Four times each year, the department helps visitors to the Walker Ranch Homestead travel back in time to the Victorian era. To visitors, we strive for fun and hope it looks as easy as putting on a sunbonnet or cowboy hat but, really, it’s a months’ long exercise in planning!
About two months before each Heritage Day, I review our volunteers’ annual agreements. Who said he or she would help with this event at the ranch? Then I get in touch with those people to be sure their calendar still holds that promise. I then email the remainder of our great Walker Ranch volunteers to see who else is available that day.
I make a list of available volunteers for each day and decide which chores and demonstrations fit best with that season. Except for the smaller scale winter event and this year’s new format for Summer Heritage Evening, each Heritage Day features at least 12 basic or “staple” demonstrations or activities with probably up to four others added that fit the season or mesh with volunteers’ skills. That means at least 35 energetic, friendly, trained volunteers are required for the day!
Almost all events, feature visitor favorites such as Butter Making, Log House Cooking, Laundry, and Blacksmithing and Homestead Tours. Each of those, ideally, needs one volunteer to lead the activity and a helper. For planning, those are on a chart by timeframe. Everything is done with erasable markers since elements can change often!
Are there other offerings that would add to the day? Maybe there should be a one room school presentation from noon-1pm in the Wheat Barn and Sausage Making in the Spring House from 10am-12. Do I have volunteers who enjoy doing those? Those are added to the chart. Volunteers usually switch their chore area each hour for variety. I then plug volunteers into each area needing help. Women can only do women’s chores; men can only do men’s! Youth ages nine and older can volunteer at Walker Ranch also.
Once the schedule is set, reminders and the schedule are sent out to all volunteers who will help that day–did I create the need for cloning and have one person in two places at the same time? I ask volunteers’ help proofing it; almost always a change or two arises. Everyone makes sure he or she has the proper historic period costuming. If not, we set up time for visits to the Agricultural Heritage Center to raid the costume closet.
When the big event day arrives, volunteers have been asked to arrive at least 1 1/2 hours before start time. All do and very faithfully and capably begin setting up their first volunteer shift areas: fires in the stove and forge are started, water is toted, cream begins churning–all with many smiles, helping hands and laughter.
All of us Walker Ranchers then gather for a meeting a bit before the event’s start. We introduce ourselves and usually answer a “question of the day” to help get to know one another and, again, provide some fun. Then…the gates open and visitors arrive for us to assist them in time traveling back to the 1880s!