Tours through the living history complex vary a great deal from interpreter to interpreter. Individual guides interpret what they are most comfortable with. Tours normally last anywhere from one and one-half to two and one-half hours. My tours normally take at least two hours. I will try to provide you with a condensed version of my tour here, but please keep in mind, no two tours are ever the same.
Shuttle ride into the farm
If I happen to be on the shuttle, I talk to the people on the way in. Most drivers simply drive. We would like to install a speaker system on the shuttle and then develop a script for drivers to use.
“Good afternoon, and welcome to Wellington Farm USA. In a few minutes you will step off into another time, 1932. A time when our country was in the midst of the Great Depression, the worst economic downturn this country has ever known. 1932 is an election year so there is a lot of controversy going on over who our next President will be. It sure does not look good for Mr. Hoover as he is getting the blame for this bad economy.”
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The Stittsville Church
My presentation here is normally anywhere from 15 to 25 minutes. My introductory statement usually goes like this.
“Welcome to the Stittsville Church. When it was built in 1882, the community of Stittsville had a hardware store, a general store, a livery stable, a blacksmith shop, an opera house, an odd fellows hall, two hotels and three saloons. It even had a trolley car that ran the full length of main street. When the church was moved in 2005, the community of Stittsville literally disappeared from the face of the earth because it was the last building still standing there.”
The Summer Kitchen
Once again, the presentation varies greatly between interpreters. There are so many artifacts to show and demonstrate and so many avenues of life during the Great Depression. I don’t spend too much time here unless there are elementary school children present, then I can go on for half an hour.
“The summer kitchen is so called because in the Spring of the year the family moves its cooking, eating and laundry to a building separate from the house, just to get the cooking heat out of the house.”
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Crafters Alley
On a tour, we stop at every building in Crafters Alley and talk about what goes on there. If crafters are in, we let them do the interpretation.
Sawmill
Once again, this is a pretty interesting interpretive spot and some very interesting local history is often presented here. An introductory statement might go like this.
“This sawmill came to Grayling in the early 1870’s. It was brought to Grayling for the sole purpose of the manufacture of railroad spikes. The mill is still operational today and most of the buildings you visit today were built with lumber that was sawed right here.”
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Perry Lamkin Broom Handle Factory
This building houses a very unique historical display in that it houses one-of-a-kind artifacts that were requested by the Henry Ford but did not make it there.
“What you are looking at here is the very first dowel lathe and the very first belt sander ever made, and, hanging there on the wall, are the patent documents to prove it.”
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Grist Mill
Like other major interpretive points of the park, the grist mill offers a wide range of interpretive avenues which, depending upon the experience and interests of the interpreter can vary greatly. We now have an interpretive demonstration area established outside the grist mill which, when experienced interpreters, or the miller himself , are present, offers a wide and varied opportunity to engage the visitors into the functions of a grist mill.
“This grist mill, unlike the mills located near railroads or on the outskirts of a town, does not have a large grain storage area. This mill is typical of grist mills that were located on one of the farms in a community and would be operated by that farmer to do the grain processing for the farmers of the community.”
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Livestock Barn
Normally, very little is interpreted here. We simply let the visitors go in and terrorize the animals present.
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The Annis House and Farmstead
The interpretive scenario for this facility is yet to be developed as this is the newest addition to the living history complex. We hope to have it open and ready for interpretation sometime during the 2019 season. Our current goal is to have it ready to go by the Quilt Show in July.
Along the Way
I guess, in closing, I would simply have to add that even though the interpretation is historic, it is also current. As visiting groups trek the quarter mile walk things can happen. Items move around on a farm, and often, as they are encountered, they are interpreted. A good example would be a steam engine, or the flight of a pileated woodpecker, or the blossom of an Indian pipe which was not there yesterday. I guess one would have to say that the interpretive program of Wellington Farm USA is not only historic, but it is current and changing on a daily basis. Return visitors often tell us that they learn something new every time they visit the farm.
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