The Helen Curtiss Arbor Gate

A typical visitor at Farm House will enter the museum through its south-facing front door. Rarely does that visitor stumble upon the beautiful arbor on the east of Farm House. With thousands of burgeoning concord grapes spilling over the Osage orange and eastern red cedar wood structure, the arbor is a quiet spot to cool off in the shade and uncover some campus history!

The arbor gate was originally designed circa 1925 by Helen Curtiss, the youngest daughter of Dean of Agriculture Charles F. Curtiss, as a senior class project. She and her family lived in Farm House from 1897 through 1947 - the longest stay of any other residents! The family was known to be kind and approachable, so many students at Iowa State during the Curtiss era referred to Farm House as the "Curtiss House" instead.

Helen was born at Farm House on September 14th, 1901 in the second floor's southeast bedroom. She quickly grew into the "mischievous and vivacious" woman she is remembered as by her friends today. Playing with paper dolls in the Farm House parlor, riding the elevator in Agriculture Hall (renamed Curtiss Hall in October of 1947) up and down with her friend Marie Mortensen, riding horses through campus, and hosting waffle parties on Sunday evenings were among her most favorite things.



Helen, Edith, and Ruth Curtiss, October 1908 

Helen holding two piglets, ca. 1912

Oftentimes the question is asked during a visit to the Farm House Museum, "Are there any ghosts?" This is highly unlikely, but it has been suggested that Helen Curtiss' ghost would pull back the lace curtains hanging in the window of her old bedroom to see which boyfriend was going to take her out for the night. Being an exceptional beauty and thrill-seeker, it is no surprise that Helen was notorious for sneaking out of Farm House while her mother and father were fast asleep!

Following Helen's graduation from Iowa State University, although it was still called Iowa State College at the time, she left Farm House in 1923. She married soon after to become Mrs. Helen Curtiss Whittaker. The quaint arbor gate she left behind at Farm House inevitably eroded with time, but the Class of 2002 funded a reconstruction of the arbor, herb garden, and water well. Because it is in the museum's permanent collection, visitors for generations to come may enjoy it.

Next time you walk by Farm House Museum, take a moment to experience this literally hidden gem - the grapes sure are tasty when they ripen up in the autumn!

Farm House Museum will close on Friday, July 29th at 4 PM until Monday, August 22nd at 12 PM. We hope to see you soon!

"Waste Not, Want Not" Trivet

Hot pads, table mats, pot holders, heat protectors... We each have our own name for what we put down to keep hot pans from burning into our countertops and dinner tables. The "real" name for such a device is a trivet.

"Trivet" originates from Late Middle English's borrowing of the Latin word tripes, or triped (tri- "three-legged" + pes, ped- "foot").  Traditionally, trivets are metal tripods that hold cooking pots above open flames - a design that ensures a steady surface for preparing food on uneven grounds. Metals were the first medium of constructing trivets, but that design has changed tremendously over the decades. Now trivets are commonly made from something as simple as a folded towel or an extra piece of tile. They may also be as complicated as intricately woven cast iron or as creative as wine corks wedged into a wooden frame!

Just as the design was revised, so too was the purpose of trivets altered. Trivets were previously used in the process of cooking (suspending cooking pots over a fire), but now they are mainly used after cooking is complete (protecting surfaces and hands from the bottoms of scalding pans). Because today's ovens come fully equipped with metal racks to place dishes on, three-legged trivets are certainly outdated in 21st century cooking. However, outdoor grills are a close relative to the original trivet.  

Why is the trivet located in the Farm House Museum so special? The proverb "Waste Not, Want Not" is carved into it. This exact saying was first recorded in 1772, but the earlier "Willful waste makes woeful want" can be traced back to 1576. Both versions suggest that wastefulness leads to wanting, a state of being that pioneer families as well as Farm House residents knew all too well, especially in regards to preparing food.

With large families, multiple students, and frequent visitors inhabiting Farm House year-round, cooking and dining was costly and demanding. Mary Welch, wife of Iowa State University's first president, Adonijah Welch, was instrumental in developing efficient cooking procedures. These are noted in Mrs. Welch's Cookbook, which you can see on display at Farm House Museum! Many modern cookbooks, food network programs, and culinary blogs have been influenced by the "Waste Not, Want Not" wisdom.

Come find Farm House Museum's lovely "Waste Not, Want Not" trivet in the old kitchen today! We are open Monday-Friday, 12-4 PM.