A little old-fashioned fun in St. Charles

Sunday's Fireside Fun event at the Durant House Museum showed that history has no age limit.

In one room of the preserved 1843 farmhouse museum in the LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve, 37W700 Dean St. in St. Charles, an 81-year-old volunteer worked with a 6-year-old visitor making bracelets out of buttons by the fireplace. In another room, a 9-year-old volunteer taught adults the centuries-old game of skittles by window light.

In another small room, teenage volunteers played traditional board games made with dried corn and beans, while a grandfather explored the upstairs bedrooms with his grandchildren and more volunteers. The event was held to teach visitors what winter life was like in an 1843 homestead, by playing 19th century games and cozying up to the fire.

“I had been here several times, and I loved it,” said volunteer Maureen Vonderheide, 81, whose children signed her up as a volunteer for her 80th birthday. “I've just been at it a year, but I still love it.”

Nine-year-old Hailey Poziombka had also visited several times before coming from her northern Wisconsin home to volunteer. “I always had fun here and thought it would be fun if I was a part of it,” she said as she spun a wooden top while playing “skittles.”

There was also an ongoing presentation about women's handwork with fabric as well as tours of the home.

Just steps away, the Pioneer Sholes one-room schoolhouse hosted a “Winter Open House,” with crafts, light refreshments and information on Victorian courting rituals. For information, visit ppfv.org.