Tom Starcevich

Leslie Thomas Starcevich, VC (5 September 1918 – 17 November 1989) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of British and Commonwealth armed forces. He received the award as member of the 2/43rd Battalion, during the Borneo campaign of the Second World War.
Early life.
Tom Starcevich was born on 5 September 1918 at Subiaco, Western Australia, the son of immigrants: Gertrude May Starcevich, née Waters (born c. 1897, in Dunkirk, Kent, England) and Joseph Starcevich (born c. 1892, in Lič, Croatia-Slavonia, Austro-Hungarian Empire). The couple were married in 1915 at Mount Magnet, Western Australia. Starcevich and his older brother, Joseph Frederick (Joe) Starcevich (1915–2007), grew up on a farm at Grass Patch, north of Esperance. Tom was one of ten children.
Military service.
Following the outbreak of the Second World War, both Starcevich brothers enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force: Joe on 23 October 1940, after which he was assigned to the 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion; and Tom on 9 April 1941 (service number WX11519), becoming a member of the 2/43rd Infantry Battalion. Joe Starcevich became a prisoner of war following the surrender of Singapore on 15 February 1942. He endured harsh conditions in captivity, including forced labour at Japanese prisoner of war camps at Changi Prison, the Burma-Thailand Railway and Nagasaki, Japan but survived the war.
Tom Starcevich served with the 2/43rd Battalion in the North African campaign and was wounded in the thigh on 17 July 1942 at Ruin Ridge, Egypt during the First Battle of El Alamein. He also saw action the following year in the Huon Peninsula during the New Guinea campaign.
The 9th Division landed in Brunei Bay on 10 June 1945 with the 2/43rd Battalion landing at Labuan Island. Nine days later the battalion moved to the mainland and, on 28 June, during the capture of Beaufort, during fighting in North Borneo, the lead section of Starcevich's company came under fire from two Japanese machine-gun positions and suffered casualties. Starcevich, a Bren gunner, moved forward and assaulted each position in turn, killing five Japanese soldiers and causing the remainder of the machine guns' crews to retreat. Later that day, when the company was again held up by two machine gun positions, Starcevich adopted similar tactics and single-handedly captured both positions, killing seven members of their crews. For his actions, Starcevich was awarded the Victoria Cross. The citation for the award was published in the "London Gazette" on 6 November 1945, reading:
Starcevich was presented with the ribbon of the Victoria Cross by Brigadier Victor Windeyer, during a unit parade at Papar in North Borneo on 12 November 1945. He was presented with the actual medal at Government House, Perth on 27 May 1947 by Sir James Mitchell, Lieutenant Governor of Western Australia.
Starcevich held the rank of private throughout his military service and was discharged on 12 February 1946, as part of the prolonged demobilisation process that followed the end of hostilities. He reportedly wanted to re-enlist in the Australian Army during the Korean War, but his wife talked him out of it.
Post-war life.
Starcevich spent the first four years after the war as a motor vehicle sales representative in Perth. He married Kathleen Betty Warr, née Hardy, at the Perth registry office on 19 December 1947. The couple, who had three children, divorced in 1969.
From 1951, Tom and Joe Starcevich obtained and jointly worked a soldier settlement wheat and sheep farm at Carnamah. In 1981, Tom Starcevich moved back to Grass Patch, where he had bought a small farm. He died at Esperance, Western Australia, on 17 November 1989.
Memorials.
The track in Borneo on which Starcevich's celebrated action occurred was later renamed Victoria Cross Road. He is also commemorated by Starcevich Monument.
Starcevich's VC is on display at the Army Museum of Western Australia, in Fremantle, Western Australia. A bronze statue of Starcevich was unveiled at Grass Patch in 1995. The Leslie Starcevich Ward at the former Repatriation General Hospital, Hollywood is named in his honour.


Schwarzbier

, black beer, or malta (in Chile), is a dark lager that originated in Germany. It tends to have an opaque, black colour with hints of chocolate or coffee flavours, and are generally around 5% ABV. It is similar to stout in that it is made from roasted malt, which gives it its dark colour.
Characteristics.
Schwarzbiers are made using a cool fermentation method, which classes them as lager, though historically warm fermentation was used. The alcohol content usually ranges from 4.4% to 5.4%. They get their dark colour from the use of particularly dark malts or roast malt extract in brewing. The malt, in turn, gets its colour during the roasting procedure. Its flavor may vary between bitter and slightly sweet.
History.
The roots of schwarzbier lie in Thuringia and Saxony. The oldest known black beer is "Braunschweiger Mumme", ("Brunswick Mum") brewed since the Middle Ages (the first documented mention is from 1390 in Braunschweig. The earliest documented mention in Thuringia is of Köstritzer brewery from 1534, a brewery which later started producing schwarzbier and still produces it today. Present-day East Germany has many unique varieties of this style from regional breweries.
Examples.
Modern schwarzbiers include Köstritzer, Samuel Adams Black Lager, New Belgium 1554 Black Lager, and Xingu Black.
Dark Czech lagers (Czech Černé), like Budvar Dark, can serve as a closely related style.


Joseph John Green

Joseph John Green (1824 – 11 February 1903) founded a leather warehouse in Hindley Street, making boot uppers and supplying leather and grindery to the bootmaking trade. He was a prominent community leader and philanthropist.
History.
Green was employed at a leather factory before emigrating to South Australia on the barque "Athenian", arriving in March 1849, one of 111 on board.
He had a residence at Middleton in 1865.
He was employed in various capacities before striking out on his own in 1866 in the leather trade, with a workshop and warehouse at 75 Hindley Street, the first such in the colony. The shop was previously a boot and shoe shop operated by John C. Waite. It is not known whether Green was previously employed by Waite.
In July 1869 the warehouse moved to 87 Hindley Street.
In 1884 Green handed over management of the warehouse to his son, George Green, who, with his brother Matthew, had been taken into partnership.
Public life.
In the early days of the Colony, Green took a leading role in the political association, which was agitating for responsible government and a State constitution, which led to the passing of the original Constitution Act. In later years he was associated with numerous philanthropic associations, charitable institutions and civic associations:
Family.
Green married Sarah Ellen Smith (c. 1831 – 17 April 1915) at Freeman Street Congregational Church on 30 November 1852.
They had a home on Pennington Terrace, North Adelaide


