Last Wednesday, Abby's fourth grade class took a field trip to the Barron County Pioneer Village Museum. I was crazy enough fortunate enough to be chosen to be a chaperone for the afternoon. Abby's class had been at the museum the week before as volunteers--they raked the ENTIRE grounds and cleaned up after the winter to get the museum ready for the summer traffic.
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The Pioneer Village Museum is composed of about 35 old buildings that have been moved on to the property from various areas within Barron County. Volunteers spend time in each of the buildings to explain to visitors the significance of the building and, also, what the furnishings of the buildings are.
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Some of my favorite things to see were in the pioneer homes. Here is an old cook stove that I thought was especially cute...
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A cupboard with antique dishes...
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Another old cookstove--check out the Swiffer broom in the background! Wow--those were some progressive pioneers!
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I had a group of six girls. One of their favorite buildings to visit was the pioneer doctor's office. Here, a volunteer explains some of the equipment to the girls...
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Old leg braces--I am assuming people with polio used something like this???
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A cabinet of old medicine bottles--the girls were facinated with all of the "treasures" in the doctor's office.
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We also visited the old schoolhouse, where we discussed ink wells and what naughty boys used to do to girls with long braids that sat in front of them. It came as no suprise to the girls that boys could be rotten, even way back then!
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The General Store
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The highlight of our trip to the Pioneer Village Museum (other than the Saloon--yep, you read that right! The girls were able to pick a treat there...), was the JAIL! I am not sure what the fascination was with the jail, but we spent quite a bit of time checking out the jailhouse and its sparse contents.
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Here is my group locked in the "clink"!
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A few of them tried out another jail cell--they were brave, as there was a bee hive in this one!
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Since they all were so rotten, all six of my girls each had to take their turn in the paddocks...
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Abby
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Lucy
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Tatianna
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Maryan
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McKenna
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Molly
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We had a GREAT time at the museum, and if you are ever in this neck of the woods, you may want to consider checking out this fun and informative place.
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...lyrics by Sammy Hagar
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...lyrics by Sammy Hagar
