For a decent portion of my childhood, I wanted to own an orchard, tend a flock of sheep and live off the grid. I planned to make a living from the profits of fruit and wool and never want for anything or anybody. Yes, alone in the middle of nowhere--that was my dream. Maybe I'd learn to make delicious preserves, or devise an ingenious new grafting method to yield better fruit. It's likely I'd win an award for said grafting, but--as an earnest woman--I would decline such frivolity and not attend the ceremony held in my honor because I was too busy spinning, harvesting, and whittling wood into delicate keepsakes.
End scene.
My life is slightly different that I had imagined, although I do have a flock of children and so far, they haven't yielded any profits. I am still holding out hope.
I do love a good day trip and Old World Wisconsin is pretty much perfect: it's about 45 minutes away, you can bring in a picnic lunch (although they do have a restaurant on site), and it's just so darn wholesome.
The girls wanted to wear their dresses because the people who work at Old World wear period clothing, plus they love dressing up to play Little House on the Prairie at home. However, their costumes only lasted for ten minutes because it was too hot so we took their dresses back to the car.
Old World has livestock like chickens, pigs, horses, and sheep. The people who work there gather eggs from the chickens, veggies and berries from the garden and cook amazing dishes in the old cast iron stoves. Just imagine you've been walking all day, it's chilly outside, and this amazing aroma wafts through the air and pulls you into this cozy little house where some cheerful woman is rolling dough and tending to the golden pie in the oven but she doesn't offer you a slice. But you're feeling bold because you're footsore, cold and hungry, and you ask her for a taste and she says no. They don't have a food license so you can smell that pie all you want but you can't eat it. It's maddening, really. They do put out the recipe cards but that is no consolation. Those recipe cards aren't delicious. I want pie.
There's a one room schoolhouse, which is the girls' favorite. The teacher calls them up to spell words on the board, read poems for the class, and write on their slate boards. We stayed long enough for the teacher to run out of spelling words, and I asked the girls several times to leave and make room for other kids, but they always resist. Apparently a one-room schoolhouse and primitive tools are way better than their modern, technology-laden school. Go figure.
The German farm is one of our favorites too. Some houses are more interactive than others (some homes or rooms are blocked off and only allow for viewing), and this one has a lot to experience. There's chickens and fresh eggs; dishwater in buckets for dishwashing, a carpentry space in the barn, costumes, a sewing machine, and dolls.
We went last winter for the horse drawn wagon rides during the Christmas season. It's so interesting to see the costumes, food and decorations they would have used for the holidays in the late 19th century. They also have trams that can transport you from village to village, which is especially nice when the weather is cold.
This is the Yankee house, which was owned by wealthy wheat farmers. All the houses on the property were situated in Wisconsin. The houses were transported to Old World, where you can learn about the people who actually lived in the houses: where they were from, their family, and what they did for a living. The people who work in each house are available to tell you about the property and answer questions.
There's a working blacksmith shop on site also. They'll let you use the bellows to heat the fire and the smith will shape the iron into a hook and tell you about the process. It's fascinating.
Across the street from the blacksmith is the general store, where you can see all the wares and purchase a souvenir with a token that is sold at the entrance. We came home with a harmonica and some slate boards.
I love watching the girls experience simple things together.
We purchased the annual Historical Society Membership, so that we can come back often without the purchase price each time, which definitely made sense for our family. I heard about Old World's Halloween festival and we may check that out this year.
Dang, that was a lot of photos--thanks for reading. I highly recommend a visit to Old World Wisconsin. It's a therapeutic detox for your brain and body, but it really would be so much better with pie. Please give me pie next time.
