Blacksmith Jim Jessee does a demonstration for visitors to the Henry Breeding Farm last summer.
Singer Cher used to croon and yearn of turning back time.
No worries here. The Bartholomew County Historical Society specializes in it.
And from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, area residents can be a part of it. Going back to 1900s-era candle making, blacksmithing, historic games, garden activities, cast iron cooking, steam engines and alpacas all will be part of the nonprofit organization’s Free Family Fun On the Farm event.
The activities will unfold, weather permitting, at the Henry Breeding Farm, 13730 N. County Road 100W near Edinburgh.
Those events in the past have been so popular that students regularly have mentioned that the excursions to the farm have been their favorite school field trip “because of all the hands-on learning,” according to Diane Robbins.
She’s executive director of the historical society that works to help people better understand the past in order to in turn more fully understand today and the importance of heritage.
Robbins has mentioned before other such outings that attendees get a good view of how families more than a century ago had to learn to work as a unit “with a lot of hard work day in and day out” just so they could eat sufficiently.
“Everyone in the family had a specific role,” she said.
Hardship and physical challenges were common. The historical society highlights that concept with a telling quote from writer James Baldwin on its website. It reads: “You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read.”
Pre-registration is preferred. To register, please call the Bartholomew County Historical Society Museum at (812)-372-3541 send us a Facebook or Instagram message to the historical society. You can also email education manager Corey Vaughn at [email protected].
