Back at Waterloo Farm Museum Cabin: An Agricultural History Lesson for our Grandson

We're back at the Waterloo Farm Museum Cabin.

It was mid-September,  and this day was originally supposed to be a basic gardening day,  but it turned into becoming so much more  (thankfully).  Charlotte and Norm came along,  and then Patty & I brought along our eldest grandchild,  Ben,  who was nearly 11 years old  (he turned 11 just two weeks after).  We were thrilled to bring him along---we originally hoped to bring our three oldest grandkids,  for our son and his wife had just had their sixth child only about a month earlier,  so we thought we could keep some of the kids busy.  However,  granddaughter Addy didn't want to come along,  and grandson Liam did but he hurt his neck kinda bad,  so we all felt it was best for him to stay home to be on the safe side.  He's just fine now.

But Ben did come along,  and,  well,  what you are about to read here is how that day went.

 ----- 

September 13 was a toppermost of the poppermost  kind of day at the Waterloo cabin;  for the first time,  we brought one of our grandchildren to a living history event - our eldest grandson Ben.  

Ben - and all of our grandkids - call me Papa and my wife,  Nonna.  Nonna is Italian for grandmother.  I chose to have my grandchildren call me Papa rather than Nonno  (Italian for grandfather)  or grandpa for a couple of reasons---"Nonno"  is pronounced  " no no"  and I didn't like that.  It's too negative for my tastes.  And grandpa is too,  shall we say,  old sounding.  Papa,  which is bcoming more and more popular for grandfather is very suitable for me.

So we're Papa and Nonna.

Anyhow,  our grandson Ben had such a wonderful experience at his first time participating in living history.  Unfortunately,  we had no period colonial clothes for him to wear;  he is 11 as of this publishing date and growing like a weed.  We don't want to spend the money  (or take the time to make an outfit)  for something he may only wear a few times  (though he did wear one of my cocked hats!).

But Ben certainly had a blast:

1)  helping his Nonna in the kitchen garden,  and even picking a pumpkin I planted this past spring

2)  helping me separate the wheat from the chaff by way of threshing with flails

3)  winnowing,  which also helps separate the wheat from the chaff

4)  grinding the wheat berries into flour by using a quern

5)  making and then baking bread on the hearth with Charlotte ---  he absolutely loved being at the hearth!!

First things first:
we had to get a fire going.
Unfortunately,  neither Norm or I could get a spark to ignite the charred paper
with the flint and steel.
This will have to be worked on...

I've not done this before,  and I have watched those who have done this,  and even for them it can be trying.  So,  sadly,  to get a fire in the hearth,  we resorted to the modern method of using a match.

I know...Booo!

Ben first shoveled out the ashes from the previous user.

Now to let it burn down to glowing coals and embers.

Ben is pretty used to working with fire,  for his father  (my son)  has taught him not only how to build a bonfire,  but also to chop wood and kindling as well as cooking over the fire and the modern gas stove.

While awaiting for the coals,  and with Charlotte inside the cabin,  Ben and I went out to the kitchen garden,  and joined his Nonna. 

Ben was taught to garden by his father.
So now he's going out to help his Nonna in the kitchen garden.

One of my wife's biggest joys in coming out to the Waterloo Cabin is to work in the kitchen garden.

Whoop!
She spots a pumpkin!

Our grandson with his Nonna~

And then he saw the pumpkins.

We planted these pumpkins this past May,  and now they were pretty much
ready for picking.  They could actually use another couple weeks, 
but I let Ben pick one anyhow...one that was very close to being ready.

He enjoyed that we,  his Papa and Nonna,  planted and grew them.

And I loved that he got to pick the first one of the year!

We have over a dozen pumpkins planted here in the garden,  but the one he chose looked to be the most ready for picking.

Next up,  using the flail to hit the wheat to separate the wheat from the chaff.  

The ladies,  Charlotte and Patty,  are here on the cabin porch peeling and cutting
up apples for a hearth-baked pie,  while our minister joins us for the day's activities. 
You can see Ben there,  carrying a flail,  ready for this next chore.

So,  as I did a few weeks earlier,  I wrapped the wheat in canvas,  and brought it out onto the grass.

Then we both went at it~~~~

This was such a wonderful moment for me,  and I think also for my grandson,  as well,  for here we are threshing wheat together in the same manner as was done in the 18th century - using flails. 

I mean,  what nearly 11 year old boy wouldn’t love to  “whop”  (as he called it)  something with a stick,  in this case,  “whopping wheat with a flail?” 

Ben did a fine job in his living-in-the-past activity.
Of course,  I gave him a history lesson as we did the chore.
After all,  he is  home schooled!

