Living History Farms
When I was a little girl, my parents took me and my sister to the Living History Farms in Iowa. It was smaller then. We went on a cloudy warm day. I remember walking along the boardwalk, amazed to be dropped in another century, traveling back in time. Dad bought us gum drops - the highlight of the trip. I've loved General Stores and history ever after.
Since growing a little family of my own, we've wanted to take daytime summer trips. Last year we made a trek to Ash Falls Fossil Bed (full post here) and this year I decided I wanted Alice and Milo to eat gum drops in the 19th century. So we did. :)
It was a pleasantly sunny day. As Lucy Maud Montgomery would say, it was all "breeze and blue." We wandered around, poking into the milliner's shop, the lawyer, a farm, a large home, the general store and a myriad of other little parlors and buildings. Inside, the rooms were decorated just so, appropriate paraphernalia setting the stage for the live historians telling us stories of how they lived.
Canning, sewing, gardening, forging...it was a tiny village of bustle and industry.
My favorite was the Millinery. Her front cases full of colorful ribbon, the lace curtains blowing in and out of the windows casting delicate shadows on the sill, her back room light and bright, a breeze blowing across to the screen doors letting in the sun. It was very easy to imagine I was Anne of Green Gables at that moment, and we were all on Price Edward Island. The Milliner even let me try on a whale bone corset!
Shortly after, gum drops were procured for the Littles, and some sarsaparilla, too.
Thank you, Living History Farms, for the lovely ramble in your tiny town and time! Can't wait to come back and explore more, and thanks Mom & Dad for making memories with the next generation. Love you.
