Rug Hooking History

As we welcome rug hookers from across the country to our nationally-recognized Rug Hooking event this week, we realize there are still many people who don’t know much about this traditional art form. Here is just a bit of history to help you better understand this beautiful craft . . .

Rug hooking started in the mid 1800s in the Eastern United States. Like many crafts, rug hooking was started out of necessity. Colonial women used rags to make hand-hooked rugs to use on their floors in the summer and on beds in the winter.

The base of the rugs was made from the burlap sacks that the livestock feed came in and the fabric was any material that could be found including worn clothing, rags, old wool blankets or spun wool. Women hooked rugs in their homes to help pass the time during the hard cold winters.

To hook a rug, the rug hooker, with her right hand above the pattern and the cloth strips in her left hand underneath, pushes the hook down through the burlap. The hook catches the cloth strip and the rug hooker draws it back up to form a loop on the top of the burlap. Loops about half an inch long (length can vary) are formed to create the rug.

People eventually began selling hand-hooked rugs and cottage industries sprang up across the country. By the 1940s rug hooking had become a well-established hobby in the United States and Canada and its popularity continues to grow today. Hand-hooked rugs can be found in art galleries and museums throughout the world.

Again this year, rug hookers from across the country are gathering at Sauder Village to celebrate this traditional craft. This spectacular event includes workshops, lectures, vendors, demonstrations and a breath-taking exhibit in Founder’s Hall. We hope you'll visit the exhibit to see what all the excitement is about!

More detail about this special event can be found online at:
http://www.saudervillage.org/Creativity/rughooking.asp

School Days

It's hard to believe that school will soon be back in session for students throughout the region. Parents will be shopping for notebooks, pencils and new school clothes in preparation for another school year.

Have you ever wondered how our classrooms of today differ from those of 100 years ago? If so, we hope you'll take time to visit our District 16 School! Have a seat in desks, complete with ink wells, just as students did in their new school building in 1898.  Discover how the lives of today’s students and teachers differ from those of children years ago.  And, maybe you’ll learn of some aspects of one-room schools that still continue today.

The school that we call District 16 was originally called District #3, or Maple Grove School, in Chesterfield Township of Fulton County, Ohio.  The Maple Grove School was actually moved to Sauder Village from an area near the Ohio-Michigan border, north of the town of Wauseon.  It was used from 1898 to 1916. The first four buildings built in the Maple Grove District were log buildings much like the Log Schoolhouse in the Historic Village.  Our “District 16” schoolhouse was the seventh building built in that district.  After being used for 18 years, a new centralized school was built in 1916, and the time of one-room schoolhouses in Fulton County came to an end.

Interesting Facts About our Schools at Sauder Village (Log School and District 16 School):
In the 1830s, children attended school for short periods of time, sometimes for as little as 3 months during the winter!

In schools like our Log Schoolhouse, greased or oiled paper was often used over window openings due to the great expense of glass panes

One-room schools housed all the children in a district, often ranging from 6 to 20 years of age!

Our District 16 School was built in 1898 at a cost of $687.00.

Before being located by Erie Sauder, and restored at the Historic Village, the District 16 building was being used as a granary.

You will find 2 entry doors on the front of the District 16 School. It was specifically designed that way, with one entry for the girls to use, and one for the boys.

Food Preservation - Not Just for Grandma Anymore!

With grocery stores offering a variety of foods throughout the year and refrigerators and freezers in our homes - it might seem that canning and preserving foods would be a thing of the past. However, it seems food preservation is actually the new trend in homes across the country. Canning and preserving is not just for grandma anymore! In fact, some professionals in the canning business estimate that more than half of the canning population is under the age of 45!

Throughout the season guests visiting Historic Sauder Village can often see an assortment of vegetables being harvested from our gardens. Our costumed guides demonstrate a variety of food preservation techniques including drying, pickling, canning and even smoking meats. These demonstrations give our guests a unique look at the food preservation efforts of days gone by. The demonstrations vary with the season and time period in the Historic Village and recipes are often available for guests to take home.

Interested in giving food preservation a try but not sure where to start? Visit our website for some recipes and links to valuable food preservation resources!

http://www.saudervillage.org/historic_recipes/food_preservation.asp

The Erie Express Chugs Along…

Thanks to a group of friends, the Erie Express train will stay on track!

The Erie Express is a replica of an 1863 steam engine which played an important part in building America’s first transcontinental railroad.  Guests of all ages enjoy traveling back in time by riding the Erie Express through the historic timeline at Sauder Village, including Natives and Newcomers, Pioneer Settlement, and the 1910 Homestead area. 