In our modern age,  there's not too many kids his age who can say they've threshed
wheat with a flail.

At one point we stopped and I removed the top wheat to show him what was underneath,  That's when he saw the  "wheat berries,"  otherwise known as the wheat grain.  That's when he understood.

But there's more period chores coming up,  for we have wheat that needs to be winnowed!

Winnowing wheat grain is a post-threshing process that separates the heavier grain from the lighter chaff  (husk)  and straw using wind.  Or,  for us,  due to the lack of wind,  we blew into the basket.

Here is my wife giving winnowing a try.
Traditionally,  farmers would toss the threshed wheat into the air on a breezy day, 
allowing the wind to carry away the light chaff while the heavier grain fell to
the ground or into a container below,  such as the winnowing basket.
Even though there was not much of a breeze,  there was enough to carry some of the chaff away.

I first saw winnowing being done many years ago at Greenfield Village.  In fact,  I give Greenfield Village the credit for captivating my attention - piquing my interest,  so to speak - in historical agriculture,  for they have shown farm life of the past;  mostly the Victorian period at Firestone Farm,  but also many times at the colonial Daggett House.

I winnowed as well.

Both threshing and winnowing are  "sequential agricultural processes"  to separate grain from its stalk and chaff. 

I showed him the purpose in this chore and how by doing it we separated the wheat grain from its stalks and husks by beating the bundles of grain,  causing the seeds to loosen and fall out.  It was then we gathered the threshed grain and further separated the wheat from the chaff and straw through winnowing,  where after being put into a winnowing basket it's tossed into the air for the wind to carry away the lighter chaff then the heavier grain was caught again to be repeated.

Winnowing!
Ben---learning by doing.

Of course, after that we ground the grain, also known as wheat berries, into flour for baking.

Looks like some period clothing for my grandson might not be too far off.

This was awesome.

I love the fall!

Patty grabbed the ears  (heads/tops)  of wheat that had fallen out of the canvas tarp.

The cabin kitchen garden is giving up its yield:
I see beets,  turnips,  carrots,  lima beans,  parsnips,  green beans,  and a tomato.
Okay,  so there's not enough to survive on,  but then,  we don't actually live at the cabin.

Given that we are not able to travel to the cabin to work in the garden as often as we'd like,  I'm pretty proud of what we do accomplish here.

According to my own research,  "Quern history spans millennia,  from Neolithic times to the more efficient Iron Age rotary querns.  These hand-operated stone tools were crucial for grinding grain into flour,  a process necessary for making grains nutritionally accessible.  

Querns were a common household item in ancient societies and continued to be used in some parts of the world even after the introduction of mechanized mills." 

Norm watches as Ben spins the top stone,  grinfing the grain into flour.

 In the 18th century,  querns were still in use,  primarily in rural homes and for grinding small quantities of grain and other ingredients like spices for home consumption,  as seen in household inventories and historical records from that period.  While larger,  industrial milling technology was replacing querns for commercial use,  the hand-powered,  domestic rotary quern remained a common household item.  

Ben grew up with a father  (my son,  Tommy)  who loved to bake and cook.  Tommy got that passion from not only his mother,  but from his uncles and from hearing stories of his grandfather and great grandfather.  So to do such chores/crafts as what we did on this day was right up Ben's interests.

And as he turned the quern and saw the flour coming out of the sides,  he began to understand more about food history.

I also took a turn at the quern.

I am very happy and excited to own such an item you see here,  for it really help us experience our historical research.
And you can see the flour we were making!  Also,  by putting the flour back into the center hole can make it finer with each passing.

There is a bear skin at the cabin,  and Ben tried it on!

Ben was preparing the bread dough for making our family bread.  We did not use
the flour made from the quern,  for we still had more threshing to do.  Plus the
dough needed to rise.  Again,  if we lived there perhaps it would be different.  By
the way,  I am still making flour with the wheat my friend Theresa harvest by using
my quern.  If things go right,  I plan to have enough dough for a future cabin visit.

Ben worked on his bread loaf.
Yes,  he knows how to make and bake homemade bread.
He learned from his father  (my son),  who learned from his aunt and uncles 
(my siblings),  who learned from my dad,  who learned from his dad.
Whew!
A family history in food!

Where do I fit in all of this?
I don't,  unless eating counts.  As a young'un I never had an interest in cooking,  though I love to eat!  And also I am loving experiencing how to prepare it historically.  So,  yeah,  the cooking gene bi-passed me and went directly to my son.  And now to his son.  And,  for the most part,  the bread is pretty much the same as my grandfather's.

Charlotte treated us to not one but two 18th century apple treats!

