Brown Bag/Local Lore: April – Adventures in Research – exploring Jacob Haish by Jessi Haish LaRue
As part of the April Brown Bag/Local Lore program, Jessi Haish LaRue will present and discuss “new” artifacts and research related to inventor and businessman Jacob Haish.
Haish is renowned for his “S barb” patented in 1875, but he also patented and manufactured farming implements and was a banker. He left most of his fortune to the city of DeKalb, resulting in the public library and much more.
LaRue has been researching in the Joiner History Room since fall 2021 in an effort to make Haish-related items more accessible to the public and creating conversation regarding Haish’s impact.
LaRue, a Haish family descendant, is a writer who blogs about Jacob Haish at JacobHaishStory.com. The blog shares photos and articles which relate to Haish’s life. Since 2016, LaRue has been documenting her 4th great uncle’s story in an attempt to spread the story of the “underdog of barbed wire,” someone who, unlike his competitors Ellwood and Glidden, does not have a museum dedicated to his history.
Findings including objects, photos, and interesting documents that detail Haish’s busy and productive life in DeKalb.
This program is sponsored by the Mary E. Stevens Concert and Lecture Fund.