Explore Your Creativity on Sat. July 18

Take time to be inspired this summer during the annual Explore the Crafts Event at Sauder Village. On Saturday, July 18 guests will be encouraged to try pottery, drawing, embroidery, weaving, broom making, tinsmithing, printing and more while exploring the crafts at Ohio’s largest living-history destination!

“Our Explore the Crafts event offers guests a greater appreciation of the talented craftsmen that work each day at Sauder Village,” shared Kim Krieger, PR/Media Relations. “This popular day is filled with inspiration and creativity and provides great memories for all involved.”

During this fun-filled event, craftsmen will share their talents while allowing guests to explore their own creativity.  Visitors may want to try pottery, making wooden tops, mini decorative brooms, felt balls, wooden beaded necklaces, and tussie mussies. Some of the other hands-on activities planned for this event include assembling a wooden bucket, making a tin icicle ornament, spinning, weaving and embroidery. Guests participate in drawing activities, stamp bookmarks in the Print Shop and make a God’s eye ornament in the Basket Shop.

 

Families Invited to Celebrate Spring on the Farm

Families from throughout the region will be celebrating “Spring on the Farm” on Saturday, May 9 at Sauder Village. The first in the series of farm days, Spring on the Farm offers families the opportunity to try hands-on activities, watch unique demonstrations, enjoy stories and special music to experience life on an Ohio farm more than 100 years ago.

 

 “With fun activities like making butter, shelling beans, gathering eggs and meeting baby animals, Spring on the Farm continues to be one of our most popular events for families to enjoy,” shared Kim Krieger, Media Relations. “Our Farm Day series is a wonderful opportunity for families to experience how life on the farm changes with the seasons. We encourage families to join us this spring and then come back for Summer on the Farm on July 11, Fall on the Farm on October 10 and the new Preparing the Farm for Winter event on October 24.”

 

During Spring on the Farm guests can watch sheep shearing demonstrations and there will be new baby animals to visit in the barns. In the historic homes guests can wash dandelion greens, churn butter, grate horseradish, make noodles and wash clothes. Guests can help with spring cleaning in the homes by washing windows, beating rugs and hanging clothes on the line to dry. Other hands-on activities include shelling beans, making rope, cleaning gourds, collecting sunflower seeds and playing old-fashioned games. Throughout the day there will be soap making demonstrations and costumed guides will be preparing squash soup, breads and other historic recipes in the homes.

Performances by special guest Bob Ford are also a traditional part of this family event. A folk musician from Cedarville, Ohio, Bob Ford has been a recognized performer in the Historic Village for many years. Bob brings history to life through songs and stories. Weather permitting he will perform at 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. A special book signing will also take place as part of the Spring on the Farm event. Local author Keri Aeschliman will be signing her novel In Paths of Righteousness from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. in the Welcome Center lobby.

 

For more information about Spring on the Farm or other events planned for the 2015 season at Sauder Village, call 800-590-9755, visit www.saudervillage.org 

 

 

 

National Volunteer Week – Sauder Village Invites You to Get Involved!

National Volunteer Week, April 12-18, is about inspiring, recognizing and encouraging people to seek out imaginative ways to engage in their communities. Sauder Village volunteers are an essential part of the success of Ohio’s largest living history destination and even more people are encouraged to get involved this season!

“Operating non-profit Sauder Village is a labor-intensive undertaking,” shared Kim Krieger, PR/Media Relations. “Volunteer involvement helps us to keep Sauder Village viable and affordable for guests who visit from throughout the region and around the world. Again this season we are looking for additional volunteer help. Whether you want to interact with visitors in the Historic Village, help with hands-on activities or work behind the scenes – each job serves an important function that helps us keep the Sauder Village mission alive.”

Every year many youth and adult volunteers share their time and talents at Sauder Village. There are opportunities for all ages and skill levels to get involved – from youth, adults and families to school, church, scout, or 4-H groups. Some of the unique volunteer opportunities at Sauder Village include helping in the Historic Village as a costumed guide or craftsman, working in the gardens, or helping with special events. Volunteers can also assist in our education, curatorial, administrative, marketing or maintenance departments. Many volunteers also help as a clerk in the retail areas or by quilting, frosting cookies, greeting guests and so much more!

“National Volunteer Week is an opportune time for us to remind people about the importance of getting involved in your community,” Krieger added. “During National Volunteer Week we encourage people to explore the many volunteer opportunities available at Sauder Village.”

National Volunteer Week, a program of Points of Light, was established in 1974 and has grown exponentially year, with thousands of volunteer projects and special events scheduled throughout the week across the country.  National Volunteer Week is about taking action and encouraging individuals and their respective communities to be at the center of social change – discovering and actively demonstrating their collective power to make a difference.

For more information on how to get involved and share your time and talents at Sauder Village contact Sheri Friesner, volunteer coordinator, at 419.446.2541 or sheri.friesner@saudervillage.org

 

 

Heritage Shop Workday Planned on March 10

Attention all knitters, quilters, woodworkers, basket makers, rug hookers (or anyone who is creative or just wants to have fun!!) We are currently seeking creative people to help make handcrafted items for our Heritage Shop at Sauder Village.

Interested in getting involved? Join us on Tuesday, March10 for an opportunity to help make items for the shop and have fellowship with others who like to be creative!

A variety of projects will be available for people to help with from 1 – 4 p.m. in the Village Café.  The Heritage Shop Workday will give knitters an opportunity to make hats and headbands. Worsted weight yarn and a pattern will be available for people to use – just bring a size 8 – 17 inch Circular Needles and Size 8 Double Pointed Needles. If you are not a knitter there are still opportunities to get involved as another creative project will also be available.

