History Comes Alive
The first stop after we left the LBJ State Park facility was at the Sauer-Beckmann Living History Farm, and what a delight it was!
From the minute we walked through the gate, we knew we were on some very special property. Volunteers and employees are dressed in period costumes, and the farm is in full operation - an operation set in 1915, said one of the docents.
Animals roam freely around the property - some are in pens, others not. This day, the sheep were roaming, and the ram caught my eye - and apparently, I caught his, too.
As we walked around, we smelled food cooking, and soon found a lovely lady cooking onions on a wood stove. She told us about the three houses sitting side by side on the property - one the original, then an add-on (the one we were in), and then the new one, built in 1915 from materials bought through the Sears catalog. It was fun to compare the differences.
We asked about the milk sitting around in bowls, and she explained the cheese making process - all of it quite fascinating.
Ranch hands popped in and out for coffee and invited us to come watch the butchering of a steer that would take place shortly.
The garden was beautiful too - the cabbages were near perfection, along with broccoli, carrots, turnips, and more.
This was a great stop, and one I was reluctant to leave. As sappy as this sounds, all felt right in the world as we stepped back in time.
