General Coffee State Park recently revived and relived past traditions in a Pioneer Day organized by the Friends of General State Park. On Saturday,November 14, over 50 volunteers worked to create an authentic mid-1800’s era environment. The buildings, equipment, and resources at the state park, which are 19th century styled or aged, helped to seal the deal, providing a very real experience for visitors and volunteers. This is the 38th Pioneer Day that the park has hosted and over 500 people attended this year.
The glimpse into life before technology, the internet, or running water is a sobering reminder of how far we have come and just how much we take for granted on a day to day basis. Kimberly Bedgood, a volunteer who was on cooking duty, explained that it took hours to make her Three Sister Soup and potato cakes since the cooking method was not very efficient. The large cauldron-style pot was lifted above an open burning flame outside the home, and the combination of smoke from the flames and escaping heat made the work tedious. Though it took hours to cook the meal, it took only minutes for the soup to disappear as visitors ate up!
An old tradition that is still very much a part of South Georgian culture is the production of cane syrup, which was also showcased at Pioneer Day. Of course, the method was much different. Cane was fed through a man or mule-powered press, which squeezed cane juice out of each stalk. The juice was then boiled over a fire pit in a large metal bowl, and was periodically tested to make sure it wasn’t overcooked. As soon as it had thickened, it was done, and it could take hours.
The forging of metal was an essential part of pioneer life. A blacksmith exhibit featured two men, Corey Carver and Conner Mills, who worked hard to smith metal. Corey Carver was attempting to forge two railroad spikes together and explained that the heat from the flames must be extremely hot and standing near the flames was hot work. He pulled the red-hot metal spike from the flames and began to work at it on a nearby anvil. As with every other activity or job at the time, metal forging could take days and a lot of hard work.
Other exhibits of pioneer life included a beautiful quilt that was being hand quilted by several women on a traditional quilting table, lye-soap making, butter churning, and corn milling. Six vendors set up shop in the parking lot of the park to sell traditional goods, such as wooden birdhouses, tin can guitars, and handmade clothing. Visitors no doubt left with a renewed respect for those pioneers that worked the land and lived dangerous and tiresome lives.
Those ancestors made it possible for people today to enjoy relatively easier lives, paving the way for the inventions of indoor plumbing and electricity among other things. After all, necessity is the mother of invention, and Pioneer Day illustrates perfectly the reason the 19th and 20th century saw such a boom of invention.
