As Mother Nature was mixing up her own soupy blend of wind and rain outside the Durant-Peterson House in St. Charles last weekend, inside this restored prairie farm house, circa 1843, docents garbed in period regalia were churning tales of life on the farm back in the 19th Century.
”The main question I get the most from children is who worked the most,” said guide Amy Hiler of St.Charles.
”Was it the mom or the dad? And I tell them that neither worked harder than the other, just differently,” she said.
Standing on her tiptoes, 6-year-old Kelly Boynton of St. Charles watched intently as Hiler scooped freshly made butter from a bowl and dished out dollops of history to the youngsters congregated around the wooden kitchen table.
”I wouldn`t like to do this,” said 8-year-old Lindsay Boynton.
And although the sisters momentarily enjoyed slipping on bonnets and aprons from yesteryear, listening to an anecdote on how children who behaved were first in line for warm, clean bathwater, learning a cute little ditty on churning butter and getting a hands-on taste of kneading bread, they both agreed that this was not something they`d want a regular diet of.
”My mom use to do this and she hated it,” said Lisa Butler of Wheaton as she turned the wooden churn, waiting to sample a cornmeal ”johnny cake”
drizzled with butter.
The 19th Century kitchen was a beehive of activity. Costumed interpreter Janet Safanda walked weekend visitors through the steps of breadmaking as well as different means used to bake bread, from an open hearth to a beehive oven. ”I told my husband he can buy me a butter churn,” said Anastasia Warzak of Elgin. ”At first it sounds difficult, but it`s interesting how to do it and the butter is not so salty and tastes better than store bought.”
For Warzak`s 4-year-old daughter Denise, the real treat was the children`s room, where she was able to touch the old dolls that adorned the bed.
