Warrior Run-Fort Freeland Heritage Days

We went to Turbotville, PA last Saturday for a festival we had seen advertised in the local paper. Warrior Run-Ford Freeland Heritage Days is pretty interesting as festivals go. The Warrior Run school district bought a huge tract of land which included a historic house from the 1700s. The district and local historical society work together to put on this festival. The home has been completely restored and the students are apprenticed to learn Colonial crafts and skills. They begin as grade schoolers hauling water and such and work up to doing very complex skills like quilting, pump making, blacksmithing and butchering. They also have an Indian village and most years have a re-enactment of a Revolutionary War Battle. At another site across the highway, they have Civil War re-enactors at a historic Civil War site.

We had a grand time. Michael put a hole in a fence post, and we tasted everything from three sister stew (corn, beans and squash) to fresh-pressed apple cider. The lunch they provided was cheap and good. Michael and I had a bowl of chicken soup to warm us up. The most exciting thing was to see beautiful young people learning all about the history of their region. A high point was talking to the master quilter who was insanely impressed when I told her about my daughter's big win at the Paducah, Kentucky quilt show. The pictures are of a cooper making a barrel, Michael learning to make wooden fencing, and a young lady at one of the cooking booths. I'll try to get more pictures loaded to Flicker. We were somewhat amused that the festival was well-attended by the Amish. It seemed odd to see the Amish ladies in their caps watching the costumed girls and ladies in their similar lace caps. The Amish men's clothing was very similar to what the boy and men presenters were wearing.

It was completely un-Disneyfied like Williamsburg and yet very authentic. And everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun. We only had to drive an hour and a half to get there. The drive was awe-inspiring since the leaves are well on their way to their full fall color. Michael talked about it at work and sadly no one seemed to have ever heard of it.