Why I Give to FarmHouse Foundation

Herbert Folken (IA '28) Herbert Folken(IA '28) was an agricultural economist who worked following graduation for the Doane Agricultural Service, then pre-WWII years in extension work at Iowa State and states west. Post-war he administered the sugar act in Washington, D.C., for 17 years. Upon retirement from the federal government, he worked two years for the Florida State Department of Agriculture, before retiring again.

He endowed the Herbert G. Folken Scholarship Fund, which gives $700 to one recipient every year. He was a member of the H.K. Wilson giving club. Herb also established the Minnie Folken Memorial Fund in his mother's name who was a cook for the Iowa State Chapter. The fund is used for general Foundation support and programs. Herb died in March 2002. He was survived by his wife Molly, one son, three grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, three step-daughters and seven step-grandchildren.

This very generous donor was asked in the Fall of 2001 to share his thoughts about FarmHouse Fraternity and Foundation.

FarmHouse: Ties That Bind
by Herbert Folken, IA '28

Each of us has a unique cluster of ties that bind us to our Fraternity. We honor those ties to the extent we continue in touch. For all we have gained as brothers in FarmHouse, those ties deserve review and renewal. As we do we are prompted to come to another get-together or send another check. Let me impose upon you a review of the ties I have gained from my years in FarmHouse.

The Iowa State chapter was installed in January 19267. Initiated 16 months later, I was in on the ground floor, how much so I did not appreciate until much later. Being on campus much of the time through 1941, I knew every pre-WWII member of the Chapter.

The Conclave at Nebraska in 1931, began the broadening of my FarmHouse "connections." There, of the early leadership, were brothers Doane, Holbert, Holland, Pilchard, Skinner and Scheidenhelm. With that start I came to know every national "executive officer" and many of our presidents.

On my agenda later were the Michigan State installation i n1936 and the Conclaves in 1937 at Oklahoma State, 1931 at Missouri and 1946 at Kansas State with service on the National Board between the last two. Suspension of activities during the war minimized the significance of my board service. Scheidenhelm, president, was then at Rutgers; H.K. Wilson,
secretary-treasurer, was at Penn State. The board meetings I remember were while I was in the Navy at Philadelphia. Thus a quorum could be had with little expense but far from the nearest chapter. Joe Ackerman and Herman Haag were the only National Board members in chapter territory. Then a lapse of 46 years. From 1946 to 1966 the many alumni in the Washington, D.C., area got together regularly. Joining in were a surprising number of the men I first met at those early conclaves and at Michigan State. The most renewing of my aging ties have been the reunions at Ames of Iowa State Chapter pre-war initiates that Molly and I attend. Don't wait until your are 80 to embrace such an occasion!

That brings me to the most personal of all my ties to FarmHouse. At the reunions I was repeatedly asked about my mother by "her boys," my only brothers. They remembered more than a half century later my mother and the meals she cooked at FarmHouse. Mother became our cook in the fall of 1930 and stayed for three years. I was in summers school in 1930 and 1931 so, in effect, we became summer caretakers, too. And FarmHouse became not my
second home but my only home until I married in 1933.

In 1932 the Doane Agricultural Service became my first full-time employer. Marriage about 18 months later meant more FarmHouse connections- and eventual disconnection. My bride was a sister-in-law of my immediate boss, a Missouri FarmHouse brother. By our founder's standards that was nepotism in his Doane Agricultural Service, resolved by recommending me to a client at an increase in salary!

As a final tie, I met and became very friendly with Bob Off. It was easy. All I did was decided to give the Foundation a bit more than my usual contribution. I commend a better acquaintance with Bob to each of you!