California wine

California wine supplies a vast majority of the American wine production. Along with New Mexico wine, these American wine regions are longtime examples of viticulture within New World wine. Almost three quarters the size of France, the production of wine in California is one third larger than that of Australia. If California were a separate country, it would be the world's fourth largest wine producer.
The state's viticultural history dates back to the 18th century when Spanish missionaries planted the first vineyards to produce wine for Mass.
Today there are more than 1,200 wineries in the state, ranging from small boutique wineries to large corporations with distribution around the globe.
History.
The state of California was first introduced to "Vitis vinifera" vines, a species of wine grapes native to the Mediterranean region, in the 18th century by the Spanish, who planted vineyards with each mission they established. The wine was used for religious sacraments as well as for daily life. The vine cuttings used to start the vineyards came from Mexico and were the descendant of the "common black grape" (as it was known) brought to the New World by Hernán Cortés in 1520. The grape's association with the church caused it to become known as the Mission grape, which was to become the dominant grape variety in California until the 20th century.
The California Gold Rush in the mid-19th century brought waves of new settlers to the region, increasing the population and local demand for wine. The newly growing wine industry took hold in Northern California around the counties of Sonoma and Napa. The first commercial winery in California, Buena Vista Winery, was founded in 1857 by Agoston Haraszthy and is located in Sonoma, California. John Patchett opened the first commercial winery in the area that is now Napa County in 1859. During this period some of California's oldest wineries were founded including Buena Vista Winery, Gundlach Bundschu, Inglenook Winery, Markham Vineyards and Schramsberg Vineyards. Chinese immigrants played a prominent role in the developing the Californian wine industry during this period - building wineries, planting vineyards, digging the underground cellars and harvesting grapes. Some even assisted as winemakers before the passing of the Chinese Exclusion Act, which severely affected the Chinese community in favor of encouraging "white labor." By 1890, most of the Chinese workers were out of the wine industry.
Phylloxera and Prohibition.
The late 19th century also saw the advent of the phylloxera epidemic, a type of parasite similar to aphids, which had already ravaged France and other European vineyards. Vineyards were destroyed, and many smaller operations went out of business. However, the remedy of grafting resistant American rootstock was well known, and the Californian wine industry was able to rebound quickly, and utilizing the opportunity to expand the plantings of new grape varieties. By the turn of the 20th century, nearly 300 grape varieties were being grown in the state, supplying approximately 800 wineries.
Worldwide recognition seemed imminent until January 16, 1919, when the 18th Amendment ushered in the beginning of Prohibition. Vineyards were ordered to be uprooted, and cellars were destroyed. Some vineyards and wineries were able to survive by converting to table grape or grape juice production. A few more were able to stay in operation to continue to provide churches sacramental wine, an allowed exception to the Prohibition laws. However, most went out of business. By the time that Prohibition was repealed in 1933, only 140 wineries were still in operation.
Modern era.
The Californian wine industry took time to recover from Prohibition. By the 1960s, it was primarily known for its sweet port-style wines made from Carignan and Thompson Seedless grapes. However, a new wave of winemakers emerged and helped usher in a renaissance period in California wine production crafting new winemaking techniques strengthening the grape produce and finishing qualities. Several well-known wineries were founded in this decade, including Robert Mondavi, Heitz Wine Cellars, and David Bruce Winery (Santa Cruz Mountains). As the quality of Californian wine improved, the region started to receive more international attention. A watershed moment for the industry occurred in 1976 when British wine merchant Steven Spurrier invited several Californian wineries to participate in a blind tasting event in Paris to compare the best of California with the best of Bordeaux and Burgundy - two famous French wine regions. In an event known as The Judgment of Paris, Californian wines shocked the world by sweeping the wine competition in both the red and white wine categories judged by renowned French wine connoisseurs. Throughout the wine world, perspectives about the potential of California wines instantly changed. The state's wine industry continued to grow as California emerged as a premier wine region.
In 2010, it was reported for the first time in 16 years that California wine sales were down. This was not due to a decrease in drinking wine as much as it was a decrease in customers' willingness to spend top dollar on wine. Jon Fredrikson, President of Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates, said that sales of $3 to $6 a bottle wine and $9 to $12 wine had seen growth, but the sales of wine over $20 had stagnated. Also, most of this loss in the market was occurring in overseas sales, as opposed to U.S. sales.
Climate and geography.
California is a very geologically diverse region and varies greatly in the range of climates and "terroirs" that can be found. Most of the state's wine regions are found between the Pacific coast and the Central Valley. The Pacific Ocean and large bays, like San Francisco Bay, serve as tempering influences to the wine regions nearby providing cool winds and fog that balance the heat and sunshine. While drought can be a vinicultural hazard, most areas of California receive sufficient amounts of rainfall with the annual rainfall of wine regions north of San Francisco between 24-45 inches (615–1150 mm) and the more southern regions receiving 13-20 inches. Winters are mild with little threat of frost damage though springtime. To curb the threat of frost, vineyard owners will often employ the use of wind machines, sprinklers and smudge pots to protect the vines.
While California's wine regions can be generally classified as a Mediterranean climate, there are also regions with more continental dry climates. Proximity to the Pacific or bays as well as unobstructed access to the cool currents that come off them dictate the relative coolness of the wine region. Areas surrounded by mountain barriers, like some parts of Sonoma and Napa counties will be warmer due to the lack of this cooling influence. The soil types and landforms of California vary greatly, having been influenced by the plate tectonics of the North American and Pacific Plates. In some areas the soils can be so diverse that vineyards will establish blocks of the same vine variety planted on different soils for purpose of identifying different blending components. This diversity is one of the reasons why California has so many different and distinct American Viticultural Areas.
Water and irrigation.
The average vineyard in California uses 318 gallons of water to produce a single gallon of wine through irrigation. The average depends, in part, on the region where the grapes are grown, with 243 gallons of water per wine gallon in the North Coast region to 471 gallons per on the Central Coast.
Wine regions.
California has over planted under vines mostly located in a stretch of land covering over from Mendocino County to the southwestern tip of Riverside County. There are over 107 American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), including the well-known Napa, Russian River Valley, Rutherford and Sonoma Valley AVAs. The Central Valley is California's largest wine region stretching for from the Sacramento Valley south to the San Joaquin Valley. This one region produces nearly 75% of all California wine grapes and includes many of California's bulk, box and jug wine producers like Gallo, Franzia and Bronco Wine Company.
The wine regions of California are often divided into 4 main regions:
Grapes and wines.
Over one hundred grape varieties are grown in California including French, Italian and Spanish as well as hybrid grapes and new "vitis vinifera" varieties developed at the UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology. The seven leading grape varieties are:
Other important red wine grapes include Barbera, Cabernet Franc, Carignan, Grenache, Malbec, Mourvèdre, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Sangiovese, and Tannat. Important white wine varietals include Chenin blanc, French Colombard, Gewürztraminer, Marsanne, Muscat Canelli, Pinot blanc, Pinot gris, Riesling, Roussane, Sémillon, Trousseau gris, and Viognier.
Up until the late 1980s, the Californian wine industry was dominated by the Bordeaux varietals and Chardonnay. Sales began to drop as wine drinkers grew bored with the familiarity of these wines. Groups of winemakers like Rhône Rangers and a new wave of Italian winemakers dubbed "Cal-Ital" reinvigorated the industry with new wine styles made from different varieties like Syrah, Viognier, Sangiovese and Pinot grigio. The Santa Cruz-based Bonny Doon Vineyard was one of the first wineries to promote these grape varieties in California actively. The large variety of wine grapes also encourages a large variety of wines. California produces wines made in nearly every single known wine style including sparkling, dessert and fortified wines. In the early 21st century, vintners have begun reviving heirloom grape varieties, such as Trousseau gris and Valdiguié.
New World wine styles.
While Californian winemakers do craft wines in more "Old World" or European wine styles, most Californian wines favor simpler, more fruit dominant New World wines. The reliably warm weather allows many wineries to use very ripe fruit which creates a more fruit forward rather than earthy or mineralic style of wine. It also creates the opportunity for higher alcohol levels with many Californian wines having over 13.5 percent alcohol content. The style of Californian Chardonnay differs greatly from wines like Chablis with Californian winemakers frequently using malolactic fermentation and oak aging to make buttery, full bodied wines. Californian Sauvignon blancs are not as herbaceous as wines from the Loire Valley or New Zealand and are more acidic. Some Sauvignon blanc are given time in oak which can dramatically change the profile of the wine. Robert Mondavi first pioneered this style as a "Fume blanc" which other Californian winemakers have adopted. However, that style is not strictly defined to mean an oak wine.
The style of California Cabernet Sauvignon that first put California on the world's wine map at the Judgment of Paris is still a trademark style today. The wines are known for their concentration of fruits which produces lush, rich wines. Merlot became widely planted in the 1990s due to its wide popularity, and is still the highest selling of all varietal wines in the country. Many sites that were ill-suited for the grape began to produce harsh, characterless wines trying to model Cabernet. Merlot, when planted on better sites tend to produce a plush, concentrated style. The profile of Californian Pinot noir generally takes on a more intense, fruity style than the subtler, more elegant wines of Burgundy or Oregon. Until being passed up by Cabernet in 1998, Zinfandel was the most widely planted red wine grape in California. This was due in part to the wide popularity of White Zinfandel. Despite being made from the same grape, the only similarity between White and Red Zinfandel is the name. Zinfandel is a powerful, fruity wine with high levels of acidity and a jam-type flavor. White Zinfandel is a thin, slightly sweet blush wine. While the grape does have European origins, Zinfandel is considered a unique American style grape.
Sparkling and dessert wines.
California sparkling wine traces its roots to Sonoma in the 1880s with the founding of Korbel Champagne Cellars. The Korbel brothers made sparkling wine according to the "méthode champenoise" from Riesling, Chasselas, Muscatel and Traminer. Today most California sparkling wine is largely made from the same grapes used in Champagne: Chardonnay, Pinot noir and some Pinot Meunier. Some wineries will also use Pinot blanc, Chenin blanc and French Colombard. The premium quality producers still use the "méthode champenoise" (or traditional method) while some low cost producers, like Gallo's Andre brand or Constellation Brands' Cook's, will use the Charmat method.
The potential for quality sparkling wine has attracted Champagne houses to open up wineries in California. These include Moët et Chandon's Domaine Chandon, Taittinger's Domaine Carneros and Louis Roederer's Roederer Estate. Despite being made with mostly the same grapes and with the same production techniques, California sparkling wines do not set out to be imitators of Champagne but rather to forge their own distinctive style. Instead of having the "biscuity", yeasty quality that distinguishes most high quality Champagnes, premium California sparkling wines show clarity of fruit flavors without being heavily "fruity". The wines strive for finesse and elegance. The optimal climate condition allows most sparkling wine producers to make a vintage dated wine every year while in Champagne this would only happen in exceptional years.
Since the wine renaissance of the 1960s, the quality of California's dessert and fortified wines have been dramatically improved. Beringer was one of the first to create a botrytized wine from Sauvignon blanc and Sémillon. Though unlike in Sauternes, Beringer's wine was made of grapes regularly harvested and then introduced at the winery to "Botrytis cinerea" spores created in a laboratory. Since then California winemakers in places like the Anderson Valley AVA have found vineyards where this noble rot can occur naturally on the grapes. The Anderson and Alexander Valley AVAs have also developed a reputation for their Late Harvest wines made from Riesling. Several French and Italian style Muscat wines are produced throughout California and are known for their intense aromatics and balanced acidity. The port-style wines in California are often made from the traditional Portuguese wine grapes like Touriga Nacional, Tinta Cão and Tinta Roriz. Some uniquely Californian styles are also made from Zinfandel and Petite Sirah.


Jean Liebault

Jean Liébault (1535 – 21 June 1596) was a doctor and agronomist, born in Dijon.
He married Nicole Estienne, who published several writings about marriage, in which she condemned domestic violence and a large age difference between spouses. His father-in-law was Charles Estienne, author of the "Praedieum rusticum". Liébault substantially altered and extended Estienne's book, resulting in a French text "La Maison Rustique" (translated into English by Charles Stevens and Richard Surflet as "The Countrey Farme" in 1616). He translated or authored the medical textbook "Trois Livres appartenans aux infirmitez et maladies des femmes".


Arla Foods UK

Arla Foods Ltd is a major dairy products company in the United Kingdom, based in Leeds, and a subsidiary of the Swedish-Danish Arla Foods Group.
Company profile.
The company was created by the merger in 1980 of the British dairy group Express Dairies and the British subsidiary of Arla Foods, a Swedish Danish dairy production co operative, jointly owned by Swedish and Danish farmers. The parent company, Arla Foods Amba, initially held a 51% stake, but acquired the rest of the company's shares in April 2007.
In Britain, Arla supplies milk to retailers and produces many household brands, such as Lurpak, Anchor Butter, Cravendale, Lactofree and Castello.
Name.
The company name Arla is an archaic Swedish term for "early (in the morning)". Arla was originally chosen as the name of the Swedish company as Stora arla gård, "Great Arla Farm" in County Västmanland, Sweden, was one of the early founding members of today's cooperative.
History of parent.
Arla Foods was formed as the result of the merger in 2000 of Swedish dairy cooperative Arla, and the Danish dairy company MD Foods in April 2000. Swedish Arla derived from an early dairy producing cooperative, originally called Mjölkcentralen (MC) founded in 1926 in Stockholm. Danish MD Foods was the result of the merger in May 1999, of Kløver Mælk and MD Foods. MD originally stood for "Mejeriselskabet Danmark". The merged company is headquartered in Aarhus, Denmark.
Arla Foods is today owned by approximately 10,600 milk producers in Denmark and Sweden.
Products.
Arla is the largest supplier of fresh milk and cream in the United Kingdom, producing over 2.2 billion litres of milk per year. It produces two premium milk brands: Cravendale filtered milk, which undergoes a filtration process to remove bacteria before pasteurization; and Lactofree milk, from which lactose is removed, making it suitable for most lactose intolerant people. Following the success of Lactofree milk, Arla introduced a range of lactose-free products, including cheese and yoghurt.
As well as fresh milk, Arla produces both the Lurpak and Anchor butter brands in the United Kingdom. This was not widely publicised by the company, even though the brands had been established over decades as brands for butter imported from Denmark and New Zealand respectively. Other products include fromage frais, yoghurts and the blue cheeses Rosenborg and Danish Blue. The firm also produces fruit juice.
Locations.
The company has processing plants in England at Palmers Green (London), Stourton (Leeds), Settle (North Yorkshire) and Malpas (Cheshire), and in Scotland at Lockerbie. In January 2009, Arla ceased production at their dairy in Manchester. The company also operates the world's largest milk processing plant in Aylesbury, which was opened on 24 May 2014.
Arla Foods obtained the Westbury Dairies plant in January 2016, in Westbury, Wiltshire, which has become the primary site for the production of Anchor butter and Anchor Spreadable.
Arla Foods briefly operated the Milk Link dairy in Crediton, Devon following the merger with Milk Link in 2012. However was sold in a management buyout in April 2013 with the Crediton operations being renamed as Crediton Dairy Limited.
Compensation.
According to the BBC, in August 2015, farmers were paid less per pint of milk by Arla than by supermarkets that buy directly.


