AMIA Spring 2021

The Flying Farmers films are a time capsule. In 1944, the Oklahoma Flying Farmers organization was envisioned and born in Stillwater, OK. The Flying Farmers had a direct impact on agricultural communities, where farmers and ranchers across the United States envisioned how airplanes could be of great practical value to them. Ultimately, the organization became international in scope and is known today as the International Flying Farmers. With support of the National Film Preservation Foundation, the Oklahoma State University (OSU) Archives was able to preserve these unique nitrate films and make them available online. This presentation will give a snapshot of how OSU successfully completed the grant project in order to showcase the story of the life of farmers and their families using airplanes as part of their farming operations in the 1940s.