Rug Hooking Week Highlights

For the past 14 years, rug hookers from across the country have traveled to Ohio for Sauder Village Rug Hooking Week – one of the top rug hooking events in the country. With hundreds of hooked rugs on display, workshops, lectures and special displays – 2010 Rug Hooking Week is again a spectacular celebration of this traditional craft.

Each year the “Sauder Award” is presented to the piece that best exemplifies the spirit and mission of Sauder Village. For 2010 the three-dimensional “Noah’s Ark” received this award. With an overall height of 5’ 7” and weighing more than 300 pounds, this massive project includes more than 104 individual hooked animals and people, and is sure to be an inspiration to guests of all ages. “Noah’s Ark” is one of the many spectacular pieces in the Featured Exhibit – highlighting special pieces by the late Mary Sheppard Burton and Leonard Feenann. The display is an outstanding representation of their creativity, style and advanced techniques. We’re thrilled to have Mary’s granddaughter joining us for the week to help share her grandmother’s stories along with Leonard.

From the “Celebration Rugs," Special Exhibits, Retreat Teacher Exhibits, and “Happy Holiday” Challenge Rugs to the main exhibit featuring U.S. and International works by category – it’s difficult to describe the beauty and creativity on display this week at Sauder Village. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, we’ve created a short video to give you a look inside Founder’s Hall. We’ve also found it interesting to visit this show through the eyes of a rug hooker. Gene Shepherd, one of our retreat teachers for 2010, has posted many photos and thoughts about Rug Hooking Week on his blog: http://geneshepherd.com/blog1/ We hope you’ll take a look at his site as well for a unique look at our special event.

And if you look at these photos and become “hooked”, there’s still time to join us – Sauder Village Rug Hooking week continues through Saturday, August 21st. We hope you’ll join us!

Volunteers Help Bring History Alive at Sauder Village

For long-time volunteers Jack and Vivian Taylor, time spent at Sauder Village means much more than just giving train rides or selling souvenirs in the Gift Shop. For this special couple, the time they spend together at Sauder Village is an opportunity to meet people from around the world, spend time with special co-workers, and help keep Erie Sauder’s dream alive.

“We just love it at Sauder Village,” Jack and Vivian shared. “The people are wonderful and it is great to be a part of what’s happening at Sauder Village!”

The Taylors are just one example of the hundreds of volunteers who share their time and talents each year at Sauder Village. In 2009, 340 people gave 14,422 hours of their time at Sauder Village.

While the jobs may vary, the volunteer profile remains the same . . . friendly, outgoing individuals, who enjoy working with people! There are opportunities to provide administrative support, help with collections or educational programming, work in the historic gardens or help in the Gift Shop. Volunteers also work as historic interpreters, help with historic trades, and help in the Quilt Shop.

It takes the support of many people to continue the legacy Erie started so many years ago. Volunteers play an integral role at our non-profit organization and we are thankful that so many people throughout the tri-state area share their time and talents at Sauder Village.

Interested in getting involved? Stop by the Sauder Village Welcome Center or give us a call for an application (800.590.9755). We’ll do our best to work with you and your interests to find the best volunteer opportunity for you at Sauder Village!

Become a Part of the Sauder Village Family!

As we prepare for our annual Member’s Night celebration this evening, we thought it would be appropriate to reflect on the important role members play in continuing our mission at Sauder Village.

Member support helps our non-profit organization to continue preserving and communicating the values and traditions of the early heritage of the Great Black Swamp of Northwest Ohio from 1803 through the turn of the 20th century. The Historic Village provides a unique opportunity to experience rural life and to watch skilled craftsmen at work.

Not only is a membership a great way to enjoy fun and educational experiences all year long, but by becoming a member you are joining others in supporting the preservation of the past for many generations to come. Your membership helps in so many ways, from developing valuable educational programs, to preserving precious objects no longer used in our modern lives to perpetuating fine, hand-made traditional American crafts.

Interested in learning more about how to become part of the Sauder Village family? Visit our website for more details: http://www.saudervillage.org/development/default.asp

Thanks to all of our members and we hope you’ll consider becoming a part of the Sauder Village family!

Sauder Village Craftsmen - Innovation & Inspiration

To help celebrate our “Explore the Crafts” event today and tomorrow, we’re featuring two of the talented craftsmen who share their talents and play such an important role in our guest experience. We hope you enjoy “meeting” our tinsmith and blacksmith and will be inspired to join us on Fri. July 23 and Sat. July 24 to explore your own creativity during our “Explore the Crafts” event at Sauder Village!

