For Immediate Release

Step Back in Time with Pioneer Life in Ohio May 31 at Wahkeena Nature Preserve

Join 18th-century reenactors May 31 as they demonstrate essential skills used by early pioneers in Ohio at Wahkeena Nature Preserve near Lancaster, Ohio. The day’s demonstrations will include spinning and weaving wool, open fire cooking, period fishing, woods skills and pioneer tools. Demonstrations will be conducted throughout the day from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., and visitors can experience each one at their own pace.

At the spinning and weaving station visitors will see how raw wool is spun into yarn and then woven into usable material. Learn about pioneer recipes at the open fire cooking demonstration, and discover the techniques to construct a log cabin at the pioneer tools area. At the longhunters' camp, visitors will observe hide tanning, fire starting with flint and steel, and the workings of a flintlock musket.

The pioneers' very survival depended on knowing their natural environment intimately. Today, modern technologies have created a disconnect with our natural environment. Visitors to the Pioneer Life in Ohio program have a chance to spend the day reconnecting with the natural world and the technologies our pioneer ancestors used over 200 years ago.

The Pioneer Life in Ohio program begins at 10 a.m. and runs continuously throughout the day until 4 p.m. The cost is $10 per vehicle for nonmembers and $3 per vehicle for OHS members. The Nature Center and gift shop will be open to visitors.

Wahkeena Nature Preserve is one of 59 sites operated by the Ohio Historical Society, a private, nonprofit organization that serves as the state's partner in preserving and interpreting Ohio’s history, archaeology, and natural history. It is located on Pump Station Road, one mile west of Old Logan Road, located six miles south of Lancaster off of U.S. Route 33 in Fairfield County. For more information about the event or other Wahkeena programs, call 740.746.8695/800.297.1883 or visit www.ohiohistory.org.

Thank you for your interest in the Ohio Historical Society!