Thumb Octagon Barn Agricultural Museum

06/20/2026

Our annual Teamwork and Timbers project is fast approaching. This project teaches the skill of timber framing and teamwork. Boys and girls ages 9-12 are welcome to participate. The class is limited to the first 20 children registering. Please contact Rose Putnam at 989-444-9574 to get the registration forms.

06/19/2026

Tea Party at the Purdy House!

06/13/2026

Thumb Electric Co-operative held its annual meeting at the Thumb Octagon Barn on Thursday, June 11, 2026. The meeting was held at the Munro Building on site. Mike Cleland from Ubly greeted us and showed us where to park. Jonathan Findlay, President, conducted the meeting and gave many great facts about the current state of the company. Brad Essenmacher, General Manager, then gave some updates on the many changes. Clint Sidel, Broadband & Engineer Manager is visiting with Paul Deo. Tours were held following the luncheon in the Octagon Barn for TEC members. It was a beautiful, sunny day.

06/08/2026

Sunday, June 7, 2026, was a special day at the Thumb Octagon Barn. We held our annual Volunteer Dinner and Auction. Over 200 volunteers were treated to a buffet luncheon, which was catered by K& K Catering of Sebewaing. The food was great. Several volunteers also made great homemade desserts. We thank Joan Koch and Dennis Anderson for chairing this event. We would also like to thank Marty and Dave Ostentoski for volunteering their time as auctioneers. A special guest arrived from California, who made and donated a queen-sized quilt. There were many other opportunities to win prizes and a 50/50 raffle. Thank you to all those that donated items to make this a very successful fundraising event. Fun was had my all.

06/02/2026

This past Saturday, May 30, 2026, the Saginaw Catholic Diocese held a rural mass at the Thumb Octagon Barn with Bishop Robert Gruss officiating. Altar servers were Kristopher Guza and Isaac Guza from the St. Hubert Parish in Bad Axe. Martin Kubacki from Ubly helped organize volunteers and also served as an usher. The Caro Knights of Columbus served a luncheon following the ceremony. It was a beautiful, sunny day.

05/25/2026

A Car Club came to visit the barn!

05/16/2026

A few more photos from School Tours 2026. We would like to thank the Michigan Corn Growers Association for sending Scott Piggott and Olivia Hall from their Lansing office to tell the story of "Corn Products". The students also enjoyed playing the "Corn Hole" game. Thank you to ALL of our volunteers who made this a very successful event through the cold and rain and sun and fun!

05/15/2026

05/15/2026

Second set of photos of the second day of School Tours!

05/15/2026

Second day for school tours, this is the first set of pictures for this day, would only let me load 60 at a time. Keep watch for more!