Smithsonian food exhibit features DeKalb County history

SYCAMORE, Ill. — The DeKalb County History Center is one of five organizations in the United States selected to host the “Food: Gathering Around the Table” exhibit.

The exhibit is created by the DeKalb County History Center in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street program.

“The Smithsonian told the story and we added all the local stuff,” said Michelle Donahoe, executive director of the DeKalb County History Center.

“We worked with industry groups, local libraries, cookbook clubs and talked to restaurant owners and chefs,” Donahoe said. “We have over 45 partners for this exhibit so it really reflects the team effort.”

The exhibit includes displays, as well as hands-on activities.

“The touch-screen kiosk has several student videos that were done by the Cortland Elementary students,” Donahoe said. “They picked the topics, did the interviews and helped with the video editing.”

In addition, the kiosk has some Del Monte commercials from the ‘80s and ‘90s.

“They are quite entertaining,” Donahoe said.

The center also received a grant from the Illinois Humanities.

“We are going to do five podcasts in the next year about food,” Donahoe said. “They will feature rural restaurants, food trucks, food insecurity, food traditions and Latino foods.”

Visitors to the center will have the opportunity to enjoy the exhibit for about the next two years.

“The exhibit starts with the Land of Plenty section, which includes information about hunting and gathering and American Indian food production of the Potawatomi villages,” Donahoe said. “The dairy industry was a big part of DeKalb County, so we have milk bottles and milk cans on display.”

In the domesticated animals section, there is information about the Kirkland Sheep Feeding Company.

“They sheared 2,000 sheep per day,” Donahoe said.

“Although DeKalb County has some of the richest soil in the world, we also have a federally recognized food desert in DeKalb and there are over 20 food pantries in DeKalb County,” she said.

In the local flavors section there is a picture of the farmers market in Shabbona.

“One of my favorite pictures is of Clarian Swenson from the southern part of the county who sold sweet corn on the honor system,” Donahoe said. “You take a dozen ears of corn and leave your money in the box.”

The dynamic delivery section provides information about the change in technology.

“The Del Monte section is one of the biggest sections we have,” Donahoe said. “People have very strong memories of the hard work.”

A time card shows all the different jobs involved in processing corn and peas.

“We have some really cool pieces, including the original logo and a picture of the DeKalb plant,” Donahoe said. “Del Monte was the first major food producer in the U.S. to voluntarily list the ingredients on their cans in 1971.”

To highlight the transition to eating out, the exhibit includes china from the Viking dining room at the Fargo Hotel and the bird that was on the buffet for many years.

“In the hands-on section we have copies of menus and I think people will have a fun time looking at the old prices,” Donahoe said.

A silver platter, coffee pot, tea pot, cream and sugar are on display in the art of hospitality area. These items were owned by Bertha Glidden Bradt, who is the sister of Anne Glidden.

The kitchen table in the exhibit has an interesting history.

“This table is from the sheriff’s office and it is where the meals were prepared for the prisoners,” Donahoe said.

“Helena Dolder was the first woman sheriff in Illinois and when she became sheriff about 30 prisoners rioted and went on a food strike because they didn’t like the food she was feeding them.”

The prisoners wanted a male sheriff and meals that included meat.

“She hosed them down and order was restored,” Donahoe said. “This table was used by other sheriff’s wives to prepare meals for the prisoners until 1995 when VAC started providing meals.”

Items on display to highlight home cooking include cookbooks, a sausage press, lard press, meat grinder, potato ricer, pastry cutter and Jello molds.

“This is a picture of the students from the Indian Valley Vocational Center in the Culinary Arts program who are learning to cook,” Donahoe said.

“We want visitors of different ages and backgrounds to be able to see themselves in the exhibit,” she said. “We tried to represent all parts and diversity of the county.”

The DeKalb County History Center is located at 1730 N. Main St., Sycamore. It is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon to 3 p.m. Saturday.

For more information about the DeKalb County History Center, call 815-895-5762 or go to www.DeKalbCountyHistory.org.