tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29027657654837754682011-08-08T18:39:34.447-07:00News from the Farm OfficeElaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.comBlogger251100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-53916628479103985392011-08-07T16:31:00.000-07:002011-08-08T18:39:34.456-07:00

Amber Milmore is the newest face of Philip Foster Farm. She and her three children have been volunteering since spring of 2011, and the board recently asked her to take over management of the store and the remainder of our events for the year. Amber loves people, history, and crafts, is a Girl Scout and AWANA leader, and most recently worked on the committee to organize Gresham's Relay for Life

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-42786473822883062262010-09-22T11:48:00.000-07:002010-09-22T11:48:20.424-07:00

A few of our loyal Cider Squeeze fans have asked about our new admissions policy, so here's a brief look at the efforts we've made to keep the Philip Foster Farm accessible for as many people as possible. We have always charged for scheduled tours, and have traditionally been free for events and drop-in guests through the summer. The financial reality is that schoolchildren have been our major

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-22178223553775554092010-09-01T13:23:00.000-07:002010-09-01T13:23:34.234-07:00

The Barn Dance was a blast, but we're already moving on to September 11th, when we'll have our Dutch Oven Cookoff and Blackberry Jam Acoustic Music Festival. The cooks are getting their registrations in this week, preparing to cook up a tasty little competition. Judges are eagerly waiting to see whose breads, main dishes and desserts are the best. Musicians will be bringing their instruments to

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-12236861061932748292010-08-27T23:34:00.000-07:002010-08-27T23:34:19.563-07:00

The band and the dancers are all practiced up, the food is ready, and all we need is YOU! Come on down to the Philip Foster Farm for great food, folk dancing, country music and fun times with new friends. The silent auction has some awesome items from Dave's Killer Bread, Real Good Food, Alexandra Farnham's glassworks, and more. There's even a Hawaiian condo stay. Don't miss out. You can come at

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-89838606864115309292010-06-22T21:51:00.000-07:002010-06-22T21:51:36.831-07:00

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-54484853197671826192010-06-01T13:10:00.000-07:002010-06-01T13:10:30.407-07:00

It's time to check out your calendar and let us know what you'd like to do around the Farm this summer. Here are some of the ways you can help us preserve and explain our local and state history to the many guests we'll have this year: 1) Event help: We need craft demonstrators, collectors, food handlers, money handlers and guides to help with Father's Day at the Farm on June 20th, Mary

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-91673817795108109152010-04-18T00:25:00.000-07:002010-04-18T00:25:09.382-07:00

Real History. Real Fun. Come see for yourself!

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-41813433123831914522010-04-10T09:21:00.000-07:002010-04-10T09:21:10.240-07:00

This is one wagon train that never made it to Oregon City. Their last stop was at the Philip Foster Farm, where they built a log cabin, planted an apple tree, and set up an Oregon Trail marker to commemorate their historic and well-documented trip. These modern teenagers experienced the Oregon Trail and created an educational video to introduce more students to the hardships and benefits of this

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-39059452672130473192010-03-27T18:46:00.000-07:002010-03-27T18:46:23.129-07:00

Joanne Broadhurst, Foster descendant, describes the Philip Foster Farm's Heritage maples, horse chesnuts, and 1842 lilac, our Clackamas County Heritage Trees:

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-49253046762437420382010-02-20T19:58:00.000-08:002010-02-20T19:59:16.259-08:00

An heirloom camellia finished its three and a half year jouney to the end of the Barlow Road this week. It was donated to the Philip Foster Farm by Dr. Mike Malone of Estacada in 2006, but the Farm was undergoing changes in its facilities at the time. Volunteer Sam Morse began digging the huge root system  on Labor Day weekend of 2006. It soon became clear that the job was bigger than Sam's

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-1040916532580580842010-01-08T14:28:00.000-08:002010-01-08T14:28:47.409-08:00

I found this video while researching music for the Philip Foster Farm Song Book to be published this spring:

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-61448933013886715862009-12-29T20:50:00.000-08:002009-12-29T20:50:53.499-08:00

Summer campers from 2009 will remember Candace as the popular counselor in the 1890's day dress. Last month she won an award from the Sandy Library art show - 1st place for an acrylic painting called Drained. Candace's work has also shown up on Foster Farm posters and flyers. .Congratulations Candace! We love your work!

