Among the many activities in Fennimore county—cultural, commercial, industrial—the actual making of things interests me very much. But with the next Agincourt exhibit scheduled to open in mid-September, initiating a new component is probably not a great idea.

A prominent part of the 2007 exhibit involves the Tennant and Tabor families and their investments. Milt Yergens conceived Tabor Industries, a cluster of family-based manufacturing and investment, and one of their products: prefabricated grain bins and their adaptive use as aeroplanes! Oh, Milton. What an imagination. Yet another Tabor-Tennant enterprise—discussed but only barely explored—is Fennimore Farms, a home-grown, value-added industry where agricultural products were grown. harvested, processed, package and marketed from within the county.

Somewhere along the west bank of the Muskrat River, in the industrial district developed at the turn of the last century, a canning plant has operated until the present day. Rumored to have been the region’s major employer, we might well “borrow” an industrial design from Albert Kahn or another early modernist; time having become a factor. But it does seem that the  corporate imagery of Fennimore Farms could materialize in the next two months. So, I wonder if anyone bass the energy and time to imagine the labels for tin cans of tomatoes, green beans, corn, squash and other vegetables in the Fennimore Farms product line?

At coffee with David Crutchfield yesterday afternoon, we had a lengthy conversation about rhubarb. Peter and I have twenty-two plants thriving in our gardens; twenty-three, if you count the one that’s taken root in the compost. David and I joked about how one could market rhubarb and we conceived “The Rhubarb Ranch.” Sounds like a spin off market to me.

By the way, the rhubarb image at the opening of this entry is borrowed from Clover Valley Farms in Duluth. Take a look at some of their products so they don’t mind. [#748]