Oliver H. Kelley Farm in Minnesota Should Stay Open!

National Grange ^ | Feb. 26th | Chil-Sook Hwang

[farmfriend]

National Grange Legislative Action Alert 2003

A special update of timely issues for e-mail subscribers to
"View from the Hill"

2/26/2003

Oliver H. Kelley Farm in Minnesota Should Stay Open!

• Under the 15% Funding Cut of the budget of the Minnesota Historical Society in the MN Governor Tim Pawlenty’s Proposed FY 2004-2005 Budget, Oliver H. Kelley Farm Will be Closed on June 30, 2003.

• Since 1962 The National Grange Has Worked with the Minnesota Historical Society to Develop and Maintain the Kelley Farm as an Educational Living History Farm that Celebrates Grange Heritage.

• Please Contact the Members of the MN House of Representatives Jobs and Economic Development Finance Committee and the MN Senate Environment, Agriculture and Economic Development Budget Division to Urge these Legislators to Restore Funding for the Minnesota Historical Society for the Kelley Farm.

The Minnesota 2004-2005 biennial budget proposed on Feb. 18, 2003, by Gov. Tim Pawlenty would reduce state funding of the Minnesota Historical Society by 15 percent, or about $8.046million because of deep budget cuts facing the state of Minnesota. On Feb. 19, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that the Minnesota Historical Society will be closing 7 of their 20 historic sites. One of the sites closed will be the Oliver H. Kelley Farm near Elk River, MN. If nothing else changes, the farm will be closed on June 30 and probably will remain closed for at least four or five years.

The Oliver H. Kelley Farm in Minnesota, the homestead of Grange founder O. H. Kelley, is operated by the MN Historical Society as a living history farm (the Kelley Farm website). The National Grange was instrumental in acquiring the farm property in the 1950's and turning the property over to the Historical Society in 1962. In 1966 the National Park Service designated the Kelley Farm as a National Historic Landmark. For more than 40 years, the Grange has contributed both money and materials for the operation of the farm. During the early years of the farm’s operation, many Grange members freely contributed antique farm implements to be used or displayed at the farm. In the last ten years alone, local Granges and individual Grange members have contributed more than $25,000 for the operation and improvement of the Kelley Farm property. Also, the Junior Grange and the Women’s Activities Departments have carried on a number of projects at the Kelley Farm—Kelley Farm Animal Support Project, Kelley Farm Natural History Project, etc for promoting Grange’s fraternity and its history. Literally thousands of Grange members have visited the Kelley Farm over the years.

Under MN law, the Governor must submit a balanced budget to the legislature. The legislature then has the authority to pass new laws to change the Governor’s budget recommendations. So, our prompt grassroots response to the key MN legislative committees is needed in order to express our concern about the closing of the Kelley Farm and our wish to keep it running.

Action Plan --- Please send a letter/email/fax and make a phone call to the members of the MN House of Representatives Jobs and Economic Development Finance Committee and the MN Senate Environment, Agriculture and Economic Development Budget Division and Urge these legislators to restore funding for the Minnesota Historical Society to keep the Oliver H. Kelley Farm open.

Talking Points to include in your communications should include:

• The 41-year partnership between the National Grange and the people of Minnesota to preserve and maintain the Oliver H. Kelley Farm, the site that is known as " The Birthplace of Organized Agriculture in America"

• The Designation of the Kelley Farm as a National Historic Landmark, one of only 15 such Landmarks in Minnesota

• The 7000 Minnesota school children already scheduled to visit the Kelley Farm this year to learn about agriculture and the pioneer way of life.

• The fact that the $300,000 in tax payer funds that go to operate the Kelley Farm are not the only source of income for the site. Valuable revenues from admissions fees, sales items such as books and heritage fruit and vegetable seeds as well as voluntary donations from local Grange and Grange members across the nation will be lost if the farm is closed.

• The Kelley Farm draws visitors from all over the nation who contribute to the economic development of the local community. This year the National Grange is organizing a celebration picnic at the Kelley Farm on August 1st. More than 500 Grange members from outside Minnesota are expected to travel to Minnesota, stay in Minnesota hotels, eat in Minnesota restaurants and support the local economy during this trip.

• If you have ever visited the Kelley Farm, please share with the MN legislators how much your Kelley Farm visit means to you as a Grange member.

• If your community Grange or Junior Grange has ever participated in an education program involving the Kelley Farm as a theme for the program, tell the MN legislators about your connection to the Kelley Farm through these programs.

• If you, your local Grange or your Junior Grange has ever donated money to the Kelley Farm tell the MN legislators about your commitment to financially supporting the Kelley Farm.

Contact
Bob Gunther, Chair
MN House of Representatives Jobs and Economic Development Finance Committee

485 State Office Building
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
(651) 296-3240
1-800-684-4598

E-mail: rep.bob.gunther@house.mn

Dallas C. Sams, Chair
MN Senate Environment, Agriculture and Economic Development Budget Division

328 State Capitol
St. Paul, MN 55155
(651) 297-8063

E-mail: sen.dallas.sams@senate.leg.state.mn.us

If you have any questions or comments please contact Legislative Research Analyst Chil-Sook Hwang by e-mail: chwang@nationalgrange.org by fax: 202-347-1091 or by phone: 1-888-4GRANGE, ext 109.

