Iowa State University Alumni Association| online edition | spring 1999

SPRING 1999
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Cover Story:
The Bells of Iowa State

Feature:
Driving Dr. Carver

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TELLING THE STORY OF AGRICULTURE

Mike Witmer is as well suited to his job as a churn is to butter. Agriculture curator for Living History Farms in Des Moines, the 1984 ISU graduate in agricultural mechanization grew up on a family farm only a few miles away. His ancestors had farmed in Iowa since the 1850s, and as a child, Living History Farm was one of his favorite places to visit.

The unique purpose of the Living History Farms dovetails perfectly with Witmer’s abilities and interests. Unlike most traditional museums, the purpose of the farms is to recreate the daily routines of bygone years – to allow visitors to observe processes, not just stare at artifacts. Witmer’s job is a complex mix of mechanics, research, public relations, and curating. He must understand people, plows, and purchasing.

As Iowans increasingly consider the living farms a state treasure, they offer to donate antiques and cherished heirlooms. Evaluating these potential donations is part of Witmer’s job. “It used to be that we accepted 80 percent of what we were offered,” he says. “Now we reject about 80 percent.” The farms currently contain about 6,000 objects. And every object that is added to the collection must go through a rigorous evaluation. It must contribute to the farms’ mission of recreating past daily life. For example, an original 1800 plow in poor condition will be passed over for a replica that can actually be used. A set of 19th century leather-bound law books was recently turned down because “a small-town attorney in 1875 wouldn’t have had a big set of expensive books,” Witmer explains.

But some of the farms’ greatest treasures come from donations. Witmer recently accepted a four-seated “surrey with a fringe on top” from a local farmer. “We’ve wanted one for a long time,” says Witmer. “It was perfect for wedding reenactments and parades. A good reproduction would have cost us $6,000.”

Witmer’s job is also to supervise restoration. For him, no less exciting than the donation of the authentic surrey, was the volunteer who used an 1800 patent and an old model to recreate a hand corn planter.

Of all Witmer’s jobs, interacting with the farms’ visitors is his favorite. The job of a curator is to “interpret” for his visitors what they are observing. His audience varies from first-graders who squeal over baby lambs, to more serious international businessmen, to elderly farmers convinced that this young whippersnapper can’t possibly know anything about the farming of yesteryear. “Part of the role of being an interpreter,” Witmer chuckles, “is the same as the cat who sits on his porch and gets his tail pulled.”

In the 14 years Witmer has been at the farms, he has seen changes in his visitors. He used to hear murmurs of, “This is just like the farm that I grew up on.” Now he is more likely to hear, “This looks just like Grandpa’s farm.”

One day, he says, “I will hear people say, ‘I don’t remember this at all.’

About the Writer | Karol Crosbie is the former associate editor of VISIONS magazine.