Frank L. Smith (New York politician)

Frank L. Smith (June 26, 1851 – October 13, 1926) was an American farmer and politician from New York.
Life.
Smith was born on June 26, 1851 in Charlton, New York. He attended the Charlton Academy.
Smith worked as a farmer in Charlton. He was a member of the Harmony Association, Patrons of Industry, and the Grange. He was as a manager of the Saratoga County Agricultural Society. He served as justice of the peace for eight years and school commissioner for three terms. In the last fifteen years of his life, he was manager of the Galway Telephone Company.
Smith served as town supervisor of Galway. in 1888 and 1889. In 1891, Smith was elected to the New York State Assembly as a Republican, representing the Saratoga County 1st District. He served in the Assembly in 1892.
In 1875, Smith married Mary E. Feeney. She died in 1914. In 1921, he married Achsah Holbrook. He had two daughters, Mrs. William Crawford and Mrs. Clinton Palmatier. He was a member of the Charlton Presbyterian church, and was superintendent of the Sunday school for thirty years.
Smith died on October 13, 1926. He was buried in Pine Grove Cemetery.


Dong Tao chicken

Dong Tao chicken (Vietnamese: gà Đông Tảo), also called Dragon Chicken, is a rare Vietnamese chicken breed with enlarged feet, that originates from the village Đông Tảo in Khoái Châu District near Hanoi.
Dong Tao chickens are valued as a delicacy in Vietnam, and they were once bred exclusively to be served to the royal family and mandarins. They are difficult to breed as their large legs make hatching difficult, and they are also sensitive to changes in temperature. Hens often break the eggs with their bulky legs, thus eggs are usually kept in an incubator. It takes eight months to one year until the chickens are ready for slaughtering at five to six kilograms of weight. Its meat may be priced 350,000-400,000 VND per kilogram.


Oast Theatre, Tonbridge

The Oast Theatre is situated on the outskirts of Tonbridge, Kent. It is a small theatre that is based in an old oast house. It is home to the Tonbridge Theatre and Arts Club. The theatre seats 112 people.
History.
Tonbridge Theatre and Arts Club (TTAC) was based at The Mitre PH, Hadlow Road, Tonbridge. In the late 1960s, it was apparent that the venue was too small and an alternative was sought. The search led to a disused oast house, which had been used to dry hops until 1966. The oast was purchased for £7,000 by a consortium of ten members of TTAC, who sold it on to TTAC for £6,000. The Oast Theatre was opened on 20 April 1974 by Lady Rupert Nevill. The opening production was an adaptation of "Tom Jones". By 1978, TTAC had paid off all loans taken out to purchase and convert the oast.
In 1982, the Oast Theatre was awarded Civic Design Award from Tonbridge Civic Society. The theatre is a registered charity, the Tonbridge Theatre and Arts Club. In 1988, an extension was built on the side of the oast. The adjoining barn was purchased and converted for use as storage and workshops. The extension was opened by Prince Edward, who attended a performance of "Children of a Lesser God". A further extension in 1997 provided improved dressing room and additional storage facilities. The theatre can seat 112 people. In January 2010, the theatre was granted planning permission for an extension of an ancillary storage building. The planning application was supported by The Theatres Trust.
Oast Youth Theatre.
The Oast Theatre is home to the Oast Youth Theatre. Its members are between 13 and 18 years old. They produce three plays per annum.
Art.
The Oast Theatre has its own art group, which meets weekly.
The theatre plays host to an annual art exhibition held in the Janet Young Room. The exhibition normally attracts about fifty artists and one hundred and fifty exhibits of extremely high quality.


Jutland horse

The Jutland horse () is a draft horse breed originating in Denmark, named after the Jutland Peninsula which forms the western part of the country. Usually chestnut, they are a compact, muscular breed known for their calm and willing temperament. The breed was originally developed for use in agriculture, but today is more often seen in urban settings and at horse shows. Some of the best known members of the breed pull beer wagons for the Carlsberg brewery around Copenhagen, as well as at competitions and for demonstrations. Images from the 9th century show a horse similar to the Jutland being used by Viking raiders in what is now Great Britain. The first written record is from the 12th century, when they were popular as war horses. Some infusion of bloodlines from other breeds occurred in the 18th century, but the modern Jutland type only began about 1850 with the addition of blood from several other breeds, mainly draft horses. A stud book was created in the late 19th century, and the Jutland population grew to a maximum around 15,000 by 1950. Numbers subsequently declined, and as of 2011, only an estimated 1,000 horses remained.
Characteristics.
The Jutland is typically chestnut, but may also be bay, gray, black, or roan, and frequently has white markings. In the early 1900s, most Jutlands were bay or black, but those colors are now in the minority; chestnut is now considered to be the horse's "national color" and is selectively bred. They generally stand between , and weigh between . The breed has a convex facial profile, a short, arched neck, low withers, a wide chest and straight shoulder, and a slightly sloped croup. Overall, it is a compact, muscular breed. Their temperament is calm yet energetic, and they are considered by breed enthusiasts to be willing workers.
Although compact in size, the Jutland is a strong, powerful horse that was used to transport carriages and heavy goods. An 1897 publication by the United States Bureau of Foreign Commerce noted the ability of the horse to pull carriages, and stated, "For this class of work and for heavy draft generally there is probably no better animal than the Jutland horse—a heavy, powerful beast."
History.
The origins of the breed are not fully documented, but some evidence points to the ancestors of the Jutland being used by the Vikings during the early 9th century. Images from the time show Viking raiders in what is now Great Britain riding horses similar in appearance to the modern Jutland. Some of those horses may have been left behind, contributing to the base stock from which the Suffolk Punch was eventually developed. Horses from Jutland were exported to England, Germany, and France during the Middle Ages, and were popular mounts for knights, especially for use in jousting. The first mention of the Jutland type is from the 12th century, when they are documented as war horses with many useful attributes. The Jutland horse appears in the Danish ballad "Svend Felding's Kamp med Risen", in which mythic hero Svend Fælling goes on a pilgrimage to Rome and on his journey encounters a giant. Other horses prove too shy or too weak to enable him to confront the giant, so Svend obtains a Jutland horse from a passing miller, who claims that it is strong enough to carry 15 skippund. Mounted on the Jutland, Svend succeeds in killing the giant.
The Frederiksborg horse, another Danish breed, influenced the Jutland during the 18th century. The Frederiksborg had a significant amount of Spanish influence, and was used to give the Jutland more active gaits. Selection for the modern-day Jutland appears to have begun around 1850, when Suffolk Punch and Ardennes blood was crossbred on native bloodstock. Cleveland Bay and Yorkshire Coach Horse (a Cleveland Bay/Thoroughbred cross) horses were also added during the 19th century. The development of the breed was significantly influenced by a stallion named Oppenheim LXII, imported into Denmark in 1862. Sources disagree as to whether Oppenheim was a purebred Suffolk Punch or a Suffolk/Shire cross. Six generations from Oppenheim, his descendant, Aldrup Munkedal (spelled Oldrup Munkedal in some sources), was foaled. Aldrup Munkedal is considered the founding stallion of the modern breed. Most Jutlands alive today descend from two of his sons, Hovding and Prins af Jylland.
 The Jutland strongly resembles the Schleswig, another heavy draft breed with similar origins that was influenced by Oppenheim LXII and his descendants. With the exception of feathering on its lower legs, the Jutland also resembles the Suffolk Punch.
The first stud book for the breed was created in 1881, and 22,000 horses were registered between then and 2007. In 1887, the first breeders' association was formed. The first stallions were evaluated according to breed standard in 1888, the same year the Cooperative Jutlandic Breeding Association was created. In 1898, the "Federated Funen Horse Breeding Societies" were established in Funen, dedicated to the development of Jutland horse breeding and other heavy draught horses. By the 1950s, Jutland population numbers exceeded 15,000, and 405 stud farms were devoted to their breeding in Denmark, but since that time, population numbers have dwindled. Though numbers dropped, a 2008 study of the 716 Jutland horses in the Danish studbook at that time concluded that little risk of the Jutland becoming extinct existed due to inbreeding or low genetic diversity. The study, which also included populations of the Knabstrupper and Fredericksborg breeds, theorized that the greatest loss to genetic diversity for horses in Denmark would be through the extinction of the Jutland breed, because of its genetic distance from the other two native breeds. The level of genetic diversity of the three Danish breeds was found to be similar to other European breeds. As of 2011, one Danish breed conservation organization estimates that about 1,000 Jutlands remained.
Uses.
Although originally bred for use on farms, few members of the breed are used for agricultural purposes today, and are now mostly bred for horse shows and working in urban areas. However, the Carlsberg brewery has used the Jutland to pull its drays since 1928. The brewery owned 210 Jutlands at their peak, and today still uses about 20 for transporting beer around Copenhagen. The Carlsberg horses also compete and put on demonstrations at many shows, promoting the brewery and the breed.


Olaf Bryn

Olaf Bryn (9 June 1872 – 8 October 1948) was a Norwegian farmer and politician for the Conservative Party.
He was born in Bærum as a son of Thron Bryn (1836–1890) and his wife Karen Tanum (1846–1920). He finished middle school in 1890, and subsequently ran the farms Bryn and Rud in Western Bærum. He was a first cousin and brother-in-law of fellow politician Alf Staver.
He was a member of Bærum municipal council from 1901 to 1922, serving as deputy mayor from 1904 to 1909 and mayor from 1910 to 1916. He was later elected to the Parliament of Norway from Akershus in 1921 and 1924, and later served as a deputy representative during the term 1928–1930. As a member of the Norwegian Agrarian Association, he was one of four delegates from Bærum at the meeting in 1920 that decided to found the Agrarian Party. Three of the delegates also joined the Agrarian Party, but Bryn remained in the Conservative Party.
He was a board member of Bærums Sparebank and Østlandets Melkesentral. He was a church verger at Bryn Church for over fifty years.


