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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
March 19, 2024

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Activities, nostalgia forge fun day at Country Life Fair

By , Columbian Education Reporter
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Tom Dwyer demonstrates blacksmith skills at the Pomeroy Farm Country Life Fair. Dwyer also volunteers in the blacksmith shop at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site.
Tom Dwyer demonstrates blacksmith skills at the Pomeroy Farm Country Life Fair. Dwyer also volunteers in the blacksmith shop at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. (Steve Dipaola for the Columbian) Photo Gallery

YACOLT — Generations of families gathered at Pomeroy Living History Farm on Saturday. The sunny skies and warm temperatures drew hundreds to the farm’s third annual County Life Fair for old-time skills demonstrations, hayrides, hands-on activities for kids and an herb and plant sale.

Four generations of Dovy Landerholm’s family sat around a picnic lunch on the grass. Landerholm, 89, was joined by her daughter, Jeannie Garth, who was joined by her daughter, Lydia Thralls, who was nursing her daughter, Maybelle, 6 months. Tyler Thralls sat next to his wife on the blanket spread underneath a massive tree. Tyler and Lydia Thralls were married at the Pomeroy Farm five years ago.

“We danced right under this tree,” said Tyler Thralls as he looked up toward the branches.

“And they rode off on horseback after the celebration,” added Landerholm, Lydia’s grandmother.

Landerholm and her husband, Irwin, had a many-decades friendship with the farm’s former owners, Len and Lil Freese. Both of the Freeses have died. Every fall, Landerholm’s family still makes a trek to Pomeroy Farm to buy their Halloween pumpkins, and each spring Jeannie Garth buys garden plants at the farm’s annual herb and plant sale. Her purchases Saturday included a Mother’s Day cosmos for her mom.

Gary Garth walked toward his family with his granddaughter, Ellie Garth, 2, riding on his shoulders. They had visited the farm animals.

“Ellie wants to show Grandma the piggies,” he announced before setting his granddaughter gently on the ground.

Smiling, Ellie made a beeline for the picnic lunch.

Rebooted farm

Nearby, Bob Brink watched people enjoying his family’s farm. Brink is the executive director of Pomeroy Living History Farm, a nonprofit public benefit educational museum that is listed on the National Register of Historic Properties. The farm has been in Brink’s wife’s family since E.C. Pomeroy established the farm in 1910. The farmstead encompasses a section — 640 acres, or a square mile. It is managed by multiple generations of E.C. Pomeroy’s family.

The farm includes a log home built in 1920, a working blacksmith shop, barn, herb and vegetable gardens, pastures and woodlot. More than 3,500 school children visit the farm on field trips annually. Open house events such as the Country Life Fair demonstrate daily life on a pre-electrical farm to hundreds more. Last year’s fair drew 1,300 visitors. Brink said he expects this year’s numbers to be higher.

This is only the third year Brink’s family and crew of volunteers have offered the fair. It grew from the farm’s herb festival, which began in the mid-1980s. The herb festival was successful and mostly drew gardeners, many of them older than 40.

After farmers markets became popular, the herb festival “struggled with its identity,” Brink said. “The popular swell was done. We decided to get back to our roots. We’re a farm. We wanted the festival to represent country life, but we added games, interactive activities for kids.”

That rebooted model seems to be working. In E.C. Pomeroy’s old blacksmith shop, Tom Dwyer and Clay Ford demonstrated blacksmithing. Both men volunteer in the blacksmith shop at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. Dwyer heated metal in the fire, pounded out a heated metal hook and thrust it into a bucket of water. It sizzled.

Just outside the animal barn, Brandon Todd made a hazelnut longbow. Olivia Hall, 13, her sister, Ashlyn Hall, 3 of Brush Prairie, and her grandmother, Mary Brown from Woodland, watched and asked questions. Olivia said she has her own bow and enjoys archery.

“But it’s not a homemade bow,” she said, turning back to watch Todd work.

Oodles of kids were making hand-dipped candles, braiding strands of baling twine with a 1907 rope braider, pumping water from an old-fashioned pump and waiting a turn to feed the goats, George and Fred.

Volunteer Susie Connor doled out handfuls of grain to children, who placed a flat palm up to the enthusiastic goats. Emilia Donaldson, 2, was celebrating her birthday at the farm and seemed just as excited to feed the goats as the goats were to be fed.

“Cow! Cow!” Emilia exclaimed.

At that moment George the goat climbed up onto the wood fence to get closer to the action — and the grain.

If You Go

What: Pomeroy Farm Country Life Fair features kids crafts and activities, blacksmithing and bowmaking demonstrations, hayrides, farm animals, tours of a log farmhouse, a plant and herb sale, vendors with handmade goods, bluegrass music and food vendors.

When: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Pomeroy Farm, 20902 N.E. Lucia Falls Road, Yacolt.

Admission:Free.

Information: http://www.pomeroyfarm.org

“George is overzealous when it comes to food,” Susie said, laughing.

The Pomeroy Farm’s Country Life Fair continues from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

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Columbian Education Reporter