I keep reading that apple pie is not American,  that it's British.
Well,  duh!  England is considered the Mother Country of the colonies  (who did we
fight to gain Independence from,  right?),  therefore the Mother Country of the
United States.  Most of our food traditions in America,  whether Italian,  Arabic, 
Russian,  Polish,  German,  Mexican,  Asian,  and so on,  has its roots in other
countries or by other races.
Silly people...

Cut into strips to cover the apples.

Apple pie came to the American colonies with European settlers very early on and became a staple during the 18th and even the 19th centuries.

Charlotte also made an apple crisp~

The apple pie was so delicious!

Just like most of us,  Ben enjoys watching the fire in the hearth burn.
To be honest,  I'm not sure how often he's been able to actually be around an actual
 fireplace.  I do know this was his first time cooking in one.

There's Ben's bread in Nonna's brand new Dutch oven!

Ben's bread turned out perfect!
And he very much enjoyed baking it!

Charlotte took over the hearth like the pro she is!

Charlotte,  who has been cooking on the hearth for five years now,  passes on her knowledge to the next generation.

Norm portrays our minister.  When modern visitors come a-calling,  he will explain
that in the 18th century,  Protestant ministers did not wear the modern clerical collar
but instead wore  "preaching bands,"  two strips of white cloth tied at the throat. 
The two bands are said to represent the Old and New Testaments. 

The Waterloo souvenir store was open,  so Norm purchased a basket.  I kidded him about coming to the cabin to get tithes.

Ben went down to the river to fetch two pails of water.
Okay...he didn't really,  but he did try to balance the two pails by way of a yoke
and did find it rather difficult to do.

Nonna and Ben listened for dinosaurs.

Okay,  not really,  but the sandhill cranes,  which are plentiful in these parts,  sure do sound like the velociraptors in the first Jurassic Park movie.

And then I looked up information about them and found out that:

"Sandhill Crane calls have been compared to the sounds of the velociraptors in the movie Jurassic Park,  and while the comparison is popular,  the actual sounds used for the velociraptors were primarily a mix of tortoises mating, along with sounds from African cranes,  horses,  geese,  and dolphins,  not Sandhill Cranes.  Sandhill Cranes are themselves considered ancient creatures,  with a fossil record dating back millions of years,  giving them a prehistoric appearance and sound." 

Bet you didn't think we were going to talk a bit about dinosaurs,  did ya?  lol

Though I have yet to see these birds,  I must admit,  they do smake the sounds heard in the movie.

Here is the chicken stew that Charlotte made.
You know,  I don't believe I've ever had a bad meal at the cabin.
That's my wife a-waiting to eat~~~

Right out of 250 years ago.
Norm bless'd our meal with a grace.

Nonna and Papa with their grandson!
So proud!

Patty & I

Our group photo for this visit..
And there is my grandson Ben holding the winnowing basket. 
I really am proud of him.

My grandson didn't want to leave - and he definitely wants to go back!

This was pretty cool~~~!!!~~~this is a great way to give a history lesson.

Thanks to Charlotte & Norm for all they did today to help make it a great success!

These cabin excursions began mostly as a way to experience 18th century Colonial American life.  And I/we are experiencing it,  though not necessarily in ways expected,  for it has become much more of an agricultural experience than any of us may have originally thought.  Oh,  it's not like we didn't know of the high amount of agriculture at that time,  but I believe it just sort of hit us in ways unexpected.  At least it did for me.  But then,  in 18th century Colonial America,  approximately 90% of the population were farmers.  This high percentage reflects the predominantly rural nature of the colonies,  where agriculture was the primary source of livelihood for most people.  And,  most colonial farms were geared towards subsistence agriculture,  meaning they primarily produced what was needed for the family's survival,  rather than for large-scale commercial sale. 

That's what we represent:  18th century subsistence agriculture.

I must say that my two favorite blog posts that I've written involves agriculture:

Marchin' Through the Ruins of Time - Ancient Farming & Daily Life Practices from the B.C. Era Through the Early A.D. Period  (click HERE)

and 

A Year on a Colonial Farm:  Living By the Seasons  (click HERE)

The other thing we've experienced  (and continue to experience)  are ancient holidays  (or holydays)  that are either no longer celebrated or have changed from its original meaning,  such as Candlemas,  Rogation Sunday  (I have not written about Rogation Sunday as a sole subject---thinking about doing so in 2026,  though click HERE to read of our Rogation Sunday celebration),  and,  as you just read in today's post,  Lammas Day.

