Several months ago, every Grange Secretary
received an appeal letter from State Grange regarding the Pasto Ag
Museum and the fundraising campaign to expand its facility. If your
Grange has not received this information or you have not yet
contributed to the fund, I urge you to consider a contribution at
this time. Grange or individual donations are welcome.
The Pasto Agricultural Museum is located at
the Rock Springs Agricultural Research Center, where Ag Progress
Days is held each August. The Museum was officially opened in 1979
and represents an era of agriculture when human and animal power was
dominant. The Museum’s mission is to provide the general public with
an understanding and appreciation of early agricultural technology
and rural life, especially in PA. An estimated 10,000 persons a year
visit the Museum including elementary, high school, and college
students, teachers, senior citizens, farmers, and city dwellers. It
represents a foundation for the understanding of the evolution of
agricultural technology and rural living from the early 1800s to the
1940s. Dairy represents the largest category in the museum’s
collection with over 1000 objects.
The Museum is managed and operated by a
volunteer curator and volunteer tour guides. All items in the Museum
have been donated and modest financial support is provided by income
from two endowments. Only one-third of the total collection is able
to be displayed at any one time. The Museum’s advisory board has a
goal to build a larger facility and has established a fundraising
target of $500,000 to accomplish this. They already have current
commitments totaling $400,000.
The PA State Grange Executive Committee has
approved an appeal to our Community Granges to support the expansion
of the Pasto Agricultural Museum. Every Grange is encouraged to
contribute to this cause, as in the past we supported the Grange
Dormitory Building and the Ag Arena building at Penn State. As the
request from the Museum states, “[the Grange’s] reputation for
taking pride in sponsoring many meaningful and worthy agricultural
opportunities for students of all ages is well known throughout the
state.” The PA State Grange has a long history of collaboration with
the College of Agricultural Sciences.
Let’s show once again that the Grange is committed to the increase
of education and preservation of our history by contributing to this
cause. Please send your donations, payable to PA State Grange, to 20
Erford Road, Suite 310, Lemoyne PA 17043.