05/29/2026
Our Harvesting History Talk for June!
Victory Farm Volunteers
Karen Weissman, Ph.D.
Author of the forthcoming
Victory Farm Volunteers: How Teens Helped Feed America During World War II
In the summer of 1945, fourteen-year-old Sam Weissman, travelled alone from his home in the Bronx to live and work on a dairy farm in Jordan, NY for the summer. He had never met the farmer before, nor had he ever visited an active farm, let alone worked on one.
Sam belonged to a program called the Victory Farm Volunteers that recruited urban youth, both boys and girls, to help ease a serious farm-labor shortage during World War II. The shortage of workers threatened famine not only at home, but also for soldiers and allies overseas. The program began in and around New York, then spread across the country—2.5 million teens, nation-wide, helped save the crops throughout the war years.
Join us on June 18 for a talk by Dr. Karen Weissman to learn how her father, Sam, and other youth like him, helped farmers in New York and across the country during World War II.
Thursday, June 18, 2026, 6:00 pm, Admission Free
Ward O’Hara Agricultural and Country Living Museum
6880 East Lake Road Rt. 38 A, Auburn, New York
karenweissman.com
wardwoharaagriculturalmuseum.org
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