Cabbie claw

Cabbie claw or Cabelew is a traditional dish from the northeast of Scotland and Orkney. It is traditionally made using speldings, young fish of the family Gadidae, such as cod, haddock or whiting. The name is a derivative of "cabillaud", the French name for Cod. The dish of cod served in white sauce with chopped egg white in it.
Preparation.
To make it, the cod is cleaned, then rubbed with salt inside and out, then hung outside to dry in the wind for 24 to 48 hours. The cod is then simmered for about half an hour in enough water to cover it, flavoured with horseradish and parsley. Cabbie claw can be prepared in a skillet or in the oven.
Other ingredients include parsley, horseradish and mashed potato. The sauce is made with butter, flour, milk, hard-boiled eggs, and nutmeg. Alternate versions outside the traditional version's only difference are usually an addition of more spices.


Canberra District wine region

The Canberra District wine region is located around Canberra in the Capital city of Australia. It covers the northern part of the Australian Capital Territory and an area of New South Wales to the east and north of that, including towns of Bungendore, Murrumbateman and Yass, New South Wales.
Wine is grown and produced in a triangular area of about 60 km sides bordered by Canberra, Yass, and Bungendore, taking in the important localities of Murrumbateman and Lake George. The district is noted as a cool-climate wine area, but encompasses a substantial climatic range, with the lower altitude and more inland regions near Yass substantially warmer than the higher altitude areas near Bungendore.
History.
The industry dates from the 1970s, although wines were produced in the settlement near Yass in the 1860s.
Climate and geography.
The region is part of the Southern Tablelands about inland from the Pacific Ocean. The region receives moderate, but variable rainfall, and vineyards require supplemental irrigation in most years. Typical vineyard elevations range between , and the inland location result in relatively high continentality, possibly explaining the affinity for leading varieties Shiraz and Riesling. Promising recent results from Tempranillo may be explained by the strong homoclime to Ribera del Duero.
Production.
The main grape varieties grown are Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc, Sémillon, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Viognier, Tempranillo, Pinot noir and Pinot gris. Picking and vintage extend from late February (Pinot noir, Chardonnay) to late May (botrytis Pinot gris or Riesling).
About two thirds of the vines are red wine varieties, and one third are white.


James William Scallion

James William Scallion (14 February 1842 - 24 April 1926) was an Irish-born Canadian teacher, farmer and agrarian activist. He was the founder of the Manitoba Grain Growers' Association.
Early years.
James William Scallion was born on 14 February 1842 in County Wexford, Ireland.
He was the first son of William Scallion and Catherine O'Donohue.
His family immigrated to Upper Canada around 1850 and settled near Ancaster in the Hamilton area.
He attended the Toronto Normal School in 1867, and then taught school for five years.
By 1871 his family had moved to Delaware, Middlesex County.
He joined his family in Thorold, Ontario the next year, where he and his brother ran a store.
In 1882 Scallion moved with his siblings to Stonewall, Manitoba.
In 1883 they moved to Virden, Manitoba, on the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the southwest of Manitoba.
There they bought 960 acres that they called "The Grange", where they successfully farmed grain and cattle.
They were the first to buy a farm in the area, as opposed to homesteading.
Scallion, his brother and two sisters built substantial stone buildings on the property, which was north of the village. None of them married.
Visitors to the district would be taken to visit the Scallions to see an example of what could be done with the land.
In 1891 Scallion and other leading men of the district set up the Farmer's Institute in Virden.
Agrarian activist.
The Manitoba Grain Act was passed in 1901, designed to ensure fair practices and prices in the booming grain trade in the prairie provinces of Canada. There was a bumper crop that year, and farmers found they could not get their produce to market because the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and the grain companies were failing to conform to the act.
In December 1901 William Richard Motherwell (1860–1943) and Peter Dayman arranged a meeting where a group of Saskatchewan farmers agreed to form the Territorial Grain Growers' Association (TGGA) to represent their interests, and nominated Motherwell as provisional president and John Millar as provisional secretary.
The first annual convention of the TGGA was held on 1 February 1902, attended by delegates from 38 local groups.
Scallion and other Virden farmers arranged a meeting with Motherwell on 7 January 1903 at which the Virden Grain Growers' Association was found.
Scallion was made president.
Scallion spent the next two months visiting other farming communities in Manitoba and encouraging the formation of local grain growers' associations.
The Manitoba Grain Growers' Association (MGGA) was formed at a meeting March 3–4 in Brandon, Manitoba.
Scallion was appointed the first president.
At the meeting Scallion said "40,000 farmers had produced 100,000 bushels of wheat and they should all be wealthy but where was the wealth? Certainly not in the farmers' hands but in the homes of the manufacturers, railway promoters, and grain dealers."
Scallion suffered from deafness, and in 1904 retired as president. For the rest of his life he held the title of honorary president.
He was succeeded as president by Duncan William McCuaig.
He continued to speak at meetings throughout Manitoba advocating formation of a cooperative grain company.
The Grain Growers' Grain Company was established in 1906.
In December 1910 Scallion and other leaders of the agrarian movement, including Ernest Charles Drury, Robert Sellar and James Speakman, traveled to Ottawa with a delegation of more than 800 farmers to present the farmers' platform of grievances to the government of Canada.
Scallion called for the high tariff on farm-related goods from the United States to be removed, since many farmers depended on imports from the US.
This became a key issue in the 1911 election, with Conservatives opposed to tariff reduction and some but not all Liberals in favor.
Farmers became disillusioned with both parties.
Scallion was opposed to the increase in Canadian military spending that preceded World War I (1914–18).
In 1913 he asked, "What need is there for a navy now more than there has been for the last fifty or a hundred years? Are the people of Canada going to encourage European militarism and the estrangement of nations by spending millions in the construction of warships?" At the annual MGGA meeting the delegates voted against any naval policy, prompting an observer to remark that "they seem to weigh all public issues on their grain scales."
After the war the MGGA revised the farmers' platform and encouraged farmers to vote for candidates who endorsed it.
In 1920 the Manitoba Grain Growers' Association changed its name to the United Farmers of Manitoba (UFM) in an effort to broaden its base and in preparation for becoming a political party.
Scallion was nominated as a candidate for UFM president, but his name was withdrawn due to his poor health.
The UFM began to get involved in local political contests.
In 1921 the UFM fielded candidates in the federal election.
In the provincial elections the next year the UFM won the majority of seats.
Scallion and his sister gave a CAN$10,000 endowment fund for the Virden Hospital, and shortly after gave a CAN$5,000 endowment to the Virden Cemetery.
James William Scallion died on 24 April 1926 at his home in Virden.
He was aged 84.
Scallion Creek in Virden bears his name.
In December 1957 it was announced that the North Virden oil fields were to be slightly enlarged and called the North Virden Scallion oilfields. The old Scallion farm with its huge stone farm buildings was located in the oil field.


Oxford Down

The Oxford Down is an English breed of domestic sheep developed in the 1830s by crossing the Cotswold, Hampshire and South Down breeds, and using the resulting cross-breeds to form the basis of the present-day breed. This breed is primarily raised for meat.
The Oxford is relatively large-bodied, hornless, has a brown/black face and legs covered in white wool, and has a short fleece. It produces the heaviest fleece of any of the Down breeds. The breed's capacity to produce a large, meaty carcase for further processing has stimulated interest from the meat industry, and it also grows the most wool of any of the terminal sire breeds.
Characteristics.
Mature weights for rams range from , ewes are smaller weighing between . Fleeces from mature ewes weigh between with a fibre diameter of 30.0 to 34.5 micrometres and a numerical count of 46 to 50. The staple length of the fleece ranges from and has a yield of 50 to 62%.


Frederick Crowley

Frederick Hugh Crowley (1880 – 5 May 1945) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. A lecturer and farmer, he was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kerry constituency at the September 1927 general election. He was re-elected to the Dáil at the next seven general elections, switching to the new Kerry South constituency at the 1937 general election, and died in 1945 while still in office.
After his death, the by-election in Kerry South on 4 December 1945 was won for Fianna Fáil by his widow, Honor Crowley. It was the first case anywhere in Ireland of a woman succeeding her husband at a by-election. Honor Crowley, a daughter of the MP John Pius Boland, remained a TD until her death in 1966.


