Dulcimer Music & Candlelight at the Inn December
1st & 2nd
CAMPTON HILLS- Take time away from the chaotic rush of the
holiday season and travel down the country road to Garfield Farm Museum on
December 1st & 2nd for its annual Candlelight Reception from 3-7 pm.
Interpreters wearing period clothing will share with guests what life was
like for people during the height of the horse and wagon era. There is no
charge for the Candlelight event, but donations are most welcome.
Candlelight has always been one of the most popular
events at this 1840s farm and tavern museum. It evokes a pace and peace that
is so foreign to life today. It requires a conscious effort on the part of
the modern day visitor to linger and savor the experience, to strike up a
conversation with others, and enjoy what was once a great luxury: a
brightly lit home full of travelers and neighbors, making for a most jovial
atmosphere on a winter's night. Dulcimer music by the Scantlin‚ Reunion and
friends will be played in the ballroom and refreshments will be offered in
the inn's dining room.
The Garfield's Inn sat on the junction of the St.
Charles-Oregon and Sycamore Roads. At the time, a heavily loaded team of
horses with good weather could only travel about 15 miles a day. Inns were
busy places that offered weary travelers an occasion to take a break from
the monotony of their journey. A guest of the Garfield's could eat, sleep
and most importantly talk to others. News traveled slowly and travelers
provided news from far and near, as well as telling entertaining stories.
Inns became a center for the community hosting dances, militia drills,
weddings, „donation‰ parties for local clergy, political meetings, and other
functions.
Following a visit to the 1846 inn, walk up the glowing
lantern path to the Burr House and enjoy even more, as the museum will
feature a hearthside cooking demonstration. Learn how the early settlers
used to cook their food on a hearth and bake their bread in a brick oven.
Tavern biscuits were a stable at the taverns and inns of
the day and were mentioned in traveler's letters or diaries. Although
referred to as a biscuit, they were actually more of a lightly flavored
cookie. Culinary historian, Barbara Kuck, has researched and prepared over
twenty-three historic recipes for tavern biscuits and cookies. Some of these
will be available for tasting and for purchase as part of the museum's bake
sale.
The Candlelight tour offers visitors a chance to meet the
volunteers and donors, who are the lifeblood of the farm. The event is a
time for those interested in becoming involved to meet those who already
give so much to help sustain the museum and keep it moving forward. The
event also benefits the museum's ongoing efforts to restore the historic
buildings and to provide educational programming.
The 370-acre Garfield Farm Museum is the only
historically intact former 1840s Illinois prairie farmstead and teamster inn
being restored by donors and volunteers from 3000 households in 37 states as
an 1840s working farm museum. Garfield Farm Museum is located 5 miles west
of Geneva, IL off ILL Rt.38 on Garfield Road. For information call (630)
584-8485 or email info@garfieldfarm.org.
For more information about Garfield Farm send an e-mail message to: info@garfieldfarm.org
or call 630/584-8485.
