APA Celebrates 150 years!

A year to honor years of leadership

“It’s going to be a year-long event,” said John Monaco, former American Poultry Association president, commemorating the founding of the APA. “We want to get as many members involved as possible.”

150th Anniversary Shows

The Annual Meet will be held in Columbus Ohio on November 10-12, 2023, hosted by Ohio Poultry Breeders. The Semi-Annual Meet will be at the Pacific Poultry Breeders, January 27-29, 2023 in Lodi, California. The Canadian National Show will be held at Ontario Poultry Breeders on October 21-22, 2023 in Grassie, Ontario.

Every exhibitor at these three shows will get a special commemorative pin. Another pin will be given as a show award.

Members who celebrated the 100th anniversary in 1973 are invited to an anniversary banquet as honored guests. They include Bob Vaughn; Mike Stichler; Dave Anderson; Bill Wulff; Mark Peterson; Clell Agler; Danny Padgett; Bill Patterson; Dick Horstman; and Tim Bowles.

“We’re sort of old fashioned, but we know that we have to bring the organization into the modern age. We need to think to the future, but remember the past.” Mr. Monaco said “There’s a lot of history here that we can’t forget, but we also have to know that we are in a different era.”

About APA history

A book on the organization’s history will be given to every exhibitor. Mark Fields, who had gathered many historical materials, originally intended to compile the book.

He created and archived documents on the APA History website, Access to these original documents and Proceedings of APA meetings is invaluable. The interplay of personalities and rivalries plays out in their pages.

After the success of Downton Abbey, Hollywood producers should base a series on these Poultry Chronicles.

His untimely death in 2021 left the organization with this unfinished project. Mr. Monaco approached me to take it on.

Writing the APA’s history drew me back into the heady days of post-Civil War American agriculture, and the dedicated poultry breeders who were determined to raise standards.

I read of their struggles after the turn of the 20th century to manage technology and personalities in service of the highest poultry standards.

Closer to my own life, APA leaders sought the role of exhibition poultry in the industrial era. Leaders who lived through those times shared their stories with me.

Poultry, and its advocates for excellence, even perfection, mark this anniversary with pride. It’s a privilege to be its scribe.

Illustrating the Standard

Mr. Monaco counts the publication of the full color Standard as one of the signal accomplishments of the 20th century. Getting illustrations right was a long process.

The 1910 Standard was the first with color plates, but APA members were outraged at the poor quality.

The printers, Murray & Emery, lacking expert poultry knowledge, had made changes to the artists’ work, without consulting with them or the Standard committee. The results were botched, and worse, inaccurate.

Schilling Cartoon 1915 Amer Poultry World

The printer denied making any changes, although they showed obvious signs of being changed. Eventually, Mr. A.N. Murray, president of the printing company, met with the committee. He explained that Sewell’s missing Barred Plymouth Rock male drawing that was so changed was found—under the Dominque picture.

Despite the uproar, most purchasers didn’t bother to turn in their Standards for the new, revised edition.

“The popular view was that the faults of the first printing were technical rather than material. and that as they were limited to the Illustrations It was hardly worthwhile for owners of the first printing to take the trouble to exchange their copies,” Mr. Robinson wrote in his 1923 review.

The five pages of color feather illustrations were more successful. They showed several different colored feathers in solid, barred, penciled, and laced patterns. Those illustrations were the APA guide until 43 years later, in the 1953 version.

Carrying the baton

Mr. Fields’ notes are invaluable. Cassandra Everly of Everly Preservation Center in Missouri is organizing his material and archiving it for future use.

From the Gilded Age through two World Wars, to the turn of the 21st Century and the Digital Age, the APA has guided its members and led the poultry world with its Standard. The people who devoted their time to holding poultry to high standards braved the winds of history. Today, the APA stands on the shoulders of giants to continue its leadership.

“The one thing that has not changed over the years is the dedication of the many members and officers that have worked endlessly for the betterment of the poultry fancy and the Association,” Mr. Monaco said. “The APA has survived the hard times and flourished in the good times but has been able to continue as an organization because of the willingness to change its course, sometimes reluctantly, when needed. By continuing in this fashion and embracing the technology of the 21st century the American Poultry Association should have a bright future.”

This article is adapted from the APA History.