|
|
News from Garfield Farm |
Members of the Early American Industries Association
(EAIA) and the Mid-West Tools Collectors Association (M-WTCA) will be
holding their 17th annual Antique Tool Show and Sale at the Garfield
Farm Museum on Sunday, August 2 from 9am ? 1pm. This is the only joint
show by these two organizations in the mid-west open to the public.
Over 30 different collectors will have their tools on display and for
sale.
Recent economic meltdown centered around
financial sectors that produce no handcrafted product but the mere
moving of funds from one point to the other seems so foreign to what
built America. For generations, America prided itself by the work
produced by hand that reflected the hard work, creativity and invention
of the American people. Tools that produce food to tools that shaped
the wood and metal to make shelter and machinery reflected the
industriousness of the American people. These are values that made
America an economic leader yet the Garfield Farm Museum Antique Tool
Show best displays this decline. Many of the exhibitors and collectors
are retired tool and die workers who understood the power of tools.
America today produces fewer such skilled workers as manufacturing has
fled for the cheapest and often most exploited third world labor
markets. Coming to the Tool show will remind visitors of
America?s past strengths and meet the men and women who created the
great post war economy.
In the past, skilled craftsmen used specific tools
for their livelihood and for their survival. These craftsmen, such as
coopers and blacksmiths, were indispensable to their communities, and
their work was dependant on their tools. Each piece of equipment was
vital and had a specific purpose. As society became more and more
mechanized, the need for these craftsman and their simpler tools
vanished as newer tools crafted whole new industries based upon the
machine. By understanding the use of these tools, one can gain an
understanding and respect for them.
Many antique tools most people come in contact with
are a mystery. They might not know what the tool was used for or even
who or how it was used. Not only can the public view, and even buy the
tools at the Antique Tool Show and Sale, the collectors have an
understanding and experience that they share with the show?s guests.
Most tool organizations hold private shows available
only to their members. However, Garfield Farm Museum has opened its
gates to host the EAIA and M-WTCA's annual Antique Tool Show and Sale
in order to give the general public the unique opportunity to see and
even buy rare antique tools they might never have seen before.
Visitors and novice collectors will find this rare chance to
discover the wide variety of collection themes and to learn the value
of tools. Many visitors have come to the show with an unknown tool and
have left with a wealth of knowledge. Tours of the 1846 teamster inn
and tavern begin at 11 am and continue after the show until 4 pm.
Refreshments will be available. Admission for adults is $5 and $2 for
children 12 years and under.
Garfield Farm Museum is a historically intact former
prairie farmstead and teamster inn being restored by volunteers as a
1840s working farm. The museum is located 5 miles west of Geneva, IL
off ILL Rt. 38 on Garfield Road. For more information call (630)
584-8485. E-mail us at garfieldfarm.org or visit or website at
www.garfieldfarm.org