres of land to supply raw materials for production of clay products.  This particular website claims that Dickey Clay had as many as 26 different plants at its peak.  

image copyright Jeremy J Larson

Dickey's personal fortunes took a turn for the worse in 1929, with so many other people, as the markets crashed.  He died of a heart attack in 1931.  However, the company did survive and was producing materials into the 1960s as far as I've been able to ascertain.

A person can find silos that still stand on old farmsteads, though there are fewer each year as landowners knock them down or time and gravity have their way with them.  Just another illustration that claims for an "everlasting" product only seem everlasting in comparison to the span of time that the product was advertised and produced.  The photo above was found on the Smithsonian site and is linked in the caption.

The Dickey Everlasting Silo was often sold as a kit, meaning the parts were shipped to the farm, along with instructions for the building of the product.  Apparently, one such book from 1922 has survived and was offered on ebay.  It is unlikely that the instruction book was included in our envelope as it would be too bulky and would certainly have weighed more than two ounces.

On the other hand, our envelope probably had a promotional piece for a range of products that could be ordered.  I did find an older, closed auction for a promotional brochure from 1915 that might have been similar to the contents that were once in the envelope I have illustrated here.  Maybe, someday, I'll run across something that would go with the envelope.  But, for now, the envelope is plenty to enjoy viewing and enough to get the story going.

A bit of bonus material

Since I was on the topic of the "farm palace" or barn....  

Well, ok, it had more about silos than barns.  This just goes to show you that when I endeavor to write a Postal History Sunday, it doesn't always go where I thought it would.  I DID warn you at the top that I was pretty unsure about where this one was going, didn't I?

In any event, shown above is another farm building related cover.  This time the item was mailed in 1895, when the postage rate was 2 cents per ounce, just as it was with our first cover.  The difference is that this rate period ran from July 1, 1885 to November 1, 1917.  There was a short period in between these two rate periods when the postage rate was increased to 3 cents to help fund World War I efforts.

This envelope from Davenport, Iowa, features two different types of door hangers for farm doors.  This type of door hanger allowed farmers to install larger doors that did not have to swing out on hinges.  Instead, the door would hang on a track and a person could open and close the door by rolling it to the left or right as needed.

We can tell you that this type of hardware certainly works - and has worked for years.  However, there can be issues with this arrangement, just as there can be for any tool.  In our case, we had some trouble with wind.  These doors are between ten and twelve feet tall and are made of wood.  It was no small matter standing these things back up and getting them back on the track so they would work again.

It's just another of those "it's everlasting until it's not" sort of things.  There are heavy bars that serve as guides in the cement at the base.  This typically prevents the wind from pulling them away from the building and causing this failure.  

Well, it worked until things wore down.  Still, any piece of hardware that lasts for sixty to seventy years in decent working order is pretty darned good, don't you think?

Here is a 1905 letter that would be an example of local mail from Merriam Park (St Paul, MN) to, well, St Paul.  The letter was mailed and received on the same day.  It apparently included a bill from the Law Manufacturing Company to the Minnie Harvester Company (which was apparently paid the same day according to the company hand stamps).

This is a great example of how businesses would use the envelopes that contained the mail as "file folders" to help maintain their business records.  Don't remember why you wrote that check to Law Manufacturing?  Go to the filing cabinet... probably the "L" cabinet unless you use some other system ("B" for "Barn?") and find the proper correspondence.  Sometimes I still think that method was as fast as most computing systems have become (and remember I am a Computer Scientist by training).

The illustration on this cover is showing a round bale of dried alfalfa or some other sort of hay to be stored in the haymow, or hayloft, or upper floor of the barn.  Storing hay in the upper floor allows for the lower floor to be fully available for the animals.  After all, you can use pulleys and other equipment to lift the bales up, but the horses aren't likely to take stairs to the upper level if you store your hay on the lower floor.

I was unable to find anything for the Law Manufacturing Company, but the barn illustration shows some dimensions that might indicate they had something to do with barn construction.  I'll save the Minnie Harvester for another day and another blog. But, you can read a bit here if you wish.

Thank you for joining me for this January foray in Postal History Sunday.  Have a fine remainder of your day and an excellent week to come.

Life on the Edges - BOGFF 22

We stopped at an overlook to view the Mississippi River earlier this week when we took a short, much needed, break.  And, we did what most everyone should do when they go to an overlook.  We looked out to the area the overlook was meant to encourage us to see.  And, we took our time to enjoy the Mighty Miss in all its glory.

We watched while a van filled with a three-generation family piled out and lined up for the obligatory family photo in front of the river and then piled right back in and left not long after arriving.  Box checked, on to the next box.

We, on the other hand, were busy being awed by nature - and it wasn't just the river that we were looking at.

There was some Goldenrod blooming right next to the parking area and we noticed that there was an AMAZING amount of activity on the flowering stems of these plants.  And, it wasn't just one type of insect.  We saw bees, flies, butterflies....  just, lots of critters!

