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News from Garfield Farm |
Escape The Pressures & Crowds with a Day on the Farm - Harvest Days Oct. 7
With the rapid pace of modern life and
no time to decompress, let Harvest Days at Garfield Farm Museum come to
the rescue and remind one what life is all about on Sunday, October 7
from 11:30 am - 4 pm.
Harvest Days is a great time to bring
family and friends together in a non-commercial setting amongst the
beautiful rolling hills and fields of the 370 acre Garfield Farm
Museum. Harvest Days features a different pace of life when the steady
plodding of oxen set the tempo and the sun over head, not a cell phone
LCD, dictated the change of the hour. By demonstrating the skills of
housekeeping and farming of over 160 years ago, Harvest Days slows life
down enough to notice simple realities of life that we jaded adults
overlook but are reminded by the wondrous eyes of children.
Harvest Days recall what it took to shape and
build this country that present day Americans need to understand in
these uncertain times. A bounty of food produced by the rich prairie
soils and a government by the people allowing for private property
ownership, sustains this democracy like none other in the world.
Standing amongst the tall prairie grasses at the farm that so enriched
our soil, gives new respect to something as simple as a plant.
The tedious but rhythmic labor of flailing and
winnowing the tiny grains of wheat, tied life so much more closely to
the seasons, that complex machines, refrigeration and mass
transportation have since severed. Today we must work at recognizing
these simple realities and Harvest Days sheds such light for all to see
as volunteers shock corn, press cider or harvest the garden.
Garfield Farm Museum’s goal to portray a
historically intact 1840s working farm with the help of donors and
volunteers nationwide, has maintained a true farm setting few can
offer. The neat even suburban look of manicured lawns and roadsides on
today?s farms contrasts the grazed grounds of Garfield with random
tufts of less palatable plants the sheep ignore and the bare patches of
dirt scratched clean by truly free ranging chickens.
Entertainment demanded a patience to listen to
an oft told tale that’s outcome was not so much the fun as the
way the tale was told. Reid Miller, teller of tall tales, captures the
essence of this art in his performances throughout the day. As he
resurrects “Ol’ Dry Fry” and that boy Jack, always in
need of a lesson, Miller spins his tales as deftly as the wool spun by
the volunteers demonstrating on the spinning wheel.
A Farmer’s Market of baked goods and
fall produce offers a taste of this elusive era to take home. Inglenook
Pantry of Geneva, IL will offer refreshments and food so a full
afternoon can be spent leisurely taking in what our ancestors once
lived.
Begun in 1982, Harvests Days originally known
as the Fall Festival, is the museum’s oldest fundraising event
and was the first to hint of the future of the farm portraying
activities of the 1840s.Tours of the 1846 brick tavern will be ongoing
throughout the day. There is a $6 donation for adults, $3 for children
12 years old and under. Organized youth groups are $4 each. For
information call 630 584-8485 or email info@garfieldfarm.org. Garfield
Farm Msueum is located 5 miles west of Geneva, IL off ILL Rt. 38 on
Garfield Road.