Settler's Village Harvest Festival - Wheatland, MO

The Settlers Village in Wheatland, Missouri is one of the community projects I work on as a member of the Hickory County Master Gardeners sponsored by the University of Missouri Extension Office.  We care for the landscaping making any changes as we see fit so as to have the plants look their best the first week in September for the annual Wheatland Harvest Festival.

In the spring of 2006, while observing Master Gardeners working on the garden at the McCarty Senior Center, Rhonda Hargis of the Settlers Village Committee stopped to inquire if it would be possible for Master Gardeners to assume the care of the flower beds at the Settlers Village.  The Master Gardeners agreed and have maintained the gardens ever since.

Since the Wheatland Harvest Festival is in September, our goal is to have as many plants in bloom at that time. When we started this project, the only perennials existing in these three beds were hostas, and they were only present in the west bed. Since that time we have planted five dwarf crape myrtles to add color to the bed. 

The east flower bad was planted with little princess spirea, pygmy barberry, blanket flowers, cleomes, and summer poinsettia. We planted the middle flower bed with zinnias at both ends surrounded by creeping Jenny, cannas, Stella de Orr, elephant ears, shasta daisies, big blue liriope, and variegated miscanthis.

In the spring of 2007, we placed a cedar trellis on the sign post at the east entrance and planted morning glories to twine up the post. We also strategically placed two sections of fence at the northeast corner and planted vining black-eyed Susan to climb the fence and portulaca for contrast at the base of the fence.

The borders of the beds were formed of oak timbers on which time and weather had taken its toll. These were covered with aluminum flashing which reflected the heat back into the flower beds they were encasing. In the spring of 2008, we removed the old borders with the flashing and replaced them with railroad ties.

In the spring of 2008, we also constructed two new beds behind the first two cabins at the east end of the Village. These were planted with rose of sharron, castor beans, cleome flowers, and portulaca.

Future plans include constructing herb beds on the north side of the kitchen building.

                       

                                     The Butterfield Overland Relay Station was park of the original Pony Express which passed through Hickory County.  There are plans to put this original trail on a national register and promote it similar to the Lewis and Clark Trail.  That would bring more travelers and tourists to the area in the future.

The village kept adding reconstructed original log constructed buildings donated from throughout the local area.  Volunteers tear them down at their original site and carefully mark the logs and bring them to the Wheatland square to put back together. 

 

Whenever the buildings need repairs, they are done to keep in the style of log construction and sometimes new materials are used. It is also a place to display the tools and equipment used during that period.

Here I am (hat) with most of the group that I work with on this project.

 Cleome Flower

 

 

I was very happy to see some hostas come back in time for the festival.  They were all burned up from the excess heat this past summer. 

 

 

Saturday September 8th began with a parade to open the Wheatland Harvest Festival.  Below are the photos my husband Keith took as I was on the float with the Master Gardener group.  We also had a booth and gave away many different plant starters.

 

Square Dancers

 

Here comes the Master Gardeners' Float!

The Master Gardener Float - Thanks to Master Gardener Beth Benanti and her family for all their work/design contribution and the vehicles! (Beth is on the end and I'm in the middle)

The United Methodist Church covered their truck with all kinds of shoes and set up a booth for shoe donations for the needy.

 

The Shriners in their little cars never miss a chance to promate their good cause of helping children.

An overview of the Settlers Village from across the street on the square in Wheatland.

One of the older fire trucks.  I didn't get photos of all the newer fire trucks...there was so many!

The county has all volunteer firefighters.

 

Then came all the old wonderful cars...

...and old tractors....

...and bicycles...

        
                                                                  Crazy Bicycle Guy

 

Here's the oldest fire truck built about the same time as Lake Pomme de Terre (about 1963)

Lucas Oil Race Track is the most modern addition to Wheatland and has changed the history of the town in a new direction.  For more information on what they are all about see:  http://www.lucasoilspeedway.com/

There are plenty of horses in Hickory County...

Hickory County Sheriffs Posse Inc - Hermitage, Missouri

...and mules...

...and more mules...

...and Bill Gunter's draft horse

After the parade was over, there were many craft and information booths in the park and inside the old log buildings.

View of Master Gardeners three

center gardens

 

The old church building was a great place to gather.

 

 

Here is Keith inside the Blacksmith Shop where many old tools can be seen as well as the basic interior structure of the log building.

Me and the Crazy Bicycle Guy who tried to talk me into riding his old fashion bicycle. 

No thank you.

