Hundreds were expected but thousands arrived. The Country Heritage Park opened its historical buildings to the public today, all in an effort to promote agricultural education.
The park partners with area schools and co-op programs to get students excited about agriculture. Today, the general public had a chance to learn a thing or two.
There was a lot to learn at Country Heritage Park today – how in the 1800s practically everything was made by craftsmen, one way or the other, including farm tools like the fanny mill.
“People don’t understand how the car actually grew out of the blacksmithing tradition, how bicycles were all made by blacksmiths, how the Wright brothers were actually blacksmiths and made bicycles before they started making planes,” said Greg Georgeff, park educator.
The park has been home to many events including musical ones, and of course, Butter Tart Fest. In fact, that festival has been an annual event for years. Opening the doors to the public today was a way to parlay that success to further agricultural education.
“Today we’ve opened up our historical buildings, opened up our education programming for community members, teachers, students, parents, to see what it is we do here at the park,” said Taylor Henderson, CEO of the Country Heritage Park.
A tractor pull was the most efficient way to get around. There were antique tractors and cars from hundreds of years ago.
You could take a break from touring the 19 historical buildings, over 80 acres, by imagining going out on the open road – or try your hand at line dancing.
At the end of the day, the park wants you to know this: “I really want people to know what Country Heritage Park is and what we do here,” said Henderson.
More information about the Country Heritage Park can be found on their website.
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