Quilts warm Sac County barns
By Tim Gallagher Journal staff writer | Posted: Sunday, August 05, 2007
The Siouxland county that turned heads a year ago by making a national list -- the good kind of national list -- turns heads again today, hosting the first "Sunday Afternoon Drive" through Sac County.
More than 30 guests of the Sac County Farm Bureau will board a chartered bus to cruise past the farms, businesses and communities that prompted Progressive Farmer Magazine to tout this Northwest Iowa county as one of the 10 best U.S. counties within which to reside.
"I was shocked when I heard it (the list)," said Russ Davis, president of the Sac County Farm Bureau, which hosts this inaugural tour. "But we tend to kind of have tunnel vision. We don't get out and see all the rest of the counties in the nation to be able to judge it."
Sac County earned its place on the list thanks to progressive agriculture practices, affordable housing, secure communities and top-flight education systems, among others.
So, the Farm Bureau decided to show the rest of us what makes Sac County so special. Today's first tour involves community leaders, media types and political figures from around Iowa. The next several tours could involve you.
"This is the Sac County Farm Bureau's first attempt to promote agri tourism," said Davis, a farmer and member of the popular Farmall Promenade dancing tractors troupe. "This is our first attempt, so we wanted people who would give us some constructive criticism."
Davis said he hopes the tour idea will take off.
If it's anything like Sac County's signature decor -- the Sac County barn quilts -- it should. The barn quilts, created in 2004 as a 4-H project for high school senior Kevin Peyton, have grown into a Midwest phenomenon attracting thousands of motorists to the paved roads of the county. The quilts painted onto finished plywood sheets measure eight feet by eight feet. The designs -- each uniquely created and named -- have been placed on 59 barns throughout the county.
Creator Kevin Peyton, 20, created this buzz when he started the effort as a 4-H project in 2005. His family displayed the county's first barn quilt on Memorial Day 2005.
"I was looking for a project to do as a high school junior," said Peyton, a sophomore at Iowa State University. "I saw Grundy County (Iowa) did this in 2004. I thought it could work in Sac County."
He took his idea to the Sac County Farm Bureau, which helped him finance it. No barn owners have paid for their quilts, which were created by a committee and often painted by 4-H participants.
"We helped Kevin secure some state funds," Davis said. "It's been a fun adventure."
The quilts have all been mounted on barns and corn cribs, structures which have been significant in agriculture production for a century. Smaller quilts have since been placed on community buildings and businesses throughout the county.
"I think Kevin wanted to promote tourism, volunteerism and to not see any more barns or corn cribs torn down," said Cheryl Haden of the Farm Bureau. "This would be one way of keeping history alive."
"We had requests from all over the country on how to make your own barn quilts," said Sue Peyton, Kevin's mother and Web master for the quilt site, www.barnquilts.com. "It's been a marvelous thing, but it's kind of taken over our lives."
Kevin Peyton earned the Herbert Hoover Uncommon Student Award and a $5,000 scholarship for this effort. He also won state and national honors through the Prudential Spirit of Community program.
Sunday's tour takes guests past 22 of the 59 barn quilts as Davis offers a description of each design and the history of the barn and/or farmstead. The tour will also highlight advances in conservation efforts while showcasing modern turkey and hog production facilities found throughout Sac County.
The biofuel economy takes center stage as the route winds past Western Iowa Energy, a biodiesel in its first year of operation. Just outside the county is the Quad County Corn Processors ethanol plant, which Davis will speak about.
"What fascinated me most about the biodiesel plant at Wall Lake is how fast they raised the funds," said Davis. "In 11 days, I think, they raised the necessary capital ($22 million). It's good to see local investment in this bioeconomy."
Near Schaller there's a barn quilt called Buffalo Ridge, calling attention to the divide by that name which stretches from extreme Northwest Iowa to well past Schaller. MidAmerican Energy built a massive wind farm at Schaller on Buffalo Ridge, another example of the way the region's economy is diversifying.
The three-hour tour ends with a light supper at The Prairie Pedlar six miles north of Odebolt. Again, folks will see how a Sac County farm couple took their land, their know-how and a chance in building a business from the soil. Jack and Jane Hogue raised corn, soybeans, popcorn and hogs with their three children on the family farm. That is, until 1985 when conventional farming took a turn for the worse and the Hogues diversified into flowers.
The business filled a gardening niche and expanded a decade later to a 7 1/2-acre parcel featuring a 1943 Sears & Roebuck barn and a country school. It is now home to at least 75 theme gardens through which tours wind constantly spring, summer and fall.
"If you haven't been there lately, you should see the gardens and gazebo they built for their daughter's wedding on 07-07-07," said Haden.
If Sunday's tour is a success, the Sac County Farm Bureau will surely attempt another. Davis envisions bank groups, bus groups and community groups cruising across the county on day-trips. He said he'd be happy to step aboard and share the story of his county.
"I'd like to get on and talk with a group from a place like New York," said Davis. "I'd like to share production agriculture's story from a productionist point of view."
For information about a "Sunday Afternoon Drive," contact Russ Davis at (712) 636-4586.
Quilts now on cards
Sue Peyton reported that a group of quilters in Lake View, Iowa, has created a quilt that features 55 Sac County barn quilts and the barn quilt logo. The cloth quilt was commissioned by Iowa Sen. Steve Kettering of Lake View. A photographer has produced a postcard featuring that quilt. The postcard is available at www.barnquilts.com.