At another location on a gravel road near Rush Creek, we saw more Goldenrod blooming with some Monarda (Bee Balm or Wild Bergamot) next to it.  Both are excellent pollinator habitat plants, though we didn't see quite the activity the plants at the overlook provided us.  I am certain it had something to do with time of day and other conditions.  But, there was certainly activity in most of the places we observed flowering plants.

There were patches of Hoary Vervain that exhibited a significant amount of activity.  Much of that activity consisted of various types of bumble bees.  We were amazed by the large patches of this perennial wildflower in the Mississippi River valley this time of year.  

There was even one area by a homestead that exhibited a very dense and healthy stand of this plant.  Since it was next to someone's house, we didn't feel comfortable with taking photos.  But, there were several opportunities later in other locations to view the Vervain up close and personal.

Because Tammy can't do too much walking and is limited to flat and even surfaces, we were constricted to observing nature from the edges of human environment (roads, parking areas, etc).  While we might have liked to have done a little hiking, we still took great pleasure in observing all of the life on the edges.

The edges of the road exhibited many different wildflowers and pollinators.  The edges of a stream gave us an opportunity to see different birds, insects and plants.  The edges of the river provided us with chances to see lotus flowers and wading birds like the Great Blue Heron.  We witnessed how the edges of a wooded area with the edge of an open/prairie area resulted in a mix of wildlife with the Eastern Wood Pewee constantly telling us it was out and about in the woods and the Tufted Titmouse singing both in the woods and on the edges.  The Mississippi River itself was providing a place for American White Pelicans to stake out sections for their own personal hunting ground.

There were single plants and sometimes small patches of Cardinal Flower here and there near the Mississippi River when we took some time to drive around a park that was situated on the riverbank and some the backwaters.  We know this plant well from our days trying to make perennial flower plantings on the farm and in our prior residences.  

It's actually a bit of a shock to see a plant that you associate with a groomed perennial garden showing up in the wild.  Yet, this gives me some hope that perhaps we can introduce (or re-introduce) some of these plants so that they gain a bit more of a foothold in the wild spaces on our farm.  We would welcome Cardinal Flower, Wild Bergamot and Goldenrod here.  In fact, we do have some of the last two, but we wouldn't cry if we had a bit more.

One of the things that struck me the most was that the activity on the plants we observed during our short break from the farm is both familiar and different to us.

In the past, at some of our prior living locations, we have seen plants covered in pollinators.  For example, we had healthy hyssop at a couple of locations that was covered in a wide range of beneficial insects.  What I do not recall seeing was the wide variety of critters we saw on this short excursion.  Whether that is because we didn't have so much variety or I did not know what to look for them - I'll never know for certain.

I can also say that, despite our efforts to provide habitat and despite having Goldenrod and other excellent pollinator plants, our farm still struggles to see the activity I would expect for the amount of flowering plants we have here.  We know part of the issue is that our small farm is surrounded by less hospital lands for these pollinators.  The monocropped fields around us have fewer edges, providing less opportunity for a variety of living beings.

I suppose I could be discouraged by this because I would like to see this kind of activity on our farm.  Instead, I have come to realize that we are blessed with significant pollinator and beneficial insect activity on our farm.  Some of it through actions we have taken (or not taken - if you will) and most of it simply because nature is amazing.

We'll just keep creating and maintaining edges and wild spaces on our farm and hope we are doing the right things - adjusting each time we learn more.  And we'll keep on learning so we can appreciate all of the life on the edges.

-----------------

What's with the BOGFF 22 in the title?  I (Rob) am giving himself a bit of a blogging break at the end of the year in hopes that it will give me space for more creativity in the future.  Rather than creating a post or two linking the "best of" blogs for the year, while continuing to put out new material, I am resubmitting what I feel were some of the best posts for 2022.  Enjoy!

Critter Criterion - BOGFF 22

I admit that Tammy and I do not always manage to take pictures every time we see a different critter on the farm, but we have come up with a few decent photos over the years.  It is a testament to a couple of things that I think I am justifiably proud of.

1. Both of us do a reasonably good job of paying attention to the world and ecosystem around us at the Genuine Faux Farm.
2. I think we do a reasonably good job of providing some diverse habitat that is welcoming to more species than some.
   

Of course, we are always trying to do better on both counts.  In fact, that is part of the reason that I believe we are doing pretty well - we are both seeking to continue to better ourselves and improve the ways we can be observant and supportive to the various creatures that call our farm their home.  If we just spent time patting ourselves on the back for our amazing accomplishments (bleah), then we'd be both hypocritical and ineffective.

I have to admit that there is some tension that comes with all of this.  For example, I recognize that not everyone is all that fond of spiders - despite all the good they do for us in this world.  And, I will admit that walking into a spider's web while doing night-time chores is the ONLY way to get me to try out new dance moves.  By the same token, many folks have a problem with snakes - and I realize that comes with the fact that some of them know full well how to protect themselves in ways that could be hurtful to us.