Mike Runyon
Starting his 15th season at Sauder Village, tinsmith Mike Runyon continues to stay busy making reproductions of 18th and 19th century tinware. To help with Pioneer Settlement, Mike did much research and made tinware for inside many of the historic homes. “I love finding old pieces and figuring out how they are made,” Mike shared. “I also love doing the research – not just on tin or a particular object, but rather research on the lives of everyday people.”

Mike enjoys the opportunity to interact with guests visiting the Historic Village. “I really enjoy the kids who come to visit – I just love their curiosity,” Mike shared. Through the years, Mike has found the most popular items in his shop to be the tin icicles for Christmas trees and the many unique cookie cutters he shapes from tin.

Early this summer Mike worked with other noted tinsmiths to plan a Tinner Convergence at Sauder Village. Tinsmiths and coppersmiths from across the country gathered in Archbold to learn historically accurate methods of tinsmithing, discover new techniques and share ideas.

During our Explore the Crafts event, guests can visit Mike in the Tin Shop to make a small tin heart cookie cutter on Friday, July 23rd!


Simon Tomell
While still a fairly new member of the Sauder Village family, blacksmith Simon Tomell has certainly gained the respect of the staff and guests. Now in his 4th season at the Village, Simon shared that he truly loves the Sauder Village environment. “I really enjoy the staff and the opportunity to work in such an authentic setting,” Simon shared.

While Simon’s day-to-day projects often include smaller items like candle snuffers, hooks and flint strikers, he has also been commissioned to make larger pieces for individuals. One of his most recent projects includes a 3 foot high cross to be placed on the altar of an outdoor church near Adrian, Michigan. He is currently making decorative and functional brackets – to help reinforce the balcony on a timber-frame home in Northwest Ohio. Simon also made many items for our Pioneer Settlement project including hinges for the doors, cooking utensils and tools for the outdoor bake oven. And in this age of “green” products, it is interesting to learn that Simon can be found recycling in his shop. “Scrap metal often lends itself to a specific project,” Simon shared. “Coil springs can often be recycled and used to make flint strikers.”

Interested in learning more about blacksmithing? Guests age 16 and older will have an opportunity to try blacksmithing this Friday and Saturday, July 23 & 24.

The artists we’ve featured, as well as our potter, glassblower, spinners, weavers, basket makers, quilters, broom makers, woodworkers, coopers and native weavers, all carry on skills that were vital to everyday life at the time the Black Swamp was settled. We hope you will join us to meet our craftsmen and explore your own creativity during our “Explore the Crafts” event this Friday and Saturday.

Sauder Village participates in “Arts Gone Wild”

At Sauder Village, we understand the importance of partnering with other art and cultural organizations and are excited to again be part of Arts Gone Wild, the annual summer event sponsored by Toledo area arts and cultural organizations.

The Arts Gone Wild event will be at the Toledo Museum of Art this summer with a new twist. Instead of a two-day festival, the Museum is hosting a month-long exhibition of objects and materials from participating organizations.

The Arts Gone Wild exhibition opens in the Community Gallery with a special It’s Friday celebration on Friday, July 16 and continues through August 15. The exhibition is not a typical fine art exhibition but instead features multi-media “vignettes” representing the work of each organization. Displays include video clips of performances, theatre costumes, musical scores, books, photographs or original artwork. Using photos and unique works of art designed by our talented craftsmen, our display is a striking exhibit that highlights Sauder Village as a cultural destination in Northwest Ohio.

From 1:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, July 16 in Libbey Court, Nancy Lewis, one of our Native American interpreters, will invite visitors to learn about Northwest Ohio in 1803. She will be weaving a traditional native bag and visitors will be able to make cordage bracelets. In addition, Chereen Thompson will demonstrate spinning. Visitors will be able to touch different types of fibers as well as try their hands at carding wool, drop spindles and spinning on a wheel.

Urban Jazz Collective will perform from 7–8 p.m. that day in the Great Gallery. The talented students from the Toledo School for the Arts have performed in various venues in the Toledo area including Murphys and Manhattan’s. Later, from 8–9 p.m. in the Great Gallery, the Toledo Ballet will present Aquarius, from the musical Hair, and Flow, a contemporary piece. The music for Flow is a song titled “Ketto” by Bonobo.

