Oliver Miller Homestead Plans Flax to Linen Fest, Pioneer Game Day

Last Updated on Friday, 01 August 2014 02:10

An Eighteenth Century Flax to Linen Fest will be held at the historic Oliver Miller Homestead in South Park on Sunday, August 17 from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. On this special day, visitors to the Homestead will see the processing of flax to linen from harvesting to rippling, retting, breaking, scutching, hackling, spinning, and being woven into cloth on the loom. Come and learn what these terms mean!

Flax

As summer draws to a close, it's time to have one last weekend of fun. The members of the Oliver Miller Homestead Association invite you to join them at the Homestead in South Park on Sunday, August 31, as they illustrate the practical as well as the lighter side of pioneer life in the late days of summer. Learn how our ancestors entertained themselves by coming to the Oliver Miller Homestead. Many of the games and diversions that they created arose from their chores and the talents that they needed to accomplish them. Guests to the Homestead may participate in games such as the Garden Varmint Toss, where a child's aim would have been improved. Other games will include Table Top 9 Pins, Put 'n Take, Shove 'Ha Penny, and an early version of horseshoes.

Guests will be invited to participate in sack races and other games to show whether they have the necessary skills to survive on the frontier.

Young people may participate in a picture scavenger hunt when they will search out various articles on the site and will be rewarded with a treat.

Sack Race

The associates, in period dress, will also conduct tours of the stone house, the springhouse, the log house, the forge, demonstration shed, transportation shed, and the barn. The members will present ongoing demonstrations of spinning, weaving, quilting, open hearth cooking, blacksmith work, and the use of hand tools to make everyday items. The Trading Post, which is located in the barn, will be open for business with books, trade goods, and items made at the Homestead available for sale.

The Oliver Miller Homestead is located on Stone Manse Drive, just off the circle on Corrigan Drive in South Park. It is open each Sunday through December 7 from 1:30 until 4:30, with the last admission at 4 p.m. Admission is $2. For more information, visit the website at www.olivermiller.org or phone 412 835-1554.