How about our previous colonial life cabin excursions?  Look in the descriptions here,  which denotes some of our Candlemas,  Rogation Sundays,  and Lammas Days celebrations  (remember - each year listed here we are representing 250 years earlier:

2020 = 1770

2021 = 1771

2022 = 1772

2023 = 1773

2024 = 1774

and now

2025 = 1775

~To read about our 2020 autumn excursion - our first time at the cabin - click HERE

~To read about our 2021 wintertime excursion at the cabin - click HERE

~To read about our 2021 springtime excursion at the cabin - click HERE

~To read about our 2021 summertime excursion at the cabin - click HERE

~To read about our 2021 summer harvesting of the flax at the cabin - click HERE

~To read about our 2021 autumn excursion - click HERE

~To read about our 2022 winter excursion at the cabin - please click HERE

~To read about our 2022 spring excursion at the cabin - please click HERE

~To read about our 2022 summer excursion at the cabin - please click HERE

~To read about our 2022 autumn excursion at the cabin  (Pioneer Day) - please click HERE

~To read about our 2023 winter excursion at the cabin  (Candlemas) - please click HERE

~To read about our 2023 spring excursion at the cabin  (Rogation Sunday) - please click HERE

~To read about our 2023 late spring at the cabin - click HERE

~To read about the 2023 early summer - please click HERE

~To read about the 2023 summer  (Lammas Day) - please click HERE

~To read about the 2023 autumn Pioneer Day - please click HERE

~To read about our 2023 Thanksgiving harvest celebration - please click HERE

~To read about our 2024 Winter experience at the cabin - please click HERE

~To read about our 2024 spring excursion at the cabin - please click HERE

~To read about our 2024 late spring with just Patty & I - click HERE 

~To read about our 2024 summer  (Lammas Day) - please click HERE

~To read about our 2024 mid-and-late-summer - please click HERE

~To read about our 2024 mid-September - click HERE

~To read about our 2024 autumn Pioneer Day Celebration - please click HERE

~To read about our 2024 Thanksgiving Harvest - please click HERE

~To read about our 2024 Christmas at the Farm Cabin presentation - please click HERE

~To read about our 2025 winter & Candlemas Day - please click HERE

~To read about our 2025 spring/early May Rogation Sunday excursion - please click HERE

~To read about our 2025 Memorial Day/Late May visit,  please click HERE

~To read about our 2025 (Lammas Day)  Celebration,  please click HERE

Including today's post,  that makes 30 days spent in the good old colony days!

Again,  I simply cannot thank enough those special folk at the Waterloo Farm Museum for their allowance for us to have such experiences.

We are so honored.  And grateful.

I am also honored to visit the past with my cabin cohorts of  Patty  (who just happens to be my wife),  Norm,  Jackie,  Larissa,  and Charlotte  (and sometimes a few others here and there),  for,  without them,  none of this would even happen.

Brian,  Chad,  Arlene...and others from Waterloo - past and present - my heartfelt thank you.

It's pretty amazing how rooted in agriculture and in traditional ways our colonial cabin living history group has become.  But there is a strong reason behind that,  and,  yes,  it has everything to do with history,  for I first read about  "pioneer and colonial living in my history books.  Then I saw much of the activities live and in color while visiting Greenfield Village over the past 43 years.   Then,  finally,  since around 2009 / 2010 I have found myself actively taking part in such period crafts and chores.  Now my grandson...

This has been a wonderful experience for all involved,  and I pray it continues...

Until next time,  see you in time.

time-travel

Summer 2025 at Greenfield Village

This summer has been so hot that I barely wore my period clothing while visiting Greenfield Village. 

Shocking!

Oh,  I most certainly did wear them here and there,  and so did my friend Norm.  But,  due to the heat,  not nearly as often.  And as you will see,  I did my best to cover summertime past at Greenfield Village;   most photos are agricultural in nature while many are just plain ol'  scenic,  in an attempt to have that summer feel.

Well,  enough chatter - - let's hit the photos and remember the time spent in summer 2025 at Greenfield Village!

~00''00~

This was a very difficult blog post to put together.  Due to my researching harvest and agriculture past,  I wasn't sure how I should present summer.  I mean,  "Astronomical seasons are defined by Earth's position in orbit around the sun,  marked by the solstices and equinoxes,  and have variable lengths. This is what the calendars follow.  Meteorological seasons are a simpler,  fixed-length system based on the annual temperature cycle,  with each season lasting exactly three months to facilitate consistent weather data collection and comparison."