Keeping the train running safely is a big task and our maintenance staff makes this a priority.  However, servicing the train is difficult and time-consuming.  Access to the underside of the train is necessary to maintain the equipment, requiring the over three-ton train to be lifted off the track. 

Unfortunately, this has caused our guests to experience interruptions in service.  No more!

Now, this disruption will be minimal as friends of Sauder Village contributed funds needed to build an underground service area that will enable our train to be inspected and serviced more efficiently. 

The underground service area will be built by the end of this season!  Thank you to everyone who has helped keep the Erie Express on track!

Even some of our youngest members made a donation
to this special project! Gifts to support the Erie Express
are still welcome. We are grateful to everyone who
has helped make this project possible!

Dean Spangler Elected Chairman at Sauder Village

The Board of Trustees of Sauder Village recently selected Dean Spangler as the organization’s first ‘non-family’ chairman. Dean follows Maynard Sauder who will continue to serve as a member of the board of trustees and as ‘Chairman Emeritus’ at Sauder Village reflecting his long service to the living-history museum founded  through the vision of his father, Erie Sauder in 1976.

Mr. Sauder noted that he and his wife, Carolyn, Executive Director Emeritus, were so pleased with Dean’s enthusiasm to serve. “Dean Spangler has a lot of energy and passion for Sauder Village and has already made a difference in its operations and plans. Our family is excited that another ‘family business’ leader that shares and understands Erie’s vision is willing to participate in leadership.”

Mr. Spangler stepped down from the CEO position at Spangler Candy Company in July 2011, where he continues to serve as Chairman. “To be asked by the Sauder family to serve as Sauder Village Chairman is the pinnacle of my career and my greatest honor,” Dean shared. “The village was created by the Sauder family’s amazing philanthropy over the past 35 years.  Today it belongs to all of us in Northwestern Ohio and is our collective responsibility to help sustain it for generations to come.”

Dean added, “I believe that Sauder Village is an extremely important cultural and economic asset of Northwest Ohio.  Erie Sauder wanted to make sure that all of us understood and remembered the hard work of our ancestors who settled this part of Ohio in the 1830s, drained the Great Black Swamp and established the foundation of one of the greatest agricultural economic systems in our nation’s history.  Erie believed that history was best learned by experiencing it and that is what a living history village like Sauder Village is all about.”                           

Debbie Sauder David, Sauder Village Executive Director, is also looking forward to Dean’s increased involvement at Sauder Village. “Dean brings a wealth of experience in business development, strategic planning and leadership to our Sauder Village Board,” Debbie shared. “Even more important, however, is Dean’s passion for our mission.”

Other members of the Sauder Village Board of Trustees include Dick Anderson, The Andersons, Inc.; Julie Brotje Higgins, Ph.D., CFA, The Trust Company of Toledo; Marcia Sloan Latta, DePauw University; Ed Nofziger, Haas Door Company; Harold Plassman, Plassman, Rupp, Short & Hagans; Carolyn Sauder, Executive Director Emeritus, Sauder Village; Myrl Sauder, Chairman, Sauder Woodworking Co.; Maynard Sauder, Chairman Emeritus, Sauder Woodworking Co. and Sauder Village; Shirley Short, Founding Board Member and Rick Yocum, Yocum Consulting Associates, Inc.

Board members also elected to serve in leadership roles for 2012 include Myrl Sauder as Vice-Chair, Rick Yocum as Treasurer and Harold Plassman as Secretary.

The Sauder Village mission is to provide guests with experiences rich in history, hospitality, creativity, and fun.  Since opening in 1976, Sauder Village has grown to a 235-acre complex with more than 450 employees and 400 adult and 200 youth volunteers.  As Ohio’s largest living history destination, Sauder Village includes the award winning Historic Village, the 98-room Sauder Heritage Inn, a 48-site campground, the 350-seat Barn Restaurant, the Doughbox Bakery, and banquet seating for 750 in Founders Hall.  The Historic Village preserves more than 75 historic structures and nearly 50,000 artifacts where history is brought to life through the stories, demonstrations, and programs that impact nearly 100,000 guests of all ages each season.  Proceeds from the retail and hospitality areas, along with admissions, memberships, and donations, contribute to the financial support for this 501(c)(3) organization.

Buttercup's New Calves!

This week we were pleased to welcome two new calves to our Sauder Village barnyard! Our Milking Shorthorn cow, Buttercup, gave birth to a set of twins Tuesday evening. Both calves (a heifer and a bull) and their momma are doing just fine!