Arts Gone Wild is an evolving series of events sponsored by a coalition of arts and cultural organizations including the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo, Imagination Station, Sauder Village, Toledo Ballet, Toledo Botanical Gardens, Toledo–Lucas County Library (Main), Metroparks of the Toledo Area, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Opera, Toledo Symphony, Toledo Repertoire Theater, Toledo School for the Arts, Toledo Zoo, Valentine Theater and WGTE. The organizations meet regularly to discuss issues of common interest and ways to work collaboratively.

Admission is free to the Toledo Museum of Art and to all of the Arts Gone Wild activities. We hope you'll take time this summer to check out our Sauder Village display and all of the other great exhibits and activities planned for Arts Gone Wild!

Homemade Ice Cream - A Great Way to Celebrate!

Making homemade ice cream is a great family tradition. Here is a recipe we share with guests when they visit Sauder Village. Why not make some special memories this holiday weekend by making your own homemade ice cream . . . yum!

Homemade Ice Cream
Recipe for 1 ½ gallon freezer

1 gallon whole milk (approx.)
3 c. sugar
¾ c. flour
½ t. salt
8 eggs, beaten
3 T. pure vanilla extract
1 quart heavy whipping cream

Scald 1 ½ quarts (6 cups) of the milk in a large pan. Set aside. Mix sugar, salt, and flour in another bowl. Slowly add 2 cups cold milk to dry ingredients while stirring constantly. Return scalded milk to burner. Slowly add flour/sugar mixture, and then beaten eggs while stirring constantly. Cook until thick. Cool. When ready to put in ice cream freezer add vanilla and cream. Pour into metal freezer tub and add milk to fill line (about ¾ full). Put lid on freezer tub.

To Freeze: Place ice cream mix in metal container into wooden freezer. Put in a layer of ice and then sprinkle with ½ cup coarse ice cream salt. Repeat layering ice and salt until you have 3 or 4 layers. When you reach the top of the tub, place some ice on top of the lid. Pour water over ice until water runs out of the drain below. Start cranking immediately. You may need to add more ice and salt as you crank. (The more salt you add, the faster it will freeze). Keep cranking until you can barely crank. Open metal container and remove paddle. Replace lid and cover with ice and a clean towel or rug to keep ice cream frozen until ready to serve.

Historic Gardens Tell the Story of Life’s Priorities

It’s a long journey from the produce in the gardens of the 1800s to the picture perfect produce in today’s super markets. The gardens of ‘days-gone-by’ were filled with unique varieties of flowers and vegetables . . . Oxheart Carrots, Bloody Butcher Corn, Lazy Wife Beans and other varieties with interesting names! At Sauder Village guests can walk through gardens and visit historic homes to experience life in Ohio from 1803-1910.

Heirloom vegetables, open-pollinated varieties that are often high-quality, easy to grow and have stood the test of time, have become popular all over again! These varieties are worth growing for their delicious flavors alone, but at historic sites around the country these heirloom vegetables are also recognized as ‘living artifacts’ - offering a glimpse of life in earlier times.

“We have been cultivating our heirloom gardening program since 1998,” shared Susan Burkhart, Grounds Supervisor. “From 1803 through 1910 – guests can visit our gardens to see how plant types, gardening practices and garden styles changed through the years.”

The earliest gardens are found at Natives and Newcomers. In this 1803 garden, guests will find mounds known as “The Three Sisters” – a plant trio of corn, pole beans and squash. Other varieties growing in this area include True Lemon Cucumbers, White Egg Turnips and Striped Cushaw Squash.

As guests travel along the Historic Timeline they will find many gardens in the Pioneer Settlement area. The garden near the Witmer-Roth home includes Amish Knuttle beans, Deacon Dan Beets and Oxheart Carrots. Near the Eicher Cabin guests will find Lazy Wife Beans, Deer Tongue Lettuce and Bloody Butcher Corn in the garden. At the Stuckey Homestead the garden features Wren Egg beans, Delicata Squash and Prince Albert Peas.

With sunflowers and hollyhocks growing in the 1910 Homestead garden, it is apparent that life is getting easier for the residents of northwest Ohio. There is more time and energy to add color to the lives of those who chose to make rural America their home. There, in raised beds common to their European ancestors, guests can wander through a garden filled with Tall Telephone Peas, Christmas Lima Beans and White Wonder Cucumbers.

