6.02.2010

How I felt after today: How much stuff can you possibly fit into 8 hours?
Keep reading and find out!

     I got up bright and early at 7 am to be ready for work at 8. Luckily tomorrow (and until further notice) I don’t have to be at work until 9:45! Chelsi’s schedule is exactly the same as mine, so I am excited that she and I will be able to work together.

     We went straight into training, and Jesse had an enormous pile of books and owners manuals for me to read. They included the weed-whacker book (excuse me, “bush trimmer“), push mower book, and a resource management book, among several others. I was educated about “Anhydrous spill” risks since there are a few nitrogen plants which emit ammonia into the air and about how if there is ever a cloud that comes over the monument we are supposed to go into a closet and seal off the cracks in the door frame with plastic wrap and duct tape. Pretty scary!

     After a Chelsi came in, we headed to a meeting about some activities to use when kids come for prairie walks. These included “birdie bingo”, in which you have to identify 3 prairie birds in a row, and there is also a “Prairie Plant Prowl Scavenger Hunt” where you have to identify things like mint plants, asters, milkweeds, and a legume. We also had to learn about the tall grass prairie, prairie plants, and prairie animals. Did you know that an adult male bison stands about 6 and ½ feet high at the shoulder?

     We drove to the HC (Heritage Center) and learned about a “walking A frame” that was used to measure the land. We were told about how a plum was hung from the middle to get a half measurement. Some information from the meeting: 80 rods was ¼ of a mile or 1300 feet, and 1 rod 5 ½ yards or 16 feet. The guy who was talking mumbled a lot, and with the cool wind blowing it made it difficult to hear him.

     We learned about the “hand corn planter“, a machine that would be “jammed” into the ground, earning it the name “jabber”. When you jammed it into the ground, a part on the top would release 4 corn kernels into the hole. Then you cover it up, and voila! An older man volunteering was telling and showing us how to use the walking A frame and the corn planter. He spoke about how he had used the walking A frame for a job he had measuring land plots in high school.

     We also learned how to “wash” clothes like the old homesteaders once did, and got to see the aluminum wash board, wooden “stomper”, and the metal “stomper”. We also got to see real lye soap a woman in town created, and we were shown how to churn butter and told what needed to be done to make butter. As in, milking the cow and skimming the cream off of the top to make into heavy whipping cream. We didn’t have a cow or any of the ingredients necessary, but the main part was learning that the heavy whipping cream would not be made into butter if it was cold. We were learning all of this for Homestead Days in June, when we will be dressing up as old homesteaders and taking part in the “Living History” displays around the park.

     We walked on the prairie and learned about the types of butterflies. There are mainly gossamer-winged and sulfur butterflies on the prairie, and we see white ones all the time, everywhere. They are really pretty and they don’t run away when you try to get close to them. We also learned more about the native and non-native species of plants, and I wasn’t really interested because all I could think about was eating lunch. My stomach was growling like crazy.

     After that, we went to the community garden to see how much damage the previous night’s hail had done. The poor little garden was devastated, but you could see where the melons and lettuce were trying to make it. The garden is fully organic with no pesticides or fertilizers. They are trying to grow things like peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, squash, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, beans, peas and onions. It is a work in progress.

     For our lunch break, the three of us went back to the house and reheated out Chinese leftovers. They were still delicious! We caught a ride with Jessica and went back to the HC to learn how to “spin”.

     We learned how to spin wool and got to play with the wool and use the brushes made of wood with metal teeth (they looked like the wire slicker brush you’d use to brush your dog) to “card” the wool. This is done to remove residual dirt and other matter left in the fibers, and to straighten and blend the threads into slivers. One of the park rangers, Jessica, made me a bracelet from some wool. We also got to see dyed wool that a woman in town had done. They have a lot of people in town who do a lot for the monument. I think it’s pretty cool that everyone in Beatrice is so closely knit.

     We stood in the doorway briefly and learned about quilting, and making squares to keep the batting even. I’m not sure if we will be actually quilting, or just pretending like we are during Homestead Days.

     We got in the car and drove down the highway to the Freeman School. I had not yet been to the school, so here’s a little bit of history. The Freeman School stands as a reminder of the role schoolhouses played on the prairie frontier. The Freeman School was a center for the education of children from 1872 until 1967. Located one mile west of the Homestead Heritage Center on Highway 4, the Freeman School is part of the Homestead National Monument. After closing in 1967, the school was donated to the National Park Service in 1970. The inside looks really neat, complete with furniture on the inside appropriate to the time period.

     We then went back to the EC (Education Center) to learn how to candle dip just like they did in the homestead days. Candles were initially made out of animal fat. After an animal was slaughtered the fat was collected and rendered to make candles. These candles smoked badly, burned quickly and smelled. Adding bees wax to the fat helped to create a longer lasting, better smelling, slower burning candle. One must think about if a homesteader did not have an animal to slaughter to get fat from, what would they do? A resourceful homesteader would collect their grease drippings after each time they cooked some meat. If the grease spoiled, they could make candles by rendering the spoiled fat and impurities. If impurities were left in the fat, the candles will rot.

     “Pack the wagon” is an event geared toward the children about what a Pioneer family traveling west might have packed in their wagon for the five-month journey. The directions state: “What would you take on your journey? Keep in mind that it was recommended to only load it with 1600-1800 pounds, although it could carry 2000 pounds.” Things are listed with the weight next to them like  an anvil would be 150 pounds, then a water barrel would be 350 pounds. The kids then have to stack the items they choose on the back of an actual wagon, but the pile cannot be more than two feet high or everything will fall out. It’s like a Homestead jigsaw puzzle on the back of a wagon!

     We went back inside and tried on some hideous dresses they had set aside for us for the Living History display. Chelsi settled on a dark green, long-sleeved dress with yellow flowers on the outside (it goes great with her red hair), I found an ugly long-sleeved blue-and-white-striped dress with buttons down the front that was really long. Allison found a tan dress with buttons down the front which fit her quite nicely. We all put on our dresses and went into the lobby, and the park rangers were ALL laughing at us, saying how cute we were. I said in a hick voice to the girls, “Are y’all ready to hit up the local bar?” The park rangers thought this was hilarious. We took off our dresses and Chelsi had to go tend to the native plant display, while Allison and I were off for the day. We went home and I began writing this journal while she read The Watchmen.

     I went to the book store and bought a Birds of Nebraska Field Guide so I will know what a “Dickcissel” is when Jesse or Chelsi quizzes me on what one looks like. “I have to try not to giggle every time someone says that” - words straight from Jessica, a park ranger.

     For dinner we made chicken fingers with chipotle-honey sauce with lima beans from scratch! Well, “scratch” as in it didn’t come in a box. It was delicious! Now we are watching Batman Forever on VHS.

The highlight of my day: Chelsi, Allison and I were all in Allison’s car when Chelsi used “y’all” in a sentence. She laughed, turned and looked at me and goes, “Your “y’all” is starting to rub off on me!”