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  • Visitors tour the “Farm Life: A Century of Change for Farm Families and Their Neighbors” exhibit Sunday at Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center. (Staff Photo by BRIDGET NASH)

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September 3, 2012

'Farm Life' exhibit shows agricultural, cultural evolution

By Robert Barron, Staff Writer Enid News & Eagle

ENID, Okla. — Farming was a common part of American life during the early part of the 20th century.

But by century’s end, the number of people actually working in agriculture had considerably declined.

Through Jan. 6, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center will present “Farm Life: A Century of Change for Farm Families and Their Neighbors.” The exhibit notes the changes in agriculture that occurred during the century, with interactive displays showing various aspects of farm life and what it means to live in a community. The exhibit is sponsored by Field, Trojan, Long & Claypole, P.C.; Trojan Farms LLC; and David and Sharon Trojan.

In 1900, 42 percent of the American population worked in agriculture, but by 2000, less than 2 percent made their living in farm production. Through generations of dramatic economic and social change, some families have maintained their connections to farming, the land and their rural communities. Andi Holland, Heritage Center director, said the displays will show why some people remained on the farm and why some left, what institutions they can rely on and what new strategies are used to survive.

David Kennedy, the museum’s curator, said one of the most interesting displays of the exhibit details the changes in social life and technology over the past 100 years.

“Enid’s been here 100 years, and this exhibit covers almost the entirety of the 1900s, taking in changes in farm and home technology, what it was like to live on a farm,” Kennedy said.

The exhibit shows the changes from iceboxes to modern appliances and the impact of electricity and telephones to rural life.

“It talks about what happens outdoors and indoors,” Kennedy said.

David Trojan said it was important for his family to be involved in bringing the exhibit to the Cherokee Strip.

“In 1893, both of our families homesteaded in the Cherokee Outlet,” he said. “Our sons, nieces and nephews are the fifth generation to farm the land. Lew Trojan and his wife, Mary Pribil Trojan, homesteaded.

“We all also have other jobs and careers that relate to agriculture and farm families, but it is our faith and family interdependence derived from the family farm that continues to bind our family together.

“Agriculture’s share of the labor force in the United States was about 74 percent in 1800 and 60 percent in 1860; it declined to about 40 percent in 1890, near the time of the run. Today, through research and applied technology provided by extension programs, less than 2 percent of the United States population is directly engaged in providing affordable food for our country and the world.

“Our family would like to share the rich history and legacy of agriculture and farm families with others.”ɭ

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