Information Sheet

 

 

R         Poirot, Eugene M.

385                  Papers, 1923‑1989.

                                    231 folders.

 

NOTE: THIS COLLECTION IS IN OFF-CAMPUS STORAGE. AT LEAST TWO DAYS' ADVANCE NOTICE IS REQUIRED FOR RESEARCH USE.

 

 

These are papers of a farmer and environmentalist of Lawrence County, Missouri.  Topics in­clude agriculture, fish-culture, soil conservation, and farm legislation.  Included are family pa­pers, correspondence, writings, speeches, photographs, and motion pictures on videocassette.  In part, on microfilm.

 

Eugene Marcel “Gene” Poirot was born in Belleville, Illinois, on 1 August 1899, the son of Severin and Susanna (Gundlach) Poirot.  He earned a degree in agriculture from the Univer­sity of Il­linois in 1922, and soon thereafter took over a farm in northwestern Lawrence County, Mis­souri.  Through hard work and innovative techniques Gene Poirot remade the farm from a worn‑out and dusty prairie into a productive showpiece, becoming nationally known for his ac­tivities.  Poirot died on 6 June 1988.

 

Gene Poirot had a wide‑ranging and inquisitive mind. He was an early advocate of envi­ronmentally‑sound agricultural practices.  Working in conjunction with the University of Mis­souri College of Agriculture he developed a method for the production of an “artificial ma­nure,” and then successfully defended his process against a patent‑infringement suit.  He was a pioneer in the use of Korean lespedeza and other legumes for the replenishment of depleted soils, con­ducting re­search in this area in collaboration with Prof. William A. Albrecht, a soil scientist at the University of Missouri College of Agriculture.

 

Poirot hosted many “field meetings” at his farm, promoting his innovations in irrigation, cat­tle nutrition, and conservation.  In the 1930s these meetings attracted crowds of several thou­sand on a single day.  Later in his career, using ponds constructed for irrigation and con­serva­tion, Poirot became interested in fish‑culture.  He designed, patented, fabricated, and marketed automatic fish feeders and fish harvesters through his family firm, Poirot Farm In­dustries [PFI].

 

Poirot led an active public life.  He was interested in farm legislation, and he worked, es­pe­cially with U.S. Representative Durward G. Hall (R‑Mo), to see his ideas translated into govern­mental policy.  Poirot was a popular and effective lecturer, and he contributed articles to many pe­riodicals.  He wrote two books, Our Margin of Life, which presented his views on agriculture and the environment, and a reflective memoir, Permission to Life.

 

The collection is organized into five major categories: BUSINESS, which includes his work on artificial manure and fish‑culture; GOVERNMENT, which deals mostly with pro­posed farm legislation; MISCELLANEOUS; PERSONAL, which includes correspondence with his father and Prof. Albrecht; and WRITINGS, which consist mostly of notes and texts for speeches, drafts of ar­ticles, correspondence dealing with Our Margin of Life, and a VHS vide­ocassette of two mo­tion pictures made about Poirot, his ideas, and his work.  Some folders of routine business corre­spon­dence and invoices in the BUSINESS section dealing with PFI have been recorded on micro­film, and the original items discarded.

 

 

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