Heritage Day provides history lesson in Bensenville

Visitors got a chance to step back in time during the annual Fischer Farm Heritage Day that took place under sunny skies in Bensenville Saturday.

The celebration included crafters showing visitors how to weave and make candles and demonstrations by colonial militia re-enactors.

"We look forward to firing upon the enemy and moving forward in the preservation of the Union while running the Confederate Rebels out of Bensenville forever," quipped Pete Malachiwsky, who re-enacts with Taylor's Battery Company B First Illinois Artillery.

For those seeking a more modern flair, there was a petting zoo and pony rides, music by the White Saddle Band and an inaugural pig roast.

"We are trying to attract more people to this site to show what promise this area had for the early immigrants, so we can show how they survived, thrived and prospered in this area," Bensenville park Board President John Wassinger said.

Sponsored by the park district, the festival was held at what's believed to be one of the oldest remaining homesteads in DuPage County. The Fischer family established the site around 1838 and it now covers about five acres.

Portions of the park just north of the cabin have been left untouched and provide visitors with a peek at what settlers may have seen when they first arrived in the area.