William Dempster Hoard & Madison County History you never hear of...the Wisconsin Dairy Business started here...

I was going through the Syracuse Newspaper and found an article  on Hellava Good Cheese moving to Wisconsin.  Many people would pass that information up but... being that little history genie that I am, I was very amused since it was a man from right here in Central New York who made Wisconsin “The Dairy State”…his name is William Dempster Hoard.  Yes the dairyman…from Munnsville.

So when traveling on Route 46 from Oneida to Hamilton you might pass a beautiful, now deserted stone building on the side of the road. Missing windows and doors… it sits as reminder of Munnsville’s past, a past that included many famous people and famous products. One such man was born in the building and passed his childhood there observing the area and interested in its development, his name was William Dempster Hoard.

Hoard spent many hours observing the growing of hops that was a mainstay crop during his formative years; a crop that depleted the already thin soil of this hilly Madison County, NY area. The farmers who lost their fortunes and farms to this fickle crop, wiped out by blight and the commodity market, changed to milk production and Holstein–Friesian cattle that were imported from Holland.

The cows were a needed agricultural addition that was - with its bi-product of manure - an enhancement of the soil and a new way of life for this Madison county, NY area. Hoard as a young man moved to Wisconsin in the westward exodus of the 1800’s and landed in an area that also had agricultural problems much like his former home. One day siting on a hillside noting the farmers going out of business or struggling, he came up with the idea of making the same change to cows, an idea that made Wisconsin the “Dairy State” for many years.

Hoard also started Hoard’s Dairyman’s Journal that gave information to farmers on dairy practices. He is considered the father of the refrigerated railcar that was needed to ship milk to markets at a great distance and today his drawings of the perfect barn have been copied by Cornell University. His motto was that happy cows produced more milk and that entering his dairy you were to treat his cows like “mothers” with kindness and respect.

In his lifetime he became the Governor of Wisconsin and helped bring abolition to the state, staunchly supporting legislation to accompany his beliefs.

Today Madison County, NY is still an agricultural county and much of what was learned by our founding dairy farmer’s came out of Hoard’s Journal! 

It is a great pity that riding on today’s Route 46 one cannot be made aware of this piece of Madison County history, instead we are beaten to death with Gerrit Smith, Oz and pass real history right by.  And of yes those are “Hop” plants coming back to Munnsville…everything old is new again or as I always say…”History always repeats itself”!

(http://www.syracuse.com/food/index.ssf/2015/04/heluva_good_closes_cheese_plant_in_wayner_county.html)

Come to the FAIR! Madison County is celebrating its 175th Edition!

This year marks the 175^th time Madison County has put on a County Fair.  In itself this is quite an accomplishment for a rural area that in recent years has seen itself in a new light.  Before now a Fair was guaranteed to bring in local people who look forward to it and planed it into their yearly events.  Not so today as events and fancy destinations seem to steal families with glitzy rides and amusements that once were taken for granted attendance to attend the Fair.

The little group that puts this event (not the county) on each year, struggles to find ways to attract people and to think of ways to entice “Fair-goers” to drive to the country to view animals and learn of the Fair’s agricultural “Hay-day”.

Picture Kevin Orr

The Fair has managed to sustain itself with courage and the conviction that small county fairs must not disappear… fairs that represent the fiber of Rural America.

From its early purpose of not only showing animals and rural products, but as a way for farmers to learn of new methods and see new products that included remedies for animal ailments…(the day of the traveling veterinarian…did not exist) fairs have evolved into an opportunity to look at rural America the way it is today.

The past’s farmwomen were able to share their home crafts and ideas as well as to win a prize. I remember a friend telling me that her grandmother went home from the fair …took a jar and filled it with beans then emptied it and counted them one by one so she could win a prize at the fair… which went to the closest guess of number of beans in a jar!

Children brought their favorite pet to enter into contest…something the 4-H clubs still do today!  They got to ride rides and see shows and tour mid-ways...Wheelock Rides will be there this year!

All-in-all today’s Madison County Fair still represents family values with the “Youth Tent and rural values with agricultural and animal displays.  The Tractor pulls and Demolition Derby still sends the crowd to the Grandstand.

The Fair is still a great way to take a deep breath and walk away from our busy world that just keeps spinning. Help keep it alive!

So go to the Fair! Drag grandma and the kids… Tell them I sent you!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Madison-County-Fair/279778981693

Thoughts on poverty - after flood conditions - and the future elections.

The flooding is over and with a little help from Mother Nature things will get back to normal.  From experience I have to tell you…they don’t get back to normal for a long time.  The price that you pay is not just in cost of items and repair of houses, it’s also in the stress of family relationships both personal and financial.

In a society that values what money can buy more than the things money can’t buy… we are trapped in a daily cycle of work, bills, and rising costs.  Money cannot buy back the time-spent worrying about things… and the emotional toll that brings nights when you are unable to sleep.  When this all kicks in…it shakes even the best of relationships.

When you add poverty to the mix the situation becomes unbearable.  I have heard about “flood insurance” but the cost of this commodity is far above the ability of many people to pay and so they throw the dice and hope it rolls in their favor!

That is what I have done over the years…I have never won. (I am not good at gambling)  The only thing it has taught me is to just carry on.

The compounding factor is that people in my rural area who have low paying jobs or retirement benefits… are also most likely unable to find full-time work that pays enough to have a car on the road and to travel to it.  Part-time jobs do not make it when you factor in the cost of gas, repairs and insurance.  In Madison County’s case you have to factor in that there is no bus service, hilly terrain, and almost no industry.

The majority of people work in school systems or health care, or local governments.  Good paying agricultural jobs with benefits are few and far between.  Madison County ranks number 3 in the state for lost population… no wonder why.

Continually badgering people who get food assistance is just ridiculous.  Even our friends to the north in the more populated area who work for places like Walmart do not have adequate pay to live.  When they retire...what?

The Amish families have moved into the vacant farms and have returned to basic life.  But are we as “a people”… willing to forgo our current life style of easy communication, entertainments, work saving devices and… most importantly education of our children?

The flooding in my case has been caused in a great part by lack of adequate infrastructure repair.  But I cannot afford more taxes and once again it is industry that pays taxes and provides jobs that allow the citizenry to pay taxes.  It is a “catch 22.”

So when it comes time to vote this fall in local elections…think about it… we need younger more in tune thinking.  We need Change! We need to be proactive rather than reactive… In our comments on line via social media like Facebook that are hateful to hard working retired or poor people…. remember but for the Grace of God you might one day be in their situation… and if costs and our society continue… your children may be in this situation!

So help your friends… be kind to your neighbors and family… and think about the future for everyone…  Where are we going as a society?  How can we improve?  And more importantly… how long can we carry on without sincere change?

***Here is a great video..great historic pictures..worth a watch!