SHREVEPORT – A connection to the past.
That’s the opportunity Pioneer Day offers as attendees pour into the LSUS Pioneer Heritage Center for the 29th annual event.
Nearly 70 living historians will breathe life into the Center’s seven historic structures to offer a glimpse into how northwest Louisiana residents lived in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Oct. 24 event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Students of any age are admitted free with adult tickets costing $5.
“Living historians can really tie things together,” said Marty Young, director of the Pioneer Heritage Center. “We want people to get a sense of a day in the life and what these people encountered when they got here.
“Somebody might notice a primitive clay pitcher in our log dogtrot cabin, and they’ll walk outside and see a potter throwing pots on the wheel. We’ll all be dressed in clothing from the period, and we’ll have a seamstress discussing sewing machines and what they had to do by hand back then. They had their own way of doing things, but they got it done.”
Live demonstrations include woodcarving, blacksmithing, leatherworking, pine needle basket weaving, flint knapping, pottery throwing, sewing and stitchwork to name a few.
Some vendors will be selling their crafts and wares.
Sales are becoming ever more important to vendors as inflation increases costs for materials like wood, coal, metal, thread, cloth and other items used in their demonstrations.
Young said Pioneer Day started as a way for regional living history and folk-art groups to spark interest in their craft.
Young will don his traditional garb and fire up his coal-powered forge for demonstrations in the blacksmith shop.
“One of our main goals with this event is for all the different types of folklife groups to recruit new members,” said Young, who at 54 is one of the youngest demonstrators. “We want to expose people to the Pioneer Heritage Center, but we also want people, especially young people, to spark an interest in one of these activities being demonstrated.
“We want to do everything we can to preserve folklife, whether it’s an art or craft.”
In addition to the blacksmith shop, other structures at the Center include the Caspiana House, a detached kitchen, a dogtrot log cabin, a commissary (general store), a doctor’s office, and a river front mission.
The Caspiana House and the dogtrot log cabin (Thrasher House) are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Pioneer Heritage Center is gearing up for its 50th anniversary this coming year, and having a robust Pioneer Day, which is its largest educational event of the year, will be a nice kickoff to the golden anniversary.
The Center broke ground on the Rotary Club of South Shreveport Centennial Pavilion that is expected to be completed in March. The structure will provide shade to school tour groups and Pioneer Day attendees alike in future years as the PHC aims to continue its educational mission well into the future.
