Our country’s past isn’t very long but we’ve come a long way from our pioneer days. That time in history resonates with people enough to reminisce about it with other people, and that’s why “Pioneer Days” exists. Pioneer Days is a piece of history that anybody can go and see during the summer months (May through to October). The events happen on the last Sunday of every month at Sommer Park, and each day there is a specific theme. Today’s theme was barn dance, and on October 26th the theme will be butter churning. The events are from 1pm to 4pm and cost about $2.25 per person, for ages four and up.
A Quiet Life for a Simpler Time
The first thing you’ll see when you get to the event is the schoolhouse, which stands by itself in a clearing. The inside is very frugal, wooden benches and a few windows, with focus only on the pedestal on the far end of the room meant for the teacher. Tom Miller, Facility Manager, is talking to some children who are sitting on the benches (boys on one side, girls on the other). He’s telling them about how hard life was in the past, how some of the students would have to sleep on the benches of the schoolhouse. “My favorite part about Pioneer Days is that it’s an opportunity for foreigners to learn about the life the people of our past lived.” Tom Says, “People of German or English decent are fascinated to learn about the quality of life.”
Sommer Park has been hosting this event for the public since 2001, 13 years ago. There were about 20 or so civilians there at the time, but the number can differ drastically depending on what else is happening at the time. Last Saturday was Caterpillar family day, and so there were approximately 1500 people at the location according to Tony Klein, a volunteer blacksmith at Pioneer Days.
Down at the homestead there was a group of musicians performing some music from the time period, and around them a group of people dressed in the garb of the time were dancing and socializing with each other. Inside the house there was Jerry Ruck, a retired schoolteacher, she has been doing this for 8 or10 years. “I was born in the wrong century, I love this aspect of history and sharing it with others.” A group of children walk through the house, stopping momentarily to pick up some objects on the table. “I love telling the kids how they would spend their time; doing chores, making clothes, and learning other things that would benefit that family.” She shows the kids a chamber pot underneath the only bed in the house. “If there’s anything you should take from this, it would be this saying; ‘Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without,” She goes on later to say that we could save a lot of money in our modern world if we used such a philosophy.
The Blacksmith was a short hayride away, in a small shack relatively far away from the school and the homestead. The blacksmith, Tony, mostly does ornamental work or chains. He volunteers for the events, “Only two people who work this are actually employed by the park, the rest are all volunteers. This is a good community of people, and it’s my favorite part of being here.”
Pioneer Days isn’t the most fanciful thing you could do on a Sunday, but there are plenty of things to learn, and it’s only 3 hours long, which is time well spent. There is a lot of open space so it’s a great place to have a picnic and pretend you’re in a time that was simpler, and less hectic than the world we live in today.
Following the Path Laid Before Us
https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/pioneer-days