Plano's Heritage Farmstead Museum is often filled with small children on school field trips or young families enjoying the wonders of the four-acre historic site, which is nestled in the center of the city. But folks at the Farmstead are targeting a slightly different demographic with the organization's senior-focused program "Young at Heart: 55+ Exceeding the Limits".
“Young at Heart: 55+ Exceeding the Limits” is a Heritage Farmstead Museum educational program designed specifically for seniors. Program presentations, conducted on targeted days once per each from 10:00 a.m. – noon, will feature a variety of topics from vegetable gardening, music, history and much more.
"This exciting, popular program allows all of us at the Heritage Farmstead Museum to reach out to another sector of our community to provide educational opportunities, fellowship and fun," said Heritage Farmstead Museum Director of Development Kathy Strobel.
Upcoming Young at Heart: 55+ Exceeding the Limits programs include:
• April 4: Gardening: Growing Tomatoes, speaker Bodie Pyndus, Master Gardener; activity: potting tomatoes
• May 2: That’s Entertainment!: Susan McCarter, hammer dulcimer, Men of Note, singing performance
• June 6: Blackland Prairie Then and Now: speaker Carol Clark, Master Naturalist; activity: making herb sachet
• July 11: If These Walls Could Talk: speaker Hillary Kidd, curator Heritage Farmstead Museum; activity: Farrell Wilson home tour
• August 1: Texas Tall Tales: speaker Rose Mary Rumbley, activity: ice cream social
• September 12: Heritage Skills: activities: soap making, quilting, spinning/weaving, blacksmithing
• October 3 (note different time: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.): 150th Chuckwagon Anniversary: speaker historian Don Gates; activity: chuckwagon lunch
• November 7: If You Could See What I Hear – a change of view on disability: speaker Bill Neff, RN, Master Gardener
Pre-registration for each class is $6.00 for non-members and $5.00 for Heritage Farmstead Museum members. Each program is limited to 50 registrants. Online registration is available at www.heritagefarmstead.org or by calling 972-881-0140. Registration deadline is midnight the Thursday prior to each program.
Strobel pointed out that there is one thing many may not know about Ammie Wilson, daughter of Hunter and Mary Alice Farrell, the original residents of what is now the Heritage Farmstead Museum property. After the death of Ammie's son, George, in 1933, she began tending sheep as a hobby to help cope with her loss. She started showing sheep in 1941 at the age of 61.
In observation of the 75th anniversary of Ammie Wilson’s first show, the farmstead recently debuted its current featured exhibit “Ammie Wilson – a 75 Year Legacy.”
"Her own flock grew to be the largest in the United States, and she was the only woman breeder in Texas. In 1946, she pulled down her first Grand Champion. She received many awards," said Strobel. "In the spirit of Ammie Wilson, who found a new life in the 'autumn' of her years, we are proud to present this education program for seniors who are looking to learn new things, make new friends and have new experiences."
About The Heritage Farmstead Museum: The Heritage Farmstead Museum, a four-acre historic site consisting of a restored, 14-room 1891 Victorian farmhouse with its original outbuildings, interprets rural life on the North Texas prairie between 1890 and 1925. The museum provides tours, field trips and programs for 35,000 visitors each year. For more information, call 972.881.0140 or visit www.heritagefarmstead.org.