Even the conehead shown above can bring about a little... shall we say... ambivalence, when it comes to our feelings about them.  Coneheads are not necessarily a pest for our crops, nor are they a beneficial, feeding on grassy plants (and some of them are opportunists as far as their diet is concerned).

I also admit that we look more kindly at the tiny tree frog that has been known to sit on our soap bottle resting near the basement sink than we would a spider sitting in the same place.  Tammy even got to be serenaded by a little tree frog that came in with some of our houseplants the previous winter.

Even so, there is a bit of tension when it comes to our willingness to share habitat.  And, I think that is a natural feeling - but it is one many of us need to suppress, or, at least, tone down a bit.  It is this attitude - the animals and critters go over there and the people get to be over here - that leads us to continue to take away the opportunity to live that other species should be given.  If each and every one of the 7 plus billion people have the attitude that "animals and critters are fine...as long as they aren't near me," it leaves next to NO space for any other species.  And it's worse than that because humans can't seem to stay on their side of the room.

Humans draw the line, then they cross it.  Then they redraw the line.  And cross it again.

And this is why I find myself working harder to accept co-existence whenever I can in my habitat.  Yes, I would draw the line on termites living in the house.  I am not overly fond of Buffalo gnats and would be happy if a bunch of Barn Swallows moved in to munch as many of them as they can.

But, I hope you notice that I am looking for nature to provide some of the remedy, rather than me reaching for a fogger and resorting to non-discriminating pesticides.   

Part of what is required of me (and you) is some patience while nature does its thing.  An abundance of a pest that has a natural enemy will, eventually attract that natural enemy - as long as you haven't already eradicated that natural enemy.  This is exactly why it is so hard for growers who have used insecticides to give them up.  Often the insecticides have also reduced the predator population.

The cycle then becomes clear.  You decide to stop with the pesticides.  The pest, which usually has MORE reproductive cycles in a season than the predators, sees an opportunity and the population explodes.  Your crops suffer and that REALLY makes it hard to stick with the program.

Meanwhile, the predators - once again assuming you haven't killed them all already - work their way back.  The feast that is the burgeoning pest population provides a boom cycle for the predators and they eventually catch up, if we allow that to happen.

Yes, it's inconvenient for us - because we really hate to have reduced crop yields for a few seasons while things balance back out.  I feel that - because I have LIVED through it.

And, yes, I recognize that I have attempted to simplify one of the most grand and complex things - the natural world.  But, we can't let that complexity push us to simplify by removing all of that diversity.  That would be very sad and very bad...

...and there would be so much less to behold and appreciate in this world.

-----------------

What's with the BOGFF 22 in the title?  I (Rob) am giving himself a bit of a blogging break at the end of the year in hopes that it will give me space for more creativity in the future.  Rather than creating a post or two linking the "best of" blogs for the year, while continuing to put out new material, I am resubmitting what I feel were some of the best posts for 2022.  Enjoy!

The Oaks Painted the Sky - BOGFF 22

 

 I walk a fine line between two worlds.  The world of "responsible individual, with many things that need to be done" and the world of the "person who takes the time to observe things that evoke feelings of awe, wonder and gratitude."

You see, I value both worlds.  I like to meet my obligations and I feel some pride in work that I do and tasks that I perform.  I recognize the value of responsibility, consistency, and real effort.  I also believe that it is extremely important to take the time to recognize beauty in nature, artistry created by talented humans, and peace that comes with observation and reflection.

The difficulty here is that I often find conflict between the two.  There are many times on the farm that I have work to do and I just need to concentrate and get it done.  But, as I go about my tasks, a butterfly floats by and the sunflowers nod at me as they weave a lazy pattern in the breeze.  I find my steps slowing as nature tugs at me to take a moment and just appreciate the world around me.

Then, there are those moments where I purposefully give myself a chance to just be - to give myself a chance to really feel what the wind has to say, or listen the birds as they train their young to navigate in the world.  But an internal time clock keeps telling me that this is irresponsible.  There are things to do.  People are relying on you.  You are wasting time that should be spent accomplishing!

Our elder Oaks on the farm took a moment to teach me a lesson when they noticed me trying to hurry myself up at a time when I'd actually got the camera out because I thought the sky was interesting to look at.  They reminded me of contrast, and how it helps you see the beauty of very different things.  

"A picture of the sky - and only the sky - might be ok," one of the oaks whispered to me, "but come over here and watch us paint the sky for you."

This is remarkable, because the oaks don't talk to the farmers much at all.  They have even chided some of our younger trees for doing just that.  Don't get me wrong!  We do hear the oaks talking frequently, but they rarely direct their slow, patient words to us.  After all, we've barely been on the farm long enough for them to notice.

Perhaps my habit of saying hello to them when I go out to check the mail each day is finally breaking the ice?  Whether that's the case or not, the oaks were right.  They painted the sky with their shadowed leaves and branches and the sky looked deeper, richer and so much more fascinating.

