Seasons of Change

My favorite thing about life on any farm is the change of the seasons, magnified here by the human activity that follows it.
Nature puts on the big show every spring. Lilacs, iris, apples, chesnuts, maple trees, and roses burst into bloom, as the buses unload their energetic occupants to explore the chores and privileges of pioneer life. Summer is less exuberant, more focused, with events and tours for adults and families, camps that allow children to explore more of pioneer life, and long quiet days of availability to local guests and tourists from around the globe.
  Fall is beautiful here, and in some ways the best time to see the Farm. The gardens and orchards are full of fruit, and the Farm throbs with history. This is when the pioneers arrived in great numbers, and their stories are full of autumn foods and autumn weather. In winter, the mud and cold take over the place. Humanity overcomes it with a burst of Christmas cheer, and then settles in to persevere the wet drizzle that prequels the abundant verdance of spring on the Farm.

Meet Amber

Amber Milmore is the newest face of Philip Foster Farm. She and her three children have been volunteering since spring of 2011, and the board recently asked her to take over management of the store and the remainder of our events for the year.
Amber loves people, history, and crafts, is a Girl Scout and AWANA leader, and most recently worked on the committee to organize Gresham's Relay for Life event, with the help of her husband Benno and children Mariah, Alex, and Anna.
We recommend you buy a Barn Dance ticket and come down to meet the whole family!

Charging Admission

A few of our loyal Cider Squeeze fans have asked about our new admissions policy, so here's a brief look at the efforts we've made to keep the Philip Foster Farm accessible for as many people as possible.
We have always charged for scheduled tours, and have traditionally been free for events and drop-in guests through the summer. The financial reality is that schoolchildren have been our major source of funding for the last 15 years, while our major expenses center on staying open in the summer and managing events (not usually as lucrative as you might think). As part of our longterm plan to improve the site, provide better customer service, and put more opportunities for history education in your hands, we needed to have a consistent source of income in the summer.
Charging admission to our drop-in guests for summer hours and events has raised our summer income significantly, without lowering our visitor numbers. We are still not covering all the expenses related to staying open, but every little bit helps.
We have enjoyed being a free resource, and strive to be as accessible as possible. Memberships in the JZH Historical Society are very inexpensive, and volunteers can earn them with only 10 hours of work.
The volunteer board that maintains the farm literally donates thousands of hours and hundreds (sometimes thousands) of dollars in cash and in-kind contributions to keep the Farm moving forward. Please join their efforts to preserve and maintain our little piece of Oregon's heritage by visiting the Farm, becoming a member of the Historical Society, or volunteering your time and skills.

Dutch Oven Cookoff

The Barn Dance was a blast, but we're already moving on to September 11th, when we'll have our Dutch Oven Cookoff and Blackberry Jam Acoustic Music Festival.

The cooks are getting their registrations in this week, preparing to cook up a tasty little competition. Judges are eagerly waiting to see whose breads, main dishes and desserts are the best. Musicians will be bringing their instruments to jam between 11:00 and 4:00.

Admission for the day is only $5.00 per person or $20.00 for a family of any size. Musicians get in free with an instrument. More information for cooks at http://philipfosterfarm.com/cookoff.html

I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. See you there!

Barn Dance!

The band and the dancers are all practiced up, the food is ready, and all we need is YOU! Come on down to the Philip Foster Farm for great food, folk dancing, country music and fun times with new friends. The silent auction has some awesome items from Dave's Killer Bread, Real Good Food, Alexandra Farnham's glassworks, and more. There's even a Hawaiian condo stay. Don't miss out. You can come at 5:00 for dinner, or wait until 6:00 and just come for the dancing. More info at http://philipfosterfarm.com/barndance.html

Real History. Real Fun. At the Philip Foster Farm...

Summer Volunteers!

It's time to check out your calendar and let us know what you'd like to do around the Farm this summer. Here are some of the ways you can help us preserve and explain our local and state history to the many guests we'll have this year:

1) Event help: We need craft demonstrators, collectors, food handlers, money handlers and guides to help with Father's Day at the Farm on June 20th, Mary Charlotte's Garden Party on July 18th, the Pioneer Dinner and Barn Dance on August 28, Dutch Oven Cook-off and Acoustic Music Festival on September 11, and Cider Squeeze on September 25th.

2) Daily help for tours, camps and drop-in guests. Sign up for one day per week to staff the farm. Under twelve must have an adult, but all ages are welcome. Learn job skills, make friends, build your resume, and get your hands on history! we are open seven days a week from Father's Day to Labor Day and Saturdays in June, September, and October.

3) If you have a pioneer craft, including textiles, woodworking, fine arts, animal husbandry... you can share it with our summer campers. Camps run June 28-July2, July 12-16, July 26-30, and one day camps on July 8, 22, August 5 and 12. Crafters give a short lesson to small groups in the morning and invite kids to come back and spend more time in the afternoon on the skills they want to develop.

If you're not available, but know of someone who might be interested in these opportunities, please share this information.
Thanks for helping us keep history alive!