Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Winter on the Farm
Mahafie farm is about 3 miles from our house. It was built in the 1800s by one of the Olathe settler families and was constructed specifically to act as a stagecoach stop. Nora made arrangements for Pierce's cub scout den to visit the farm last Saturday.
The farm is owned by the City of Olathe and is being restored back to its original structure (it was a private residence up through the 1970s). The farm is usually closed through the winter but was to be open on Saturday specifically for a Winter on the Farm day.
And boy was it. Starting early in the morning we started getting snow. By the time we got in the car to go to Mahafie's there was a good 4 inches on the ground and more coming down. The rest of the cub scout families opted not to come due to the weather, but it was definitely their loss.
The farm is staffed by volunteers all in period costumes. We met a blacksmith, watched the summer kitchen being used to make soap, watched ham and bacon being smoked in the farm's smokehouse, and went down into the farm's cellar to see the evening's meal being prepared in the turn-of-the-century kitchen. Again, due to the weather, we were the only ones at the farm so we got LOTs of individualized attention.
The farm features the only still-operated stage coach in the country, so we got a nice ride. The staff also broke out the sleigh, so we had an opportunity to take a one-horse open sleigh ride around the grounds complete with jingle bells (seriously).
We spent a couple of hours there and I don't imagine we'll ever have such a unique, and individualized, opportunity again.
-Eric (Dad)
The farm is owned by the City of Olathe and is being restored back to its original structure (it was a private residence up through the 1970s). The farm is usually closed through the winter but was to be open on Saturday specifically for a Winter on the Farm day.
And boy was it. Starting early in the morning we started getting snow. By the time we got in the car to go to Mahafie's there was a good 4 inches on the ground and more coming down. The rest of the cub scout families opted not to come due to the weather, but it was definitely their loss.
The farm is staffed by volunteers all in period costumes. We met a blacksmith, watched the summer kitchen being used to make soap, watched ham and bacon being smoked in the farm's smokehouse, and went down into the farm's cellar to see the evening's meal being prepared in the turn-of-the-century kitchen. Again, due to the weather, we were the only ones at the farm so we got LOTs of individualized attention.
The farm features the only still-operated stage coach in the country, so we got a nice ride. The staff also broke out the sleigh, so we had an opportunity to take a one-horse open sleigh ride around the grounds complete with jingle bells (seriously).
We spent a couple of hours there and I don't imagine we'll ever have such a unique, and individualized, opportunity again.
-Eric (Dad)
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