Down on the farm a place for learning, making memories
The popularity of visiting the Farmer in the Dell is growing. Last year, about 48,000 visited Volkening Heritage Farm in Schaumburg.
“People are looking for a prosthetic memory,” said Jonathan Kuester, farm operations coordinator for Volkening Heritage Farm. “They can't go back to their grandparents' farms, so they do the next best thing.”
And why not? Spending time with Old MacDonald is a great way for kids to learn vegetables do not grow in a can, hard work puts food on the table and while animals provide food, they also answer many other calls.
In bygone days, farming was common. Now-a-days, surrounded by tight subdivisions or tall buildings, the rare entity possesses an allure, a thrill, a mystery. It is a relaxed, sit-on-the-back- porch history lesson to explore.
Here is a small sampling of the many farms open to the public. Check websites for more in-depth information.
Kline Creek Farm
1N600 County Farm Road, West Chicago
Call: (630) 876-5900
Hours: Vary; check website
Cost: Free
Web: dupageforest.com
“When you come for a visit it's like stepping back in time to a slower pace and unique experience,” said Kline Creek Farm's Suzanne Clark.
Kids can pick up a pitchfork to bail hay and learn firsthand how 1890s children helped with mom and dad chores including laundry and rope making. Evenings in the Country events allow for picnics, hikes, wagon rides, music and games at dusk.
Restored farmstead structures include a barn, icehouse, smokehouse, chicken coop, summer kitchen and sheds. The farmhouse tours present information on quilting, canning, celebrations and other period topics.
Depending on the season, historically costumed interpreters engage in 1890s activities such as orchard work, curing sausages, or tending to Southdown sheep and Shorthorn and Angus cattle. Percheron work horses plant and harvest crops.
Visitors can conclude their day with a break at the Timber Ridge Visitor Center. The center has information, snacks, honey, soaps, toys, etc.
EVENT: 1915 Country Fair, Sept. 5-6, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free (except wagon ride). Professor Marvel's Flea Circus; Acrobatics, Tent of Wonders, Sling Shot Arcade.
Volkening Heritage Farm
201 S. Plum Grove Road, Schaumburg
Call: (847) 985-2102
Hours: Vary; check website
Cost: Free
Web: parkfun.com
Many know Schaumburg was a German farming community during the 1880s. However, did you know you could bite into a taste of that time at the Volkening Heritage Farm? Farm chores, games and livestock, oh my!
Drop-In Days, 10 a.m.to noon, has the charm of churning butter (July 16) and making ice cream from scratch (Aug. 20). Exploring the 1852 farmhouse with costumed staff sewing, baking and concocting home remedies can be interesting. Although, it is the “privy” that the kids get a kick out of the most.
“People come to the farm because they long to connect to the past,” said Volkening Heritage Farm's Jonathan Kuester.
EVENT: Wake Up and Work, July 25, 6:30 a.m.- 9:30 a.m., $45/residents, $65/non-residents per family. Day starts with chores of milking cows, feeding animals, collecting eggs and cleaning stables. It ends with period breakfast in farmhouse.
Historic Wagner Farm
1510 Wagner Road, Glenview
Call: (847) 657-1506
Hours: Vary; check website
Cost: Free
Web: glenviewparks.org
On long drives through the countryside, kids will often ask, “What's that big, round, tall thing?” After a visit to the Wagner Farm's silo, they will know. They can actually step inside the two-story structure and crank the silage machine. They will learn about the corn plants delivered to the top and get to build a silo replica.
This 18.6-acre farm, owned by the Glenview Park District, is the last remnant of land farmed by the Wagner family since their arrival in this area from Trier, Germany, in the 1850s. Visitors can tour the 1920s Wagner home, barn, pig sty and chicken house. In addition to the cows in the pasture, Wagner Farm has chickens, pigs and horses Jeff and Ned.
The Heritage Center contains interactive exhibits and a 1930s grocery store. The Museum Store carries tag-a-long nostalgic souvenirs.
Your adventure may include cow-milking demonstrations, storytelling, riding a tractor or grabbing a sweet treat from the old-fashioned soda fountain.
EVENT: Picnic Supper, Barn Dance and Ice Cream Social, Aug. 29, 4 p.m.-8 p.m. Cost: To be determined.
Blackberry Farm
100 S. Barnes Road, Aurora
Call: (630) 892-1550
Hours: Vary; check website
Cost: $4.50-$8
Web: foxvalleyparkdistrict.org
“Blackberry Farm depicts pioneer era farming when people had to clear their own land, build their own houses, sew their own clothes and find their own food,” said Jeff Long, public relations manager for the Fox Valley Park District.
The 54 acres at Blackberry Farm contains five museums including the Carriage House, the Early Streets Museum, the Farm Museum and the Huntoon House. In the Carriage House, there are 40 carriages, sleighs and commercial vehicles. The farm collection has a variety of rare implements dating from the mid-1800s to 1910. The Streets Museum houses 11 late Victorian-era exhibit stores including a toy store, photography shop, music shop, pharmacy and general store.
Piglets, sheep, chicken and goats hang out at the Discovery Barn for petting zoo delights. Pioneer Cabin (1840s) handles the candle and soap making, while Weaver's Cabin (1860s) spinners spin wool and flax.
Unlimited rides, such as train, carousel, wagon and paddleboats, are include in admission price. Kids can pretend to plant crops while riding pedal tractors, or play farm hand on ponies.
EVENTS: All About Chicks, 10 a.m.-noon Aug. 25 for ages 3-6. Hold baby chicks, visit the hatchery, paint eggs and gather eggs from the nest. Cow Encounters, 1-3 p.m. Aug. 25 for ages 3-6. Visit a cow, make a cow craft, take a turn at churning butter and taste the final homemade product. Cost for each is $15 for residents and $20 for non-residents.
Primrose Farm
5N726 Crane Road, St. Charles
Call: (630) 513-4370
Hours: Mon.-Sat. 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
Cost: Free
Web: primrosefarmpark.com
This restored 1930s working farm invites you to “come on down.” Eleven structures parade the property including a summer kitchen, barn, dairy stanchions, pump and milk houses and a windmill. Interpreters dressed in 1930s overalls and pattern dresses will give you a tour.
Jersey cows, Berkshire hogs, and Belgian horses offer a glimpse of the “first tools” used on a farm. Folks can meander through the fruit orchard filled with pears, cherries and apples while teaching their children about these healthy snacks.
If your timing is right, you just might see a worker using antique farm equipment for tilling and threshing. Depending on the season, rhubarb, hops and herbs may be gathered.
On drop-in Wednesdays and Saturdays ($5-$7.50 per participant), visitors can learn how to milk a cow, feed animals and gather eggs. Parents can take a break on the tire swing!
Event: Primrose Farm Frolic, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sept. 27. Cost: 2 and under free; children, $4; adults, $8.
“It's like a big truck show, only the farm version,” said Laura Johns, farm manager.
The event boasts antique and modern farm equipment for kids to climb. There also are wagon and pony rides, face painting, corn cannons and music. Demonstrations will include shelling corn, butter making and woodstove cooking.