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-15719410684011890462009-12-22T09:57:00.000-08:002009-12-22T09:57:17.179-08:00

Did you know that the year the first wagon train arrived in Oregon (1843) was also the year that Christmas began making its comeback in England? The holiday had been divided between debauchery and religious observance to such an extent that many Christians refused to celebrate it, considering it a sacrilege to combine the elements of spiritual devotion with the merrymaking and pagan influences of

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-64884079043568697692009-11-14T23:56:00.000-08:002009-11-14T23:59:55.121-08:00

Last month, "Jamin" posted some links to great online resources for families wanting to learn more about the Oregon Trail. You can see her blog post at http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jaminacema/731949/. Thanks, Jamin, for connecting families with hands-on learning opportunities! This is Jamin in front of the memorial at Donner's Pass.

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-90863374011941811332009-11-14T00:54:00.000-08:002009-11-14T00:54:02.018-08:00

Excerpt (30 seconds) from a Trail Diary at Windlass Hill in Nebraska:

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-23448384241194916692009-11-12T22:03:00.000-08:002009-11-12T22:03:50.577-08:00

Twin Falls is proud of its heritage as an agricultural town on the Oregon Trail. Watch for the Oregon-California Trails Association marker just like the one at the Foster Farm.

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-40104971404288464602009-11-10T09:41:00.000-08:002009-11-10T09:41:30.981-08:00

Interesting comments and musical illustrations of those who traveled in wagon trains.

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-31406386765909805902009-11-08T17:12:00.000-08:002009-11-08T17:12:16.387-08:00

Foster Farm volunteer and Oregon Trail reenactor Tom Marquette  in the News.

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-74314813086407992312009-11-07T17:38:00.000-08:002009-11-07T17:38:56.313-08:00

If you are interested in Oregon History first-hand accounts, the Gutenberg project has posted a book right up your alley. Ezra Meeker's book, The Ox-Team Days on the Old Oregon Trail, first published in 1922, is now available for free download at http://www.feedbooks.com/book/4381. Meeker took the Columbia river, while his friends took the Barlow Road route, so this book doesn't mention Philip

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-81086836941308890262009-11-06T13:45:00.001-08:002009-11-06T14:17:29.182-08:00

Twitter, Facebook, email, mobile computing - These technologies are completely incompatible with the mission of Living History, right? Well, yes and no. When I'm dressed in my hoop skirt, you won't find me reading Twitter messages or updating my Facebook status from my "talking pocket watch." But living history is pretty useless if no one knows it's happening. How can we promote awareness and

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-67163068745088980412009-11-04T11:29:00.000-08:002009-11-04T11:29:22.257-08:00

Museum educators understand the pressure teachers face, trying to provide the best opportunities for students with limited time and resources. That's why Megan Burt (shown at right with a group of students) helped organize the Oregon Museum Educators. Tomorrow evening from 5:00 to 7:00, teachers can visit the Oregon Historical Society for a seminar (with PDUs/clock hours for many districts) and

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-62888806145660182012009-10-23T13:33:00.000-07:002009-11-07T17:44:08.743-08:00

Philip Foster, like many of Oregon's pioneers, saw opportunity on the horizon and scrambled to get ahead of it. From our office in his ice house, we are trying to keep our guests (past and future) and our staff (paid and volunteer) informed as well as we can. For now, that involves a phone line, a newsletter, a website (http://www.philipfosterfarm.com/), a blog (you're reading it), a Facebook

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-78778956067141519702009-10-01T22:20:00.000-07:002009-10-01T22:20:57.192-07:00

http://www.ahlfam.org/ The Western Region of the Association of Living History Farms and Agricultural Museums (with or without appropriately placed commas) meets in Oregon City tomorrow. This is a lively group of people dedicated to accessible and interesting history from Washington State to Arizona. All year the organization provides a forum for problem-solving everything from period clothing

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-18626217556827052862009-09-14T14:54:00.000-07:002009-09-14T14:54:28.561-07:00

A picture was taken from this location 125 years ago and is now on display in the 1883 house built for Foster's son Egbert. In this picture, you can see three of the building projects that have taken place this summer. In the foreground is a recreation of the picket fence seen in the old picture, built by Tom Burnett and Tyler Moore. Just beyond it on the right is a dance platform/stage. Behind

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902765765483775468.post-18652409084142134012009-09-04T13:20:00.000-07:002009-09-14T14:57:00.613-07:00

Thanks to our summer staff, for great work with summer camp, painting and construction projects, storekeeping, customer service, and more. Troy, Tyler, Tony, Kyle, Jalyssa and Candace got a lot done this summer, thanks to the careful supervision of Brooke. They painted fences and picnic tables, helped to build vendor platforms, did fence construction and repairs, and helped summer campers, tours

Elaine Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15809934809345510264noreply@blogger.com1