“These gardens help tell our story,” shared Andi Erbskorn, curator of education. “As guests wander through the gardens and see the produce being prepared in the homes – they are able to experience the lives of our ancestors.”

By visiting the Historic Village many times throughout the season, guests are able to fully appreciate the beauty of the heirloom varieties growing throughout the village. To learn more about heirloom vegetables and how to include them in your own garden visit www.seedsavers.com or www.halcyon.com/tmend/heirloom.htm

Thanks to our Volunteers!

For many of our volunteers, time spent at Sauder Village means much more than just giving train rides or selling souvenirs in the Gift Shop. Volunteering at Sauder Village often provides an opportunity to meet people from around the world, spend time with special co-workers, and help keep Erie Sauder’s dream alive.

This week we are celebrating “Volunteer Appreciation Week” – an opportunity for us to recognize and celebrate the many volunteers who share their time and talents at Sauder Village. In 2009 our volunteers gave 14, 512 hours of their time and our young Junior Historians volunteered 2,500 hours – amazing! Our top volunteers for 2009 were Mark Breininger with 340.75 hours in the Cooper Shop and Vivian Taylor with 336.75 volunteer hours in the Gift Shop. A special thanks to these top volunteers and to the many other special people who help make Sauder Village a recognized destination in northwest Ohio.

While the jobs may vary, the volunteer profile remains the same . . .friendly, outgoing individuals, who enjoy working with people! There are opportunities to provide administrative support, help with collections or educational programming, work in the historic gardens or help in the Gift Shop. Volunteers also work as historic interpreters, help with historic trades, and help in the Quilt Shop.

“People interested in volunteering this season should call or stop by the Sauder Village Welcome Center for an application,” said Sharon Fellers, volunteer coordinator. “We’ll do our best to work with you and your interests to find the best volunteer opportunity for you!

It takes the support of many people to continue the legacy Erie Sauder started so many years ago. “Volunteers play an integral role at our non-profit organization and we are thankful that so many people throughout the tri-state area share their time and talents with us every year,” shared Kent Nafziger, Director of Development.

We offer our volunteers flexible scheduling, complimentary meals when they volunteer, opportunities to attend special programs and workshops, and discounts on admission and purchases. Other volunteer benefits include the opportunity to meet many interesting people from around the world, make new friends, explore interests and discover new ones, and help enrich the community. Give us a call for more information on how you can get involved as a volunteer!

Thanks again to all of our volunteers! We truly appreciate all that you give to Sauder Village.

Treasures of the Museum

Let’s take a quick look at a new addition to Sauder Village! If you’ve been to our Museum Building, you know it is truly a “treasure chest of Americana” . . . featuring rows of farm equipment, tools, washing machines and more! Our founder, Erie Sauder, was interested in preserving these artifacts to share with future generations. And today, our curator of collections is working to preserve these treasures while also helping to share their story!

To help create some visual interest in the Museum Building and better tell the story of these artifacts, our curator of collections, Tracie Evans, has created some special new exhibits. Some of the first exhibits you’ll see are “Children at Play in 1900” and “Time for Fun” – sharing the story of how children and families enjoyed their leisure time. Other displays include “A Winter Harvest,” “Expressions of Grief,” and “Incubators, Brooders & Chicks, oh my!” We hope you’ll take time this season to wander through the Museum Building to enjoy the thousands of items on display and the unique new exhibits that help tell stories of life in the past!

Welcome!

While we are recognized for celebrating and sharing stories from the past, at Sauder Village we also realize the importance of looking to the future and embracing technology. We’ve been sharing information and videos on our website, Twitter and Facebook and today we’re excited to be entering the world of blogging. Welcome to our Sauder Village blog!

We have many stories to tell and we plan to post weekly blog updates to provide you with a unique insight into the Sauder Village experience. We will have blog posts about our historic gardens, artifacts, barnyard animals, historic farming, special events and a behind-the-scenes look at the Village. We’ll introduce you to people from the past, share stories about our craftsmen and let you meet some of our costumed guides. We may even have special deals and contests for those following our blog! Stay tuned . . . there are lots of possibilities.

Thanks for taking a look at our blog. We hope you enjoy this short video and will stop back often to learn more about Sauder Village.