Jerry Smith, executive director of the DeKalb County Community Foundation, attended the Patent Day Dinner to present a check for $4,500 to Kathy Vance Siebrasse, president of the Glidden Homestead Board of Directors. The DCCF grant will help the Homestead purchase a 4-color laser printer and copier to use in printing educational materials in-house. Back row, from left, are: Jim Morel, past president; Smith; Vance Siebrasse; J.D. Bowers, Jeff Marshall, Steve Johnson and Barry Schrader. Front row, from left, are: Natalie Churyk, treasurer; Sarah Glidden DeMink, secretary; Denise Rode; Linda Schwarz and Amy Polzin.

Patent Day Dinner celebrates Glidden's invention

     Each fall, members of the Joseph F. Glidden Homestead & Historical Center celebrate "The Winner."  That's the name given to the barbed wire for which Glidden received a patent Nov. 24,1874. The Winner became one of the most widely used types of barbed wire in the nation.   
     Glidden's invention was celebrated with a special Patent Day Dinner on Nov. 8, attended by about 60 people. The dinner serves as the organization's primary fund-raiser. This year's event was held at Hopkins Park Community Center.
     A pictorial slide show provided the backdrop for the program as board president Kathy Vance Siebrasse reviewed events and accomplishments in 2007.
     Jerry Smith, executive director of the DeKalb County Community Foundation, attended the dinner and as part of the program, presented a check for more than $4,500 to Vance Siebrasse for the Homestead. The grant funds will help the Homestead buy a four-color laser printer and copier that will allow educational materials, brochures and newsletters to be printed in-house.
     Past board president Jim Morel also presented an award to board member, Jeff Marshall, recognizing his outstanding contributions to the Glidden Homestead. The special award was handcrafted by Morel to incorporate an 18-inch strand of #9 Glidden wire that came from Joseph Glidden's original Texas ranch, known as the Frying Pan Ranch.
     A printed Annual Report was distributed to attendees and various displays were exhibited throughout the evening. A new Glidden Homestead patch and cap were unveiled in the Glidden Gift Shop as part of the Patent Day event.
     Musical entertainment was provided by Barbara Steg with her one-woman act called "Barb Wired," featuring an amplified violin, imaginative compositions and interesting sound effects.
     A $500 cash raffle was won by Alva Oderkirk of DeKalb.
     The Glidden Homestead & Historical Center was established in the mid-1990s, to preserve the site where Glidden’s world-changing invention was made. As a not-for-profit corporation, the Homestead is run by a 15-member board.
    Joseph Glidden lived in the two-story home at 921 W. Lincoln Hwy., DeKalb, during the late 1860s and early 1870s. It was there during the winter months of 1872-73, that he began experimenting with his wife, Lucinda’s, large wire hairpins. When the weather improved, he purchased a reel of smooth fence wire from Isaac Ellwood’s hardware store and began experimenting in the barnyard or barn, which still stands today.
     Eventually, Joseph worked on his idea with his long-time friend and blacksmith, Phineas Vaughan. Together, they took apart an old coffee mill and reassembled it, utilizing the principle of a moving sleeve and a lug. With a turn of the crank, the machine produced a small uniform-sized coil. Joseph then returned to his experiment of clinching the coils with their tangs and twisting it with another smooth wire on the single strand. Thus, he came to invent the first practical “barbed wire.”
     Support for work at the Homestead today comes from a membership base, local and regional donations, along with some state and regional grants. The buildings at the Homestead are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
    The board has been working hard the past few years to restore the interior and exterior of the house, in addition to completing extensive work on the barn’s exterior. It plans to restore the barn and house as a living exhibit to educate children and adults about the significant contributions of Glidden to the history of the West and the entire nation.