Koeri

The Koeri (also known as Koiry or Koiri) are an Indian caste, found largely in Bihar, whose traditional occupation was agriculture. An official report of 1941 described them as being the "most advanced" cultivators in Bihar and said, "Simple in habits, thrifty to a degree and a master in the art of market-gardening, the Koeri is amongst the best of the tillers of the soil to be found anywhere in India."
Koeris benefitted greatly from the land reform policies of the Indian government. Faced with the land ceiling laws and communist pressure in the 1970s, upper caste landlords resorted to selling off their lands ,often to Koeris. This allowed the Koeris themselves to aspire to be landlords.
The Koeris are found in Saran district and also live in the Samastipur district of Bihar. Outside India, the Koeris are distributed among the Bihari diaspora in Mauritius and have a significant population residing in Nepal.
In 1977, the government of Bihar introduced an affirmative action of quota in government jobs and universities which has benefitted the backward castes like the landowning Koeri.
Sanskritisation.
Koeris have attempted Sanskritisation—the attempt by traditionally low castes to rise up the social ladder, often by tracing their origins to mythical characters or following the lifestyle of higher "varna", such as following vegetarianism, secluding women, or wearing "janeu", the sacred thread. The Sanskritising trend in castes of northern India, including that of the Koeris, was inspired by the vaishnavite tradition, as attested by their bid to seek association with avatars of Vishnu. Author William Pinch wrote:
Kushwaha Kshatriya Mahasabha, the caste association of Koeris, held its first session in 1922.
Some Kushwaha reformers like Ganga Prasad Gupta in Banaras argued the Koeris descended from Kusha and that they served Raja Jayachandra in their military capacity during the period of Muslim consolidation under Shuhabuddin Ghuri. He argued further that after defeat, the fear of persecution at the hands of Muslims caused the Kusvaha Kshatriya to flee into the forest in disarray and discard their sacred threads, so as not to appear as erstwhile defenders of Hinduism. The British ethnographer Herbert Hope Risley recorded various Koeri origin myths in the 1890s. According to one of them, Shiva and Parvati created Koeri and Kachhi to take care of vegetables and their flower gardens in Banaras. Writing eighty years later, Francis Buchanan-Hamilton records that Koeris of Bihar were followers of Dashanami Sampradaya while those of Gorakhpur and Ayodhya looked towards Ramanandi saints for spiritual guidance.
According to Christophe Jaffrelot, the caste associations were formed with the basic objective of unifying individual castes. The All India Kushwaha Kshatriya Mahasabha was formed to bring the horticulturist and market gardener communities like the Koeri, the Kachhi and the Murao under one umbrella. The Koeris also attempted to forge a caste coalition called Raghav Samaj, backed by kurmis which was named after one of Rama's names. This was done to justify the communities' claims of descent from Lava and Kusha, respectively. In 1928, the Mahasabha also petitioned the Simon Commission on behalf of various subcastes of the Koeri community to seek recognition as Kshatriya.
The terminology Lav-Kush for the Koeri-Kurmi community became more important in politics than in culture; in Bihar, it came to represent the political solidarity of the Koeri and Kurmi castes. , the Koeri community claims ancestry both from Kusha and the Mauryans. Some of the leading political parties have supported their claims to reap the benefits arising from their demographic strength in electoral politics, particularly in North Indian states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Economy.
The community was at the heart of the Indian opium trade, which had its main base in Bihar. For many years the British East India Company via an agency in Patna regulated and exploited it. Carl Trocki believes that. "Opium cultivators were not free agents" and describes the coercion and financial arrangements that were involved to achieve production, which included restricting land to that product even when the people needed grain because of famine. Although profitable for the company, it was often not so for the peasant producer, and, "Only one particular caste, the Koeris, managed to carry on the cultivation with some degree of efficiency. They were able to do this because they could employ their wives and children to help out with the tasks of opium production."
Other groups involved in opium production had to hire labour, but the Koeris cut costs by utilising that available within their own family. Describing the industrious nature of the Koeri people, Susan Bayly wrote:
Post land reforms.
Peasants in middle castes like the Koeris benefitted the most from the land reform policies of the Indian government. Faced with the land ceiling laws and communist pressure in the 1970s, upper caste landlords resorted to selling off their lands. In most cases the buyer would be from the Koeri, the Kurmi, or the Yadav castes. These peasants worked skillfully on their land and made their holdings more productive. In contrast, the upper castes were unable to do so, and they seemed to be satisfied with the price they got for their land. The increased urbanisation among forward castes created a category of new landlords in the countryside as these three middle castes seldom sold their land, rather they looked on reforms as an opportunity to buy more.
This phenomenon promoted the upward mobility of middle peasant castes. While this mobility in the Yadavas consolidated them as both big peasants and landlords, in the Koeris, the vertical mobility was exclusively towards them becoming landlords. The rise of castes like the Koeri, the Kurmi, and the Yadav, and the fall from power of the forward castes was characterised by growing assertiveness among these middle peasants who now acted as the zamindars (rulers) they once condemned.
In 1989, Frankel observed that 95% of the upper castes and 36% of the middle peasant castes like the Koeri and the Yadav belonged to a rich peasant-cum-landlord class. An aversion to manual labour characterised this class. However, some Koeris and Yadavas who held comparatively less land to provide them with subsistence also worked as agricultural labourers, though the bulk of agricultural labourers belonged to the Dalit caste. According to Frankel, the bulk of middle and poor peasantry belonged to castes like the Koeris and the Yadavas; this class worked in their own fields but considered it beneath their dignity to work in others' fields.
However, the socio-economic progress and transition towards the upper edge of the social hierarchy was not unabated. The Koeris, like the other middle level castes in north India, were facing a double-edged confrontation from the upper castes who were supporters of the status quo as well as from the Dalits and the lowest castes who now became assertive for their own rights. All this made the middle castes aggressive.
The conflict with upper caste landlords led to an attraction towards far-left naxalism. This was witnessed in Ekwari, a village, in the Bhojpur district where Jagdish Mahto, a Koeri teacher, began leading the Maoists and organised the murders of upper caste landlords after he was beaten up by Bhumihars for supporting the Communist Party of India (CPI) in the 1967 elections. Mahto also set up a newspaper in Arrah called "Harijanistan". After Mahto was killed in 1971, the communist uprising in Bhojpur subsided.
Later, a section of the upper strata of the Koeris and other middle peasant castes voiced their support for the militant organisation Ranvir Sena. This group had benefitted the most from land reforms and became ruthless towards the Dalits.
Distribution.
Between 1872 and 1921 the Koeris represented approximately seven per cent of the population in Saran district, according to tabulated data prepared by Anand Yang. Yang also notes their involvement in tenanted landholdings around the period 1893–1901: the Koeris worked around nine per cent of the total cultivated area of the district which was one per cent less than the Ahirs, although they represented around five per cent more of the population. According to Christopher Bayly :
They are also distributed in the Samastipur district of Bihar. In this district the Koeri caste is notorious for their criminal affairs and represent most of the ten legislative assembly seats in this district. In a study conducted in 1991, in villages of the Buxar district of southwestern Bihar, the Koeris were one of the largest landholding caste.s Further, another study conducted in some select villages of rural Bihar revealed the Koeris perform the function of a "purohit" (family priest) and a significant number of houses were seen availing themselves of the services of the purohits of the Koeri caste.
Distribution outside India.
Outside India, Koeris are distributed among the Bihari diaspora in Mauritius. Though the island is divided along ethnic and religious lines, 'Hindu' Mauritians follow a number of original customs and traditions, quite different from those seen on the Indian subcontinent. Some castes in Mauritius in particular are unrecognisable from a subcontinental Indian perspective, and may incorporate mutually antagonistic castes into a single group. The title 'Rajput' describes primarily the Shudra castes in Mauritius, which was usurped by the Koeris in the nineteenth century. The 'vaish', which includes the Koeris, is the largest and most influential caste group on the island. The former Brahmin elites together with former Kshatriya are called 'Babuji' and enjoy the prestige conferred by high caste status, though politically they are marginalised.
The Koeris also have a significant population residing in Nepal. The 1991 census conducted there included estimates of their population estimates but these were not included in the 2001 census.
Subdivisions, classification and culture.
Communities related to the Koeri in North India include the Maurya, the Kushwaha, the Mahto, the Kachhi, the Shakya and the Saini. Over time, these castes grew closer and began intermarrying while developing the all India network to strengthen their caste solidarity.
In 1811, the physician Francis Buchanan-Hamilton classified the producer castes of Bihar and Patna - the Koeri, the Gwala, the Kurmi, the Sonar (goldsmith) and even the Kayasthas (a scribe caste) as "pure Shudra". However, due to the advancements in their level of education, the Kayastha community was first among them to challenge their Shudra status and claimed a higher Varna. They were followed by the rest of these communities.
Some Koeris like Shivcharan Bhagat were well known for their knowledge of Persian and they also contributed to the Ramanandi Sampradaya and their disciples later became major contributors to Ramanandi literature. In the households of the cultivator castes like the Koeris, there was no major segregation of family duties based on gender. Here, both male and female members of the family participated in cultivation- related operations, thus paving the way for egalitarianism and a lack of gender-related discrimination and seclusion. The view of the Koeris regarding their women is portrayed through their (Jati) Caste pamphlet, where Koeri women are described as being loyal to their husbands and having all the qualities of a true Kshatriya woman, who faces the enemy with courage and fights along with her husband rather than being defeated outrught.
Martial tradition.
The Kshatriya reform movement in the middle peasant castes which took place during 1890s turned rural Bihar into an arena of conflict. William Pinch claims that castes like the Koeris, the Kurmi, and the Yadav joined the British Indian Army as soldiers. The "kshatriyatva" or "essence of being kshatriya", was characterised by aggressiveness among these castes, which led to the formation of many caste armies resulting in intercaste conflict.
Organisation.
In the interwar years, during a period when there was a general movement among various castes seeking to uplift their status, there was also at least one journal being published for the Koeri community, the "Kashbala Kshatriya Mitra", while other interests of the Koeri community is taken care of by the Kushwaha Kshatriya Mahasabha.
Politics.
In the heyday of British Raj, the Koeris aligned with the Kurmis and the Yadavs to form a caste coalition-cum-political party called Triveni Sangh. The actual date of the formation of Triveni Sangh is disputed among scholars. This caste coalition fared badly against the Congress party and faced a considerable challenge from Congress's backward class federation. Though politically it was not able to make a significant mark, it remained successful in eradicating the practice of begar (forced labour).
The period of the 1960s witnessed an improvement in the fortunes of the backward castes in politics, with a significant growth seen in the number of backward caste MLAs in the Bihar legislative assembly. In the 1970s, with the defining slogan of social justice, Koeris rose to prominence in the politics of Bihar under the leadership of Jagdeo Prasad. However, this achievement was short-lived and their representation was gradually lost to other backward castes after Prasad's death. This period also witnessed Satish Prasad Singh, a lesser known Koeri leader, become the chief minister of Bihar merely a week after the fall of Mahamaya Prasad Sinha government. He led a coalition of the Shoshit Samaj Dal party of Jagdeo Prasad and the Congress.
In 1977, the Karpoori Thakur government of Bihar introduced an affirmative action of quota in government jobs and universities. While the lower backward castes were assigned 12% of the quota, only eight percent was earmarked for landowning castes like the Koeri, the Kurmi and the Yadavs. Being a Nai by caste, Thakur was aware of the robust economic position and aggressiveness of these castes who were many times seen bullying the Harijans and lower backwards castes.
In later years, the Koeris remained in a muted position for a long period in politics or played a secondary role, while the Yadav-centric politics of Laloo Yadav flourished in Bihar. However, after the formation of the Samta Party (now Janata Dal (United)) by Nitish Kumar, they voted en masse for Samta. Its alliance showed that political parties in Bihar are identified with caste and the Samta Party was considered the party of Koeri-Kurmi community.
The parting of the ways between the Koeris and the Kurmis and the movement of the Koeris away from Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) was witnessed after the formation of the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party by Upendra Kushwaha, who commanded huge support among members of the Koeri castes. The Bharatiya Janata Party appealed to the kushwaha in the 2014 elections in hopes of getting the support of the Koeri caste who had earlier voted for Nitish Kumar and the JD(U). However, the quitting of BJP and alliance by Upendra Kushwaha left Koeri politics in Bihar in a dilemma. This rift between the Koeris and the Kurmis was orchestrated by the rise of influential Koeri leaders like Mahendra Singh and Shakuni Chaudhry, while Kushwaha remained the strongest leader of the community in Bihar.


