Fourth graders! Boy do we enjoy fourth graders at Frontier Village and The Western Missouri Antique Tractor & Mach Assoc (WMAT MA). In a couple of weeks, October 3rd, the show grounds and Village will be full to capacity with them again this year. We have always called the event “Kids Day”. (It’s really for the old guys and gals). About 300 kids (always fourth graders) plus their sponsors, teachers and parents that assist them, will spend most of that Tuesday watching and learning the ways of the past and some ways of the now in agriculture. Fourth graders from Ballard, Adrian, Butler, Miami and Archie are bussed in for the day and the members of WMAT MA look forward to this more than any other of our many events every year. Of course it is all volunteer, funded and ran by the members. We usually have everything from soap making to apple cider making and corn grinding to log sawing. They will see steam engines and learn how they work and visit the one room school to see how it was done in their great grandma’s time. They all are treated to a real “soda shop” ice cream cone in the parlor and a glass of apple cider fresh from the mill after they watch it be squeezed. In all they will have about 25 stations to stop at in groups of about ten.
We are often asked if the public can come out and watch. No one will stop you from attending, but we ask you stay back out of the way as it is very busy at each station. The groups come about every 10 to 15 minutes and some stations are limited on space. Not all is learning and watching as they are each treated to a train ride on the Village South Prairie train. The men have worked at a fever pitch to get the tracks and train engine repaired after the two freak floods of recent. The flood waters, simply put, ruined everything. Dick Essenpries and his faithful crew are going to have it all fixed and ready if at all possible. They will go “shopping” in the Spruce Store and see what a store looked like before Wal-Mart and Target. The Ladies Aux has all the main street buildings open and the Historical Society will be hosting at the giant museum.
We are adding a few new stations this year such as the local fire department explaining how the equipment works.
We have schools from a distance call after they hear what we do here and want to bring their fourth graders, but are turned down because we cannot handle any more children than what we are now.
There are usually sixty to seventy men and women work the Village this day and the days of preparation and hats off to them for the love they show these young Americans. Thanks go to the teachers, school administrations and parents that make their trip happen.
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