by Kelli Bowen
We have discovered a show that we can watch as a family. It isn’t animated. It isn’t new. Everyone in my family will watch it with minimal complaint: Little House On The Prairie. Yep, ole L-HOP. This show, which was on tv the first time before I was born, is currently our family favorite. The adults enjoy that it is not animated, it is family-oriented, and there are generally life lessons in each episode. The children enjoy the action, the locality, and that there are a lot of stories involving the children. So if you are wondering what we are doing when we have an odd quiet hour in the evening, we might be watching L-HOP.
We don’t really focus on tv time at our house. We try to take in some outdoor or local events when we can. Lots of small towns have summer or fall events, some are based on a theme that a town might be known for: “Potato Days,” “Irrigation Days,” “Sunflower Days,” etc. Some are seasonal celebrations. It’s fun to check these out. I have this condition called “I Don’t Like Being Hot,” so I enjoy more of the fall/winter events myself. Hubby has a condition called “I Don’t Like Crowds” so if it’s outdoors and not packed, that’s his jam. This past weekend we were able to satisfy us both: we went to Fort Ransom and took in Sodbuster Days.
Fort Ransom is a small town along the Sheyenne River in Ransom County with Fort Ransom State Park just a couple miles away. The actual fort doesn’t stand anymore, it was dismantled in 1872 when it was decided protecting the Northern Pacific Railroad crew in Jamestown was more important than protecting the overland route. Most of the materials of the fort itself were used to build Fort Seward at the Jamestown, Stutsman County location. The state park is popular for camping, horseback riding, trails and hiking. This area boasts the only natural waterfall in North Dakota, plus is beautiful when the leaves are changing in September/October.
Fort Ransom State Park hosts Sodbuster Days two weekends of the year: the second weekend in July and the weekend after Labor Day. There are demonstrations of different turn-of-the-century farming and homemaking techniques. Some of these are hands-on and allow people to help/attempt as well.
We watched demonstrations of stationary baling, haying, thrashing, blacksmiths, a sawmill, yarn spinning and pie making. Everyone had a favorite part. Hubby enjoyed watching the small engines and seeing the antique tractors. Miss A enjoyed picking potatoes. Miss E’s favorite was the fresh pressed apple cider. I enjoyed watching the thrashing and baling; it reminded me of my summers helping my dad hay, even though our equipment was more advanced from childhood than the demonstrations at the state park.
For the day we stepped back in time and saw examples of pioneer life and my children had a tiny peek into what it may have been like to live and farm over 100 years ago. They enjoyed the day, and as we watch L-HOP snuggled on the couch, they’re talking about what they saw this past weekend in Fort Ransom.
Kelli makes her home in Cass County with her husband, two daughters (10 and 7) and two dogs. She works for a regional seed company by day and tries to be an alright mom, wife, friend and writer by night.
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