Special to the Opelika Observer
Second Saturday activities at Pioneer Park on Sept. 14 will reflect those activities that would have occurred on a 19th Century Alabama farmstead.
Come at 9 a.m. to join Dr Charles Mitchell in a garden walk ‘n talk. Help harvest field corn and dig peanuts in the Crops Garden, pick a little cotton and check on the sweet potato and sugarcane crops. Then, find out what is growing in the Pioneer Kitchen Garden and Herb and Medicine Plant Garden.
Master Gardeners will be available to show visitors some of the fall blooming plants in Grandma’s Garden. People can then join the “basket cases” in the Trade Center Museum to learn how to make pine needle baskets and other woven crafts.
The Trade Center Museum and other museums in Pioneer Park are all open on Second Saturday. Blacksmiths are working at the forge and welcome apprentices. Spinners and weavers are in the textile center and other activities can be found throughout the park. All venues are open and free to the public.
At noon, someone will be cooking up a 19th century meal in the Cook House and all visitors are invited to join. Pioneer Park is located on Alabama Highway 14 in Loachapoka and is an outreach project of the Lee County Historical Society whose mission is historic preservation, presentation and education.
For more information, visit www.leecountyhistoricalsociety.org/ or follow the group’s Facebook page.