WOOSTER, Ohio – Days of passing a pitchfork over the fence to a fellow farmer may be over but farmers still don’t mind sharing – a fact apparent by their willingness to temporarily donate antique dairy items to an exhibit in Wooster.
Farmers poked through cobwebs into dusty corners of their barns for relics of their fathers’ or grandfathers’ farming days.
Collectors contributed equally to the dairy exhibit, loaning items from their personal treasure trove.
The resulting collection includes a one-legged stool, cowbells, early milk testing equipment, cream separators and a rope compression cheese press. A display of milk bottles features yesterday’s and today’s dairies in Wayne County, from Wooster Farm Dairies to Ideal Dairy to Smith Dairy.
The exhibit represents all aspects of dairying, from cheese making to milk delivery. It also includes information about current practices, dairy-related research and Wayne County’s dairy industry.
Dairying: Then and Now is open Wednesday-Sunday through Aug. 17 at the Wayne County Historical Society, 546 E. Bowman St., Wooster.
Hours are 2-4:30 p.m., and cost is $3 for adults and free for students and members of the historical society.
For more information call 330-264-8856 or visit www.waynehistorical.org
– Kristy Hebert
