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NEWSLETTERFEBRUARY 2024MONTEREY COUNTY AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL LIFE MUSEUMwww.mcarlm.orgFARMALL CUB REVIVALMUSHROOM STROGANOFFThursday Crew putting in a hard day of workIngredients package extra-wide egg noodles (12 oz.),1 tablespoon olive oil, 2tablespoons butter, divided, 2 packages cremini slicedmushrooms (8 oz. each), 2 minced garlic cloves, 2 fresh thymesprigs, 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2teaspoon freshly ground pepper, 2 tablespoons all-purposeflour, 1 1/2 cups chicken broth,1 cup sour cream, 1 tablespoonflat-leaf parsley chopped.InstructionsIn a large pot, cook extra-wide egg noodles according toinstructions. Remove the egg noodles from the heat andcover.1.Heat 1 tablespoon butter and olive oil in a large saucepanover medium-high heat. Add sliced mushrooms and cook for5 minutes. Stir in minced garlic, thyme sprigs, smokedpaprika, salt and pepper. Cook for 3 more minutes, stirringoccasionally.2.Add in extra butter and flour, and stir for 2 more minutes.Pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil, whiskingconstantly for minutes. Remove from heat.3.Stir in sour cream and mix together. Serve mushroomstroganoff on top of drained noodles and top with choppedparsley.4. Our Thursday Crew is at it again! MCARLM’sincredibly talented volunteers have given our 1950Farmall Cub tractor a new lease on life! The originalclutch had failed, so a new one was installed. Thebearings were all greased, and it was fully serviced.The Cub is almost ready for exhibition and will be ondisplay in our Tractor Barn soon! The Cub was the smallest tractor manufacturedby the International Harvester Company and wasdesigned for the small acreage farmer to replace thehorse or mule for farming. This particular tractor wasused by the Monterey County AgriculturalCommissioner’s office to farm small test plots of land.Over 245,000 Cubs were manufactured between 1947-1981 in their Louisville, Kentucky plant. The Cub wasone of the most popular small tractors in history. TheMonterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s officegenerously donated this tractor to MCARLM.

FEBRUARY 2024MONTEREY COUNTY AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL LIFE MUSEUMwww.mcarlm.orgREFLECTIONS ON AN HONORED LOCAL FAMILY TRADITIONSalad crew making our delicioussalad for the night! For the 29th time the MCARLM clam chowderfeed has come and gone. Once again, I had thewonderful opportunity to help both behind thescenes and on the actual day and into the eveningof the event. Granted, this is just one of the manycommunity dinners served in our familiar Orradrebuilding on the SVF grounds in our belovedhometown but, it is precisely these types offundraisers that remind me what I love about KingCity. With the onset of the dread Covid these types ofevents ceased for a brief time and eventuallybecame takeout only. Many clubs have continuedwith the takeout venue after all it is easier andperhaps more revenue generating. We did takeoutone year following the ban on sit down events. Can Itell you how grateful I am that we returned onceagain to the tradition of a sit-down fundraiser andwhy? Recently, a member of one of the original familiesthat started this event stopped by my house todrop off some items from our dinner. As we stoodoutdoors reminiscing about the history of theevent, I came to realize just how special it is to notonly our community but to those who founded itand to MCARLM. In the beginning, 29 years ago, the foundingfamilies grew and canned all the tomatoes for thechowder! Nothing came from cans or the shelves ofthe local grocery store. This included a long historyof only homemade pies! Along with the homemadechowder, the pies may have been the signaturetreat for the event. Years passed and the eventplanners dwindled to a few heroic folks in thetrenches, and they were not getting any younger! Itwas at this point that the annual fundraiser wasoffered to MCARLM in 1995. He talked about howover time this event has evolved into a familyreunion. His eyes teared up as he spoke about hisgrandchildren and now great grandchildren thatcan’t wait for the clam chowder feed and how it hasbecome an honored tradition. The work they dobehind the scenes in preparation for the eventgoes on for days and everyone of all ages helps!Likewise, with the MCARLM members and multiplecommunity volunteers. This is precisely whatmakes this annual fundraising event so special. It isnot so much about the dinner, which is alwayssuperb, but about the camaraderie, the fellowshipand the coming together of community membersacross all ages for a just cause. We could go back to only take out but think of whatcould be missed by not sitting down next to yourneighbor or someone across town that you rarelyvisit with. A little hard work goes a long way in ourhometown, and nobody does it better than theMCARLM clam chowder feed!Raye Ann HouxFounding Member

