In the Midwest, summer picnics bring people together for socialization and community. For time immortal communal meals have been a part of human nature. This week’s Throwback Thursday celebrates picnics. Taken by A.W. Thompkins, this Hamlin County Farm Bureau photo shows the picnic of like-minded, farm-related folks. The Farm Bureau, organized in 1919, had the purpose of, according to the 1920 original Farm Bureau statement, “to make the business of farming more profitable, and the community a better place to live. Farm Bureau should provide an organization in which members may secure the benefits of unified efforts in a way that could never be accomplished through individual effort.” A.W. Thompkins, the photographer, was the Hamlin County Agent from 1919-1924. Picnics, like this Farm Bureau, unifies people in community.
SDAHM A.W. Thompkins 1979:021:025