And for a few moments, I forgot I had things I needed to do.  I took a few pictures and then I just soaked it all in.

-----------------

What's with the BOGFF 22 in the title?  I (Rob) am giving himself a bit of a blogging break at the end of the year in hopes that it will give me space for more creativity in the future.  Rather than creating a post or two linking the "best of" blogs for the year, while continuing to put out new material, I am resubmitting what I feel were some of the best posts for 2022.  Enjoy!

A Thousand Cuts - BOGFF 22

 

Many of us like to glorify the efforts of small-scale, diversified producers of quality food.  We like to point to their willingness to work with, rather than against, nature.  Some of us, myself included, actually harbor a belief that this sort of farming (or some version of it) would be a key move towards building a healthier world.  

But, let me tell you a secret - it is a whole lot easier to try to sell that vision when I am not stuck in a position where I have to rely on living that "dream" at the same time I am promoting it.

A recent conversation with a respected colleague (and they will probably know who they are if they read this) brought it all home to me once again. 

People who try to raise food on a small-scale, diversified operation are a rare breed that work incredibly hard to put their ideals into action.  They also do it so they can earn, through extremely hard work, a reasonable living.  They stick with their operations because they love what they do - or at least they love most of what they have to do, much of the time.

The work is very diverse with tasks ranging from marketing and story-telling in the effort to sell product to horticulture, entomology, and small-engine repair.  There are many points each season where the job is all-encompassing.  The moments in time where you can feel as if you are "caught up" are rare and don't last more than a couple of minutes.  One blink and the farm once again can feel like it is on the brink of disaster.

And that's how the best of us feel most of the time on our farms.  And you wouldn't know it by looking at us - unless you are also one of us.

There is probably no worse time to be a diversified produce and poultry farm than mid-May to mid-June, in my opinion.  I realize most people are fully enamored with the beauty of Spring and the promise of a Summer of fun.  For me, after seventeen (or so) years of doing this sort of farming, I see this as the time where I die a death inflicted by a thousand cuts.

I guess the saying implies that they are "tiny" cuts - but I can tell you they come in all shapes and sizes.  

I thought about this very carefully, because I want to maintain my integrity with those of you who read this.  I even looked back on my daily farm notes from a few years back.

In a single one-week period, each of the following things happened at the Genuine Faux Farm:

• a windstorm flattened half the plants in a couple of crop successions
• a woodchuck ate 15 trays of broccoli and cauliflower plants that were due to be planted that week
• another storm dropped four inches of rain on already saturated soil, making it impossible to do any field work
• the Buffalo gnats were so bad that anyone who did not cover themselves completely, even in temperatures in the high 80s to low 90s, were going to be covered in welts from the bites.
• we discovered that the raccoon parents were teaching their young to pick off members of our hen flock a couple at a time in the middle of the day by creeping through a hole in the fence
  
• the early cold season crops were bolting because of some unseasonably warm temperatures
• the warm season crops were either not in the ground or stunted by wet weather
• deer ate the hearts (centers) out of a number of our maturing romaine lettuce crop
• someone missed watering four trays of squash transplants and those trays did not recover
• the windstorm required some clean-up during days when our task lists were quite full
• we did not notice a leak in the irrigation inside a high tunnel until a small pond had developed on one end
• a key tractor implement broke while we were trying to complete work before the rains came
• we had to work around a contractor who was doing work in the farm house
• we had to say "no" on several egg orders because we had fewer eggs (see raccoon issue)
• we cancelled a CSA farm share delivery because we did not feel we had enough to justify counting it as a week in our CSA, opting to add a week at the end and removing a week from our potential Winter shares.
  

I think that's enough for you to get the point. 

My colleague and friend recently shared their current frustrations with the wildlife making off with the produce they are working so hard to nurture, weather making the process of growing good food difficult, and the issue of limited helping hands adding to the challenge.  

"I must be stupid or a complete failure.  I've been doing this long enough, you would think I could find a way to deal with these problems."

For a second, my heart broke - even if it didn't look like it.  I heard what this person was saying, and I recognized words I had spoken to myself.  And I can tell you that I have often taken these failures (big and small) to heart because it was so very important to me to fulfill my obligations to our customers, to the land, to those who work at the farm, and to all of the other folks who try to grow as we do.  All of that responsibility just makes each little cut bleed a little bit more.

A thousand cuts.  A thousand tiny cuts will make the most dedicated, intelligent, skilled, and capable people wonder - "Why am I still trying to do this?"

This is why I keep pushing the idea that we need to do better at supporting farms and growers like these.

If we like the idea of working with, rather than against nature.  If we prefer to have more people on the land, working on a smaller-scale that is responsive to the needs of the community.  If we see value in local foods.  If we want food that is raised with fewer chemicals and we want growers who hold on to the highest ethics when it comes to treating workers well, being stewards for the land, and being caretakers for a healthier future.