Experiencing life on the farm is a favorite part of the Sauder Village experience for many of our guests. They love meeting the oxen, watching our historic farmer use horses to work in the fields and seeing the baby chicks, lambs and calves grow up throughout the season.

Providing quality care for our animals is quite an expense for our non-profit organization. Sauder Village will invest a minimum of $1,750 in the coming year to raise a baby calf (and now that dollar amount is doubled with a surprise set of twins!). We’ll have feed, hay and water to buy as well as vaccinations to keep our new calves healthy. We’ll also have labor expenses for our historic farmer to help care for these new additions to our barnyard.

Don’t these new baby calves just make you smile? If so, we’re hoping you’ll consider supporting our historic farming program at Sauder Village. Why not make a donation today to help with the on-going care of our new baby calves? Whether you donate $25 or $250 . . . . your support will help care for this adorable set of twins!

Click here to help support Buttercup and her calves! Make your donation today and be sure to stay tuned for more updates on our calves and other new deliveries expected this spring! We hope you’ll visit often this season to watch as our calves grow. Thank you for your support!

Sauder Village . . . In Their Words

We love to tell the Sauder Village story . . . sharing information about our events, costumed guides, working craftsmen and the special activities we have to offer. However, there is also great value in hearing stories from a guest perspective - their thoughts, perceptions and experiences of Sauder Village and Archbold, OH.

We hope you enjoy this story shared in a recent issue of Rug Hooking Magazine by Linda and Nola - two talented rug hookers who joined us last summer for our Rug Hooking Event. They have truly captured the Sauder Village experience and we appreciate their help in sharing our story. Enjoy!

And now for the rest of the story . . . 

Linda’s story:

Like everyone else, I always build up in my mind’s eye how a place will look and what it will be like even before I arrive. Sauder Village and Rug Hooking Week were no exception.

My sister Nola and I had an annual ritual. Each year, before she left for Sauder Village for the week, we talked about her upcoming trek to Ohio, like what she would bring for the booth and what she might be teaching, and who she might see while there. Our ritual wasn’t complete until she returned and filled me in on all the sights, sounds, and even tastes of the week.

Rolling into Archbold from hours on the interstate and years of having Nola paint a picture of the town I was still surprised. I have to say it right now: Archbold is an adorable town. Surrounded by neat fields of towering corn, Archbold is the kind of town you would see featured in a heart-warming movie about Americana. Perfectly manicured lawns and one adorable house after another met my eyes . . . . .

Click here for the rest of the story . . . . you won't want to miss it!

Why Woodcarving?

In celebration of National Craft Month, here is another article from one of our talented craftsmen at Sauder Village!By Jean McDonald, Sauder Village Craftsmen

What could possess someone to want to get up at 7:00 am on Saturday mornings to watch television? That is when a PBS series, Woodcarving with Rick Butz, aired in the 1990s featuring Rick Butz, a woodcarver from New York State. It was fascinating to watch him create figures from little chunks of wood as he continually reminded his viewers that anyone can carve wood.  I was prompted to make a donation to PBS in order to get his book that featured the projects in the series. Now, it is almost 25 years later and I have yet to meet the person who unwittingly tweaked an interest that became a passion for carving.

I love to demonstrate carving at historic sites because the children always come up with new and interesting comments and questions. Adults ask things like, “How long did it take you to carve that? (Answer: I don’t know because it was fun.) What kind of wood is that? (Answer: Probably basswood because it carves nicely or maybe something that was free. Free basswood is the best.) Kids ask questions like, “Why did you make it purple” and “Can you make a dragon?”  It is great fun to encourage them to touch the carvings and talk to them about their own creative processes. I always ask them if they are woodcarvers already and they usually say no. My response is always, “Well, it is not too late for you to learn.” You can usually see a spark of interest light up in their eyes as they imagine themselves, knives in hand, attacking a chunk of wood.

Woodcarving can be enjoyed with a minimal number of tools. A knife, gouge, a v-tool and a sharpening strop can get a person started doing relief carving, three dimensional carving, animals, caricatures, architectural carving, folk carving – the possibilities are limited only by your own imagination! There are many woodcarving books, classes and carving clubs in the area to help new carvers get started.  The internet is also a great source of information and supplies.

Sauder Village is one of the few places where time truly stands still for me. It has been one of my favorite places for many years, enjoying art, craft, and history. Visiting the farmhouse is just like a visit to my grandmother’s home. I remember when Grandma heated with a coal stove and you knew it was “safe” to crawl out from under the warm comforters from the unheated second floor bedrooms when you heard the clinkers rattling and coal pouring into the stove for the morning fire.