Meteorological Seasons

Winter = December,  January,  February

Spring = March,  April,  May

Summer = June,  July,  August

Autumn/Fall = September,  October,  November

I mean,  as soon as September 1st and/or Labor Day comes,  for instance,  most of us here in the northern portion begin to think of fall.  Same with Memorial Day in late May - we think of summer,  for June 1st is right there.  When March 1st hits,  in my mind it's spring,  no matter the weather.  And December tells me it's wintertime,  with all the Christmas lights,  lack of sunlight,  and wintery/Christmas music. 

Yes,  overlapping always seems to occur no matter which you prefer...but... my Spring at Greenfield Village post goes from mid-April through June, due to its mid-April opening.  I also did an Opening Day blog post HERE.  That being said,  I'll begin this one with a picture I took directly after the Summer Solstice,  in very late June,  only because it fits in with summer:

The past meets the future in this picture of the Wright Brothers Home, for this is the home where one of the aviator inventors was born – Orville – and he and his brother Wilbur grew up here. In fact, this is the house they were living in when they invented the airplane. So seeing a horse and carriage move past the place where future travel was invented is almost like seeing two worlds collide!

I very much enjoy the red, white, and blue we see throughout Greenfield Village during the month of June & into July, and appreciate that the Village is decorated in this manner. 

I spent this 1st day of July taking a few summer scene shots,  including this one of the Ford Farm House.  And a horse in the barnyard.

Looking across the field we can see the Firestone Farm House in the distance,  while we see the quiet little red cider mill on the right.  once fall hits,  it will be hopping.

The wheatfield only has a few days to go before reaping begins.

Ah,  here we go...the Daggett House.
By the way,  you will see plenty of Daggett and Firestone Farm photos in this post, 
for they are the two I visit the most.

I did a blog post about 4th of July at Greenfield Village for their Salute to America event HERE,  but I have some images coming up next from that evening that I have not posted yet.

Until now.

We went to this event on July 2nd - oh,  what a day...and night!!

A penny-farthing  (or big wheel)  bike...and the American flag.

The wonderful old American tunes from the 19th century.

I snapped a bit of a scenic shot---just looked up and liked what I saw.
And captured it.

My grandson enjoyed a slice of that  "sweetened snow"  we call watermelon!

My camera can be a pain in the rump,  but it sure does capture the illuminations!
Here we are at the Daggett House.

July 7 was a pretty awesome day to be at Greenfield Village,  for that was the day the Firestone Farm crew harvested their wheat crop.

Now,  I took many many photos of this event,  and what we have here are my favorites.   

It's ingrained in us that harvest time is only in the fall.  Of course,  that's true,  most of our yield comes to us shortly before the winter weather hits - in those  "brrr"  months of September,  October,  and November.  But we also know that the beginnings of harvest time hits in August,  while it's still summer!  In fact,  if you skip over to THIS posting about Lammas Day,  you'll learn more about this unseasonable season.

However,  Lammas Day and the harvests of August are directly tied to this activity of early July.

A quick meeting before the job~~~

I took a second photo from the reverse angle.

Wheat was planted in the fall,  lay dormant through winter,  and ripened for harvest in early July. 

Threshing was a labor-intensive process,  and crews of men and women were required to operate the machines and handle the grain... 

...and this was exactly what we got to see.
The past truly came to life on this day.

The archaeological record suggests that wheat was first cultivated in the regions of the
Fertile Crescent around 9600 BC.

For smaller farms,  or in less mechanized areas,  wheat could still be cut by hand.

"Bringing in the Sheaves"  refers to the popular gospel hymn written by Knowles Shaw in 1874,  based on Psalm 126:6,  which speaks of the joy of returning with the fruits of one's labor after toiling,  much like a farmer bringing in a harvest.

The central image of the hymn is that of harvesting crops,  where  "sheaves"  are bundles of grain gathered at the end of the growing season. 

The ladies of the farm were forming bundles called sheaves.

Once the loose piles of wheat were gathered up and tied into bundles,  these bundles were then stood up on end with other bundles to create a shock or stook.  This allows the grain to finish drying before it is stored or stacked for threshing later in the season.

"Every year,  the staff of Firestone Farm go into the fields to harvest wheat.  Our living history program at Firestone Farm is set in 1885,  and because the area of east central Ohio where the farm originates was not an intense grain-raising area,  the latest and greatest harvesting technology was generally not in use.  As a result,  we use a somewhat older technology—a  “self-rake reaper.” "

Wheat harvest involved horse-drawn reapers and binders cutting the crop.

Despite the mechanical advancement of the reapers,  such as the self-rake reaper seen in a few of these photos,  workers still followed behind the machine,  manually binding the grain into sheaves using the straw itself.

How did the farmers know when the wheat was ready for harvesting?
When the wheat plant reaches its final stage in the growing process,  meaning it is dry enough and no green is showing,  it is ready to be harvested.