Moulin de la Galette

The Moulin de la Galette is a windmill and associated businesses situated near the top of the district of Montmartre in Paris. Since the 17th century the windmill has been known for more than just its milling capabilities. Nineteenth-century owners and millers, the Debray family, made a brown bread, galette, which became popular and thus the name of the windmill and its businesses, which have included a famous guinguette and restaurant. In the 19th century, Le Moulin de la Galette represented diversion for Parisians seeking entertainment, a glass of wine and bread made from flour ground by the windmill. Artists, such as Renoir, van Gogh, and Pissarro have immortalized Le Moulin de la Galette; likely the most notable was Renoir's festive painting, "Bal du moulin de la Galette".
Windmill.
The windmill Moulin de la Galette, also known as Blute-fin, was built in 1622. The name Blute-fin comes from the French verb "bluter" which means sifting flour for the separation from bran.
The Debray family acquired the two mills in 1809 for producing flour, the Blute-fin and the Radet, built in 1717. But it was also used to pressurize the harvest or grind materials needed for manufacturing.
An association Friends of Old Montmartre saved it from destruction in 1915. In 1924, its owner moved the windmill to the corner of Girardon and Lepic streets. It was restored in 1978, but is not running. The windmill has been classified as a monument since 1958.
Sieges in 1814 and 1870.
At the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1814, during the siege of Paris three Debray men lost their lives defending the windmill against Cossacks; the miller was killed and nailed to the wings of the windmill.
During the Franco-Prussian War Montmartre was attacked by 20,000 Prussian soldiers. During the siege, Pierre-Charles Debray was killed and nailed to the wings of the windmill. A mass grave for those killed during the siege was made just steps away from the Moulin de la Galette.
Commercial expansion.
The mill was turned into a by the surviving son of the miller killed during the siege of Paris in 1814.
The current name Moulin de la Galette is based upon "galette", a small brown bread that the Debray millers, who owned the mill in the 19th century, made and sold with a glass of milk. The tasty bread became so popular that it later became the name of the windmill. In 1830, they replaced milk with wine (especially the local Montmartre wine) and the windmill became a cabaret. Parisians made their way to Montmartre to enjoy "the simple pleasures" of the countryside with a glass of wine, freshly baked bread and a terrace view of Paris and the Seine below. In 1833, one of the Debrays decided to open an area for dancing, dedicated to the Greek muse Terpsichore. His flair for dancing and enthusiasm attracted patrons to the dancing hall and it became a success.
Author Émile Zola wrote in 1876, "We rushed off into the countryside to celebrate the joy of not having to listen to any more talk about politics," which often meant reflection of France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. Montmartre, attainable by a train ride or a one-hour walk, was still a village with orchards, shops and two remaining windmills.
As the nearby fields were replaced with housing and factories, Nicholas Charles Debray sought commercial opportunities to remain a going concern. One of the windmills was turned into a viewing tower and a dance hall was opened adjacently. People came to the relaxed, popular Moulin de la Galette for entertainment and dancing.
Over its history, the building has experienced a wide range of uses: open-air cafe, music-hall, television studios and restaurant. It is now a private property. The windmill Radet, however, marks the entrance to a bistro named Le Moulin de la Galette.
The windmill in art.
The area has been depicted by artists such as Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Ramon Casas, Paul François Quinsac, Kees van Dongen and Maurice Utrillo.


Estaires (chicken)

The is a breed of domestic chicken from the Nord – Pas de Calais region of north-eastern France. It is a variety of the Langshan breed imported to England from China in 1872, and exported from there to Europe soon after. Some were raised in the Pas-de-Calais département, and others in the neighbouring Nord département, particularly in the areas of Estaires, La Gorgue, Laventie and Merville, from which birds were supplied to Lille.
A breeders' club was formed in 1999, and in 2004 the breed came under the protection of the , the genetic resource centre of the Nord – Pas de Calais region.
Characteristics.
The Estaires breed is closely similar to the Croad Langshan: the comb is small and regularly serrated, the legs are dark slate-blue or almost black and are slightly feathered. The plumage is black with beetle-green lights; there are also gold- and silver-necked colour variants.


Askham Bryan College

Askham Bryan College is a specialist land-based college based in Askham Bryan, York, England. It also has centres in Leeds, Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Guisborough, Bradford, Wakefield, Scarborough and Penrith.
It was built in 1936, but not opened until after World War II as the Yorkshire Agricultural Institute. It first opened to students in 1948. The college runs courses in Agriculture, Animal Management, Veterinary Nursing, Equine Management, Engineering, Motor Sport, Horticulture, Arboriculture, Floristry, Countryside Management, Outdoor Adventure Sport, Sports Development, Coaching and Fitness, Uniformed Public Services and Foundation Vocational Programmes.
The college farm is and supports three farms: Westfield Farm which accommodates a 250 Holstein Friesian dairy herd and the National Beef Training Centre; East Barrow Farm which houses the college Equine Department with 53 horses and Animal Management Department; and Headley Hall Farm which is the arable farm formerly of the University of Leeds.
Newton Rigg College, based in Penrith, Cumbria, became part of Askham Bryan College in 2011; in 2020 it was announced that teaching at the site would cease in July 2021.
Alumni include Geoffrey Smith, a horticulturalist, writer and broadcaster; and Joe Maiden, a horticulturalist and broadcaster for BBC Radio Leeds.


Frank Cowcher

George Stanyford Francis "Frank" Cowcher (30 December 1854 – 4 August 1925) was an Australian farmer and politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1904 to 1911, representing the seat of Williams.
Cowcher was born in Barragup, a rural locality that is now a suburb of Mandurah. From a farming background, he became prominent in agricultural circles himself, helping to found the Williams Agricultural Society for the improvement of agriculture in the Williams district. Cowcher served on both the Wandering and Williams Road Boards at various stages, including as chairman of the latter. He entered parliament at the 1904 state election, winning 45.0 percent of the vote as an independent. He was subsequently re-elected with large majorities at the 1905 and 1908 elections, running as a Ministerialist. Prior to the 1911 election, Cowcher's seat was abolished and replaced with the seat of Williams-Narrogin. He attempted to move seats, but was defeated by Bertie Johnston of the Labor Party. He made one final run for parliament at the 1920 Legislative Council elections, but lost to James Greig in South-East Province. Cowcher died in Williams in August 1925, aged 70. He had married Emma Sophie Farmer in 1882, with whom he had four sons and four daughters.


Wanneroo Agricultural Show

The Wanneroo Agricultural Show, also known as the "Wanneroo Show", is an agricultural show, held on the last Friday & Saturday of November each year. The show is organized by the Wanneroo Agricultural Society (Inc.) and is held in the City of Wanneroo, in the northern metropolitan area of Perth, where it has been traditionally held since the first show in 1909. Featuring numerous competitions in the areas of agriculture, arts and crafts, photography, cooking, art, beer and wine and horticulture as well as commercial attractions including rides, showbags and commercial stands, the Wanneroo Show has grown to attract 10,000 people a year.
History.
The first Wanneroo show was officially opened by John Forrest on 21 April 1909. Following a resolution of the Wanneroo Road Board on 7 November 1908;
In the 24 April 1909 edition of the Western Mail, a report regarding the first Wanneroo Show appeared under the heading 'A Successful Display', and continued to describe events and activities that were part of the Show.
Among the invited guests attending the inaugural Wanneroo Show were Sir John and Lady Forrest accompanied by several other dignitaries from the Western Australian State Government.
There were cancellations in 1915–18 & 1940–45. 2020 will see a reduced show caused by COVID-19 pandemic.
The Modern Show.
Each year the Wanneroo Show showcases agricultural, horticultural and other associated industries available in the Wanneroo region.
Transport and parking.
The Shows increasing attraction and attendance has created new problems for the Wanneroo Showgrounds venue. Parking has become an increasing problem, with limited parking available at the Showgrounds. Car parking is available for show attendees off Ariti Avenue in the carpark outside the Showgrounds main gate, plus within the Showgrounds. Avoid parking on road verges around the Showgrounds or in areas adjacent to Yellagonga Regional Park. Parking within these locations is not permitted for show attendees, and the police will issue infringement notices to offenders.
Additional parking is available within the carpark located at the rear of the City of Wanneroo Administration Building (off Dundebar Road) with over 300 bays available. Extra carpark spaces are available throughout the Wanneroo Town Centre. A free shuttle bus operates from the City of Wanneroo Administration Building carpark to the showgrounds between 6:00pm to 10:30pm on Friday and 3:00 to 10:30pm on Saturday.
Shows and performances.
Stage shows, including singers, dancers, bands and a range of other performers, field events, displays, competitions and many other activities and attractions are available at the Wanneroo Show on Friday evening and all day Saturday.
Wanneroo Show Idol.
The Wanneroo Show Idol talent competition has become a tradition at the Show during recent years, with many talented entrants taking part and providing brilliant entertainment.
Showbags and sideshow alley.
The scope of the Show has also expanded. Although it includes traditional events – such as animal competitions – its agricultural focus has been somewhat replaced by a commercial fairground atmosphere.
The show offers a wide variety of showbags and rides within sideshow alley.
Exhibitions.
Each year the Margaret Cockman Pavilion plays host to numerous exhibits of produce and craft. There is also a children's section where a range of awards, prizes and trophies are awarded for the best exhibits in the various classes on display.
Wanneroo Agricultural Society.
The Wanneroo Agricultural Society, which is the organizing body for the show has been active since 1909 and was initially created in order to assist in developing the small community of agricultural growers.
The Wanneroo Agricultural Society has been organizing the show for more than 100 years, which was recognized in 2009 when the show was awarded Wanneroo community event of the year.


Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution

The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (R.A.B.I) is a registered charity that offers support, mostly financial, to farming people in hardship in England and Wales. It assists people of all ages, including the elderly, sick and disabled as well as those working in farming, including dependants.
History.
R.A.B.I was founded in 1860 by John Mechi, an Essex farmer and the son of an Italian businessman. His concern about poverty in the farming community led him to write to "The Times" to rally support for the formation of the institution. By 1860, he had received donations of 1,700 guineas and 450 pledges to make annual donations. Ironically, Mechi died poor. His affairs went into liquidation in 1880 and he died 12 days later, on Boxing Day, of encephalitis and ‘a broken heart’. In his last months the farmers of England subscribed £5,000 to help him out of insolvency but he died before he could benefit from it. The money – equivalent to £500,000 today – went to his family and included £200 from the Royal Bounty at the express wish of Prime Minister William Gladstone.
In 1935 King George V granted R.A.B.I a royal charter to mark its 75th anniversary. The charter was later amended in 1999 to extend the charity's support to farmworkers as well as farmers.
In 2001, an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease among livestock in the UK caused a crisis in British farming and agriculture. During this time, R.A.B.I paid out around £9 million across the UK to more than 8,000 families.
Management.
R.A.B.I's patron is Queen Elizabeth II. The royal patronage has passed down succeeding monarchs from Queen Victoria. The current President of the institution is the Duke of Gloucester.
The charity is governed by a board of 12 trustees, who serve for four years but may be re-elected for a second term. Jeanette Dawson OBE is the chair of the board.
The chief executive of R.A.B.I is Alicia Chivers, who succeeded Paul Burrows in 2018.
Services.
R.A.B.I's primary service is providing grants to farming people in financial need. It offers regular payments to those from the agricultural industry needing long-term support; mostly people who are no longer working, are typically over 65 and have limited savings. One-off payments can also be given for other things such as essential white goods, heating or disability equipment and adaptations.
The charity also supports working individuals and families from the farming sector who are struggling financially.
As well as giving financial assistance, R.A.B.I can provide other support such as offering benefits advice, organising business appraisals and arranging debt advice.
Care homes.
The charity runs two residential care homes for elderly people, primarily with a background in agriculture.
Beaufort House is located in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset. It has 33 en-suite rooms in the main house as well as 12 self-contained flats. Manson House is located in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. It has 31 en-suite rooms and 23 independent flats.


Mallapunyah

Mallapunyah Springs Station often referred to as Mallapunyah is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in the Northern Territory.
It is situated about south east of Borroloola and south east of Darwin. Mallapunyah Creek runs through the property. Mallapunyah shares a boundary with Walhallow Station to the south, Kiana and McArthur River Stations to the east and the Mambalya Rrumburriya Wuyaliya Aboriginal Land Trust property to the north and west. Both the Tablelands Highway and the Borroloola Stock route bisect the property.
The area was settled in the mid-1920s by the George and Elizabeth Darcy. When they initially settled the property George worked away to earn money for the family while Elizabeth built the homestead and the furniture and taught the twelve children. Elizabeth went missing on the property in October 1944 while looking for stray donkeys. A search was mounted but she was never found.


Yorke Peninsula Field Days

The Yorke Peninsula Field Days is a biennial, three-day field days event, held on a permanent site outside Paskeville on Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. The event has a major focus on agriculture. The event is the oldest field days event in Australia and one of the biggest, exhibiting millions of dollars' worth of farm machinery.
Description.
Nine local branches of the Agricultural Bureau of SA comprise the organising body of the Yorke Peninsula Field Days corporation and their members are totally responsible for the management and organisation of the field day. These bureaus are: Arthurton, Boors Plains, Bute, Cunliffe W.A.B., Moonta, Paskeville, Petersville, Snowtown and South Hummocks.
, there is a waiting list for exhibitors to get sites at the Field Days.
The event begins on a Tuesday in late September and finishes the following Thursday, opening at 9 am and closing at 5 pm each day. Annual events include sheepdog trials, guest-speakers, wool and sheep displays, including active and static displays, shearing demonstrations, a fashion parade, crafts, and general products which were introduced to the Field Days by the Cunliffe Women's Agricultural Bureau. An entrance fee is charged, and a record crowd of 40,000 people gathered for the 2009 field days.
History.
The field days began in 1895 as a field trial of agricultural and horticultural implements. The original branches of the Agricultural Bureau of SA that formed the Agricultural Field Trial Society (now Yorke Peninsula Field Days Incorporated) were Arthurton, Bute, Nantawarra (now South Hummocks), Paskeville, Pine Forest and Port Broughton. These branches organised the first Field Trial, as it was then known, at Bute. Until about 1973 only one event, 'Harvester Trials', was held.
From 1973, the Field Trials expanded to more than one day. In 1975 the current permanent site at Paskeville was established, after were purchased from Keith Lamming (35 acres for $8000) and Stan Norris (32 acres for $7040) for a total of $15,040 in 1977. The first field days event held at the Paskeville site in 1977 was opened by Sir Thomas Playford, former South Australian Premier. Permanent roads, and some permanent pavilions and sheds, have been built at the site, with the roads being named after the current and past bureaus of the Yorke Peninsula Field Days corporation.
No field days is planned in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.


Kirkalocka

Kirkalocka is a former sheep station in the Mid West region of Western Australia.
Location.
It is located 55 kilometres (35  mi) south-south-west of Mount Magnet, 420 kilometres (260 mi) north east of Perth. The station covers approximately 100 square kilometres (25,000 acres) of leasehold land.
History.
A road was cleared from Mount Magnet to Kirkalocka Station in 1911.
At a meeting of the Mt Magnet Pastoralists subcommittee in 1944 at Kirkalocka they were given a demonstration of mulesing and the docking of lambs tails to prevent fly strike. In 1949 Grazier Fred Broad recommend the Manchester method in preference to mulesing, having used it for 3 years on 1200 ewes at Kirkalocka with a 99% success rate and attributing the 1% failure to poor workmanship.
Kirkalocka is now predominantly a tourism based operation and offers caravan stop-over facilities and accommodation in shearers' quarters and the old homestead.
In 2000, three previously undescribed species of shrub were collected on the station, and subsequently published as "Banksia rosserae", "Grevillea squiresiae" and "Grevillea kirkalocka". The last of these is named after Kirkalocka.
Due to proximity to mining areas, the station area was reviewed for its geological potential in 2000.
Badimaya elder Ollie George grew up on the station.
A dictionary preserving the Badimaya language was unveiled at Kirkalocka station in 2014.
The current lessees are Jared and Blair Ridley; Kirkalocka is operating under the Crown Lease number CL440-1966 and has the Land Act number LA3114/636.


Burke Corporation

Burke Corporation is a manufacturer of pizza toppings and other fully cooked meat products for use in the restaurant, foodservice, and prepared foods industries. The company also specializes in custom product formulation for supply to private foodservice labels, serving more than 1,600 commercial customers. Burke is headquartered in Nevada, Iowa.
History.
The business began in Ames, Iowa in 1957 as a frozen pizza producer under the name Pronto Foods. Bill Burke, Sr. joined the company as operations manager in 1964 and purchased the company in 1967. In 1974, the frozen pizza arm was sold, and the company began producing and marketing meat pizza toppings under the new name of Burke Marketing Corporation.
In 1984, the major production line was moved from Ames to its current location in Nevada, Iowa. In 1991, Bill Burke, Sr. handed presidency of the company to his son, Bill Burke, Jr.
Expansions in 2002 and 2004 include the addition of an automatic cleanroom and expansions to production and freezing capacity.
In August 2007, Hormel Foods, based in Austin, Minnesota, purchased Burke Corporation. In 2011, the Ames facility closed, moving its assets and production to the Nevada plant. Bill Burke, Jr continued to run the company until he retired in 2012. Chad Randick currently serves as President, leading the Burke team since 2015.
As of 2019, the company employs about 350 people.
Products.
Burke Corporation’s range of fully cooked meat products includes various meat pizza toppings, as well as a range of cured meats, meatballs, and sausage products. The company also manufactures custom meat products for clients who manufacture prepared food.
Burke meats are sold throughout the U.S. under the Burke and Swiss American labels, as well as private labels, and are carried by broad-line and specialty distributors. Formulations include standard recipes or custom blends requested by customers.
Burke fully cooked meats are also exported to Canada and other worldwide markets. Burke products are represented in Canada by Chase Global Foods.


Henty (wine)

The Henty wine region is an Australian wine region. It has one of the cooler climates of any Australian wine region and is known for its white wine production of Chardonnay, Riesling, Semillon and Sauvignon blanc as well as a small red wine production of Pinot noir. Prior to the registration of the AGI as "Henty", the region was known as Drumborg or Far South-west Victoria.
The Henty wine region covers the southwestern corner of the state of Victoria. It is bounded by the South Australian border to the west and the coastline to the south. The eastern boundary at the coast is the mouth of the Hopkins River near Warrnambool. The town of Dunkeld is excluded, but Cavendish is in on the northeastern side. The northwestern boundary includes the Penola-Dergholm Road, then the Glenelg River as far upstream as the Natimuk-Hamilton Road. The town of Henty is close to the centre of the region.
The region includes the areas first settled in 1834 by the Henty brothers, who are believed to have also brought grape vine cuttings which did not survive. The first commercial plantings were planted at Drumborg in 1964 by Seppelts.


Hans Westenberg

Hans Westenberg (born 27 October 1898, Bangoen Poerba, North Sumatra) was a Dutch-Indonesian agriculturist who was the recipient of 1972 Ramon Magsaysay Award for his practical propagation of new crops and promotion of better methods among Sumatra's small farmers who have learned to trust and profit from his ideas in Indonesia.
Westenberg was the youngest child of Carel Joan Westenberg, the resident of Tapanoeli in Sibolga, and Negel Sinulingga, daughter of the primary rajah of the Karo Bataks of the high lands. The family moved to The Hague, where Hans went to high school and enrolled at Leiden University to study civil service. When his father died in 1919 he broke off his studies and returned to the Dutch Indies. Here he met Johanna Cornelia Westhoff (1907-1991), whom he married in 1928 in Wassenaar. They had a son, but divorced just before the Japanese invasion of the Dutch Indies. At the independence of Indonesia in 1949 Westenberg chose to become an Indonesian citizen.