Then we've got to stop adding our own small slices to the ten thousand cuts these people suffer so frequently as they try to do that job that they love.  On the land that they care for.  For the good people they so willingly serve.

I'm going to share another secret.

Our farm survived that "week of horrors" that illustrated all of the natural things that can go wrong on a farm like ours.  I suspect my friend will also move forward and be able to look back on a reasonably successful season at the end of the year (even if it doesn't feel like it now).

In fact, we had a solid year - because we actually were pretty good at what we do.  We just needed a full season to get the perspective we needed to see it.  After all, we DID sign up for those kinds of problems when we took on the job of running our respective farms. Yes, it does get annoying when we lose a crop to rabbits (or some other critter) AGAIN.  And, yes, we wonder how we could let it happen once more.  Surely we must be too dumb to figure it out.  

This is normal frustration speaking.  We're human and it feels this way.  

We also know that the whole equation of our farms are much more complex than "guard against rabbits" and sometimes the most successful strategies for that particular task are not practical for the moment in time that we are in.  

Until the rabbits make us pay too much and we adjust.

The real issue, as I see it, are those other cuts and injuries that could be prevented if we, as a society, were willing to provide remedy.

We need to stop supporting corporate farming and chemical-based agriculture.  If there were more of us out there doing this small-scale/diverse farming thing, we'd have that much more support to get through the rough times.  We need to remove the possibility of chemical trespass from the list of things that can go wrong on our farms.  

We need to be sure those who work on these small farms have appropriate health care.  We need to adopt size-appropriate regulations that don't define "small business" as anyone under $20 million in sales.

And we need to put these small, local producers back in front of the line when it comes to supplying the foods that we eat.

-----------------

What's with the BOGFF 22 in the title?  I (Rob) am giving himself a bit of a blogging break at the end of the year in hopes that it will give me space for more creativity in the future.  Rather than creating a post or two linking the "best of" blogs for the year, while continuing to put out new material, I am resubmitting what I feel were some of the best posts for 2022.  Enjoy!

Affirmation by Discussion - BOGFF 22

 

The area outside the backdoor of the farmhouse at the Genuine Faux Farm looks a bit different than it has for many years.  We're very pleased to have a new sidewalk that extends from the relatively new back steps.  All of this leads to a drive area that has gotten the first couple of fresh loads of gravel in a decade.  (edit: and now that we've shoveled a few times, we're really happy.)

As I looked at this picture from earlier in May, I reflected on the process Tammy and I went through as we made the decisions to make each of these things happen.  I think, in each of these cases, we both knew pretty much what really needed to be done from the outset.  However, we still went through a period where we explored options and considered various alternatives (including just letting it all stay as is).  But in the end, I believe we ended up with what we were initially considering in the first place.

Yet we still went through a process I dubbed "affirmation by discussion."

Why bother talking it out if you already know?

This is a perfectly valid question and worth an answer.  So, I'll give you sort of an... oblique answer.

We've been doing the work and making a myriad of decisions on a yearly, monthly, weekly and daily basis since 2004 with respect to our farm.  As a matter of fact, there have been periods of time where we were making decisions from moment to moment that had the potential for far-reaching impact when it came to the viability of our farm business.   As a result, I think we've learned three things:

1. You will never know enough to be able to select the perfect solution - if it even exists.
2. You will never know enough to make the best possible solution if you don't explore.
3. Once the decision is made, you need to agree that it is the best possible solution for that moment in time with the situation as it stands.

And that is why we often engage in affirmation by discussion around here.  That and, well, it's a thing I think I have often done without realizing it for most of my life - sometimes resulting in some confusion with those I interact with.

The good news is that Tammy and I have figured this out (for the most part).  The bad news?  Well, not everyone else has figured out that I often operate that way.

For example, I have now worked for two years with Pesticide Action Network.  I am honored that the people there trust me to be competent and to do my job well.  But sometimes I get surprised when I offer up an idea or a possible solution - and it is immediately accepted with little or no discussion.

Um... Now what happens if I was just offering up a "straw man idea" so we could talk it through?  Ok, that's not such a bad thing because I can adjust so that I don't offer up those sorts of things without making it clear that's what it is.  But there are times when it would be nice if, after I offer up an idea that I do believe is a good one, we still engaged in the process of affirmation by discussion.

I suppose part of the reasoning is that even a little bit of discussion illustrates that the other members in the group actually listened and understood the suggestion.  "Oh yeah, that sounds good," can be code for "Sure, Rob, do whatever, as long as we don't have to do anything with it." 

But, here's the thing that makes me want to engage in affirmation by discussion.  I've learned a 4th thing:

4. We need to be willing to reverse a decision if new information shows that our best possible solution is no longer a fit and must be changed.

This may be my biggest reason that I like to engage in the affirmation by discussion process.  I may THINK I've got a good solution right now. But, I'd like to avoid #4 if I can.  It turns out that I have a good idea that I do NOT know everything - so seeking out other opinions and thoughts area key component of good decision making.

