When I speak to audiences about the impact of Sears and Roebuck on rural America most audiences are acquainted with the Sears catalogs and the Sears House Kits. However, my goal is to get them to say “I didn’t know that!” and that is the response I received from the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute members when I spoke to them on September 16 about the Sears sponsored fur buying program, the livestock chains, the WLS radio station, the paying of extension agent salaries, the farmers markets, the barn kits, college scholarships for agriculture students plus much more, The image below is of the mailing label used to ship furs to Sears.
