Day Trip to Auglaize Village

The smell of autumn is definitely in the air. Leaves are just beginning to turn, and Mother Nature has turned down the thermostat. This weekend, I don't think it got above 55 degrees in my neck of the woods. Even though skies were overcast, it was a perfect day for me and my sweetie Mike to go to the Johnny Appleseed Festival at Auglaize Village, an historic museum just a few miles west of my city.

You can tell fall is here when you see all the pumpkins for sale.


One of the first things I saw was this big red barn. Treats were being sold outside and inside.


If I had need of a mailbox (I don't), I would have been sorely tempted to cart this one home with me!


This little birdbath was cute. I took a pic because I figure that one of these would actually be pretty easy to make.


Auglaize Village features rooms, office, and businesses from days gone by. I loved this door to the little dentist office.


It had the former owner's initials etched into the glass.


Now this dentist office looked pretty scary to me. I couldn't imagine some of those instruments in my mouth...no siree!


Next door was the cobbler shop. I was trying to imagine my big feet in these cruel shoes. They are cool, but Mike remarked that he thought they were children's shoes. I don't think so. People were much smaller a hundred or more years ago.


I am enchanted by windows. I always wonder what is just beyond. Ever see that commercial on HGTV where the couple are driving through a neighborhood at night and looking at the houses? Well, that could be me.


Here was a display of keepsakes from years gone by.


My grandmother had an iron like one of these. And we think we have it hard now if we have to iron something.


I was struck by some of the portrayals of old time kitchens. I know that I complain if I don't have a dishwasher. Think of all the hard work it was to wash dishes in sinks like this! If you didn't have a pump in the house, you had to tote in the water.


I do love this blue stove though.


Ugh, washing day was really a chore! Now all we have to do is put the clothes in, push a button to wash them, push another button to dry them, and then all we have to do is hang them up or fold them. Not so hard really when you consider the alternative.


I would love to have carted these home with me!


Outside, vendors were making caramel corn. Yum! There were a lot of things for sale, crafts and also flea market wares, but my camera was being persnickety and I didn't get pics of all of that.



This was the actual office for an old-time phone company in the county.


You didn't get to talk to anyone until the operator connected you!


Just look at these old phones! I grew up with a phone just like the one on the left. Things sure have changed!


I love old insulators. I like the turquoise color.



Next we went to school!

Love these old school desks! Not sure how comfortable they would have been though.


Can you imagine writing with inkwells and quills?


I must be getting old, because I remember going to school in the 60's and having blackboard like these with the alphabet above.


After that, we went by a blacksmith shop. No one was demonstrating the art, which I think would have been fun to watch. One of my great-grandfathers was a blacksmith.


This bellows was huge!


We then decided to go to church. I love old churches. One of the churches that my boyfriend pastors was built in 1875. I think it is really interesting.



I didn't get a picture of the hay-bale maze, but it seemed to be really popular with children. This display was nearby. Ah...fall!


I have always dreamed of living in a log cabin...the modern kind though! These were fun to go through.


Again, me with the windows.


The fire in the fireplace was welcoming and offered visitors a bit of warmth. We climbed the stairs to the left...


...to discover this upper room!


In a time when we all want a walk-in closet, its hard to imagine even a generously sized armoire holding the clothes for a whole family.


The bed frames were really cool, and I loved the quilts, but they really didn't look at all comfortable to sleep on.


Here is another, smaller cabin.


Yet another window.


Interesting mill stones.


I think these are traps for small game.


Not sure what they did with this wheel.


There was another visitor that remarked that "those were the good old days," when viewing the rustic, simple way of life that people used to lead.

You know, although it seems that way, Mike and I both thought of what a hard life it was back then. It seemed that you'd never ever be warm in the winter, and that you'd have to deal with all kinds of vermin coming in through the floor. Life was not easy. We didn't have modern medicine, and many people died during epidemics.

No, while it was great fun to look back into the past, I wouldn't really want to turn time that far back!

On our way out, I spied this old firetruck. My dad, a former fireman, would have loved this.


Right near the exit were these carriages. Mike thought they were too small for adults, but like I said, I think people were a lot smaller back then. We are not far from Amish country though, so it really isn't all that unusual to see people in horse drawn carriages yet today, but they are bigger.

What a fun day we had at Auglaize Village! Mike wants to take his kids there next spring when it's warmer.

Even though it was a chilly day, Mike and I were tempted by the pumpkin flavored flurries offered at the dairy bar behind my apartment. It was raining, so we sat inside his car. I love that they added a little candy pumpkin, whipped cream and cinammon to the treat!


Mike liked his too!


Hope you enjoyed sharing the day as much as we did!

So what do you think...would you trade today's conveniences and go back in time?