Dairy Day takes Elk Grove Village back in time
Long before modern homes, sprawling industry and huge passenger jets became fixtures on the ground and in the skies, the area that today makes up Elk Grove Village was home to a simpler, more agrarian way of life.
Visitors to the Elk Grove Historical Museum traveled back to that era Sunday for the annual Dairy Day.
The event featured butter-churning demonstrations, live 1800s-style music, old-fashioned crafts and games, along with artifacts from Elk Grove dairy history on display.
Children surrounded a pen where a Jersey cow and calf were eating hay, all trying to reach in and pet the cows. The cows came from Primrose Farm, a 1930s-era working farm operated by the St. Charles Park District.
"This is one of the cornerstone events of the Elk Grove Historical Museum hosts every year," said Shannon Elsey, art and special events manager for the Elk Grove Park District. "(Visitors) really enjoy seeing a live cow. They love the animals."
Dona Benkert & Friends provided musical entertainment, playing folk music and providing audience members with historical instruments like a limber jack and a Native American shaker so they could play along.