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When Kody Durham was a small boy, his grandfather had a collection of barbed wire. "When I was growing up, I never could understand why he collected those 18-inch rusty wires," Durham said.
This year, when it was time to choose his History Day topic, this Seneca High School sophomore had three topics in mind: trains, the revolver, and barbed wire. He selected barbed wire as his topic, and in April placed second at the Missouri National History Day contest in Columbia.
Durham had more to say about his topic. "My family has a large ranch in the Oklahoma Panhandle...I have miles and miles of fencing experience," he explained, adding, "Building fence builds character."
Now, with his win at the state level, he is eligible to compete in national competition at the University of Maryland, (College Park) on June 13-17. Only two "Senior Individual Exhibits" qualified from the Columbia event. Besides Durham, his classmate Courtney Scott qualified and will also be heading to Maryland and national competition.
Durham's ranch experience and his rural life in Newton County gave him an interest in ranching and farming. Last year, his topic for the History Day Contest was "John Deere—the Man—the Inventor."
This year's History Day entry includes a display of barbed wire and written material. The exhibit is entitled "From the Prairie to the Battle Field. Barbed Wire, an Innovation in History."
As expected, part of his display deals with the invention of barbed wire which was patented in 1874, by Joseph Glidden. Early on, there were several disputes about the barbed wire patent, but Glidden and his company prevailed. Glidden had established the Barb Fence Company in Dekalb, Illinois.
For Glidden, buying a large ranch in Texas and fencing it to show the value of barbed wire proved to be the launching platform into the world of ranching. When Glidden died in 1906, he was one of the richest men in the United States.
Over 3000 patents of various designs and varieties of barbed wire have come and gone over the years. The latest barbed wire patent was issued in 2001. For farmers and ranchers today, barbed wire is a basic part of most animal operations.
In his History Day research, Durham also discovered that barbed wire was and continues to be on the battlefields of the world and is used for security purposes everywhere. He said it may have reached its war zone peak in World War I, mostly in the trench wars of Europe.
When Kody Durham was a small boy, his grandfather had a collection of barbed wire. "When I was growing up, I never could understand why he collected those 18-inch rusty wires," Durham said.
This year, when it was time to choose his History Day topic, this Seneca High School sophomore had three topics in mind: trains, the revolver, and barbed wire. He selected barbed wire as his topic, and in April placed second at the Missouri National History Day contest in Columbia.
Durham had more to say about his topic. "My family has a large ranch in the Oklahoma Panhandle...I have miles and miles of fencing experience," he explained, adding, "Building fence builds character."
Now, with his win at the state level, he is eligible to compete in national competition at the University of Maryland, (College Park) on June 13-17. Only two "Senior Individual Exhibits" qualified from the Columbia event. Besides Durham, his classmate Courtney Scott qualified and will also be heading to Maryland and national competition.
Durham's ranch experience and his rural life in Newton County gave him an interest in ranching and farming. Last year, his topic for the History Day Contest was "John Deere—the Man—the Inventor."
This year's History Day entry includes a display of barbed wire and written material. The exhibit is entitled "From the Prairie to the Battle Field. Barbed Wire, an Innovation in History."
As expected, part of his display deals with the invention of barbed wire which was patented in 1874, by Joseph Glidden. Early on, there were several disputes about the barbed wire patent, but Glidden and his company prevailed. Glidden had established the Barb Fence Company in Dekalb, Illinois.
For Glidden, buying a large ranch in Texas and fencing it to show the value of barbed wire proved to be the launching platform into the world of ranching. When Glidden died in 1906, he was one of the richest men in the United States.
Over 3000 patents of various designs and varieties of barbed wire have come and gone over the years. The latest barbed wire patent was issued in 2001. For farmers and ranchers today, barbed wire is a basic part of most animal operations.
In his History Day research, Durham also discovered that barbed wire was and continues to be on the battlefields of the world and is used for security purposes everywhere. He said it may have reached its war zone peak in World War I, mostly in the trench wars of Europe.
Durham's personal favorite barbed wire is "Reynold's Necktie," which was patented in 1878. It has a single main wire with the barbs bent in the shape of a man's tie twisted around it.
Before going off to national competition, Kody Durham is working to improve his barbed wire display and improve the bibliography of his written material. In his original research, he found his best sources of information at the Pittsburg State University Library.
In his upgrade, Durham will convert the background of his display board to wood instead of the cardboard he used in the state contest. He and classmate Courtney Scott will also be involved in some fund raisers to get enough money for the trip to "The National."
With all these events, it is easy to understand why Kody Durham simply says, "I really like barbed wire," when asked about his accomplishments.
Another aspect of this project Durham may have never expected is that he is following in his grandfather's footsteps, collecting pieces of rusty barbed wire.