So, yeah.  I appreciate having the respect that others give when they tell me that they trust me to do a good job and come up with some decent solutions.  It just turns out that I might have to talk it out with them anyway - because that's part of what built that trust in the first place.

-----------------

What's with the BOGFF 22 in the title?  I (Rob) am giving himself a bit of a blogging break at the end of the year in hopes that it will give me space for more creativity in the future.  Rather than creating a post or two linking the "best of" blogs for the year, while continuing to put out new material, I am resubmitting what I feel were some of the best posts for 2022.  Enjoy!

New Year - Same Resolution

Welcome to the new year.  Perhaps you see January 1st as just another day - or maybe you see it as a new start?  In my case, the realist in me tells me that today is no different than any other, but the dreamer still nudges me to treat it as something a bit more special than that.  When I put all of me together, I find that my opinion of New Year's is an odd mix.

But, when it comes down to it - I see the turning of the old year into the new as an opportunity.  And like many opportunities - it will only be as valuable as I make it.

In with the Old

I know the phrase is supposed to be "out with the old and in with the new" and I am here to tell you that we've got it mostly wrong and only partly right.  

"Out with the old" implies the disposal of something that no longer has value.  It emphasizes the negative and encourages us to forget lessons that could be valuable for us as we travel through our lives.  It pushes a narrative of failure, pain, and suffering and discourages us from looking for the balancing positives.  

Out with the old?  Does that mean we throw it all out with the trash?  Even a diamond can look less appealing when it is surrounded with coffee grounds and rotting banana peels. 

I do not mind the idea of using the new year to give the bad things less power in our lives.  So, if by "out with the old" you mean getting rid of a grudge I hold against someone and Tammy being freed from an Achilles injury - I can get behind that.

But, I also want to say "in with the old" by taking the insights that come with the recovery from a major surgery as we go forward into the new year.  I say "in with the old" when I think about the grudge I held a bit differently by looking at how I might have been hurt and how I can avoid hurting someone else in the same way.

Maybe it should just be "in with the new perspective on the old."  But, that doesn't really roll off the tongue does it?

And, what about all of the truly WONDERFUL things we got to experience in the past year?  Out with the old?  Nope! Sorry!  These good things still have value for me and I don't see a good reason for tossing them out either. 

 In with the New

It's a nice sentiment to make it sound like we all enter the year with a clean slate.  But, I suspect this is why so few people actually succeed with their New Year's resolutions.  We temporarily deceive ourselves by thinking that the baggage of days past won't draw us back.  Oh, we might be able to leave it by the side of the road for a week or two - but it isn't too long before all of that stuff either finds legs and tracks us down or we get pulled back to it because...  Well, it is still a part of who we are.

Even so, I still admit to feeling some of the illogical power that comes with the end of one year and beginning of another.  And to top it off, I don't really think that's all a bad thing either.

Reflect on the Old, Build for the New

Here's were the pragmatist meets the idealist - I like to take a practical approach towards the energy that comes with the new year.  It's a perfect time to review and reflect on the past year and remind myself of the things that helped me become who I am now.

There are a few wounds that are still quite tender, and it makes no sense for me to spend time probing them just to cause more pain.  There are also other things where I have yet to find a good balance - so I can just nod at them in passing.  The rest is full of all sorts of insight and joy and pain and relief and...  whatever else.  Much of this is ready for me to find closure.  And some of it is ready for me to build more.

And there's the value that the turning of the year has for me.  It's a natural point for me to assess the progress I have made on the building that is my life - and to figure out what I should do to correct problems and how I can accentuate the good things.

Resolved 

My "resolution" has been this for the past few years:

My resolution is to continue to work on being better at understanding what others are seeing so I might have a chance to recognize what motivates them to do and say what they do.  And, I will also listen better to what people might say about me and where I am, so I can appreciate the good things from a different perspective and contemplate what is in need of my attention so I can make changes.

Did I succeed?  

The answer is a "yes," because I DID work to do these things and I STILL work to do these things.  But, I also feel that I have tried to do this for much of my life.  Sometimes fairly well.  Sometimes very poorly.  And I know I never will be perfect at any of it - which is why it remains a good resolution for me in the coming year.

This year, I added something to it - but it isn't new either:

I am resolved to keep learning new things and seeking new understandings for the things I've already learned.  I am also resolved to help others to learn as best as I am able.

I don't think it's a bad thing at all to have a resolution that affirms what I've believed all along.  Do you?

It's all a part of building.  Reflecting on the old - identifying the faults and taking note of the strengths.  Then, building for the new - remembering the vision of where we want to be and doing our best to get there. 

Happy New Year everyone.

Author's Choice 2022 - Postal History Sunday

It's the first day of the new year and Postal History Sunday is going to fall prey to the temptation of doing a list countdown.

Actually, I wanted to give myself the gift of reflection and perhaps provide you with a second chance at reading what I think are some of the best entries for 2022.

