Page museum sets community picnic Games, ice cream making, tours on tap

ORONO – Old-time games, a homemade ice cream making demonstration, blacksmithing, heritage garden tours and other activities from earlier times are just a few of the events scheduled for 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, July 31, as the University of Maine’s Page Farm and Home Museum holds its annual community picnic lunch.

This is the 10th year that the UMaine farm and home museum has offered an educational program to celebrate rural Maine farm life and offer the public a chance to learn about past life in Maine, said Page Farm and Home Museum director Patricia Henner.

The museum features exhibits, tours, special events and information about agricultural and rural living in Maine between 1865 and 1940. It houses a premiere collection of farm implements, household items and Maine folk arts, in addition to equipment and vehicles used for clearing land, harvesting and storing crops.

Permanent exhibits include a novel gift shop in an old general store setting and a replica of celebrated Maine cook and cookbook author “Brownie” Schrumpf’s kitchen, in addition to animal husbandry, stenciling and 4-H and ice-harvesting exhibits. The blacksmith shop, carriage house and one-room schoolhouse are open for tour groups and visitors on special occasions.

One such occasion is the picnic, said Henner, where visitors may experience many of the old-time activities with family and friends.

“We always have a great time,” she said. “The kids love it. This is one of our most popular events.”

The event is free, although participants are asked to bring a dish to share and a lawn chair or blanket. In inclement weather, activities will move inside. Field activities and games begin at 11 a.m., the picnic at noon and games after lunch.

Activities include a spinning demonstration, a hay maze, herbal crafts, historic videos and a poultry exhibit. Games for all ages include horseshoes, bean bag toss, croquet and a three-legged race. The picnic is a time for families “to come and see demonstrations of traditional crafts and to feel involved in the community, meet friends and neighbors and mix fun with education,” Henner said.

The Page Farm and Home Museum, located in the oldest and last remaining original agricultural building on the UMaine campus, is just south of the Maine Center for the Arts. For information about the picnic and other events, call 581-4100 or visit www.ume.maine.edu/~pfhm.