Autumn at Greenfield Village 2020

Few things get me more excited than visiting Greenfield Village during the season of Autumn.  We got very lucky during this year of the covid-19 lockdown to still be able to visit the amazing open-air museum,  though numerous activities,  including the Fall Flavors  (harvest)  weekends had been cancelled.  However,  that didn't mean fall was not in the air.  In fact,  the powers-that-be who run the Village really did their best to keep history alive and truly did a remarkable job in doing so,  and for that my hat is off to them.

So,  let's begin in September and we'll move our way through most of November,  I tried to capture it all. 

Labor Day at Firestone Farm:  "Look at how well the corn is doing!"

"In fact,  I think I'll get me an ear!"

A visit to Greenfield Village is not a true visit unless I stop at the Daggett House.

You know,  with all of the changes taking place in order for the Village to stay open,  I have to say that the good folks who work there - this includes not only the higher ups,  but the presenters as well,  for I know they played a part in the ideas - made some of the best lemonade I ever tasted as life threw them lemons!

For instance,  this is the first time I saw them make soap over at the Daggett House.  Unfortunately,  I was not able to stay very long on this day so all I was able to capture was the prep,  but even that was very cool to see and hear about:

Set up to make lye soap

Some history for you:
After the colonists were settled and had been able to survive the first years of hardships,  they

found it more advantageous to make soap themselves using the copious amount of wood ashes, 

a natural result of their homesteading activities.  With also a plentiful supply of animal fat from

the butchering of the animals they used for food,  the colonists had on hand all the ingredients

for soap making.  They did not have to rely on waiting for soap to be shipped from England and

waste their goods or few pieces of currency in trade for soap.

You can see the ashes from the hearth.

Soap,  with some work and luck,  could be made for free.  Soap making was performed as a yearly or semiannual event on the homesteads of the early settlers.  As the butchering of animals took place in the fall,  soap was made at that time on many homesteads and farms to utilize the large supply of tallow and lard that resulted.  

On the homes or farms where butchering was not done,  soap was generally made in the spring using the ashes from the winter fires and the waste of cooking grease that had accumulated throughout the year.

For a while this year,  visitors were not allowed to go inside most of the structures,  so,  instead,  were able to peek through the windows to see the past:

Jan was carding the flax without the use of paddles.

Before spinning,  the flax needs to be  "carded."

No...no carding paddles are used.  Instead,  the flax is sort of fanned out on a table,  a few pieces at a time, all laying out in the same direction,  and making sure to remove any knots or small bunched up pieces.

This is a fairly long and tedious process.

Later in September we see the farmers at Firestone Farm making corn shocks.

The harvest of the field crops at Firestone Farm have actually been underway since July as the wheat ripened.  The fall is when the field corn was harvested,  however,  and by the end of September or early October,  the corn at Firestone Farm would be standing in neat shocks.  

Firestone Farm pre-dates the era of the silo,  when corn stalks were chopped up and made into a slightly fermented feed known as silage.  So instead,  corn stalks were chopped and fed as fodder.

Gathering the stalks into shocks had an important purpose.  The inside stalks,  sheltered from the elements,  retained their nutritional value for quite some time and the actual shock made a handy manageable portion for the farmer to haul from the field for his cattle.  

The corn was either picked before shocking,  or at the time the shock was pulled from the field.  

This picture in of itself reminds me why I love a Greenfield Village autumn.

Corn then had to be husked and then thrown into the corn crib for further drying.  Firestone barn has an enormous corn crib running the entire side of the barn shed.  Once dry it could be shelled and then either fed as shelled corn or ground into feed or meal.

With the early 19th century Edison house on the left,  and the 1832 Ackley Covered Bridge on the right,  the fall colors of the garden seem to jump out of the picture.  

For most of October,  the Village was closed unless you had tickets for their Hallowe'en event.  However,  rather than open up at 5 or 6 and be forced to follow a path,  this year for Hallowe'en,  the Village opened a couple hours earlier than they normally would,  allowing us to enjoy a bit of late afternoon in October and roam freely throughout.

It was awesome!

October 24:

The vibrant colors were beautiful amidst the historic buildings.
We were lucky we had a bit of sun as well.

Now we'll move onto the Hallowe'en experience,  which was the best they've had in a very long time...

As was stated it in the program,  their event has been   "delightfully reimagined to ensure every guest's visit is safe,  responsible,  and fun."

What they did was take a mostly children's oriented evening and threw some cool stuff in for us older kids and made it even better.  They even included an evening train ride through haunted forests.

Pretty cool.

