Sandusky County Farm Bureau Federation records

The papers of the Sandusky County Farm Bureau Federation are primarily composed of meeting reports, membership records, printed materials from the main office in Columbus, subject files and correspondence. A large number of the documents date from the mid to late 1970s, but some go back as far as 1943. The documents are not complete, with gaps existing in many of the meeting reports and membership records. Some proceedings give statistics for all Ohio Farm Bureau Federation counties, especially concerning membership quotas and insurance information.

Some of the collection involves correspondence both to and from Robert Roush. The letters are mostly typewritten and on some kind of official letterhead, usually from the Ohio Bureau offices in Columbus. Most of these letters pertain to Farm Bureau business, especially concerning membership campaigns.

There is a large amount of printed materials - most supplied from the Ohio Farm Bureau Office in Columbus - within the collection. Some of these items are promotional flyers to be used in membership and public relations campaigns. Other printed materials are regularly published newsletters, magazines and newspapers that concern the Ohio Farm Bureau and the Sandusky County Farm Bureau. Many clippings - some in scrapbooks - are included within the collection.

This collection also contains photographic materials. Black and white photographs and negatives provide information concerning people and events that were part of the Sandusky County Farm Bureau. The negatives are of a 126mm format along with two 35mm slide shows - with text - that was a part of the Sandusky Farm Bureau's 1981 and 1982 membership kick-off rally.

Some audio tapes are another part of the collection. Two of the tapes are reel-to-reel and three are cassettes. These contain radio reports concerning the Sandusky Bureau's activities and business.

The Sandusky County Farm Bureau Federation collection allows researchers to obtain a detailed look into the day-to-day operations of an important and influential organization. A drawback to the collection is that many of the documents are simply lists of names and addresses, and even more are statistics concerning membership drives across the state. As a part of daily business, one can see how membership equated into legislative and cooperative strength. From a qualitative approach, however, the numbers and lists do not tell a great deal. For this kind of material, it would be best to examine the printed materials and regular publications. The monthly meeting reports can provide some information about topics of discussion, especially those made by the Women's Committee.