The importance of grain in those long-ago days is given,  perhaps,  an off-handed general  sentence or two in most school history books,  not allowing students to fully grasp its importance.

The high demand for labor during this crucial harvest window meant that everyone,  including family members,  neighbors,  and hired seasonal workers,  pitched in. 

Why is Morgan smiling?
Because soon will be break time!

Here is the original Firestone Farm house,  originally built in the late 1820s and then updated and remodeled in the mid-1880s.
Since July 4th was only a few days previous,  the patriotic emblems remained on the side porch.

And that lead to the thresherman's dinner~~~

Ring the dinner bell to call in the workers.

The communal aspect of the harvest remained strong.  Neighbors and hired hands worked together during the day,  with the women of the household oftentimes preparing and serving large meals to the crews. 

This transformed the noon meal into a major social event;  while men and many women worked in the fields,  other women and girls of the host farm and neighboring families worked tirelessly in the kitchen to feed the large crew. 

On this day the Firestone Farm and farm workers enjoyed their Thresherman's Dinner - a splendid repast of fried chicken,  ham sandwiches,  pot of beans,  lemon cake,  pickles,  deviled eggs,  cheese,  corn,  corn bread...what a meal!

A dozen or more families would often contribute to the massive,  family-style meal.  The table was loaded with hearty dishes to satisfy the hungry field hands.

Since this all took place at Greenfield Village,  it is asked of the workers to wave at the passengers who ride the cars pulled by the steam locomotives as it moves past.

In fact,  whenever I am at the Village wearing my period clothing,  I will also wave,  for many don't know that I am not an employee.  Sometimes I'll forget and wave while visiting in modern clothing! 

Generally, the field workers would eat first,  followed by the women of the house.

Meet farmer Tom,  a mainstay at Firestone Farm for years now.

To me,  this shows the Thresherman's Dinner exactly as it was.
Why are they eating outside?  Remember...this is July - a hot summer day - in a
time without air conditioning.  This was their air conditioning.
Plus,  there was a lot more room to relax out doors.

Enjoying a grand meal before heading back to work~
I was told that the women of the house who cooked this dinner would try to
out do the other local farm wives.  Who benefitted?
The field workers!

The arrival of the meal was a much-anticipated moment. 

The meal was followed by a rest period before the workers went back to the fields 
to finish the task at hand.

Just imagine farm life of the 1880s when these folks would've awakened before the sun rise and sometimes worked until after the sunset,  and still might not have completed the job!

And then,  once the wheat has been shocked and threshed,  it would then be taken to the local gristmill.

The gristmill would have looked very similar to the Loranger Gristmill now located inside Greenfield Village.  It's here where the wheat berries,  which would have been threshed either by hand or by way of a threshing machine, would have been brought to be ground into flour.  

Back in the earlier days of Greenfield Village,  wheat was ground into flour here,  only to be sold in the GFV store.

Sadly,  this no longer takes place.  But every once-in-a-while there will be demonstrations.

This looks like it may be a Currier & Ives print,  but I'm not sure.  I do know it's from
the 19th century and depicts the summer harvest presentation I witnessed to a  "T"~

Out of the...wow...hmmm...hundreds and hundreds of times I've visited Greenfield Village - no exaggeration - I make sure to visit the Daggett House---at the very least as a walk by.  Out of all of those visits,  there has probably been a handful of times I did not,  for one reason or another.

Notice the redware plates and mugs.

For an 18th-century farm dinner in the summer,  families would have eaten dishes relying on fresh,  seasonal produce from the garden and available meats that did not require long-term storage.

Mr.  Daggett and his son Isaiah must still be out working in the field.
Perhaps they are harvesting wheat as well,  though I believe the ladies
would be out helping them in that case.

I very rarely snap photos using a flash.  I enjoy the natural light.

After being closed for the 2024 season,  the McGuffey Birthplace cabin reopened this summer.

Ftom what I understand,  due to the newest historic building anchored in between the McGuffey Cabin and the George Washington Carver Cabin,  the McGuffey Cabin was moved a few yards to the east.  
But everything inside is as it should be.

And now we are staunchly set in Ju;y - there next few photos show the hottest part of summer.

But also the wonderfulness that is Greenfield Village.

I see signs from numerous eras in time,  all in this one photo:

On the far left a snippet of the early 1600s Cotswold Cottage from England.

The Model T from the early 1900s.

The Daggett House from the mid-1700s.

One of the sails  (and bottom)  from the mid-1600s Farris Windmill.

A sort of silhouetted Plympton House from the early 1700s.

