Howe esteemed near the close of his last WCI board term

Jay Howe of Greenfield was recognized with a plaque of appreciation from the Wallace Centers of Iowa’s board of directors Monday, Oct. 23 at the Wallace Farm. Howe, a founding board member of the Henry A. Wallace Birthplace Foundation, began his board service in 1988. His final term ends Dec. 31 this year.

“We owe Jay a tremendous debt of gratitude for joining with other community members to purchase 40 of the Wallace family’s original 160 acres all those years ago,” remarked Jeff Wallace, board chair. “This historic farm that now attracts thousands of visitors each year from all corners of Iowa and across the U.S. is the result of their vision and hard work.”

In 2010, the Henry A. Wallace Birthplace Foundation merged operations with another Wallace family property, the Wallace House in Des Moines, and became the Wallace Centers of Iowa. The organization’s mission is to preserve the Wallace family legacy of agricultural innovation and public service with programs and two historic locations that connect Iowa’s food, land and people.

Henry A. Wallace was born at the farm near Orient in 1888. He edited Wallaces’ Farmers magazine, founded the Hi-Bred Corn Company (later known as Pioneer Hi-Bred), and served as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Vice President and U.S. Secretary of Commerce for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He died of Lou Gehrig’s disease in 1965.

The Wallace Centers of Iowa’s two locations include the Wallace Farm in rural Orient and the Wallace House in Des Moines. More information about the non-profit can be found at www.wallace.org.