BOOK OF THE MONTHFEBRUARY 2024MONTEREY COUNTY AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL LIFE MUSEUMBeatrice Katsaros-Our Little Cook Stovewww.mcarlm.orgSCHOOL TOUR’S BIGGEST HITOur Little Cook StoveBeatrice RemembersBy: Beatrice Katsaros Little Beatrice lives on a farm withMamma and Pappa along with her twosisters. At the center of her home is alittle black cook stove, where freshbiscuits await her after school, and babychicks nestle together for warmth. Thesemoments from Beatrice’s life, lovinglyrecalled and beautifully illustrated. This past month we had a School Tour thatspecifically requested a tour of our OlsonBlacksmith Shop. Boy were we in for a surprise! Wehad one of our Thursday crew members, Randy,who is a self-taught Blacksmith put on this amazingtour for the school children. They were soenthralled in watching him make his BBQ meathook. It was my first time watching a tour that wasso silent you could hear a pin drop! The childrendidn't want to leave the Blacksmith Shop, theyasked so many questions. They were attentive andexcited about how he was able to bend the metaland the way it would get so hot that it would glow!The children were exclaiming “oohh” and “awww”at just the sight of the flames getting higher and themetal heating up to a nice orange glow. He gavesuch a fantastic presentation, that we realized thatwe should have saved him for the Grand Finale!! Wehope to incorporate the Olson Blacksmith Shop inour school tours more frequently. Here’s to a greatstart of 2024 School Tours! Randy demonstrating for a school tour

MEMBERSHIP MCARLM appreciates the support you haveshown us, whether you are a new member, ongoinglong term member, or member yet to join. Withyour help, we have been able to accomplish manythings, including new exhibits, new educationalprogramming as well as repairs and maintenance ofartifacts and equipment. We appreciate yourcontinued support and couldn’t do it without you! JOIN TODAYYOUR MEMBERSHIP is even more critical duringthese difficult times. The future of non-profits areeven more uncertain in the current and predictedeconomic environment than ever before. Yourmuseum is going to rely heavily on the support of ourcommunity, members, and supporters through tax-deductible donations and memberships in theupcoming months to get us through, keep the doorsopen, and the programming coming. If you’realready a member, thank you for your continuedsupport. If you support our mission but have yet tojoin us as a member, please consider joining ustoday. Your help in saving and educating thecommunity and visitors about the history of the areais ever so vital, especially during these historic times. WHAT IS NEW? Our website has also done some revamping!We now have a blog and are keep up to date withevents and such online. You can also see a lot ofwhat the museum has to offer online!Please follow us on social media to additionallykeep up to date on ALL of our events/programs. FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA@MCARLMUSEUM@MCARLMUSEUMMonterey County Agricultural and Rural Life MuseumMONTEREY COUNTY AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL LIFE MUSEUM FEBRUARY 2024GOLD DONORSSILVER DONORSDavid Gill, John Romans, RavaRanches, Gorden and VickiRosenberg, and Barbara PlaskettJim Spreng, Azcona Harvesting, DennisCaprara, Gonzales Irrigation, Mike and MaryOrradre, Margaret Duflock, Marc Pura,Chevron, Timothy Cheney, John and JanetButtgereit, and Wilbur-Ellis Company