I love attending the Woodcarver’s Show and Sale each October and now am very fortunate to be able to be a part of the event by setting up a table and attending classes.  Another favorite activity is to be able to volunteer to demonstrate fiber art in June at the Focus on Fiber Arts event. What great fun to pack up my spinning wheel and wool and spend the day spinning and talking to visitors about another activity that I love. This past summer I also worked in the Basket Shop and Tin Shop a few days each week weaving baskets and making my favorite, tin cookie cutters. The visitors are great sources of information relating their stories and memories.

If you are interested in learning more about woodcarving here are some sources I have found useful:
|
Woodcarving with Rick Butz by Rick and Ellen Butz
How to Carve Wood by Richard Butz
Woodcarving Illustrated - a magazine published by Fox Chapel Publishing. www.woodcarvingillustrated.com
Woodcarving Magazine, www.carvingmagazine.com
National Wood Carvers Association - P.O. Box 43218, Cincinnati, Ohio 45243
Woodcraft  - 577 Foundation, Perrysburg, Ohio
Sauder Village Woodcarving Show - October 27 and 28, 2012

Learning to Make Buckets

Have you ever wondered where we find so many talented craftsmen to share their skills at Sauder Village? Some craftsmen have been weaving or making baskets for years and others may have learned a new craft just to work at Sauder Village! To help celebrate “National Craft Month,” here are some thoughts from one of our coopers . . .

By Mark Breininger, Cooper

Becoming a member of the Sauder Village family came at the right time in my life. My father-in-law, a Master Cooper, encouraged me to visit Sauder Village and consider working in the Black Swamp Cooperage. I was hesitant at first because this opportunity was totally out of the realm of my life. I wasn’t sure how comfortable I would be speaking to hundreds of people each day and engaging guests who want to see and hear about being a cooper. However, I soon realized how much I love history and being a part of Sauder Village!

Learning the craft of coopering was made easy with the help of two knowledgeable coopers – Chuck Salsbury and Kenny Schang. Under their guidance, I learned the right way to make a quality wooden bucket, butter churn or keg. Learning this craft has taken me back 200 years! In the Cooper’s Shop we use the same tools as our forefathers. We start with a log, striking it with a froe, splitting the wood and shaping that piece of wood into a stave. Using the draw knives, shaves, scorps and planes I have learned to create items to hold dry goods, liquids and more.

Working as a cooper at Sauder Village is very rewarding and satisfying. At what other job can you meet people from all over the world on any given day? All of the talented craftsmen at Sauder Village make my job even better. They all love sharing the history and demonstrating their craft just as our founder Erie Sauder envisioned. I’m having so much fun making buckets and hope to be involved at Sauder Village for many years to come!  

Wedding of Your Dreams at Sauder Village

Field trips, day trips and family vacations often come to mind when people think about Sauder Village. For many brides and grooms; however, Sauder Village plays an important role on their wedding day . . . offering unique facilities, varied food options and welcoming hospitality.

“It is so much fun to work with brides as they plan their wedding at Sauder Village,” shared Amy Whitacre, sales manager. “From planning menus, discussing decorations and set-up to all the other important event details – it’s a pleasure to be involved and help brides plan the wedding of their dreams!”

Why host your event at Sauder Village? There are so many reasons . . .
• Beautiful facilities
• Experienced Staff
• Professional meeting planners
• Attention to detail
• Relaxed atmosphere
• Unforgettable memories
• Exceptional food
• Proceeds support mission of the Historic Village

Sauder Village is one of the premier venues for weddings and receptions in Northwest Ohio. From outdoor weddings on the Village Green to a small ceremony in the historic church or a larger gathering in Founder’s Hall – there are so many options! With guest rooms at the Heritage Inn, varied food options at Founder’s Hall and the Barn Restaurant, and our experienced staff – it’s easy to see why so many brides and grooms choose Sauder Village for their special day! Visit our banquet/conference page online: http://www.saudervillage.org/Banquets_and_Conferences/default.asp

Are you planning a wedding? Make plans to attend our annual Sauder Village Bridal Show this Sunday, March 11 from noon-4:00 p.m. in Founder’s Hall. Show information and a discount coupon are available at www.saudervillage.org/bridal   You can also contact our Group Sales team to schedule a tour or to receive more information. Call 800.590.9755 or e-mail groupsales@saudervillage.org and we’ll work out the details together!