Here I am with J.T. and Wilma Helm; old friends in Hickory County since we moved here in 1978.  Wilma was with me when I worked for the Hickory County Reassessment measuring old barns in Cross Timbers and I went into labor with baby Sarah - the nearest hospital 80 miles away. 

These two photos are of the Master Gardener Booth where free plant starts were given away.

One of the booths had a couple members of our local commune, The Stepping Stone Farm, near Weaubleau, MO.  One of their products for sale is Ozark Hickory Rustic Handcrafted Furniture.  The group is part of a "Brand New Culture" called The Twelve Tribes.  The group is located in 11 states and eight other countries.  This group has been in Hickory County since 2003.  For much more information see:  www.twelvetribes.org

 

And, of course, we ended our time at the festival with some square dancers.  The rest of Saturday and Sunday had many more activities including several bands and games for children and lots of food.  From what I could see in the short time I was there, this was the best festival since we moved to Hickory County in 1978!

Lake Kayaking - Pomme de Terre Damsite



 

Dam, Keith, we had a great day!

 

 

Keith decided it was about time he tried out kayaking.   So he did some research online and found information on different kinds of  kayaks.  Never knew there was so many different kinds!  I was able to tell him about my different experiences with short ones which are used mostly on rivers and the longer ones that are good for lakes.  We are now interested in a model that can be used mostly on a lake and is good for fishing.

 

I knew about several different kinds from my experiences since 2000. All the ones I have used set low and you put your legs inside and also had a sealing skirt that kept the water out; the person was attached to the kayak. I have been kayaking on several occasions including Outdoor Women weekends at a State Park near St. Louis and another time at Assumption Abby near Kansas City.  My most exciting time was when I went on a Woman Bicycling Tour along the Outer Banks of North Carolina where I was part of a group that took a day kayaking along Ocracoke Island in the ocean and into Blackbeard's cove.  I have also kayaked with my niece, Kristen, along the Shenandoah River in Virginia. 

 

Since we live on a lake and no longer have a motorboat, a kayak for each of us is in the plan to enjoy our lake and do more lake fishing.  The best way to shop is to find the right place that offers some we can try out.  Dynamic Earth Equipment was just the right place.  It is located next door to Mama Jean's Whole Foods Market where we do a lot of shopping in Springfield, Missouri.  For $30/day we picked out two different kayaks to try out. 

 

"See the world the way we do."  Here is the Dynamic Earth website for more information:  http://dynamicearth.net/

 

Mama Jean's Market is an awesome place next door that we do business with regularly:

http://mamajeansmarket.com/MaMa_Jeans/Welcome.html

 

 

 

Keith had recently bought a new rack for the pickup that works well for hauling long items.

                                

The Wilderness Tarpon was my favorite!  It has an open area for legs, two storage wells and a large area for packing items.  It also has rails on both sides that can accommodate attachments for fishing equipment.  It sets low in the water just like a traditional kayak and glides very well with little effort.  As for fishing, you would have to put down the paddle in order to use your fishing rod.  Fishing can be done mostly from tying up to a tree in the water or bringing it onshore to remote coves and getting out or just free-float and fish as desired.  For me, fishing is not my primary desire when kayaking but I would like the option at times...maybe half the time. I mostly want the exercise.  I also like the quiet and low environmental impact to enjoy lake areas but I want to go on local rivers too but not white water.  The Wilderness Tarpon has all the features I need and is light enough for me to handle by myself.

The other kayak Keith wanted to try out was the Hobie Outback which has peddling features.  It sets higher in the water than a traditional kayak and is wider too.  The ruder and steering
 works really well with levers conveniently located.  It also has an open area for legs it to and from the water, of course.  It is a heavier kayak but I understand there are portable wheels that can be purchased so one person can transport it to and from the water. There is here is another similar Hobie that may be better as it would set lower in the water and make hand paddling easier but it was not available to take out at this time. 

As a fishing kayak, one with foot peddles is best because it frees your hands full time to handle a fishing pole.  There are also holes to accommodate poles for trolling and a special hole for a separately purchased sail.  Overall, it is more than a kayak but lacks the feel of a traditional kayak

So Keith and I had a wonderful day full of variety and challenges.  Our first challenge was the weather.  Just as we unloaded the kayaks on Pomme De Terre Lake, a storm rolled in and we had to wait until it passed.  We did get out for a little while and was able to experience rough water and moving against the wind as well as the thrill of the wind at our backs.

But all was calm for several hours as we switched back and forth trying out both kayaks.  We went across the open waters along the dam, checked out the island and did some swimming, and also a couple coves.  It was a great day!