FREEMAN MUSEUM TO DEBUT NEW LOOK AT SCHMECKFEST

In addition to the traditional artisan demonstrations and historical programs, Heritage Hall Museum & Archives will be opening a newly renovated Arrival on the Prairie Gallery during Schmeckfest 2024.

Schmeckfest will be held on the campus of Freeman Academy, located adjacent to the museum on Friday and Saturday, March 15 and 16. The museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday with admission good for both days.

“With 2024 marking the 150th anniversary of German-from-Russia immigrants’ arrival in Dakota Territory, we’re focusing on experience in our Arrival of the Prairie Gallery,” says Marnette (Ortman) Hofer, executive director and archivist at the museum.

“We’re sharing details about their travel, what they brought with them and what they discovered when they arrived,” she said. “That includes a look at the history of the American Indians who lived on this land for centuries before Europeans arrived.”

The museum is blending elements of exhibits that have been on display with brand-new elements. That includes excerpts from a diary written by John J. Wipf, who was eight when his family arrived in 1879; he went on to establish a hardware store that operated for a century; much of that time it was known as Coast to Coast.

The revamped gallery also includes what the immigrants did when they arrived, including building homes and preparing the land for agriculture. That includes a scale model of a housebarn.

Other changes in the museum include the automobile exhibit in the Unruh-Tieszen Wing.

The museum is also presenting a program on the 1870s migration that led to creating the larger Freeman community both afternoons starting at 2:30 p.m. at the historical Bethel Mennonite Church that is on the museum grounds. A 3:30 p.m. program detailing the 120-year history that began with the establishment of South Dakota Mennonite College and how it evolved to Freeman Junior College and Academy will be offered at no charge, also both days at the Bethel Church.

Updated information about the museum’s Schmeckfest activities will be shared online at heritagehallmuseum.com.

Here’s a detailed schedule of the museum’s activities during Schmeckfest.

Artisan Demonstrations in the Kauffman Wing: 1-6 p.m.

Basket Weaving w/Viki Graber & Susan Harder

Leather Tooling w/Vanessa Barondeau

Letterpress Printing w/Terry Graber (hands-on opportunity)

Loom Weaving w/Crystal Mensch Nelson & Jess Nesseim

Rope Making w/Caleb & Tim Epp (hands-on opportunity)

Spinning w/Barb Nesseim

Spindle Weaving w/Jess Nesseim

Other scheduled events

1 p.m. – “Three Groups, One Story” (80-minute movie), Bethel Church

1 p.m. – Letterpress Printing w/Terry Graber (20 minutes), Kauffman Wing

Heritage Pickers (HP); 10 minute programs

1:35 (HP) – Homemade Ice Cream w/Will Ortman, Kauffman Wing

1:55 (HP) – Cream Separators w/S. Roy Kaufman & Tim Eisenbeis, Unruh-Tieszen Wing

2-4 p.m. – Ice Cream Tasting/ w/Berrybrook Dairy Nook, Kauffman Wing

2:15 (HP) – Weaving Willows w/Viki Graber, Kauffman Wing

2:30 – History Program: Marking 150 Years; the 1870s Germans from Russia Migration w/ Marnette D.  (Ortman) Hofer, and Tim L. Waltner, 45 minutes, Bethel Church

3 to 7 p.m. – Motorcycle Lore w/Linden Graber (Friday only), Unruh-Tieszen Wing

3:30 History Program: Freeman Academy – A  120-year Legacy;  the Evolution of South Dakota Mennonite College w/Tim L. Waltner and Brad Anderson, Bethel Church (free entry; no admission required)

3:30 Churning Butter w/Mary Waltner  (30 minutes) – Kauffman Wing

3:55 (HP) Vintage Handkerchiefs w/Donna Zeeb – Kauffman Wing

4:15 (HP) – The Model A w/Bob  “Cubby” Wollmann, Unruh-Tieszen Wing

4:55 (HP) – Corn Shellers w/Kevin Waltner, Unruh-Tieszen Wing

5:00 – “Three Groups, One Story” (80-minute movie), Bethel Church

All-day activities

The archives/library will be open, including a used book sale (free entry; no admission required)

Historical buildings open (key codes provided with admission): Bethel Mennonite Church, Diamond Valley School, Johannesthal Reformed Church and the Ludwig and Susanna Deckert House

Kid’s activities include our 20 Questions scavenger hunt, coloring sheets, and interactive printing and rope-making demonstrations

Mercantile featuring works by local artisans and authors (free entry; no admission required)

Model train in operation – Kauffman Wing