Hillsboro Woman’s Club met on the second Tuesday of October at the Masonic Temple. Following a delicious catered luncheon, Helen Ford, club president, introduced the speaker, John Levo, a retired banker who spoke on Ohio’s Historic Family Farms.
Levo is an ambassador from the Ohio governor’s office whose aim is to help familiarize people with the program.
Levo, whose Clinton County farm is on the list of historic farms, gave a fascinating and informative talk about historic farms, as well as Ohio history. He said that Highland County has several such farms, more than any of its contiguous counties. However, he noted that the number of Ohio farms is decreasing, due to development.
The average size of historic farms in Highland County is 278 acres. The income from those farms totals more than $100 million, mostly through the sale of grain.
David Daniels of Greenfield, the director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture, lives on a historic farm. There are 27 certified historic farms in Highland County. The speaker showed a picture of four families who were recognized for historic farm ownership of 150 years or more. That group was composed of John and Kathy Levo, Mr. and Mrs. David Daniels, Dr. and Mrs. Craig Stafford, and Dr. and Mrs. Robert Carey.
In the state of Ohio, 1,350 farms have been in the same families for 100 years or more. Oddly enough, three of those owners, John Levo, Becky Terrell Stafford and Dr. Robert Carey, were reared near the little village of New Vienna. The Levo farm now produces blueberries.
One of the oldest properties in the state is the John Smiley farm in Adams County, which dates back to the year 1772.
Club members gave the speaker overwhelming applause and continued with a short business meeting.
The reports by the treasurer Betty Ann Walker and secretary Gretchen Huffman were approved as read. In addition, the name of a new member was unanimously approved, and she will be invited to join the club, now in its 93rd year, at the November meeting. It will be held at the Senior Citizens Center.
The club has been asked, as usual, to decorate a room at the Highland House Museum for the Christmas season and a committee, headed by Gretchen Huffman with Susan Parker and Betty Ann Walker assisting, will follow this year’s theme, “Snowmen.”
Submitted by Gretchen Huffman, secretary.
