Wool Days.....

It just so happened to be "Wool Days" when we visited the Frontier Cultural Museum in Staunton, Va.  Read more at frontiermuseum.org. There were many demonstrations regarding wool and the processes used to make cloth or clothing back in the day, both in this country and abroad. The most impressive was the sheep shearing, which was done with a large scissor by one person. Wow! (A little different from buying wool in a yarn shop, like I do!)

 first to get the sheep!

 haircut around the face as well, for health reasons

 his back leg is holding down the sheep at its neck, to keep it calm

 This outdoor museum has 2 major areas: the Old World and America. The early settlers to this country were from Germany, England, Ireland and West Africa. The way of life in the old country was depicted with actual or reproduced homesteads from each of these countries, demonstrating the values, culture and skills used in daily living.  These early pioneers came for various reasons, but all wanted a better life than they would have in the old country. (That is, except for West Africa....these were people that were kidnapped from their communities and forced to be slaves).

Mud around the village to keep snakes out (eewww!)

inside a home in West Africa

 walked through the house

 took 4 hrs for the oven to heat up to bake bread

cool thatched roofs

spun flax and wool

weave flax into linen....good commodity!

big garden too!

coolest chicken i ever saw!

dyeing easter eggs with red cabbage (turns egg blue)

The other section of this outdoor museum was America, with homesteads that evolved from the early years in this country, as well as an Indian Village. The early American homesteads evolved over time, with the gradual merging of all cultures and "best practices" brought with the early pioneers.

 

Indian home  

 

1740-one room farmhouse

1820's-bigger home with more rooms

1850's-even bigger

the kitchen in 1850's

1850's bedroom

one room schoolhouse (wait, are those ipads?)

lots of farm animals

This ends our days in central Virginia, and our stay at Misty Mountain Camp Resort. We liked the campground-the location, the friendly staff, the discounts and specials on the rates, and the very clean restrooms. The sites were close together, however, as in many campgrounds. For more information, click here.

This also ends our frequent visits during the past 2 weeks with our kids, who both live in Virginia. It was so nice to be all together....especially to celebrate their birthdays. (Our kids are twins, and our son-in-law's birthday is 2 weeks later). Nice!!