The northeast corner of the Indiana State Fairgrounds is the site of the Pioneer Village, a group of buildings from old farms that have been restored and erected on the grounds. Each year, farmers and artisans from all over the country come to the fair to display their skills and to show what farm life was like before modern conveniences, machinery and corporate farming became the norm. This site is also where the antique tractors are displayed, where wood logs are made into lumber with a steam operated mill; the audience for this work is typically shoulder to shoulder, as people watch a group of older men systematically produce a pile of evenly sized boards.
One of the buildings is the corncrib shown in these pictures. The crib was used by farmers to store harvested corn for future use as winter feed for livestock and chickens. The dried corn would also have been the source for seed corn for planting the following year. As its golden color may indicate, it was also a farmer's stockpile; held against a time when money was short and the price of corn high, he could sell the stockpile for needed cash.
During the winter, it might be the chore for one of the children to grind the corn to feed the animals, keeping the cobs to use as livestock bedding and as fuel in their home.
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| Close-up view of a wire fence maker |
More to come later from Pioneer Village.
5 comments:
Artistic perfection! What a stunning composition, Speedway. The shapes, the colours, the textures; everything. Love it.
I'd be right there, shoulder to shoulder with the other gaping spectators. Living history is wonderful to watch.
Can't wait for more from the Pioneer Village.
Thank you, Dive. You've made yourself some extra strong coffee this morning, full of heady compliments for others. Nevertheless, it's appreciated.
As I've said, how can composition be so hard to find when people just leave shots like this lying around for anyone to pick up? I owe it all to my pokey little point-and-shoot camera - out of 200 images, one is bound to come up with at least a few that are usable.
I like this shot. Iconic of summer fairs.
I really like that first photo. Great color.
Thank you, Birdman and Randy. This year, Pioneer Village, where these pictures was taken, celebrates its 50th anniversary. It's grown in size and popularity over the years, even hosting classes of school children during the year, outside of the Fair dates.
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