The Susquehanna Plantation from the mid-1800s.

All in the hazy heat of summertime.

Only at Greenfield Village can one see such a scene!

Beyond the Daggett House kitchen garden.

Looking through a window to the past...

Gigi received her pay from Greenfield Village.
She didn't realize that since she worked in an 18th century house that they
were paying her 18th century wages!

Great Daggett presenter,  Gigi,  left her job at the Village for a short while.
Well,  lucky for us,  she returned this summer - good to have her back!

Here we have the Giddings House,  built near the same time as Daggett:  mid-1700s.

Norm returning from the bedchamber above stairs.

Norm stepping into the McGuffey Cabin,  built around 1789.

Here is the opposite wall of the McGuffey Cabin.

As per our usual when we visit the Village while wearing period clothing,  we had to go to the Eagle Tavern for some lunch.

I'm not a drinker,  but there is a bar and barkeep at the tavern.

Myself and Norm.
The barroom,  where the tavern-owner generally served as the bar-keeper  (the term  'bartender'  was not common until at least the 1860's - barkeeper  was the appropriate term before that time),  was the primary place for men to get a drink and to socialize as well as have discussions that could be too harsh for feminine ears.  

The non-denominational church,  Martha-Mary Chapel,  based on New England churches.

From Phoenixville,  Connecticut came the building of the local apothecary,  

originally built in 1825. 

This building also became the town post office in November of 1850.  

It remained an apothecary while serving as a post office.

Greenfield Village shows the two together.

I was walking along the front of the Firestone Farm field and saw this scene.
That's the Ford House in the distance.

I came upon the Ford House just in time to see the horse and carriage - the mode of transportation Henry Ford made obsolete - move past.

This is actually a farm house and originally sat upon 60 acres.
The land may be gone,  but the kitchen garden remains.

Two lovely Ford House presenters.

Still the Ford House there in the background on the right.
But there on the left we see the red William Ford Barn built by Henry's father, 
William,  in 1863 - the same year Henry was born. 

Here is a photo I posted for Henry Ford's 162nd birthday on July 30.  It is an image of the replicated Ford Motor Company building with a Model T putt-putt-ing passed...I thought it would be the perfect way to celebrate the birth  (in 1863)  of the founder of not only Ford cars and trucks - the Ford Motor Company - but also the founder of the amazing Greenfield Village and the Edison Institute/Henry Ford Museum.

Oh!  And look!  I see the house he was born in there in the background!

The Cotswold Cottage from England - built near the end of the Renaissance period.
I find that very cool~~~

A horse and carriage clip-clops near the grove of mulberry trees next to Hank's Silk Mill.

So now we can head into August.

I planned to visit on August 1st - Lammas Day - but I had my own Lammas Day celebration going on  (click HERE),   so I visited the Village a few days later,  during that first week of August:

Standing at the doorway leading into the Firestone dining room, 
I saw this wonderful scene directly out of the dining room window. 
Luckily I was able to capture it clearly.

So what to my wondering eyes should appear,  but a horse and cart with farmers spreading manure!
I love that the Firestone Farm is a real working 1880s farm~

This almost looks like the beginning of fall - a hint of change in the leaves - but it was actually taken August 29.  This is why I follow the meteorological seasons I spoke of at the beginning of this post.
Fall is nigh...

From the inside of the Richart Carriage Shop.

To get to the Daggett House from Firestone Farm,  I need to pass through Greenfield Village's Main Street district,  showing a downtown of the turn of the 20th century..

Looking through the 1832 Ackley Covered Bridge.
Once we cross through this bridge,  we can see colonial America spring up.

I've often been asked,  "Why are you obsessed with the Daggett House?"

If I'm obsessed with anything,  it would be history itself,  and particularly,  colonial American history,  and the Daggett House  (and the family that once lived there)  are smack-dab in the middle of it all.

But I have to giggle at those who think that way about me.  I mean,  I've seen and heard of people who have real obsessions,  like some who watch football:

"I watch two games on Sunday.  I tape three,  then I watch the Monday game;  Tuesday I watch one of the three I taped,  Wednesday I watch another one...I watch the Thursday night game,  then Friday I watch the Sunday night game.  Saturday I watch college football."

Bill Burr  (comedian)

Now,  I would say that  is a bit obsessive.

But it's cool - it's what he loves.

My point is,  no one blinks an eye at sports obsessions,  but me visiting the Daggett House once a week or so,  researching the family,  and perhaps writing blog posts about it is somehow extreme?

For me Samuel Daggett,  his family and his life,  just seems to fit the criteria of me if I had lived back in those mid-18th century days.

Daggett presenters who work inside the house...

