Get Colonial: Harvest Hootenanny Will Celebrate SE Ohio History

Did you ever wonder what nineteenth-century pioneers did for fun?

On Saturday October 28th, 2017, Hocking College’s Interp Club is going to answer that very question at their first official Harvest Hootenanny!

The event will take place from 1-6pm at Robbins Crossing- located at 3301 Hocking Parkway in Nelsonville, Ohio. The hootenanny will feature pioneer-themed crafts, live music, and a bonfire. Admission and parking for this celebration will be provided free of charge and the event is totally open to the public.

Entirely conceived and executed by HC’s Interp Club, the purpose of this event is to promote the college’s Natural & Historical Interpretation program, and as a fundraiser to help fund activities for the group, like a trip to the Smithsonian or Colonial Williamsburg.

According to Interp Club President, Sarah Haney, “This event is for people who love the outdoors, music, history, and enjoy making friends.” Haney added that this celebration that will also feature a variety of both free and paid activities.

One of the paid activities provides a lesson in how to make kettle corn using a cauldron- which reflects Interp Club’s Faculty Advisor Jason Szostek’s philosophy that his job is “not just to teach historical skills but to show others how to actually do them.” Other scheduled activities include an animal talk, a pumpkin carving session, and the opportunity for participants to bob for apples.

Interested in more fun things to do in the Nelsonville area? Click Here!

Besides being a fundraiser, another goal of the Harvest Hootenanny is to hopefully reinvigorate the public’s interest in Robbins Crossing which Interp Club Vice President Michael Eden feels has “been flying under the radar” in recent years.

Robbins Crossing Site Manager David Sagan agrees that our culture’s preoccupation with modern technology has motivated many to lose interest in our historical roots. Regardless, Sagan maintains that he and his fellow Robbing Crossing’s staff members and team of dedicated volunteers will continue to invite visitors to partake in the chance to “look back at history through a foggy telescope” and get a general idea of what life on a daily basis was like for those nineteenth-century settlers who decided to make Southeastern Ohio their permanent home.

Event attendees with see volunteers adorned in period costumes demonstrate how pioneers operated a weaving loom, washed their clothes using a wash board, and made hand tool.

A celebrated feature of Hocking College’s campus since the 80’s, Robbins Crossing also contains a blacksmith shop, a cooper shop, a doctor’s cabin, and a one-room school house. This attraction is also open to the public every weekend between Memorial Day and the end of October from 11-5pm.

In anticipation of the Harvest Hootenanny, Szostek reinforced that this fundraiser would not be happening if it were not for the efforts of the members of the Interp Club. He also expressed their sentiment that hopefully “this event will become a staple in the community.”

Haney noted that membership in the Interp Club is not restricted to Hocking College students only. She added that anyone interested in getting involved in this group can do so by attending one of their regular meetings held every Monday at 6pm in Room 104 of the Natural Resources building at Hocking College, or by contacting her personally at haneys@hocking.edu.