Welcome back to News from the Farmhouse! Although it has been a while since the last post, we’ve been very busy behind the scenes. A lot has happened over the last year or so. While sometimes it seems that simply keeping up with basic maintenance around the farm is more than enough, we have made several significant improvements. We have a new visitor center building next to the picnic pavilion. It is not open yet – there is still some work to be done – but we hope to open in September. It is a better space than our old visitor’s center – more convenient and comfortable for visitors. Look for an announcement when it opens, and please drop by! Other improvements include a new roof for the picnic shelter (and don’t forget that members can reserve the picnic shelter for private events for a very modest charge!) and restoration work on the farmhouse. The farmhouse is re-plastered and painted on the inside with floor work and re-arrangement and significant additions to the collection on display. Our board president and go-to for all manner of historical information Josh Powers has worked diligently at this and many other improvements. He deserves a hearty thanks and three cheers all he has done. Please stop by the farmhouse and see the many period-appropriate improvements. I hear rumors that there may even be some wood-stove cooking demos coming in the future…. Josh has also acquired chickens and ducks for the farmyard. They have been doing well, and supplying plenty of eggs (which we share with AT hikers). Unfortunately, a predator, likely one or more coyotes, raided the chickens a couple of weeks ago. Despite the foul act, we still have fowl with us. Josh has also managed to acquire several period pieces of farm equipment, and is in the process of bringing them all back into service. With luck, we may see horse-drawn equipment working the farm in the near future. Please plan a visit soon – we would love to see you! Remember that while the grounds are open anytime, tours of the farmhouse and buildings are only available when our volunteers are working. The hours right now are variable, but there is a fair chance you will find one of us there when you visit. As my daddy used to say, come as soon as you can and stay as long as you can!
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AuthorMark Archibald, the new author of this blog, is a regular volunteer and board member of the Settlers Museum of Southwest Virginia. Archives
November 2022
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