• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

The Way We Work in Blue Rapids exhibit captures labor in rural America By Donna Sullivan, Editor be there in five minutes.’” Spending approximately He stood in a plastic 60 hours taking 45-50,000 bucket, leaning out the win- photos of people going about dow of the co-op, rapidly their jobs in Blue Rapids was shooting pictures as the cat- not on Tom Parker’s list of walk to the new elevator was New Year’s resolutions for being hung, all the while 2012. But when the ambi- hoping the brittle plastic of tious Blue Rapids Museum the bucket wouldn’t break. board decided to apply for a The Kansas Humanities grant from the Kansas Hu- Council gave guidelines for manities Council to partner the project, of which Blue with the Smithsonian Institu- Rapids was one of fifteen tion’s Museum on Main partner sites. The other loca- Street program, Parker was tions did projects involving asked to bid the job. He did, their history, using old pho- the museum received the tos and other memorabilia. grant, and Parker embarked Blue Rapids was the only on photographic journey of one to do a modern photo ex- epic proportions as part of a hibition. project called, The Way We “When people come into Work. the museum, the number one The project saw him out request is to see old photo- in every kind of weather, graphs, like of old business- taking pictures of subjects, es or people working,” Park- many of whom were a little er said. “Unfortunately, we reluctant at the outset. He only have about twenty pic- rode in a combine for the tures like that in our catalog. first time, and experienced a So the goal was to take pic- good deal of cattle handling, tures of the businesses today including artificial insemina- and people working in them, tion. “Jim Musil of Musil looking at it not just as for Farms west of town, boy, he 2012, but creating a little really opened up,” Parker archive that would be valu- Photographer Tom Parker points to one of his favorite photos from The Way We Work in Blue Rapids project. He commented. “Every time he able fifty or a hundred years says that the agriculture portion was one of his favorite parts of the endeavor, as it allowed him to experience did something he’d give me from now. Not just the phys- many things he’d never done before. The main thing he learned about agriculture was, “It’s a lot of work,” he said. a call.” As time went on, oth- ical structures, but the peo- “Those guys work from sunup to sundown and beyond. And also just the diversity of it all.” Photo by Donna Sullivan ers began calling him when ple who do all the different they were doing something things and how they do gether and made them proud fully displayed there some- 560-page PDF book of the bridge imploded, the new they thought he might like to them.” He described how the of our little town. Not only day. photos, which he sells for grain elevator erected and an capture. “I told the people, I local banker wanted a photo because we’re the only ones The exhibit opened in $30 plus tax, and will sell Ice Age monument placed don’t know what you do or of one of the tellers on the doing this, but also because Blue Rapids on February 2 prints of the photographs as on the town square. Amid it when you do it. I’m look for change machine, so that one the people at the Smithson- and will run through March well. He can be reached at all, they went about their something that tells your day when coins are no longer ian and the National 17. It also includes a contin- 785-363-7228 or by e-mail daily lives, doing the jobs story and you have to let me in use, people will be able to Archives are watching it de- uously running slideshow of at [email protected]. that make small communi- know when you’re doing still see how they fit into the velop. I said at a meeting we more than 400 additional As Parker and the towns- ties in Kansas run, as Par- that.” currency of the time. had, ‘They’re not just look- photos Parker took for the people reflect on the project, ker captured it all for per- After Hour Feed Supply Part of the Kansas Hu- ing at my pictures, they’re project. A grant from the they believe that 2012 was petuity. sells feed after hours, as the manities Council’s mission looking at you and what you Marshall County Arts Coop- the perfect year to do it. Dur- “I felt tremendously hon- name suggests. “I kept get- is to build communities and do and how you do it. Our erative paid to have the pho- ing those twelve months, a ored to be a part of that,” he ting pictures from him get- honor tradition. “The further little town is representative tos mounted. Once it closes new bridge was built, the old reflected. ting a shipment,” Parker re- I got into this, the more it of labor in rural America.’” in Blue Rapids, the exhibit called. “I told him to call me resonated with me,” Parker The 80 photos in the ex- will be taken to other towns some night when he’s doing said. “I think it really hibit will be sent digitally to around Kansas. Processing Center closing a late-night thing. I was brought the community to- the Smithsonian, and hope- Parker has also created a sound asleep when he called will delay G&G delivery me one night, and I said, ‘I’ll The United States Postal Service has announced they will close the mail processing center in Topeka on February 23, 2013. The majority of mail processing operations will be transferred to Kansas City’s pro- cessing and distribution center. For Grass & Grain subscribers, the closure will like- ly mean a delay in delivery of their paper. In fact, delays are possibly already being experienced as equipment needed for a new bar code system imple- mented by USPS has already been removed from the Topeka facility and the transition has already started. Aware that this change was coming, Grass & Grain management made the decision to offer the online version of the paper free of charge to subscribers. They also contracted with a new service to make the digital version faster and more reader-friendly. It is made available on Mondays at 1 p.m. Paid subscribers can sign up for the online version of Grass & Grain for no additional charge. Visit www.grassandgrain.com or call the office at 785-539- 7558. Grass & Grain is committed to providing readers with the timely information they need for their opera- As the clouds roll in and a ferocious wind kicks up debris, Dan Gallagher and James tions, and hope the online version of the paper will Musil, Musil Farms, Inc. continue to harvest before the storm hits. This is one of sev- alleviate much of the inconvenience caused by the eral photos in the exhibit depicting agriculture. Photo by Tom Parker closing of the USPS processing center in Topeka. Page 2 Grass & Grain, February 12,2013 cloth and it would be ond reason I made my and some have become denim. We soon mar- decision to write anoth- outstanding farmers. ried and are living on er column is because of How can I best tell The Learning Post the ranch and I am en- a death. My longtime you about Lee?His joying life again. I am friend of forty-four achievements are as By Gordon Morrison not suited to live alone. years, Lee Doyen died long as his arm and Concordia Rancher and It does require faith to very suddenly on Feb. he had very long arms. make such a leap but 2 at the age of ninety- He is one of four broth- Former Agriculture Educator when God arranges it, two years. ers and all of them it is truly wonderful. Lee was the direc- have had a remarkable Some of my family tor of the Agribusiness impact on rural Kan- and friends felt that I Department at Cloud sas. Dying is inevitable: A tribute for Lee Doyen should wait as long as County Community Lee’s parents were It was a year ago al- the column would have ing which would creep two years before con- College and I taught Orville (Bo) and Millie most to the day that I been extremely difficult into my emotions sidering marriage. I will under him for twenty Doyen. They raised decided to stop writing for me. unannounced and only say this; before I years. Not once did we four sons who graduat- my “Learning Post” col- Now a year later al- without warning, like a met and married Janet, express a cross word to ed from Kansas State umn in Grass & Grain. most to the day, I pick sly coyote. It would I was sick with grief. the other. We had as University during the After twenty-one years up my pen and paper hold me captive. I Now I am well and high as 100 students tough times of the of writing it and 1,092 to write to all my missed May so very looking ahead into the per year who could 1940s and ’50s. Lee stories later, I felt I did- friends and readers.

Load more

  36

Copy Link