Farm Progress

We asked our readers to share their favorite memories of Prairie Farmer, and boy, did they! Read on for more about how an editor got her job, early Farm Progress Show memories and special families on the cover.

Holly Spangler, Senior Editor, Prairie Farmer

October 18, 2016

4 Min Read

One of the best parts of celebrating 175 years of publishing Prairie Farmer magazine is knowing that we're celebrating with our readers — many of whom have memories wrapped up in Prairie Farmer, as well. We asked readers to share their memories, and we’ll share those with you over the next few weeks. And it’s not too late to share your memories; send them in and we’ll include them, too!

Here's our first round of memories:

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I graduated in 1959 from Journalism and Communications School at the University of Illinois. A Chicago suburban girl, I was in love with an ag school graduate, so when Prairie Farmer Editor James Thompson came to campus for interviews, I jumped at the chance, even though I was unfamiliar with the publication.

“Whatever Prairie Farmer is,” I thought, “I can learn what farming involves if I work there!”

Our interview was perfect! Thompson was a principled man with conservative values he wasn’t ashamed of! The pay was less than the Tribune offered me, but I jumped at the opportunity. Thompson was one-of-a-kind!

And John Turnipseed (Paul Johnson) worked in the same room as Thompson and I did! What an inspiration HE was! His column in every issue of Prairie Farmer was a must-read-first! Many times it was a heartwarming little story of right triumphing over wrong. Usually God and goodness figured into the story. I have a scrapbook filled with his words to live by.

My true love, Bill, was discharged from the Army and took a position in northwest Illinois. As we planned our wedding, the only sadness was in telling Mr. Thompson I would be resigning to marry Bill. He was understanding — came to our wedding and gave us a wonderful gift. He also gave his approval to Bill!

In 1969, when the Farm Progress Show was to be in Sangamon County, Ill., the Prairie Farmer home editor, Pat Laux, contacted me in my Springfield home. Would I like to orchestrate the fashion show that was traditionally a feature of the Home Progress Show? Again, I jumped at the chance to work with those wonderful people — selecting seamstress models to sew and model the Prairie Farmer patterns, overseeing fabric selection and construction, and getting models to meet deadlines. I even was encouraged to include my 6-year-old and 3-year-old daughters in the show! They stole the hearts of everyone involved, and stole the show when they walked down the ramp modeling their new outfits. Sadly, the home show and fashion show have gone by the wayside, but the memories will always be with us, alongside my memories of the most enjoyable people for whom I have ever worked!

— Betty Harryman, editorial assistant to Editor James Thompson, 1959-60


Readers respond: 175 years of Prairie Farmer

HOME SHOW: “Sadly, the home show and fashion show have gone by the wayside, but the memories will always be with us, alongside my memories of the most enjoyable people for whom I have ever worked!” remembers Betty Harryman, who worked as an editorial assistant to James Thompson, Prairie Farmer editor.

My grandpa, Wilfred Kasten, is 93 years old and remembers getting the Prairie Farmer when he was a young boy. He found the book in the picture at a sale in a town nearby. The book is 100 years old! He was not born when it was printed and is not listed with his brothers and sisters (back when they named every farming family in the county).

— Benjamin Kasten, Hoyleton

Readers respond: 175 years of Prairie Farmer

HISTORY: Wilfred Kasten, 93, found this 100-year-old Prairie Farmer Directory of Farms in Washington and Clinton Counties.

On Aug. 17, 1974, the Prairie Farmer cover featured an Oliver tractor pulling a baler. The person driving the tractor is Jackie Sadler. Johnny Sadler, his son, and Paul Esworthy, my nephew, are on the rack wagon bucking bales. Bob McMahan is driving the John Deere tractor pulling the empty rack wagon, and his dad, John, is riding on the rack wagon.

Our families have been friends and neighbors for more than a century, as the land is just separated by a county road. Both the Sadler Farm and Esworthy Farm are Centennial Farms, and our late daughters, Jennifer and Jackie, would have been the fifth generation to have my share of the Esworthy Farm.

— Jim Esworthy, Ogden


Readers respond: 175 years of Prairie Farmer

FAMILY AFFAIR: The Esworthy family has fond memories of this cover, featuring their family and their neighboring family bringing in the hay crop.      

I read of the 175th anniversary of Prairie Farmer this year. I have a 1941 Prairie Farmer 10th anniversary special edition magazine, and also several others from the '40s, '30s and back to 1929. I also have an August 1955 100th year centennial issue of Wallaces Farmer.

When we got the magazine, my first page to go to was the Slim and Spud cartoon, back by the classified ads. We have been readers since I was a kid, and I don’t know how long before that, but my dad and grandpa had gotten it.

— Raymond Akeman, Litchfield

About the Author(s)

Holly Spangler

Senior Editor, Prairie Farmer, Farm Progress

Holly Spangler has covered Illinois agriculture for more than two decades, bringing meaningful production agriculture experience to the magazine’s coverage. She currently serves as editor of Prairie Farmer magazine and Executive Editor for Farm Progress, managing editorial staff at six magazines throughout the eastern Corn Belt. She began her career with Prairie Farmer just before graduating from the University of Illinois in agricultural communications.

An award-winning writer and photographer, Holly is past president of the American Agricultural Editors Association. In 2015, she became only the 10th U.S. agricultural journalist to earn the Writer of Merit designation and is a five-time winner of the top writing award for editorial opinion in U.S. agriculture. She was named an AAEA Master Writer in 2005. In 2011, Holly was one of 10 recipients worldwide to receive the IFAJ-Alltech Young Leaders in Ag Journalism award. She currently serves on the Illinois Fairgrounds Foundation, the U of I Agricultural Communications Advisory committee, and is an advisory board member for the U of I College of ACES Research Station at Monmouth. Her work in agricultural media has been recognized by the Illinois Soybean Association, Illinois Corn, Illinois Council on Agricultural Education and MidAmerica Croplife Association.

Holly and her husband, John, farm in western Illinois where they raise corn, soybeans and beef cattle on 2,500 acres. Their operation includes 125 head of commercial cows in a cow/calf operation. The family farm includes John’s parents and their three children.

Holly frequently speaks to a variety of groups and organizations, sharing the heart, soul and science of agriculture. She and her husband are active in state and local farm organizations. They serve with their local 4-H and FFA programs, their school district, and are active in their church's youth and music ministries.

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