Most rural Americans never knew Calvin Beale, but he knew rural America.
Beale, who died earlier this month at age 85, was a rural demographer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one federal bureaucrat among the millions who help administer the country. He was on the job in two federal agencies for more than 61 years, around a quarter of the history of the United States.
Wisconsin was close to his heart – he received a master’s degree in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It was in the state, mid-1950s, where he became involved in a controversy over a survey of farmers. Beale said the survey showed the number of farms was dwindling, and he included the information in a published report. A senior official attempted to quash the document, he said.