The last field trip that I organized for our Homeschool group before I got let go for wearing everybody out, took place on a very sunny, early November day. We drove to Staunton to visit the Frontier Culture Museum.This is another one of my favorite kinds of attractions- Living History. This museum interprets the everyday life of early settlers of the Shenandoah Valley.
Their newest exhibit is a replica of the African Village that they believe was the home of many of the enslaved people who helped to settle this Valley. Our guide said that he had actually been to Africa and saw these huts before they built them out of mud here.
The African people grew yams, which were like atomic "'sweet potatoes". The kids took turns digging up and mounding a hill for their yams.
This museum is spread out over a great many acres. At one point, everyone walked as if they had been rounded up and taken from their village to a ship. There was no disrespect meant at all. It was a way to have the kids think about what that might have felt like to live through that.
This place has about 6 different "farms" and homes set up. One is a representation of how the German immigrants lived , another the Irish.They have one American Farm from 1820 and another from later in the nineteenth century.
This is a "schoolteacher" about to lead us up to the one-room schoolhouse on the hill behind him.
We sat on benches with slates. The girls on one side,
and the boys on the other. He lectured on what a typical school day was like and even gave the kids a few problems to do!
One of the best parts of our tour was the American farm where we discussed the foods the early Valley settlers ate and how they obtained, stored and cooked them. This sweet lady had a fire going and allowed the kids to make donuts.
This cast iron frying pan on three legs sat over hot banked coals to heat up the lard for cooking.
In the room behind the fireplace was this beautiful quilt on a very large frame.
Upstairs was the bedroom with quilted bedding and a pullout trundle bed.
The fall foliage was still in evidence as we picnicked on the grounds before driving home.
These pictures were in my camera when I dropped it on the pavement, voiding my warranty. I thought long and hard before buying another one, asking myself if I really needed one. I decided that for the amount of enjoyment I had received from the last one, it would be worth spending the money on another!