And here are a few pictures from our time there - - 

Nods to the Legend of Sleepy Hollow could be seen in various areas.

This is also from Sleepy Hollow,  but I have no idea what it is called.

For the first time,  Greenfield Village introduced the Hallowe'en Express.

"Board one of our ghostly passenger cars for a ride on the Hallowe'en Express.  This 20 minute train ride will take you on a tour of ghosts,  monsters,  and urban legends as it winds through the erie but enchanted woods of Greenfield Village.  What sort of spectral beings or creatures of the night will you see?"

(from the Greenfield Village Hallowe'en hand out)

I was lucky to be able to take a ride on the train,  which took place after the sun went down.  It was at the end of our time at the Village and,  unfortunately,  I must have hit a button on my camera because my pictures were pretty horrible.  However,  I do have a few photos of the daytime rides:

This picture and the one below was very cool,  for the train on the left was a 
"ghost train."
Check out the next shot below  to see what happens:

Flames shooting out of the smokestack!
This was very cool!

Ian Kushnir took this picture of the  "ghost train"  as the sun was setting.

It is unfortunate my touchy camera decided not to work while I was on the train itself,  for I missed some awesome opportunities to get a few pretty cool shots.

However,  a member of the Friends of Greenfield Village Facebook page,  Kristen A. Dankert,  took a few photos during her daytime ride and graciously allowed me to post a couple here:

At one point a monster came out of the woods.

We were transported to the British Isles!
I believe these were Druids dancing around a fire.

(Thanks again to Kristen A. Dankert for the above two photographs.)

The one picture I did take on the train that actually turned
out pretty cool - the lantern hanging from the ceiling
of our train car.

It's not often I can visit my favorite house at the beginning of twilight time.
With few clouds I was able to capture that time wonderfully as the sun sank below
the horizon.

And then...the shadows began to blend with the darkness.
That is my silhouette in the Daggett window...

Ian captured a likeness of me in the Daggett kitchen garden.

Just a bit of  strategically placed lighting can transform a house into something
slightly more spooky,  such as what you see here at the Giddings House.
Of course,  it helps if the house is 270 years old!

~The Woman in White~
"Inspired by the character Miss Havisham in Charles Dickens 1860 Great Expectations,  the Woman in White has been trapped in a dimension of her own creation,  fueled by her grief and broken heart after having been jilted at the altar.  Though she reaches out,  she cannot see or hear anyone beyond her own sphere."
(from the Greenfield Village Hallowe'en hand out)

I like this picture for it has a sort of ethereal feel to it.
It's just kind of cool.

My son likes to dress in dark clothing,  so I thought posing him with the undertaker
at the cemetery gate might make for an interesting picture.
And it does!

The Eagle Tavern  was closed to the public during this year of covid, 
but it did have its own bone-chilling scenario displayed.

"The Grim Reaper has - falsely - been depicted as an evil spirit that preys on mortals. 
In truth,  he is merely a force of nature and order."
(from the Greenfield Village Hallowe'en hand out)

Could this be Sleepy Hollow?

Washington Irving's 1820 story,  The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,  has always played prominently in the Village's Hallowe'en event,  and they really do a marvelous depiction.

I see Ichabod Crane being chased by the Headless Horseman! 

Yes,  I dressed in my period clothing to attend.
No,  it is not a costume,  but I could not think of a better way to get
some of the evening and nighttime photos,  such as what you see here, 
unless I wore it for this Hallowe'en extravaganza.

In early November I took another jaunt to the Village

I visited Greenfield Village for the first time around 1972,  and the Daggett House was not there at that time.  It was not until 1983 before I made it back there again and guess what?  Yes---I saw the home of Samuel & Anna Daggett for the first time,  and it has been my favorite ever since.  I am just drawn to it...

Sometimes a picture is just asking to be taken!

As of this writing,  November is not over.  I have high hopes to do one more daytime visit before it closes up for the year  (aside for Holiday Nights in December,  which I also plan to attend).

You will probably see a blog post for each visit.

I am so thankful that those in control at The Henry Ford have been able to not only open the Village up,  but  (in their own words)  "re-imagine"  the presentations.  They kept it alive - the presenters found new ways of showing and depicting the past.  As a person who is already thinking of next year,  I am very interested and excited to see what the future past will bring.

"Gotta feeling  '21 is gonna be a good year..."

Until next time,  see you in time.

To visit a couple of other Autumn excursions - - - 

Click HERE for our Colonial Harvest Day in 1770

Click HERE for a modern twist to traditional activities

~   ~   ~