A volunteer feeds cane into a horse-drawn mill to make molasses during the event in 2011.The feed sack swing is always a popular attraction 
for  younger visitors at Olde Tyme Farm Day. Dr. Vic 
Campbell remembers 25 to 30 kids lining up at once
to take a turn.

Olde Tyme Farm Day returns

Julie Holcombe's picture
To Log Cabin Farm Nov. 1
By: 
Julie Holcombe

Horse-drawn plows, molasses making, quilting, butter churning and other bygone traditions are back by popular demand. Gail and Dr. Vic Campbell will once again open their Log Cabin Farm to visitors during Olde Tyme Farm Day on Saturday, Nov. 1, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

This year marks the return of the event that features an array of traditional farming and homestead practices.

“We finally realized it was such a big project in 2011 and hung it up, but we had so many people compliment us, we wanted to do it again,” Vic said.

The event has been a community staple since 1984 when Vic accepted his friend Hayden Kemp’s challenge–issued in 1976– to use his molasses mill with the farm’s Brabant draft horses.

Campbell grew the sorghum, cut and stripped the cane and put the horses to work. Friends and family came to help with the process, and friend Evelyn Allen prepared breakfast over a cookstove for the volunteers on what Gail remembers as a “chilly November morning.”

“It began as something we just wanted to do ourselves. The neighbors heard and just showed up. We started feeding the volunteers. It just got bigger, bigger and bigger,” he said.

The Campbells have continued to open up their farm for the day-long event throughout the last two decades, sharing their extensive collection of farm relics and offering demonstrations of life from days-gone-by. Among the activities will be antique displays, an apple cider press, spinning and felting, blacksmithing, and children’s crafts. Visitors can also enjoy bluegrass music, sample old style cooking and tour the Amish barn. Children can enjoy hayrides, pony rides, face painting and take their turn on the sack swing.

Volunteer spirit
Reestablishing Olde Tyme Farm Day was important to Gail, who is the indisputable head of the operation, organizing volunteers and demonstrations months in advance.

“Gail has Parkinson’s Disease, but in spite of that she is determined to make a success of it,” Vic said.

“I’m still the boss,” Gail joked. “And she does a really great job of it,” Vic agreed.

In addition to the Campbells, the event requires a “tremendous” group of volunteers to assist the visitors, which have numbered up to 2,500 in the past.

“We couldn’t do it without the volunteers. We want to give a special thanks to all of them,” hesaid. “We have had people call and volunteer to volunteer. That makes you feel good. It gives you kind of a warm, fuzzy feeling.”

Carol Justice is one of the dedicated crew. She will resume her volunteer position for the third year cooking cobbler in a dutch oven over an open fire.

“I come back because the crowd is awesome. It’s fun to reminisce with the older people… and it’s fun to talk to the younger kids about how they used to do it in old times,” she said.

Justice recognizes the importance of the family’s goal of preserving the past for community and friends.

“We get so caught up in technology. It’s nice to remember a slower, quieter time… to look at what we accomplished together. A lot of that has been lost,” she said.

“The Campbells make you feel like you’re part of their family, and it’s a pleasure to come out. They are so gracious.”

“It’s a community effort and the volunteers who have so willingly helped us by the hundreds…it’s all because of them and the compliments they give you that make you want to do it again. And that’s why we’re doing it,” Vic said.

Log Cabin Farm is located at 3855 Pennington Road in Greer, one mile from Blue Ridge High School. Admission is $5 per carload. Barbecue and hot dogs by Sims BBQ will be available for sale, and Sonny Boroughs will offer Brunswick stew for a donation to the American Cancer Society.

This year’s event is dedicated to the memory of John Woodbury, Gail’s brother, and Helen Woodbury, Gail’s stepmother, faithful family volunteers.

Farm Day activities

Molasses making
wih horse-drawn mill
Apple butter making
Apple cider making
Hay wagon, pony cart
and horse rides
Bluegrass music
Grist mill
Plowing demonstration
Quilting
Children’s crafts
Spinning and felting
Butter churning
Antique display
Peanut boil
Wood cookstove, Dutch oven and campfire cooking
Blacksmith
Lye soap clothes washing
and ironing
Farm animals
Amish barn
 
jholcombe@greercitizen.com | 877-2076

The Greer Citizen

317 Trade Street Greer, SC 29651

Phone: 1-864-877-2076

Sign Up For Breaking News

Stay informed on our latest news!

Manage my subscriptions

Subscribe to Greer Citizen newsletter feed
Comment Here