Thank you for your grassroots participation in the National Grange Legislative program.

[farmfriend]

This is not on the Grange web site. It came to me through an email update.

[farmfriend]

pinging for a good cause.

[farmfriend]

indexing

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!

[WorkingClassFilth]

I'm sorry, but as a Minnesotan I've gotta say that this where the rubber meets the road. For the record, I value the family farm and am an agricultural producer myself, but, as a conservative I have to ask myself why is the government financing all of these things in the first place.

If you'll recall, the Minnesota Historical Society, for decades, was a tiny hole in the wall down on Clinton Ave near the Art Institute. It was housed in a converted home. During Arne (RINO) Carlson, the MHS was catapulted into its multi-million dollar showcase facility in St. Paul near the Capitol. Their budget is huge and their politics are, too often, left of center. In any event, upgrading their ticket on the gravy train was another example of free spending largess that has brought Minnesota its crushing tax burden.

I mourn for the loss of the family farm (one was lost in our family) but NO LESS that I mourn for the loss of any other business that free people pour their lives into in pursuit of their happiness. The solution to the precarious situation the family farms are in is not in a government program or grant or subsidy but, IMO, lies more realistically in getting government out of the business of distorting markets. Losses and change are part of free markets.

For whatever value the Kelly farm may hold, sustaining its budget is as much a mistake as protecting any golden calf. Pawlenty's budget is $1,000,000,000 more than '02-03 and is still the largest budget in Minnesota history. Even still, Pawlenty has red-penciled $4,500,000,000 in requested increases that programs just like this are clamoring for.

If you really wish to pay a thousand more dollars for every man, woman and child in the state to pay for the Kelly farm budget and every other sacred cow down the road, you have to ask yourself, why on earth would I call myself a conservative and favor smaller government and lower taxation?

Am I missing something about the critical importance of preserving the Kelly Farm budget, or is this just a case of preserving a personal perk?

[WorkingClassFilth]

Farmerfriend, I see that you are from California. I also take in good faith your well meant intents behind this post. However, the budgetary crisis California finds itself in should be instructive about how government spending should not be run (let alone Davis' handling of your ongoing energy debacle).

Please realize that Minnesota (and our nation for that matter) is in the same kind of budgetary crisis. Our common crisis is due to unrestrained spending on issues, projects and matters that never should have been civil expenditures in the first place. The point is that everyone must realize that reversing the rule of socialism is going to cost every one of us something.

In fact, as administrators fight back against 'cuts' (and please realize that Pawlenty's budget is an INCREASE not a CUT), their intent will be to slash items that hurt the public in ways that will manipulate people to do things just as this email alert is doing. IOW, the intent will be to hurt taxpayers in ways that will make them lose the stomach for doing what needs to be done.

Can anyone seriously imagine ever getting to the real core of government waste, i.e., wealth redistribution and social programs, without cutting through a jungle of boondoggles aimed at the middle-class and special interest groups?

Not one-half mile from where I sit typing this post, the University of Minnesota operates the historical Gibbs farm in the era of the last half of the 19th century. Is this farm as important to our culture and history and future as the Kelly Farm? I doubt it, and I question the operation of this farm as well as another add-on component of the University of Minnesota's hugely bloated budget.

I don't mean to be harsh and denigrate the experience that these farms can provide (I actually plan to visit the Gibbs farm with the kids), but seeing them cut loose from the purse of government is a greater good than any value an afternoon watching somebody churn butter will provide.

[B4Ranch]

Sorry, I am fed up with tax dollars being used where they do not belong.

[farmfriend]

Please do not interpret my posting of Grange news as support for the content. It may or may not be. There is a deep divide between the Granges on the west coast and the Granges on the east coast. That said, the Kelly farm is the homestead of one of the Grange's founding fathers, hence our interest in keeping it open. (personally, I think this should be done through private donations) Founded in 1867, the Grange is the oldest general farm and public policy organization in the United States. The Grange brought you anti-trust laws, free rural mail delivery and rural electrification.

If you check out my posting history, you will see that I am all in favor of the free market in agriculture. I just don't think that it is feasiable at this time. I advocate moving to a free market system for environmental conservation that would allow us to move into a free market for agriculture as well. Keeping government from interfering in both is the only way to go.

[farmfriend]

Sorry, I am fed up with tax dollars being used where they do not belong.

You know me well enough to know I would never disagree with that statement.

[Dataman]

I don't live that far from the farm. Shut it down. If it needs to exist, support it, like you said, with private donations.

[Valin]

That said, the Kelly farm is the homestead of one of the Grange's founding fathers, hence our interest in keeping it open.(personally, I think this should be done through private donations)

If the Grange has an interest in the Kelly Farm then they should buy it and run it as they see fit.
I would be more than happy to contact my state representatives and let them know my thoughts on this "vital" issue but given the fact that they are both somewhere to the left of Barbara Boxer I doubt they would listen.

No Flame intended.

[farmfriend]

No Flame intended.

None perceived. I think the Grange did try to set up a foundation or something to take care of the farm but couldn't because it was owned by the government. I will have to check on that to be accurate. I know we do donate money.