Visitors to Wagner Farm on Saturday took a horse-drawn wagon ride back in time for a taste of life on the farm a hundred years ago in the year 1922.
Saturday’s inaugural Spring on the Farm event at Historic Wagner Farm offered families a chance to whitewash the barn with Tom Sawyer, meet and greet new livestock friends, take part in old-fashioned lawn games, ride a horse-drawn wagon and learn about the workings of a typical 1920s dairy farm.
Kendra Strubhart, program manager at Historic Wagner Farm, says this was the first year for the Spring on the Farm event.
“Pre-COVID-19 we offered our Veterinarian for a Day events, but involving outside practitioners was becoming prohibitive,” Strubhart said. “This year we decided it was time to try something new, a program that would focus on showcasing the historic aspects of family farm life.”
Strubhart says that the 1920s was a great era for farming, a farming heyday, with many new innovations.
Saturday’s event highlighted the excitement around innovations like the corn feed processor and the evolution from a manual wringer to an electric washing machine, these and others brought to life during interactive demonstrations provided by historic interpreters.
Sophia Kramarz of Niles attended with family.
“We wanted to experience farming up close and personal, a chance to enjoy being outside in a picturesque spot, in a place not too far from home,” Kramarz said.
According to Strubhart, for a preregistration ticket price of $5 per person, $7 at the door, visitors were invited to connect to the past and experience how people lived over 100 years ago.
Micah Shapiro of Des Plaines attended with his family.
“We needed a place to go today, a place that was relatively close, reasonably priced, and not too complicated, for a child-friendly family outing,” Shapiro said.
Gina Grillo is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.
