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Event:
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Homer Historical Society Fall Festival
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Date:
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Saturday, September 27th, 2014
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Time:
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11:00 AM − 4:00 PM
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Organization:
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Homer Historical Society |
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Location:
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Blair Historical Farm
26445 M-6- East
Homer, MI
Phone: none
none
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Cost:
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no charge
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Contact:
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JoAnne Miller
Phone: 517-568-3116
Click Here to Email
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Description:
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Fall Festival celebrating 40th anniversary of the Homer Historical Society
The Homer Historical Society’s annual Fall Festival is extra special this year because it celebrates the nonprofit organization’s 40th anniversary. The event is free and will be held Saturday, September 27 from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Blair Historical Farm, a pioneer family farm museum at 26445 M-60 East, one mile east of Homer.
The first Fall Festival was held in 1976 to showcase the restoration work that had been done on the farm which was donated to the Historical Society by its owner Maude Blair in 1974 shortly after the organization was formed. Her parents built the house, replacing a log cabin on the property. She and her sister Bessie Blair were born there in 1880 and 1877 respectively. Her grandfather Dr. George W. Blair came to Homer in 1836 and was the town’s first medical doctor. He purchased the property in 1851.
“It was quite a lot of work just to get part of the house ready to show the first time. There were lots of repairs to do, and we needed to remove everything that was modern and recreate a Victorian era farmhouse interior,” said John Kinney, the Homer Historical Society’s president. “We had the living room and one of the downstairs bedrooms open that year. Then in future years we added another bedroom and then the dining room and the kitchen and the back room plus the upstairs.” He said.
Because of the age of the house, there was structural work to do and exterior work including painting. There were lots of volunteers of all ages who helped with the project. “The kids who helped me were in high school then, and now they’re 50 years old,” Kinney marveled.
The first Fall Festival began with a few antique farm engines on display in the front yard. They were part of the late Munro Tasker’s collection which he enjoyed restoring and demonstrating. From this small start, antique engines and farm equipment now take up part of a large field on festival day.
In addition to the house, chicken coup, and a large family barn build by the Blair sisters with money they raised growing and selling silk worms, the grounds are now the home of the old Albion Town Hall that was built in 1890, moved to the property in 2006 and now utilized for displays and meetings. Additional buildings include the old Grover railroad station and the Robert Ackley saw mill barn where Ackley fires up his equipment and demonstrates it for visitors.
The society’s board of directors recently began making plans for a new barn to be built in the near future to hold a large Birdsell clover huller and other big pieces of antique farm equipment.
Corn pancakes made on a wood burning cook stove in the yard are a Fall Festival mainstay dating back to the first event. The recipe was supplied by Barbara Densmore who turned the family favorite into a Blair Farm tradition that is made even better with the addition of Blair Farm apple butter that can be sampled and purchased to take home and enjoyed all year long.
Campfire cooking is a more recent festival addition thanks to Kinney who has enlisted the help of friends and relatives who work all day preparing tasty recipes and tending fires to maintain the right temperatures for cooking roasts, hams, and vegetables—even baking cakes, breads and fruit pies. People enjoy watching the cooking demonstrations and are drawn to them by the wonderful aromas.
Kinney said he started campfire cooking at his cabin years ago, and it evolved quickly. “My folks always liked the campfire at our pond for roasting hot dogs, and I thought we could do more than that here,” So campfire cooking became part of the Fall Festival. “We use cast iron equipment over an open fire. Some of the cookware is only 50 years old; some is 100, and some is over 150 years old,” Kinney said. Some of it belonged to his great, great, great grandmother.
Even thought public health regulations prevent visitors from sampling the campfire fare, there is no need to go hungry. Christine Miller oversees a food operation that has also evolved over the years. “After starting with no more than corn pancakes and lemonade, we progressed to a small operation behind the house and then to a nice kitchen inside our barn,” Miller said. There are canopies outside over tables and chairs where people can sit and enjoy grilled bratwurst in a bun, baked beans, hot dogs, harvest soup, and many varieties of delicious pie that is always a favorite,” she added. This location behind the barn is ideal to listen to the Homespun Strings group that plays from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Uncle Carl’s Dulcimer Club from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Also that day:
• Area crafters will sell handmade goods and garden items.
• Mary Berry will sell homemade soaps and demonstrate how to make them.
• There will be wagon rides through the woods thanks to Pete and Margaret Seger who bring their team of horses and the wagon.
Plenty of free parking is available. Proceeds and donations from the festival support historical preservation and restoration work at Blair Historical Farm. For more information contact JoAnne Miller, 517-568-3116.
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More Info:
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none
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