Artist Toni Grote, who has Sac City ties, has completed eight paintings of barns with quilts. Those paintings will be shown during the Sac County Quilt A'Fair Sept. 29-30 at the fairgrounds in Sac City.
More than 30 guests of the Sac County Farm Bureau will board a chartered bus to cruise past the farms, businesses and communities that prompted Progressive Farmer Magazine to tout this Northwest Iowa county as one of the 10 best U.S. counties within which to reside.
"I was shocked when I heard it (the list)," said Russ Davis, president of the Sac County Farm Bureau, which hosts this inaugural tour. "But we tend to kind of have tunnel vision. We don't get out and see all the rest of the counties in the nation to be able to judge it."
Sac County earned its place on the list thanks to progressive agriculture practices, affordable housing, secure communities and top-flight education systems, among others.
So, the Farm Bureau decided to show the rest of us what makes Sac County so special. Today's first tour involves community leaders, media types and political figures from around Iowa. The next several tours could involve you.
"This is the Sac County Farm Bureau's first attempt to promote agri tourism," said Davis, a farmer and member of the popular Farmall Promenade dancing tractors troupe. "This is our first attempt, so we wanted people who would give us some constructive criticism."
Davis said he hopes the tour idea will take off.
If it's anything like Sac County's signature decor -- the Sac County barn quilts -- it should. The barn quilts, created in 2004 as a 4-H project for high school senior Kevin Peyton, have grown into a Midwest phenomenon attracting thousands of motorists to the paved roads of the county. The quilts painted onto finished plywood sheets measure eight feet by eight feet. The designs -- each uniquely created and named -- have been placed on 59 barns throughout the county.
Creator Kevin Peyton, 20, created this buzz when he started the effort as a 4-H project in 2005. His family displayed the county's first barn quilt on Memorial Day 2005.
"I was looking for a project to do as a high school junior," said Peyton, a sophomore at Iowa State University. "I saw Grundy County (Iowa) did this in 2004. I thought it could work in Sac County."
He took his idea to the Sac County Farm Bureau, which helped him finance it. No barn owners have paid for their quilts, which were created by a committee and often painted by 4-H participants.
"We helped Kevin secure some state funds," Davis said. "It's been a fun adventure."
The quilts have all been mounted on barns and corn cribs, structures which have been significant in agriculture production for a century. Smaller quilts have since been placed on community buildings and businesses throughout the county.
"I think Kevin wanted to promote tourism, volunteerism and to not see any more barns or corn cribs torn down," said Cheryl Haden of the Farm Bureau. "This would be one way of keeping history alive."
"We had requests from all over the country on how to make your own barn quilts," said Sue Peyton, Kevin's mother and Web master for the quilt site, www.barnquilts.com. "It's been a marvelous thing, but it's kind of taken over our lives."
Kevin Peyton earned the Herbert Hoover Uncommon Student Award and a $5,000 scholarship for this effort. He also won state and national honors through the Prudential Spirit of Community program.
Sunday's tour takes guests past 22 of the 59 barn quilts as Davis offers a description of each design and the history of the barn and/or farmstead. The tour will also highlight advances in conservation efforts while showcasing modern turkey and hog production facilities found throughout Sac County.
The biofuel economy takes center stage as the route winds past Western Iowa Energy, a biodiesel in its first year of operation. Just outside the county is the Quad County Corn Processors ethanol plant, which Davis will speak about.
"What fascinated me most about the biodiesel plant at Wall Lake is how fast they raised the funds," said Davis. "In 11 days, I think, they raised the necessary capital ($22 million). It's good to see local investment in this bioeconomy."
Near Schaller there's a barn quilt called Buffalo Ridge, calling attention to the divide by that name which stretches from extreme Northwest Iowa to well past Schaller. MidAmerican Energy built a massive wind farm at Schaller on Buffalo Ridge, another example of the way the region's economy is diversifying.
The three-hour tour ends with a light supper at The Prairie Pedlar six miles north of Odebolt. Again, folks will see how a Sac County farm couple took their land, their know-how and a chance in building a business from the soil. Jack and Jane Hogue raised corn, soybeans, popcorn and hogs with their three children on the family farm. That is, until 1985 when conventional farming took a turn for the worse and the Hogues diversified into flowers.
The business filled a gardening niche and expanded a decade later to a 7 1/2-acre parcel featuring a 1943 Sears & Roebuck barn and a country school. It is now home to at least 75 theme gardens through which tours wind constantly spring, summer and fall.
"If you haven't been there lately, you should see the gardens and gazebo they built for their daughter's wedding on 07-07-07," said Haden.
If Sunday's tour is a success, the Sac County Farm Bureau will surely attempt another. Davis envisions bank groups, bus groups and community groups cruising across the county on day-trips. He said he'd be happy to step aboard and share the story of his county.
"I'd like to get on and talk with a group from a place like New York," said Davis. "I'd like to share production agriculture's story from a productionist point of view."
For information about a "Sunday Afternoon Drive," contact Russ Davis at (712) 636-4586.
Quilts now on cards
Sue Peyton reported that a group of quilters in Lake View, Iowa, has created a quilt that features 55 Sac County barn quilts and the barn quilt logo. The cloth quilt was commissioned by Iowa Sen. Steve Kettering of Lake View. A photographer has produced a postcard featuring that quilt. The postcard is available at www.barnquilts.com.
Artist Toni Grote, who has Sac City ties, has completed eight paintings of barns with quilts. Those paintings will be shown during the Sac County Quilt A'Fair Sept. 29-30 at the fairgrounds in Sac City.
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Julie wrote on Aug 5, 2007 10:12 AM: