Candace Johnson's Award

Summer campers from 2009 will remember Candace as the popular counselor in the 1890's day dress. Last month she won an award from the Sandy Library art show - 1st place for an acrylic painting called Drained. Candace's work has also shown up on Foster Farm posters and flyers. .Congratulations Candace! We love your work!

Merry Christmas from the Philip Foster Farm!

Did you know that the year the first wagon train arrived in Oregon (1843) was also the year that Christmas began making its comeback in England? The holiday had been divided between debauchery and religious observance to such an extent that many Christians refused to celebrate it, considering it a sacrilege to combine the elements of spiritual devotion with the merrymaking and pagan influences of the solstice.

Meanwhile, in London, Charles Dickens persuaded his readers that grumpiness was not a virtue in his classic A Christmas Carol, and an enterprising printer created Christmas cards - colorful postcards to acknowledge the season - the same year.

How did your family handle this transition? Make the time to ask those questions this year as you gather with older friends and relatives. Annual traditions are an important part of your family history, and a window into your family's values.

If you find anything interesting, please do comment here. And have a very Merry Christmas!

Oregon Trail Unit Study Resources

Last month, "Jamin" posted some links to great online resources for families wanting to learn more about the Oregon Trail. You can see her blog post at http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jaminacema/731949/.

Thanks, Jamin, for connecting families with hands-on learning opportunities!

This is Jamin in front of the memorial at Donner's Pass.

June 4, 1852

Excerpt (30 seconds) from a Trail Diary at Windlass Hill in Nebraska:

Twin Falls, Idaho on the Oregon Trail

Twin Falls is proud of its heritage as an agricultural town on the Oregon Trail. Watch for the Oregon-California Trails Association marker just like the one at the Foster Farm.

Composing Trail Music

Interesting comments and musical illustrations of those who traveled in wagon trains.

Tom Marquette takes to the Road

Foster Farm volunteer and Oregon Trail reenactor Tom Marquette  in the News.

Ezra Meeker's Book available online

If you are interested in Oregon History first-hand accounts, the Gutenberg project has posted a book right up your alley. Ezra Meeker's book, The Ox-Team Days on the Old Oregon Trail, first published in 1922, is now available for free download at http://www.feedbooks.com/book/4381. Meeker took the Columbia river, while his friends took the Barlow Road route, so this book doesn't mention Philip Foster, Eagle Creek, or Laurel Hill, but it's a good primer on the hardships of the trail and the promotion that went into keeping it "famous" after its use was superseded by railroads.

Social Media in the 1800's

Twitter, Facebook, email, mobile computing - These technologies are completely incompatible with the mission of Living History, right? Well, yes and no. When I'm dressed in my hoop skirt, you won't find me reading Twitter messages or updating my Facebook status from my "talking pocket watch." But living history is pretty useless if no one knows it's happening. How can we promote awareness and get people to visit and engage in the history without diluting the history itself?
Some businesses have dedicated social media people, who spread the word while the rest of the company carries on the action. That means the "we" they speak of in their updates is really "they." All "we" are doing is updating! Of course the advantage of this model is that the social media is constantly monitored and updated, which makes the business very engaging and responsive - if not very real.
Here at the Philip Foster Farm, we don't have the budget for a fulltime media specialist, and probably wouldn't want one. Philip Foster himself was an "early adopter," heading for Oregon a full year ahead of everyone else, building roads and stores and mills ahead of the crowd. We think he'd be proud of the way we're forging ahead to share his life with the pioneers of a whole new "land rush."
Please leave a comment or contact us if you'd like to get timely information about our events, summer camps or tours, or if you have a suggestion about more ways to get the word out to the people who want to experience living history.

Museum Teacher Fair at OHS

Museum educators understand the pressure teachers face, trying to provide the best opportunities for students with limited time and resources. That's why Megan Burt (shown at right with a group of students) helped organize the Oregon Museum Educators. Tomorrow evening from 5:00 to 7:00, teachers can visit the Oregon Historical Society for a seminar (with PDUs/clock hours for many districts) and visits with representatives from 30 different Oregon Museums:
For more information contact steve.m.greenwood@wellsfargo.com or call 503-886-1102.
Museums represented: Columbia River Maritime Museum, Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, Forest History Center, Friends of Historic Champoeg, GeerCrest Family Farm, Historic Belmont Firehouse, Marion County Historical Society, McLoughlin House, Mission Mill Museum, National History Day, Newell House, Nikkei Legacy Center, Oregon Historical Society, Oregon National Guard, Philip Foster Farm, Portland Police Museum, Sherwood Historical Society, Washington County Historical Society, Wells Fargo History Museum, Wings of Wonder.

Photo courtesy of recent guest, Eliza Adams. See her story and more pictures at http://tambatanhidup.blogspot.com/2009/10/field-trip-with-school.html

Pioneering Social Media

Philip Foster, like many of Oregon's pioneers, saw opportunity on the horizon and scrambled to get ahead of it. From our office in his ice house, we are trying to keep our guests (past and future) and our staff (paid and volunteer) informed as well as we can. For now, that involves a phone line, a newsletter, a website (http://www.philipfosterfarm.com/), a blog (you're reading it), a Facebook fan page, and a twitter account (@fosterfarm).

But you don't have to join them all to know what's up! The blog is posted to Twitter, tweets can be read on the fan page, and fan page postings are automatically tweeted (along with calendar notifications). Please be patient while we experiment with all the options, and let us know what you find helpful, and what is just annoying!

ALHFAMily Reunion

http://www.ahlfam.org/

The Western Region of the Association of Living History Farms and Agricultural Museums (with or without appropriately placed commas) meets in Oregon City tomorrow. This is a lively group of people dedicated to accessible and interesting history from Washington State to Arizona. All year the organization provides a forum for problem-solving everything from period clothing dilemmas to volunteer training. At a small reception this evening, it was great to meet hands-on history educators from all over the region. The history of stage-coaches, California school presentations, pineapple fabric, straw hats, and more tonight. Too cool!

2009 Construction Projects

A picture was taken from this location 125 years ago and is now on display in the 1883 house built for Foster's son Egbert. In this picture, you can see three of the building projects that have taken place this summer. In the foreground is a recreation of the picket fence seen in the old picture, built by Tom Burnett and Tyler Moore. Just beyond it on the right is a dance platform/stage. Behind the barn is the wagon shed, still under construction. Behind the photographer is a "remnant" of the 1848 house under construction.  Tom Burnett and Dennis Duncan are making it out of recycled hand-hewn logs from an old barn.

To the left are the two new covered platforms for vendors and rainy-day picnickers, constructed by Tom Burnett, summer staffers and Jonathan Birchfield.
It's been a busy summer, with changes all over. Come on down for an event or two and see what's happening.

Summer Staff 09

Thanks to our summer staff, for great work with summer camp, painting and construction projects, storekeeping, customer service, and more.

Troy, Tyler, Tony, Kyle, Jalyssa and Candace got a lot done this summer, thanks to the careful supervision of Brooke. They painted fences and picnic tables, helped to build vendor platforms, did fence construction and repairs, and helped summer campers, tours and drop-in guests learn from and enjoy the Farm.