Wiregrass Heritage Festival
How did farmers harvest the fruits of their labors as the 20th century was dawning? How did they prepare their products for market or home use?
For the answers to these and a multitude of other agricultural questions, Wiliam Holman, executive director of Landmark Park, invites the residents of the area to attend the Wiregrass Heritage Festival, which will be held at the park on Saturday, October 25.
“The Wiregrass Heritage Festival, which is a combination of our Pioneer Days and the Fall Folk Festival that we held in years past, takes a look at many of the traditional fall farming activities,” Holman said. “Most of the activities are harvest-related.”
This year’s festival will feature an all but forgotten art - sugar cane grinding.
“One of the highlights of this year’s festival will be a demonstration of grinding sugar cane and cooking syrup,” Holman continued. “This was a very common activity years ago. It has all but disappeared today. Fortunately, we have a few people who will bring it back to life at the festival.”
Holman also noted that, with this area known for its peanut production, it would not be a harvest festival without peanuts being involved.
“We will demonstrate how the harvesting of peanuts was done 50-60 years ago or more,” Holman said. “Peanuts were stacked on poles to dry. We’ll demonstrate the digging and stacking of peanuts. Peanut stacks were once a sight all over the Wiregrass.”
Holman added that modern technology has definitely eased the harvesting of peanuts today. A task now performed with machinery was once done with hand-held implements.
Today’s peanut pickers move through the fields to gather the crops. That is not how it was done in the 1850s.
“(Peanut) pickers were stationary,” Holman said as he described the process used in days gone by. “The stacks were brought to the picker. It was hard, dirty work. It took a tremendous amount of labor to do it.”
Aiding in the demonstration of peanut harvesting this year will be members of several local FFA groups. Holman says their involvement helps the younger generation of farmers see how far technology has brought farming.
“One of the neat things is that the local FFA groups have gotten interested in this event,” Holman said. “Some are volunteering and helping run the equipment. They are learning how much agriculture has changed.”
An antique farm equipment show will allow festival visitors to see the tools and equipment many of their ancestors used as they turned the Wiregrass region from wilderness land to profitable farming property.
“We have folks coming from all over the Southeast to display their antique equipment,” Holman said. “They will bring antique tractors and equipment that they have restored. That event will be held near the Stokes Activity Barn.”
The festival, which begins at 10 a.m. and runs until 4 p.m., will be filled with activities for the entire family.
“We will have activities for all ages,” Holman said. “We will have demonstrations of blacksmithing, butter churning, all the typical events associated with farm life. Some of those include quilting, cooking on an open hearth, washing clothes in a kettle and making soap.
“These are activities that were once part of everyday life. We hope kids come out and see how life was back then.”
There are also activities specifically for children.
“We will have wagon rides, a maze and The Barnyard playground will be open,” Holman said.
A variety of entertainment will be held throughout the day.
“We will have continuous music,” Holman said. “We will have bluegrass, the Wallace Community College choral group will perform folk songs, and we will have cloggers, from Performing Arts Spectrum, on stage as well.”
As an added attraction, the Wiregrass Beekeepers Association will be in the Interpretive Center with an observation bee hive. Visitors can see how a hive works without the threat of a bee sting.
“We will have some of our local honey for sell at the Heritage Festival,” Holman added.
“The Wiregrass Harvest Festival is a great family day filled with hands-on activities for children,” Holman continued. “It also serves as a great lead in for the National Peanut Festival (which begins October 31), which is a sponsor of this event.”
The Shelley General Store and Martin Drugstore will be open, selling ice cream, candy and old country items. The “King Cotton: Growing Cotton in Alabama 1850-1962” exhibit will be on display at the Alabama Agricultural Museum.
Admission to the Wiregrass Heritage Festival is $8 for adults, $6 for senior citizens, $4 for children, and free for members and children 3 and under.
Landmark Park, home of the Alabama Agricultural Museum, is a 100-acre historical and natural science park located on U.S. Highway 431 North in Dothan.
For more information, contact Landmark Park at 794-3452.
Comments
Leave a Comment