At Prairie Day, hosted by the National Park Service at the George Washington Carver National Monument, visitors are invited to take a step back in time through the site’s exhibitions, demonstrations, and musical performances.
The National Parks Service, in partnership with the Carver Birthplace Association, will hold its annual Prairie Day on Saturday, September 14, 2024, at the George Washington Carver National Monument in Diamond, Missouri.
Diane Eilenstein, supervisory park ranger at George Washington Carver National Monument, says the free event provides a look back at the life of agricultural scientist and inventor George Washington Carver, who was born to an enslaved woman named Mary in 1864, a year before slavery was abolished in Missouri.
“We talk about slavery, the Civil War, and then the life of George Washington Carver and the things he would have seen during his life here,” Eilenstein says.
But the exploration of how sociopolitical factors shaped Carver’s life is only one aspect of the event. In addition to educational exhibits on regional history touchpoints such as the Civil War, the 1st Kansas Colored Troops, and Native American life, there is much emphasis on prairie ecology, agriculture, and historic skills.
To highlight the latter, there will be live demonstrations on treadle-machine dewing, basket weaving, woodworking, flax spinning, wool spinning, quilting, lye soap making, Dutch-oven cooking, and food preservation. Interactive demonstrations include apple cider making, candle dipping, butter churning, and washboard laundry.
Eilenstein says offering up-close—and in some instances, hands-on—opportunities to take in the minutiae of daily life from the past is a way to make history personal.
“It’s important we preserve stories, and we do that through these skills,” Eilenstein says.
Of course, storytelling can take many forms, and one of the most popular is music. With this in mind, Prairie Day will host a number of musical acts.
These include, among others, fiddler Nathan McAlister, who has played in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C., a handful of times; the Vogt Sisters, who tell stories of life in the Ozarks through their original compositions; Holmes Brigade Shirkers, who perform Civil War encampment songs; and Abbey Waterworth and Josh Gilbert, who focus their musical talents on preserving the songs of southern Missouri.
Another can’t-miss attraction is the therapy horses from Trinity Circle Horses Healing Hearts out of Goodman, Missouri.
“The horses have this amazing ability to know who needs a nuzzle,” Eilenstein says.
And, of course, there’s the museum itself, which lays out the history of the site and the life of Carver. Eilenstein highly recommends watching the park film.
The Diamond Lions Club will sell concessions, and visitors also are invited to pack picnics.
All said, it’s a lot to take in, and Eilenstein recommends getting there early.
“You want to have time to see it all,” she says. “You think five hours is a lot, but it’s not really.”
All photos courtesy of National Park Service
For hundreds more events, visit Missouri Life’s Event Calendar.