These are the top blog posts from MY perspective.  You can feel free to disagree and even voice that opinion in comments, in social media or directly to me.  Or, I suppose, you can complain to your partner that this Rob Faux guy doesn't know what he's doing and if he were even a little bit smarter he would abstain from end of year lists entirely!

My criteria are fairly simple.  An entry will appear here because...

1. I really enjoyed what I learned while I wrote it
2. I felt like the finished product was actually a pretty good read, even if it was my own writing

The good news?  I actually had a tough time choosing.  I like to think it is because I had more good Postal History Sundays than I had space in the list.  If you disagree with that, don't tell me - just let me have my little illusion of grandeur a few more seconds - or maybe even until you get to the end of the blog.

Similar to last year's list, I've included a question for each blog.  Can you answer it?  I have a suspicion I know where you could find the answers! 

People's Choice: Quarantine!

 Swinburne Island was man-made, but what was it created to do?

Blogs provide rudimentary metrics that tell me the number of visits that are made to each blog post.  I will grant you that those metrics can be suspect, but they do provide a reasonably sound method to compare different posts on the same blog.  This time around, a couple of posts clearly got more traffic than the rest.  The reasons usually have more to do with exposure than content.  One never knows what social media will do with placement on people's feeds and you can never predict which phase of the moon will encourage more readership.

Nonetheless, the people's choice blog this time around might very well have landed in one of the top three spots in my list anyway.  I thoroughly enjoyed researching this entry and I learned a great deal as I did so.  This Postal History Sunday probably showed off a little bit of my own detective work in a good light (shhhh!  remember - illusion of grandeur).  I even managed to find a person in history that I could honestly admire.  

Good choice everyone!

Number 11: One for You, Two for Me

A large lake serves as a boundary between Switzerland and multiple German States, what is its name?

First, if you wonder about my list-making you should know that almost all of my lists go to eleven.  It's a thing with me.

This particular post sneaks into the list in front of a couple of others simply because it represents an accomplishment, of a sort, for myself.  You see, postal relations between Switzerland and the German States during the 1850s and 60s were not all that simple to begin with.  This particular blog was my evidence for myself that I had done enough learning to accurately explain how letter mail was exchanged.  I was also able to add in some learning regarding rail services in the area at the time and improve my own geographic understanding.  I even had some German friends tell me I had done a decent job of it - or at least I had not messed it all up!

In other words, I am celebrating my own growth in postal history knowledge for this area.  It has progressed enough to produce a decent blog post, which makes it a winner.

Number 10: Costs of Doing Business

How many staves did it take to make a single barrel?

Here is the first entry in my Author's Choice that features the 24-cent stamp from the United States 1861 series that I favor.  For those who haven't figured it out yet, this is the area where my knowledge is deepest, which allows me to sometimes dig deeper and find even more things that broaden and add interest to the overall story that surrounds each cover.

In this instance, the focus is on a series of folded letters that passed from Dutton & Townsend in New York City to Jose Esteban Gomez in Cadiz.  Each letter bears a single 24 cent stamp, each cover actually paid a different rate.  None of them a 24-cent rate!  It was interesting to explore the available rates and to try and determine why Dutton & Townsend felt it was just as easy to overpay the postage than it was to figure out the exact postage required - even if they cared enough to put the name of the ship that would carry the letter over the Atlantic each time!

Number 9: Planting a Seed

In what year was the Faxon Squash introduced and made available to gardeners?

I take a certain amount of pride in my ability to produce Postal History Sunday articles that cover a fairly broad range of topics.  Part of this comes from my desire to learn new things.  The rest comes from the fact that I am fully aware that those who read my writings have diverse interests of their own.  I am hopeful that my writing provides most people who read with something at least mildly interesting.  But, if I move the topics around a little, I just might find something each reader REALLY enjoys every so often.

That said, it does help if I have a bit of a head start on a given topic.  And, since I am a steward of a small-scale, diversified farm that grows heirloom and heritage vegetables - this topic came naturally to me.  Each year, the farm intrudes a bit in a Postal History Sunday or two.  This was the 2022 writing where it was most obvious, and I think it was a winner.

Number 8: Led Astray

What was W.H.Channing's role in the U.S. Congress?

This was my first Postal History Sunday of 2022 and it is still one of my favorites simply because it came about after I discovered that I was mistaken about some things regarding the cover shown above.  My basic postal history knowledge of the item was certainly fine, and most people (myself included) could have been happy enough with stopping there.  But, I wanted to use this cover to illustrate a different point - and that's when I found out I had more to learn.

I like this post because it serves a reminder to me and anyone else what the rewards can be for re-exploring things you think you already understand.  In this case, it resulted in unexpected learning that I am still quite pleased by.

Number 7: Incoming!

What was the name of the first US warship to traverse the Suez Canal?