The Heritage Shop features handmade exclusives made by friends of Sauder Village. Located in the lobby of the Welcome Center, all merchandise in the Heritage Shop is handcrafted and donated by people who care about the cultural and educational mission of Sauder Village. Items donated to the Heritage Shop are unique and go through a juried selection process. Donated items have been quilted, carved, painted, knitted, crocheted, hooked, woven, mixed media or fashioned in some other traditional method. Modern interpretations of traditional crafts are welcome and encouraged.

The Heritage Shop has been an excellent way for people to help support the mission of Sauder Village – either by donating a handcrafted item or by making a purchase from the shop. As a 501c3 non-profit organization, Sauder Village depends on gifts of time, talent and finances to help sustain our mission. Donating a handcrafted item to the Heritage Shop or participating in the Heritage Shop Workday are great ways to help support our efforts to keep costumed interpreters in our historic buildings, develop school programs, create new exhibits and provide hands-on demonstrations for guests to enjoy.

Interested in attending the Heritage Shop Workday or have an item you would like to donate to the shop? Contact Debbi Russell at 800.590.9755 or e-mail her at drussell@saudervillage.org

Want to learn more about the importance of supporting non-profit Sauder Village? View this short video featuring Maynard and Myrl Sauder about the community’s role in supporting non-profit Sauder Village. We hope you'll get involved!

 

 

Remodeling This Old House

What’s happening to the Grime Homestead at the Village?

Work has started on the Grime Homestead - the first phase in the expansion of our historic timeline into the 1920s. We are proceeding with upgrades to the home that include new siding, replacement of windows and doors, installation of a new heating/cooling system, new perimeter drainage and the addition of an ADA accessible ramp.  We are also restoring the interior plaster work, woodwork, chimney, and will be redecorating the house based on paint and wallpaper found during the renovation project.

Once construction is finished we will furnish the home to the 1920s period based on oral histories from family members and other contemporary local residents. The changes to the interior of the Grime Homestead will help illustrate the beginning of modern times.  The research into the Grime family, and other rural families in our region during that time period, show that they are accepting some modern technologies, while still clinging to some of the old ways.  The house will have a whole new look, and lots of new stories about the move into the modern age.  We plan to open this new exhibit this spring.

A bit of Grime Homestead History . . .
The Grime Homestead was built by Pierre Henri (Peter Henri better known as Henry) Grime (1832-1915) in 1860 for his new wife Adeline Felice Druhot (1842-1936).  Henry was the son of John Peter Grime (1789-1885) who immigrated with his wife, Francoise Flory (1810-1876) and six children in 1843 from the Alsace Lorraine area of France.  Adeline was the daughter of Jean C. E. and Elinora Eulilia (Bollett) Druhot.  Henry and Adeline had nine sons, of whom two died in childhood.  They sold their farm to their fourth son, Gustave Grime (1869-1943). In 1894 he married Amelia Anna Kretz (1874-1953) the daughter of Joseph and Anna Catherine (Griewald) Kretz.  They had one daughter Ethel Adeline who married Floyd Edwin Dominique in 1911.  The family was French Catholic and attended St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Archbold. 
 
The Grime Homestead was built in the Georgian style in 1860 and added onto in the T pattern about 1875-1880.  It originally sat further from the road and was moved to its current location around 1910 and placed on a basement when Gust purchased the farm from his parents. The original front porch added during the expanse in the late 1800s was enclosed at some point prior to its move in the teens and a new porch was added to the front.   

 

 

 

 

 

National Pie Day – A Delicious Holiday!

No matter how you cut it, pies are a great reason to celebrate on a cold winter day! Whether you love apple, peach, pumpkin or peanut butter – take time to celebrate the wholesome goodness of pie on National Pie Day – Friday, January 23.

A Taste of Pie History . . .

Historians trace the origin of pie to the Greeks who are thought to be the originators of the pastry shell. The early pies were predominately meat pies and the crust of the pie was often referred to as “coffyn”. Pies came to America with the first English settlers with the early colonists cooking their pies in long narrow pans. As in the Roman times, the early American pie crusts often were not eaten, but simply designed to hold the filling during baking. Pioneer women often served pies with every meal and with food at the heart of gatherings and celebrations, pie quickly moved to the forefront of contests at county fairs, picnics, and other social events. Through the years, pie has evolved to become a very traditional dessert and a unique part of the American culture.

Ways to Celebrate . . .

• Celebrate with us at Sauder Village! The Doughbox Bakery will be offering a deal of $1.00 off pies and free samples throughout the day, while supplies last. We’re also offering $1.00 off a slice of pie with any meal purchase at the Barn Restaurant on Jan. 23.
• Make a your own pie! Make special memories with your children or grandkids by baking a pie together (the Doughbox Bakery even sells homemade pie crust for you to bake in your own kitchen!).
• Try a new (or old!) pie recipe. Look through your cookbooks to find a new recipe or try one of these historic recipes we often prepare throughout the season in the Village.

Buttermilk Pie
(recipe from the Buckeye Cookery, published 1877)

½ heaping cup sugar

2 eggs

¼ cup butter, softened

¾ cup buttermilk

1 apple, thinly sliced

grated nutmeg

Beat together the sugar and eggs. Add butter and beat thoroughly. Add the buttermilk and mix thoroughly. Line the pie tin with crust (see pie crust recipe below). Lay apple slices on crust. Fill the crust with the mixture. Add a little nutmeg on top as garnish if desired and bake with no upper crust. Bake at 350 degrees about 45 minutes until set.

Simple Pie Crust

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup shortening

½ cup water

In a large bowl combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water until mixture forms a ball. Divide dough in half and shape into balls. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Roll out dough on floured counter. (Don’t over work it.) Use as directed in your pie recipe.