50 years of the Pioneer Village

The Indiana State Fair

I live in a state that was settled

by the pioneers who headed West

to find a new life in the great unknown.

And every year at the Indiana State

Fair that heritage is celebrated in the

Pioneer Village ~ this year marks the

50th anniversary of the village.

There are demonstrations of

blacksmiths and wheelwrights

and old time farm equipment.

There are old fashioned contests

like this homemade ice cream

"crank-off".

There is always music and it

 is very popular.  I find I like to

hear a good banjo player.

Inside the barn are demonstrations of

many crafts.  If you wanted something

back then, you had to make it yourself.

Rughooking.

Quilting.

Tatting.

Spinning.

Wood carving.

This is the Summer Kitchen,

I could move right in.

The Farm Kitchen ~ imagine filling

up all those chairs with the workers

from the field and having to feed

them 3 times a day.  This still happens

out here in rural areas of our country.

I feel a kinship with those pioneers.

Twenty-one years ago this week I left

my city life to start anew in the great

unknown.  Though my journey was

certainly much easier in a car with a

moving van meeting us out there, it

still was a great adjustment.  I still

feel the divide after all these years

but now this is home.  In my first

week of living here I went to my first

State Fair and I was amazed.  I didn't

know anything about this.  Since then

I have tried to visit the Fair every year,

I raised my kids in 4-H and we have

had many wonderful experiences here.

There are great State Fairs all over

America ~ go visit one.