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News from Garfield Farm |
On Sunday, September 11, Garfield Farm Museum will offer a class on broom making from 8:30 am ? 5 pm. Participants will make a colonial or Shaker style broom at this 1840s living history farm museum. Broom corn, a type of sorghum which looks like corn but the seeds form at the top of the plant where one sees the tassel on field corn. Each little seed is connected to a straw that grows out of the top of the plant. Several dozen such straws can be found in each head. Properly harvested, cut and dried these heads can be bound together to form at traditional broom. In an era before vacuum cleaners, brooms were the only weapon against the never ending dirt found in a house as a result of mud, farming, road dust, or soot from the fireplace or stove.
Museum volunteer Bob McCann of Woodstock, IL will teach the class. McCann retired as a high school biology teacher to establish a strawberry and blueberry farm. His activities at Garfield Farm lead to his interest and acquisition a team of milking short horn oxen. McCann has also lectured on mammals of Illinois and conducted several wood working classes at the museum.
The class costs $65 and lunch is provided. Class size is limited so reservations and deposits are required. To reserve, call 630 584-8485 or email info@garfieldfarm.org. Garfield Farm Museum is located 3 miles west of Randall Road off Illinois Rt. 38 on Garfield Road.
Questions or comments about this web page: rjan@galleonslap.net