Guest Speakers: DAAHA

The DeKalb Area Agricultural Heritage Association is dedicated to preserving the county's place in the evolution of modern agriculture...with one speaker saying that our county is the Silicon Valley of ag development in the United States.

DAAHA Board Member John Diedrich (right, with Norm Larson and Donna Langford) noted the many contributions made to agriculture during the 19th Century. While the creation of barbed wire is what put DeKalb on the map, less well-known is the invention and manufacture of the Marsh harvester; this device was used to cut grasses, wheat and other crops and move them onto a platform for bundling.

The Marsh harvester was originally developed in Plano in the late 1850's; the Marsh brothers then relocated to Sycamore...where it was made at what is now Blumen Gardens, in the very room where our Rotary Club meets.

Diedrich says the need to move this and other product out of Sycamore spurred the development of the railroad, and was a factor in the growth of cross-country rail service...and by extension, the country as a whole.

The DAAHA has a number of events coming up, including the DeKalb County Barn Tour on Saturday, August 13th. More information is available at http://www.daaha.org/