Pioneer Days Schoolhouse
Pioneer Days lets visitors explore 19th century Illinois. On this interactive tour, visitors can stop by a replica schoolhouse, blacksmith shop and more as they learn about the day-to-day life on the homestead.
Taking a step back
Most tours start at the replica schoolhouse. On this September Sunday, Tom Miller is dressed in more traditional 19th century clothing and is standing outside of the replica schoolhouse. He welcomes visitors to take a seat on a bench inside of the school. He starts off by asking the group how the schoolhouse was different from schools they attended.
Miller then goes on to talk about some of the nuance of the 19th century education system. Boys and girls would each sit on opposite sides of the classroom. Classes could have up to 45 students and one teacher, depending on how many families lived in the area. Teachers would often live with one of the student’s family
“How would you like to have your teacher live with your?” Miller asked the group.
For almost 14 years, the Peoria Park District has offered “Pioneer Days” on Sundays from May through October. Visitors of Pioneer Days get a glimpse into daily life on the homestead in 19th century Illinois. Visitors to Sommer Park in Edwards, Ill. can get a tour of a schoolhouse, a graveyard, a homstead and can take a trip to the blacksmith.
Tom Miller is the facility manager at Sommer Park. He helps run Pioneer Days not only on Sundays, but also during the week.
“I do this for schools during the week. We spend a half hour at each station,” Miller said. “We get different schools almost every day. They come from as far away as Mason County, some from Bloomington-Normal, some from Fulton County.”
Miller says that besides just giving information, he tries to incorporate other learning aspects to the tours he gives to the schools. He gave the example of asking the students to figure out how many candles a day one family would need, and then how many a family would need for a whole week. Miller also gives some homework to the teachers to do as well.
“I’ll ask the teachers, ‘where are your grandparents buried? Ok, do you know where your great grandparents were buried?’” Miller said.
Miller says that his favorite part about working Pioneer Days is the international people that visit on occasion. He said that Caterpillar Inc. sometimes brings visitors to the event, and that these visitors are oftentimes people who would have no other exposure to this type of history. Miller likes that Pioneer Days offers visitors a chance to learn the actual history of the time period instead of just hearing stories.
Outside of the foreign visitors, Miller likes that Pioneer Days may be someone’s “first exposure to the Peoria Park District and it’s a good thing.”
Behind the schoolhouse, there’s a graveyard that started in 1850. It has about 35 headstones for the people buried in it, ranging from infants to adults.
Further down from the graveyard, there’s a homestead and a barn that visitors can walk through. In the wooden homestead, Jerrie Ruck is dressed in traditional female attire and is there to talk with visitors about day-to-day life for children. Ruck, who has been a volunteer at Pioneer Days for over eight years, mentions how children had no toys and had to make their own, and how most clothing was hand-me-downs.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without,” was the motto Ruck said most 19th century families lived by.
In the nearby barn, there was a volunteer showing off a variety of different tools and what they were often used for. Most of the tools used were axes for cutting wood and various farming equipment
The last stop on the tour was at the blacksmith shop. Tony Klein, the blacksmith, does actual forging and metalworking each Sunday as visitors pass through. Klein taught himself some of the basics of being a blacksmith through Google Books and also through attending blacksmith workshops
Klein creates a variety of objects to showcase his skills. He recently completed a six foot chain that took him about 30 hours total to complete, which includes him stopping to talk with visitors. He also creates things such as ornamental hooks and candle holders.
Klein enjoys Pioneer Days because of everyone he works with.
“All of the other people here, outside of two park workers, are volunteers. We’ve got our own little social group,” Klein said.
On this particular Sunday the theme for Pioneer Days was “barn dance.” To go with the theme, there was live music being played in front of the homestead. Here is a slideshow of pictures from Pioneer Days, along with part of a song the “Sons of Temperance” played for visitors.
http://youtu.be/L2UHuANPHy8