Sometimes I really like to explore an item that lets me look at pure postal history without lots of additional social history.  Other times, like the Quarantine! post I started with, the focus is on the surrounding social history and the postal history is pretty rudimentary.  Then, there are posts like this one that provides plenty in both areas.  There is even some personal connection that explains my willingness to even look at the featured cover from Japan in the first place.

I have to admit that I feel a sense of accomplishment whenever a Postal History Sunday takes me to a new resource - at least new to me - like the Japan Weekly Mail.  This newspaper was produced in Japan for the English-speaking community and it provided me with context for the story that surrounded this and a second cover that was featured in a later Postal History Sunday.

Number 6: How Difficult Can It Be?

Who was Cardinal Antonio Tosti, and what was his role in determining how much this letter cost to mail?

Most people agree that postal history includes the study of postage rates, carriage routes and methods, and postal regulations.  If you have been reading Postal History Sunday for a while, you'll probably recognize that I don't typically limit myself to those things when I explore the story around particular items.  I like to let myself explore a little bit more and I am certain that many people who read PHS would find far less enjoyment if I restricted writings to a strict postal history definition.

All of that said, I certainly AM capable of enjoying and writing entries that adhere to the accepted definitions for postal history - and this entry is one of them.  The motivation for How Difficult Can it Be came from my desire to solidify my own understanding of how mail worked in the Papal States in the 1850s and 60s.  It can be a difficult topic to understand (and then explain), and I feel I did a reasonably good job - which puts it at number 6 on my list.

Number 5: Two for the Price of One

What was the purpose of the House of Sailors run by M. John Mayers?

This particular entry in Postal History Sunday probably illustrates my favorite format for a post that features a particular cover.  It starts by reading the cover to explore the postal history aspects and then moves on to the contents held in the piece of mail.  From there, the social history is explored - making for a well-rounded article that I think appeals to the broadest of audiences.

In my opinion, this particular entry allows us to form a real human connection.  We learn a bit about each major player involved in the two letters that traveled from France to the United States.  We even find ourselves caring about the fate of a thirteen year-old who is writing home to his sisters in 1855.

Number 4: Williams Creek

How long was the Cariboo Road?

Once I got to the point where I was considering the top five posts, it became readily apparent to me that there was going to be no easy way to differentiate between them in terms of "ranking" them.  The good news is there really is nothing at stake here.  I could have randomly selected the ordering of the posts and no one would be worse for wear, I think.  Still, my own sense of propriety told me I should at least give it a moment or two of thought.

The Williams Creek posting is actually the result of multiple drafts, so it represents a longer period of work than some Postal History Sunday efforts.  So, one would hope it would be something I would be pleased with after that much effort.  Oddly enough, I still think I could give it another edit and make it even better.  Maybe that's not so odd, because I usually think that about every post I write.

In any event, the feature cover in this post is fairly complex from a postal history perspective and it is couched in the drama of a gold rush.  It's not hard to see the appeal.

Number 3: Let's Send a Letter to France

What was the difference between an American packet and a British Packet?

This post illustrates that I don't have to learn something new in order to appreciate the results of a Postal History Sunday effort.  For this particular entry, the topic is one that I have known well for some time.  The accomplishment that helps put this towards the top of this year's Author's Choice is that I feel I got extremely close to the best explanation I could for a complex topic to help others learn.

In other words, this post makes the educator in me very happy.  I'm not really certain anything more needs to be said about it.

Number 2: Friends in Need

What did J.R. Little do for the Friends Ambulance Unit in World War I?

Sometimes, when you are a postal historian, you see an item and a little voice in your head says, "there's a good story there."  I have learned to listen to that little voice, especially when it speaks as I look at what would typically be considered a common item of minimal value or interest.

That voice spoke many years ago when the feature cover for Friends in Need came to my attention - and I listened.  Finally, I found the time and energy to to explore whether or not that little voice was correct.  And, much to my enjoyment and delight, it was!  Along with the cover featured in Quarantine!, this is an excellent example of some of the sorts of research that keeps me excited and interested to produce more Postal History Sunday entries in the future.

Author's Choice for 2022: With This Ring

The Cimbria carried this letter across the Atlantic in 1867, how did Cimbria meet its demise?

Postal History Sunday blogs come in many flavors.  Some, like the number 2 entry, Friends in Need, make their appearance in writing for the first time with only a week or so of research at most.  Others, like With This Ring, are the results of much longer research and writing efforts.  This particular blog actually made a first online appearance as notes in a blog in 2018.  But, I can trace some of the learning effort back much further than that.

I feel as if this blog has a great balance of postal history, social history and a whole bunch of other things.  I suspect if you asked each person who read it what they learned, many would select something different.  That's a strong indicator to me that I've done something right.  I've met people where they are and given them things to consider, appreciate and learn.

-------------------

There you have it!  The farmer's picks for the top Postal History Sundays in 2022.  Feel free to enjoy (or re-enjoy) none, some or all of these at your leisure.  They'll be here when you are ready for them.  And maybe... just maybe... you too, will learn something new. 

 

Have a great remainder of your day and fine year to come!