By: Danny May
“When people hear ‘pioneer village’ they immediately think I’m talking about Indiana or some other state,” says executive director of Friends of Pioneer Village, Sean Dysinger. “We’re still trying to get the word out about this place so people can come out and enjoy the Pioneer Village because it truly is a treasure for our community.”
Located in a back section of Yellow Creek Park, the Pioneer Village is designed to look like a frontier community around 1890-1910. The Friends of Pioneer Village are constantly making improvements to their facilities and adding new projects. This spring they started a gardening project highlighting historically correct plants like flax and cotton, which were very important to frontier life. They have also recently obtained wood from two old barns in Daviess County that will be re-used to create a space for a permanent forge. All of this will just add even more authenticity to the village.
I experienced this firsthand when I took one of my sons to “Patriot Days” living history weekend last summer. With smoke wafting in the air, we took our time and saw it all, the barns, the cabins, the one room school house, even a doctor’s tent and a tee-pee set up by re-enactors! It was like reading a history book in real life.
“Walking through the Pioneer Village takes me back in time,” says Christie Payne, a mother of two boys. Payne and her family have been involved with the Pioneer Village from its early days and she has greatly enjoyed making memories with her sons there. When asked what her favorite thing about the village is from a parent’s perspective, she said, “It makes history tangible. When kids get to help a blacksmith in his forge or taste real churned butter it’s a history lesson they won’t forget. We’re at a pivotal point in history where our youth need to learn about their forefathers like never before.”
And that’s exactly what the organizers hope to happen. According to Dysinger, family friendly fun is the goal of the Pioneer Village. Through a schedule of events called the “Village at the Creek Arts Series,” Dysinger envisions families making memories together by having picnics, listening to music, enjoying the beautiful setting at Yellow Creek Park, and just generally having a good time experiencing the village. The series includes a “Songwriters in the Village” night (June 1st) where local musicians can jam and tell stories by the campfire, a Daughters of the American Revolution annual meeting (June 14th) in the school house that is open to the public, and a “Bluegrass in the Village” night (May 18th) featuring live music on the front porch by bluegrass group King’s Highway. Roy Henry, finalist on TV’s “BBQ Pitmasters” will have barbecue dinners available that night too.
The art series hopes to attract area families to the village for the first time and welcome returning friends from Patriot Days or ROMP to see the new improvements to the village.
Patriot Days events have actually been going on since
2009. Living history participant Chris Holt explains its growth: “Our first year we had about 200 people. We doubled it the second year. Then last year we even had some students from different schools come, which is great because our Patriot Days event really is for the kids. It’s a very hands-on way to learn. They get to come out here and see a blacksmith heating and shaping metal; a candle maker dipping candles; someone weaving baskets; a potter spinning bowls; things like that. Last year we had some trappers set up a hunting camp and the kids got to ask them questions.”
“Obviously, the Patriot Days living history events have been a great success over the past several years,” Dysinger said, “but we’re really excited about these new events because they show different aspects of community life on the frontier.”
For more information about the Village at the Creek Art Series events, or to volunteer, please contact Sean Dysinger at 926-1100.