Life in a 19th-Century Village
“Q-tips and tissues” was the ready
answer from Mike Holcomb, patriarch of our most recent “Pioneer Family,” when
asked what he missed most during his stay here.
Mike, his wife Carrie, and their three children (Audrey, Zach, and
Natalie) spent the weekend of June 8-10 on site in the Hetchler House as the
latest participants of the Pioneer House Experience. They slept, ate, worked and played together
like pioneers in the early nineteenth century Genesee Country. What they were hoping to get out of the event
was “a truer sense of where we come from, a deeper gratitude for what we have,
[and] a greater appreciation for the little things.” They profess that they were not disappointed,
and it was a great experience for them as a family and fulfilled all the expectations
they had when they signed up to spend the weekend at the log house on the
pioneer farmstead. 
The kids, too, rolled up their sleeves
and took action just as openly as their parents. In fact, the whole weekend was Audrey’s
birthday wish! She had her birthday
during the visit, and said that being able to spend it at the Pioneer House
Experience would, “the best birthday ever!!”
She asked for vinegar pie to be made, and she really liked it! Zach and Natalie didn’t care for it, but sampled
it with a true pioneer spirit. Zach also
celebrated his birthday while here, and though he didn’t exactly share his
sister’s birthday wish, he was very excited to share the experience with his
family, and made some new, wooly, feathered, and hooved friends while
here. When asked what he would miss the
most about staying here, his answer was the sheep. He and Audrey made each other birthday gifts,
and shared the chores, helping Mom & Dad make sure everything got done. Not to be left out, little Natalie, made herself
right at home, enjoying a doll her mother made her right on the spot. 
Please join us this weekend to commemorate the bicentennial of the War of 1812 and revel in the fashions of the Jane Austen Era. 
