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Viewing the World Through Chicken Goggles

JL;DR SUMMARY At the National Museum of American Jewish History, the "Locally Grown: Jersey's Jewish Farms" exhibit sheds light on the rich history of Jewish farming communities in New Jersey and beyond. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish ImmigrationNew JerseyPogromsJewish FarmersNational Museum Of American Jewish HistoryJewish FarmsMeg O'dayAm OlamChicken GogglesRachel Calof

Places mentioned

Vineland, New Jersey, United States
"an award-winning hen from 1956-1957 who is stuffed and presiding over a public installation in the lobby of the National Museum of American Jewish History is less clear. Meg was a leghorn from Gus Sterns New Jersey farm who won a contest for laying an egg a day at his Vineland farm"
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
"Locally Grown: Jerseys Jewish Farms the summer installation at NMAJH in Philadelphia."
Devils Lake, North Dakota, United States
"For example some, like Rachel Bella Kahn (better known as Rachel Calof because of her 1936 memoir under her married name) ended up digging the dirt in North Dakota (Calof, specifically, arrived at the alluringly named Devils Lake)"
Argentina
"using Russian science and New World soil, Jewish farmers in Argentina were able to grow sunflowers as a crop for the first time."
Louisiana, United States
"the first Am Olam settlement was in an old plantation in Louisiana"
Doylestown, Pennsylvania, United States
"In 1896 Rabbi Joseph Krauskopf, a Reform rabbi fresh from a trip to Europe founded the National Farm School in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, with the intention of teaching practical skills to young Jewish men"
Utah, United States
"Many remote locations like Clarion, Utah, and Cotopaxi, Colorado, failed, but New Jersey, by and large, succeeded."
Colorado, United States
"Many remote locations like Clarion, Utah, and Cotopaxi, Colorado, failed, but New Jersey, by and large, succeeded."

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Cairo Item ID 68380
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Retrieved 2025-11-25 05:31:48 UTC
Curated 2025-11-25 08:32:00 UTC