Sunbonnet Questers
The Sunbonnet Chapter of Questers met May 11 at the home of Lois Vogel. Ten members were present to enjoy a delicious dessert followed by the business meeting and program.
Treasurer, Judy Swenson, reported on the $150 donation made from the chapter to the Jasper County Museum and shared the thank you note received from the Museum staff.
Charlotte Townsend reported on ideas for possible summer trips to shops in the Amana Colonies and the community of Albia. Tentative dates were proposed for July and August, and members will decide on those dates at the next meeting.
For Roll Call this evening, members shared special items of antique clothing, hats, jewelry, purses, and family photos. It is always fun to learn more about each member through the items shared in Roll Call.
Chapter President, Dorothy Raymond, read bits of information from the State President of Iowa Questers, Carol Tinkey. She stressed the amounts of money donated by Iowa Quester chapters to local and state projects, and international as well. Not only has nearly $14,500 in donations been made, but more than 23,000 volunteer hours have been directed to Preserving the Past in Iowa. Certainly all Iowa Questers can be proud to have participated in this endeavor, and to continue to learn about the antiques and collectibles associated with our shared history.
The program for this evening was presented by Lois Vogel. She shared the story of the Pfister Hybrid Seed Corn Company based in El Paso, Ill. This company was started through the efforts of Lester Pfister, who sought to develop seed corn that would revolutionize the amount of bushels per acre that could be raised. Lester was an uncle of Lois’ husband Frank Vogel, and El Paso is their hometown. For almost a decade, beginning in 1920, Lester Pfister experimented with pollinating his fields by hand, placing paper bags over the corn tassels to collect the pollen for the best ears. It was about 1932 that he successfully demonstrated his hybrid corn. However, not only did Pfister develop outstanding seed corn, but by 1938 he developed a detasseling machine, then a 12 row planter, and the Jitterbug Grater for planting accuracy. Lester Pfister was truly a pioneer and innovator in the seed corn industry.