But,  as for my passion  for this house:

A)  The house is an authentic historical artifact that was built around 1750  (my favorite time-period)

B)  It is restored to look as it may have during the last half of the 18th century  (yes!!)

C)  As it sits inside Greenfield Village,  period-dress presenters work in and around the house,  doing chores and activities of those who actually lived in it when it was first built  (I,  myself,  have watched and learned and then researched)

D)  This more than likely would have been my life had I'da'  lived back then  (and I'm sort of experiencing it by way of living history every visit to the frontier cabin)

E)  It is the only historical house of its kind in all of Michigan,  and I even know of a husband and wife who replicated this house on their own property!

Since they eat seasonally here,  they use the same ingredients that would have
been available depending on the season of the year it is,  in this case,  later August. 
Summer apples!

Norm and I fit in very well with our Daggett friends.  In fact,  with Norm portraying a preacher here,  this was probably more accurate than not at this very religious house,  for the Daggetts were very religious people.

18th century gathering of friends:  Diane,  Norm,  Gigi,  and me~

We always take a few moments to check out the back kitchen garden.
There's so much history involved in it.

Colonial families would have grown such a variety of necessities back here - not just vegetables,  but plants for medicinal purposes as well.
Say hello to Sarah.

Generally,  when I'm dressed in my 18th century clothing,  I try to stay in the colonial part of the Village,  over near Daggett,  Giddings,  Plympton,  and the like,  for I am way out of time anywhere else  (except the Tavern).  But every-so-often I may take a peep at what's going on at Firestone Farm.

That's 1775 Ken looking about 110 years into the future.
I do so wish they would utilize the Daggett Farm House closer to the same manner as they do the Firestone Farm.  Oh,  I realize they don't have room for fields the size of Firestone,  but they can still do more planting and plowing,  showing an 18th century farm,  and in this way they can show the slight differences between the two time periods. 

Pumpkins throughout what's known as Peter's  (Firestone)  Field.

That red building off in the distance is the Martinsville Cider Mill.  It is directly across the way from the Firestone apple orchard,  where heirloom apples trees are planted  (on the left).  Such apple varieties as Belmonts,  Rambo,  Maiden's Blush,  Orange Pippin,  Baldwin,  Roxbury Russett - popular in the 18th and 19th centuries - are utilized in traditional ways.
This is where I first learned and gained an interest in heirloom apples and how they played a role in our great nation's history  (click HERE).

Two working in the kitchen garden and one on her way out to the field with a horse and cart.
Real working farm indeed!

Off to the field to do that job of jobs,  manuring!

In the 1880s,  manuring was critically important for American farmers,  serving as the primary source of fertilizer for sustaining crop yields.

Summer apples for,  perhaps a pie,  a stroodle,  sauce,  or to be added as part of the main meal.

As the month of August neared closer to September,  the harvest yield grew larger and larger.  With the wheat that was threshed a month earlier now turned into flour,  the Firestones would have a hearty autumn season ahead.
That's called being prepared!
This is in the cold room part of the basement of Firestone Farm.
Yes,  the presenters use the footstuffs seen here.

Across  "Peter's Field"  at Firestone Farm we see the Loranger Gristmill.

Here is another angle of the Gristmill.
During the 1880s,  gristmills were a pivotal part of American life,  serving as the central hub of many agricultural communities despite the rise of industrial milling technology.  While industrialization began to consolidate flour production,  local gristmills continued to maintain their importance by meeting the immediate local needs of farmers and also serving as vital social information centers. 

Norm was hoping to get pick up woven fabric for a new garment from the Weaver's Shop.
Alas,  no one answered.

Here we have the JR Jones General Store next to the Eagle Tavern.
I'm sure any general store next to a tavern would be busier than normal,  for this would give the travelers a chance to pick up a newspaper,  perhaps a book,  or possibly other provisions they might need on their long journey. 

While sitting on the Mattox porch,  I could see the slave houses.

In 2022,  Greenfield Village added a new historic structure:

The Detroit Central Farmers Market originally built in Detroit in 1861.

It’s one of the buildings where,  back in the later 19th century,  vegetables were primarily sold.

Something else I learned,  which sort of ties together the overall story Greenfield Village is the telling of the Ford family’s possible ties to the market:  it is quite likely that Henry’s family would have used the central market,  as did the rest of the large extended Ford family.  

I snapped so many more pictures,  but the ones here were my brightest and best.  So now it's time to head into meteorological fall,  for Labor Day Weekend and the beginning of September was at our doorstep.

I plan to do another blog post about Greenfield Village in the fall,  which will probably be more picturesque .

Until next time,  see you in time.

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