On April 11, 2015, during Bishop Hill’s Spring Jubilee, Richard Morthland will perform a first person portrayal of John Deere. This free public program will be from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Dairy Building, located at 410 North Erickson Street. John Deere’s agricultural innovations, especially the self-scouring steel plow, monumentally impacted farming methods during the formative years of the United States, making expansion into the vast prairies and plains possible. Richard Morthland — farmer, teacher, and seasoned public speaker — portrays Deere, inviting audiences to ponder not only the history lessons to be learned from his career but also the human lessons to be learned from his life.
This program is sponsored by the Bishop Hill Heritage Association and the Illinois Humanities Council. The IHC is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Illinois Arts Council, and by contributions from individuals, foundations and corporations.
For more information about the John Deere program, call (309) 927-3899, email bhha@mymctc.net or visit www.bishophillheritage.org.