2nd Annual Fall Festival

PFLHF’s second annual Fall Festival will be held on Saturday, September 27th, from 1pm to 5pm, with an evening outdoor concert immediately following.

As always, admission is free! Hayrides, a bonfire, and the cider press will all be back this year, with many more exciting additions, including a silent auction to fundraise for historic restoration projects!

The evening concert will feature the Ogg Creek Stringband and Amanda Standalone & the Pastry Shop Girls. The concert is bring-your-own-chair/blanket. Admission to the concert is free. Popcorn and other concessions will be available all day.

Don’t forget to check out the Old Trail Market for fresh, local, organic produce (grown on PFLHF land!) during the Festival!

If you would like to volunteer or donate an item for the silent auction, please contact Executive Director Sarah Wassberg at sewassbe at gmail dot com.

Probstfield Diaries available online

The first two volumes of the Probstfield diaries (c. 1860-1878) are now available online in high quality image-based originals and transcriptions at the Minnesota Digital Library.

For a direct link to the PFLHF collections, click here.

New Website!

PFLHF has a new website in the works! It will be hosted at www.probstfieldfarm.org. The new site will include lots of really cool new features, like photo galleries, online membership and volunteer sign-up, and interactive, members-only content!

The site is currently a under construction, but check back often for new updates!

Gardens contracts available!

The Probstfield Organic Community Gardens, located on PFLHF property, now have contracts available for membership. The new contracts have been revamped to reflect membership (instead of plot rental) and outline more clearly the rules and benefits of gardening in the POCG.

To access the contract (a Microsoft Word document), click on “Community Gardens” above.

Minnesota Digital Library Grant Awarded!

PFLHF is proud to announce that the Minnesota Digital Library, an online library of high-quality historic images and primary sources, has awarded PFLHF a grant to digitize and transcribe the first two volumes of the Randolph M. Probstfield diaries.

The original diaries are currently located in the Minnesota State University, Moorhead Archives and are owned by the Northwest Minnesota Historical Center.

The diaries will be transported to the University of Minnesota this November for digital scanning. The scanned originals as well as transcriptions should be available online a the MDL sometime next spring or early summer.

PFLHF would like to thank the MDL for this excellent opportunity to increase the availability of the Probstfield diaries. Hopefully this project will inspire more academic research on the Probstfield farm and Clay County’s rural heritage.

Minnesota Farms in Context

Wanting to know more about the history of Minnesota farms? Check out the extensive report, “Historic Context Study of Minnesota Farms, 1820-1960,” prepared for the Minnesota Department of Transportation by Susan Granger and Scott Kelly of Gemini Research.

This four-volume report is available in PDF format on the MNDOT website. Be warned, however, that the files are extremely large and may take some time to download.

For the first time, Minnesota’s rural heritage is compiled in one place. We highly recommend this report for anyone looking to do more research on Minnesota farms and their history.

Fall Festival a success!

Thanks to everyone who volunteered, participated, and came to the Fall Festival, held Saturday, October 13th out at the farm. It was a huge success and we had somewhere around 200-300 people attend!

Here are some of the photos taken during the Festival:

Concordia German Club

The Concordia German Club teaches kids about Germany and hands out fun treats.

 

Quilting

Aura Lee Mohror of the Quilter’s Guild of North Dakota demonstrates quilting techniques in period costume.

 

Spinning

Sharon Schulz of the Northern Prairie Fiber Artists explains the use of a drop spindle.

 

Cider from the press!

Volunteers Brianna and Markus press the first round of cider made from local apples with the antique cider press.

 

Hay ride

Jay’s hayrack gets ready for a run on the world’s longest and most fun hay ride.

 

Tractors

Trying out one of the many restored and antique tractors on display by the Lake Agassiz Two Cylinder Club.

 

Bonfire

Volunteer bonfire attendant Breanna goes for more wood as others enjoy the fire.

 

Exploring by the river

Exploring in the woods and down by the Red River is always fun!

 

Ogg Creek Stringband

Members of the Ogg Creek Stringband play a lively tune in the barn.

 

Dancing

Those lively tunes are so easy to dance to!

 

If you took any photos during the Fall Festival and would like them posted online, please e-mail them to Sarah Wassberg at sewassbe @ gmail.com or mail them to:

 Probstfield Farm Living History Foundation, Inc.

4626 Oakport St. N.

Moorhead, Mn 56560.

Thanks again to everyone who volunteered, demonstrated, and attended. We hope to see you all next year!

Fall Festival Tomorrow!

Wow, I can hardly believe it, but tomorrow is our Fall Festival! We will be featuring live music by the Ogg Creek Stringband from 3-4 pm, kids activities by the Concordia College German Club, and historic demonstrations by representatives from the Quilters’ Guild of North Dakota and the Northern Prairie Fiber Artists. The Lake Agassiz Two Cylinder Club will also have restored and antique tractors and farm implements on display. There will also be an apple cider press demonstration with an antique press and local apples! Free hay rides, a bonfire, and free treats round out the day.

If you need directions to the farm, see our detailed instructions at right. Just click on “Directions.” If you’d like to Mapquest or GoogleMap directions, the address is 4626 Oakport St. N. in Moorhead, MN 56560.

Admission, parking, and everything else are free, so I hope to see you there!

Clean-up day

In preparation for the Fall Festival (Oct. 13th) the PFLHF is having a clean-up day out at the farm on Sunday, September 23rd from 1pm until 4 or 5pm.

We will be clearing brush and trash, cleaning (and maybe testing) the old apple cider press, creating scarecrows, etc.

If you would like to help out, please contact executive director Sarah Wassberg at sewassbe at gmail.com.

Hope to see you there!

Fall Festival

The Probstfield Farm’s Fall Festival will be held on Saturday, October 13th, 2007 from 1 pm to 5 pm at the farm.

The festival will feature live music, hay rides, hot cider and coffee with homemade treats, interpretive tours, kids activities, and historic crafts demonstrations.

This event is free and open to the public.

If you would like to volunteer to help with the festival, or if you would like to demonstrate a historic craft, please contact Executive Director Sarah Wassberg at sewassbe at gmail.com.