American Museum of Agriculture

Sort of on the spur of the moment, I decided to go to the American Museum of Agriculture http://www.agriculturehistory.org/  this afternoon. I say, sort of on the spur of the moment, because I have not been through the inside of this museum, nor the American Wind Power Center and Museum, although I have walked their grounds previously.  So, I have been thinking for years, that at some point, I will tour these museums.

Because I found myself with some time, and the American Museum of Agriculture is not open on Sunday or Monday, I opted to tour this museum today.  I am on vacation, so touring a museum is a vacation sort of activity.

The last time I toured the grounds of the museum, it was next door to the American Wind Power Center and Museum (which was then The American Windmill Museum.)  It has moved north, across Broadway Avenue.  It sits on a hill,  with an imposing winding drive to approach it, and is in a large barn like structure with lots of old farm machinery placed on the very large grounds.  The drive is lined by old farm equipment, much of it rusting, and mostly, tractors. Touring the grounds, technically does not require an entry fee.

The building is expansive.  It is not air conditioned per se, but had big "porta cooler" fans that sit on the floor and ran periodically.  It also had large overhead ceiling fans. One of it's garage doors was partially open, as was the entrance door.  Although Lubbock was hot today, there was a good cooling breeze, and even in my back yard, in the shade, it was almost comfortable. The building was comfortable.

This was an interesting experience:  Much of the museum is devoted to tractors, and many old but restored tractors are on display inside. There is a lot of other farm equipment on display, mostly dealing with cotton farming.  So, why was this not called the American Museum of Cotton Agriculture.  Doing a Google search, there are other museums that highlight cotton farming.  Hmmm. I did not see a museum called "The Cotton Farming Museum."  But there were some displays about harvesting and bundling wheat at a the AMA.

Well, anyway, the experience was good.  In addition to the farm equipment, there is a room to depict tractor repair and another that depicts "blacksmithing" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacksmith which has evolved today to not be horseshoeing, which is done by a farrier http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farrier, but is wrought iron and/or steel forging.  Yet, Google blacksmith, and three horseshoeing sites show up in Lubbock.

I digress.  I enjoyed 8 of 10 of the short videos they have (2 were not working.)  Some were historical. One demonstrated cotton from field to finished bale. I love watching shows on The History Channel http://www.history.com/ that show how things are made.  I think factory tours (or operating winery tours, bottling company tours, etc.) are interesting.  I like to see how things are made or done.   Again, I digress.

One of the videos was some 31 minutes long: It was produced by John Deere http://www.deere.com/wps/dcom/globalhome/deerecom/global_home.page many years ago. It was about delivering a tractor and instructing the farmer on its use and care.  It reminded me what I learned in college as a pre-veterinarian major that farmers had to be more than  horticulturists or animal husbandryman.  They had to be mechanics, woodworkers, fence builders, economists, scientists, businessmen, recyclers, and who knows what else.  But the care of this tractor was a little complex to me.  But it was fun to watch the video.

There was a room filled with pedal tractors and miniature tractors.  I had completely forgotten that we had a pedal tractor and attachable trailer when we were growing up.  I looked, and saw one that looked close to what I recall, but not exactly.  I know ours was red. I was amazed at how many pedal tractors there were.

There was a corner of farm "paraphernalia."  Old china, old kitchenware, quilts, utensils,  including butter chruns, laundry day utensils (washtubs and washboards), flat irons, and pictures of chores on the farm.  It was just a hodgepodge, and maybe someday, someone will make a real display of this aspect of farm life. 

The museum sparked a controversy when they used two stuffed mules http://lubbockonline.com/local-news/2012-09-17/stuffed-mules-be-used-museum-exhibit for one of their displays. This is said and done. What can I say.

So, overall this was a pleasant afternoon.  There were very few other visitors, and most came and went while I was still there. I have to believe the museum makes its keep on field trips from schools.  I was there a very long time.  So long, the volunteer docent came back to check on me.  He and another docent answered my questions and asked me to sit with them while I asked my questions.  And gave me a tutorial of the economics of modern farming.  Which is really kind of sad.

This was a fun afternoon for me. If you live in Lubbock and have not been to the American Museum of Agriculture, I will say it is worth one visit, if not more, depending on what might change in the exhibits. If you are not a resident of Lubbock, but will be here at some time, and are looking for something to do, this might be fun. The entry fee is $5, or $10 for a family of 4, so it is not expensive.  You can spend 40 minutes or several hours, as I did.