Have you ever wondered how rope and brooms were made before there were shopping malls and hardware stores? What about butter; where did it come from before there were supermarkets?
Old Time Harvest Day in Grove City, will give today’s youthful generation a look into the past on Oct. 5 from 1-5 p.m. at Century Village, 4185 Orders Road.
"This is truly an event for the entire family and the best part is that it is completely free," said Joan Eyerman, an organizer and member of the Southwest Franklin County Historical Society.
The historical society and the city of Grove City work together on the annual event.
"Believe it or not, one of our most popular activities is the old fashioned way of washing clothes," Eyerman said. "Children will line up to wash socks then use a hand wringer before hanging their ‘clean’ clothing on a clothes line. It’s amazing how many children don’t know what a clothes line is and others have never seen a clothes pin."
Century Village, located at Fryer Park, is the venue for this event because it represents the initial stage of developing for a typical central Ohio community of the 1850s. The park features a brick, one-room school complete with a "viewing only" two-seat outhouse, windmill, log cabin and a log barn.
Another opportunity for children to participate involves what was called the corn cob shuttle cocks. The shuttle cocks were used in a game similar to badminton. They are made from a piece of a corn cob with small holes drilled by an old fashioned pump drill. Pheasant feathers are inserted in the holes to keep it airborne when hit.
There will be all types of demonstrations including how to use a two-man buck saw, leather tooling, a display of brooms, corn husking, grinding, wheat flailing and the labor intensive process of churning to make butter.
Many other activities are scheduled. For additional information on the Old Time Harvest Day activities, check the calendar of events at visitgrovecityoh.com.
