School Day Event

Students meet friendly cart ponies Friday's activities are exclusively for the enjoyment and education of students. Local schools and those in surrounding counties are invited to bring their students for a day of living history and hands-on demonstrations of early-day crafts and trades. Call now to reserve a "time travel" experience your students will always remember. Contact Anne Moore via e-mail or phone at (530) 628-5817.

There is plenty of bus parking and students are encouraged to bring a sack lunch to enjoy at the Hayfork Homestead. Students are divided into small groups and rotate through demonstrations stations. Each station teaches about a facet of life in early Hayfork and most feature hands-on activities. Demonstrations last approximately 15-20 minutes each. Students will go home with a greater appreciation for the heritage of early Trinity County and with craft items they made. 108 students enjoyed the events in 2006.

There is no charge for this event, thanks to the generous sponsorship of local organizations, individuals and volunteers. Part of Hayfork's heritage is neighbors-helping-neighbors and we keep that tradition by sharing of our time and resources.

We realize that schools are experiencing financial challenges and that field trips are difficult to fund and organize. This event was created to provide an interactive-history learning experience that is economical for schools on a budget. Realizing that living history venues are in short supply, we strive to present this all-volunteer event as an alternative for area schools. Of course, donations to help with purchase of materials are always welcome when feasible.

2 sessions are available on school day. Students may enjoy their sack lunches on the lawn or on the picnic tables in the Pioneer Kitchen at the Hayfork Homestead. Please place all trash in the receptacles provided and police your area to preserve the fine condition of the grounds.

The Morning Session is from 8:30am to 11:30am

The Afternoon Session is from 12:30pm to 3:30pm

The pioneer women of Hayfork tell their stories and demonstrate the crafts needed to furnish their home These learning stations will be available as part of the School Day Program:

Telegraph communications - students send and decode messages on vintage telegraph equipment
Candle making - dip candles to provide evening light
Gold panning - panning for gold with Hayfork Mining Council volunteers (for real gold!)
Blacksmith - demonstration of the blacksmith's art, and why the blacksmith was so important in the community
Quilting - trunk show and demonstration with the Log Cabin Quilter's Guild
Pioneer Women of Hayfork - living history presentation by Threads of History
Corn Husk doll making - early-day children made their own toys, try your hand at this craft
Basket making - demonstration by members of the Nor-El-Muk band of Wintu
Wintu Bark House - stories of life for the Valley's earliest inhabitants
Horse-drawn transportation - logging with horses, traveling with wagons and buggies
Dairy Farming - just where does milk, butter and cheese come from?
Rock Painting - paint a totem on a rock
Californios - Early Mexican settlers of California

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