Faust Park Heritage Festival

We were blessed to have company for our 3rd field trip. Brandon and Erin stayed the night on Saturday and they and Tim let us drag them to Faust Park.

We started off at the Blacksmith.



It was dark and crowded in the barn, so we watched from the other side. He showed us how he made links on a chain. It was quite the process!

Our next stop was to visit a couple of reenactors. One represented the Lewis and Clark expedition. The other represented the Civil War. They both had a table of artifacts representing those time periods. The Civil War musket was really interesting. We learned about how the bullets of those times were called "bone crushers" because they were so huge. Also, fabric from the uniforms would be lodged in with the bullets and cause infection. This is why amputation was so prevalent.

 

[caption id="attachment_2256" align="aligncenter" width="300"] North and South[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2251" align="aligncenter" width="200"] Little Drummer Boy[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_2257" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Old School[/caption]

We also visited the old School House. It was originally built in the 1840s and was moved to Faust here in the last few years. Many features are original including the blackboards! The rest are antiques from that time period. 

[caption id="attachment_2270" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Old School House[/caption]

We also visited a lady who was spinning and dying yarn.



A station where we could try our hand at quill pens. Here's Tim writing a "Dearest Martha" letter.

 

[caption id="attachment_2260" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Dearest Martha, It has been a fortnight since I last saw you...[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2252" align="aligncenter" width="200"] Gabe's letter[/caption]

Another barn was set up with wood working tools. This particular lathe was built by an Eagle Scout for his big project!

 



Ben and Luke used the cross cut saw. It took some getting used to, but once they got the rhythm down they did really well.

[caption id="attachment_2249" align="aligncenter" width="200"] Cross Cut Saw[/caption]

The boys got to shuck corn and then run it through this neat little gizmo. Then they were allowed to keep the corn cobs. They decided to use them as knives and would yell "Corn Knife!" every time they stabbed us with them. Erin was so tickled by the idea that she had to go back and make her own corn knife!

[caption id="attachment_2265" align="aligncenter" width="200"] From Corn on the Cob...[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2264" align="aligncenter" width="300"] ...to Corn Knife![/caption]

The houses and gardens were so pretty to look at. There were too many people milling around to get a good shot of the homes, but I had pictures from our last visit. All of the homes were open and artisans were set up inside demonstrating and selling their crafts. We saw hooked rugs, pottery, wood carving, jewelry, soap making, and much more. It's a good thing we didn't take any cash with us!



[caption id="attachment_2255" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Lady Scare Crow[/caption]

We really enjoyed the apple cider demo. We happened to get there just as the bucket was full enough to see him press the apple pieces into cider.

[caption id="attachment_2247" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Apple Tree[/caption]

I really want some apple trees!

There was live music and food and so many fun activities! It was well worth the small admission fee. We'll be sure to go back again in the future!