The town of Traer will be recognizing a former Secretary of Agriculture who lived in the Tama County town a century ago. The first ever Tama Jim Wilson Festival is set for this Sunday. Tama Jim Wilson was born in Scotland and settled in north Tama County in the 1850s. He served six years in the Iowa House of Representatives and three terms in the U.S. House. Yvette Berner of the Traer Museum Board says much of his later life was dedicated to agriculture.Wilson was first appointed Secretary of Agriculture under President William McKinnley in 1897.In addition, Wilson was a writer for many agricultural magazines and helped re-establish the Morgan breed of horses. Sunday’s festival is set to coincide with the annual Wilson family reunion.
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