Pigeon River Lumber Company


AGT Food and Ingredients

AGT Food and Ingredients is a Canadian processor of pulses and other food ingredients. It is one of the largest pulse-processing companies in the world.
History.
AGT was founded in 2001 as SaskCan Pulse Trading by Murad Al-Katib, the present CEO. He received funding from the Arslan family of Turkey, owners of the Arbel group, a Turkish pulse-processing company.
In 2007, the Agtech Income Fund acquired SaskCan, and then renamed itself Alliance Grain Traders. As a result of this deal, Alliance Grain Traders was listed on Toronto Venture Exchange.
In 2009, Alliance Grain Traders converted from an income fund to a normal corporation. Also in 2009, Alliance Grain Traders bought the Arbel group for $104 million, including its pasta business.
In 2011, the company took over South Africa based Advance Seed. Since 2012, it has shifted into the packaged foods business. In particular, it has expanded production at its facility in Minot, North Dakota.
In 2014, the company was renamed AGT Food and Ingredients. In 2015, AGT bought Big Sky Rail, a Saskatchewan short line railway, for $57.5 million. In 2018, it was part of the consortium that purchased the Hudson Bay Railway.
On February 5th, 2019, the company announced shareholder approval for a privatization deal led by its President and Chief Executive Officer, Murad Al-Katib, in consortium with Fairfax Financial and Point North Capital. On April 17, 2019, the transaction to take the company private was closed.
Business.
AGT buys, processes, and distributes pulses, including lentils, peas, and beans, as well as grains and other agricultural commodities. It also manufactures and distributes food ingredients and packaged foods. In 2016, pulses were responsible for 58% of sales, milled grains for 7%, and rices and other products for 35%. As of 2016, 58% of revenue was from pulse and grain processing, 28% was from distribution, and the other 14% was from food ingredients and packaged foods. It has facilities in Canada, the United States, Turkey, China, South Africa, and Australia. In 2016, 6% of sales were in Canada, 12% were in the rest of the Americas, 28% were in Asia-Pacific, and the other 54% were in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.


Joseph Emory Davis

Joseph Emory Davis (10 December 1784 – 18 September 1870) was an American lawyer who became one of the wealthiest planters in Mississippi in the antebellum era; he owned thousands of acres of land and was among the nine men in Mississippi who owned more than 300 slaves. He was the elder brother (by 23 years) of Jefferson Davis and acted as his surrogate father for several years. The younger Davis became a politician, U.S. Senator, and later President of the Confederacy.
In the 1820s, Joseph Davis developed the Hurricane Plantation at Davis Bend, Mississippi.
Joseph Davis provided living conditions to his enslaved laborers that were marginally better than on neighboring plantations. Davis allowed enslaved persons marginal self-government and provided skills training and health care to protect his investment in human life. He left the plantations in 1862 during the American Civil War, but they continued to operate under Union direction, as well as to house black soldiers and refugees. After the war, Davis received a pardon and regained his lands. But, in the 1867 spring floods, the Mississippi River cut a new channel across the peninsula and transformed Davis Bend into Davis Island. Davis moved to Vicksburg, selling the plantation to Benjamin Montgomery, his former slave who had been an outstanding manager. Davis encouraged him in making a community of freedmen.
Early life.
Joseph Emory Davis was born on December 10, 1784, near Augusta, Georgia. He was the oldest of the ten children of Samuel Davis and Jane (Cook) Davis. Samuel farmed in Georgia, but in 1793 the Davis family (by then consisting of the couple, four sons, and a daughter) set out for the newly formed state of Kentucky, where the land was more promising. In Kentucky, four more daughters were born, and lastly son Jefferson in 1808. Joseph was 23 years older than Jefferson.
Legal career.
At an early age, Joseph Davis began working in a mercantile house. He studied law in Russellville and in Wilkinson County, Mississippi, where he accompanied his father in 1811 to explore the area. He was admitted to the bar in 1812 and first practiced in Pinckneyville, Mississippi. He also worked as an attorney in Greenville, an important Delta trading town on the Mississippi River.
Davis kept his connections with associates in Kentucky, serving as the delegate from Jefferson County in the convention that organized the state government in 1817. He took a prominent part in framing its constitution.
In 1820 Davis moved to the river port of Natchez, Mississippi, where he formed a law partnership with Thomas B. Reed, then the leader of the Mississippi bar. They prospered in Natchez.
Personal life.
Davis had a complicated personal life. While building his fortune, Davis fathered three illegitimate daughters, born 1811 through 1823. It was not unusual for unmarried men to have relationships and children before marriage. (It is not known if the daughters had the same mother.) But he acknowledged them publicly, arranged for them to be educated, supported them, and brought them to live in his household for periods of time. Each of the three girls eventually married, aided by their father's wealth and status. They were Florida Ann Davis (b. March 31, 1811, d. January 18, 1891, Warren County, Mississippi); Mary Lucinda Davis (b. May 1, 1816, d. November 22, 1846, near Vicksburg, Mississippi); and Caroline Davis (b. c1823 – d. July 13, 1907, Williamsburg, Virginia).
In 1827, the 43-year-old Davis decided to marry and retire from law. He used his savings to buy land and slaves to become a planter. That year he married Eliza Van Benthuysen (1811–1863) in Natchez; she was 16 years old. Her widowed mother had owned a shoe and boot store in the city, but at the time of the marriage ran a boardinghouse in New Orleans.
Davis also adopted two children, Joseph D. Nicholson, the infant son of Mrs. Jane Nicholson, and Martha Quarles, daughter of John Quarles. Martha Quarles was the granddaughter of Martha Brooks Wallace. Martha Wallace reared her until age 13 when the girl started living in Davis's household.
Mississippi planter.
As a cotton planter Davis made a fortune, becoming "one of the richest men in Mississippi at the onset of the Civil War." He acquired an extensive amount of land and hundreds of slaves. In the late 1820s, he acquired nearly all the land on a peninsula that came to be known as Davis Bend. It was about 15 miles south of Vicksburg, also on the Mississippi River. By 1860 at the beginning of the American Civil War, his Hurricane Plantation included 5,000 acres and 5 miles of riverfront. Davis, Eliza, and his three natural daughters had first lived in a relatively modest house he had built at Davis Bend in 1827. Later Davis had a much larger structure built, which was started in 1835. It was a three-story brick mansion, finished in stucco. Large fireplaces heated the twelve rooms in winter. There were also numerous outbuildings. Davis also acquired one of the best private libraries in the South. This plantation was considered one of the finest establishments on the Mississippi River.
Davis gave his much younger brother Jefferson Davis an adjacent 1,000 acres, which he developed as Brierfield Plantation. The senior Davis sold some land to other preferred neighbors. Davis Bend was surrounded on three sides by the river. While cotton was Joseph Davis' chief cash crop, his plantation produced other crops, as well as a variety of meats. It was nearly self-sufficient. He had large herds of dairy and beef cattle and was the only planter on the peninsula to have sheep.
In 1860 Joseph E. Davis held 365 slaves. He was one of nine planters in Mississippi to hold more than 300 slaves. They cultivated 1700 acres of improved land at Hurricane Plantation.
Davis worked to create a utopian plantation on a paternalistic model, borrowing from industrial ideas of Robert Owen. He provided improved living conditions and increased autonomy for the slaves, including establishing a plantation court which included a slave jury system.
Recognizing the intelligence and leadership of Ben Montgomery, a slave, Davis made him an overseer. He also entrusted him with running a store on the plantation. Montgomery also negotiated the sale of cotton from both plantations, which was highly unusual for the time.
American Civil War.
In 1863, after the fall of Vicksburg, Davis took his family and many slaves away from the plantation to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Such moves were typical of major planters trying to preserve their "property" in chattel. His wife Eliza died the following year. They had no children together.
Ben Montgomery continued to run things. But some slaves broke into the Big House and appropriated clothing and furniture. When the Union Army gained control of the area, General Ulysses S. Grant decided to make Davis Bend a "negro paradise" and allowed freedmen to lease land, as well as allowing black refugees to settle in the area. In 1865, Davis Bend raised nearly 2000 bales of cotton which Montgomery arranged for sale at a profit of $160,000. The slave community at Davis Bend had internal conflicts, as well as conflict with some of the military orders during the war. Many left after emancipation.
Postwar years.
At the war's end, Davis returned to Vicksburg, slightly upriver from Davis Bend. Although his land had been confiscated during the war, he secured a pardon from President Andrew Johnson. He eventually regained his land from the Freedmen's Bureau, which was managing refugees. Many freedmen had already left by 1867 when Davis Bend got cut off from the mainland. The flooding Mississippi River cut a new channel across the neck of the peninsula, transforming it into the island. Davis arranged a mortgage for Montgomery, selling him the plantation on a long-term note to make a community of freedmen. The community continued as a cooperative until it failed in the 1880s, at which time Isaiah Montgomery, Benjamin's son, moved the residents to found a new black community in Mound Bayou, Mississippi.
Davis and a granddaughter (born to one of his illegitimate daughters) resided upriver in the city of Vicksburg, from 1868 to his death in 1870. They lived in a grand house known as Anchuca, now on the National Register of Historic Places. Davis became noted for his benevolence, for he paid to educate many youths of both sexes.


Norske Skog Walsum

Norske Skog Walsum is a pulp mill and paper mill situated in the Duisburg neighborhood of Walsum, the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The mill starts operations in 1962, established by Haindl and owned by Norske Skog from 2001. Since the 1990s the mill had two paper machines producing lightweight coated paper, a type of magazine paper. Both paper machines have a trimmed width of . PM4 has an annual production of 225,000 tonnes, PM10 has 215,000 tonnes. The mill used as its source one-third thermomechanical pulp, one-third kraft pulp and one-third coating. The mill is situated on the Rhine. Until production curtailment in 2013, the mill employed 460 people.
History.
The mill at Walsum opened in 1962 under the ownership of Haindl, initially consisting of one paper machine. PM4 was installed in 1985, followed by PM10 in 1991. Both were manufactured by Voith. Combined they gave an annual capacity of 420,000 tonnes of lightweight coated paper. The owners of the family-owned Haindl consortium decided to sell the company in 2000. It was bought in a joint deal, where UPM took over four and Norske Skog bought two of the mills—Parenco and Walsum. The deal took effect on 30 November 2001, with Norske Skog paying 8.2 billion Norwegian krone for the two mills. Norske Skog was in a process of specialization, selling all non-core assets while purchasing a dominant position in the world's newsprint and magazine paper market. Walsum allowed Norske Skog to add LWC to its portfolio.
The mill closed down PM4 in December 2013, curtailing production by 225,000 tonnes
The mill was managed by Norske Skog ASA filed for bankruptcy and produced under the following names continued:
Walsum Papier.