Nash Farm hosts yearlong Frugal Farm Wife series

Beginning Friday, Grapevine’s Nash Farm will host the Frugal Farm Wife, a yearlong series of educational and interpretive programs that highlight the domestic duties of a farm family.

Starting in January and taking place most months through December, the new series features family-friendly educational experiences designed to teach life skills that were important to a Texas farm in the 19th century.

Visitors will be asked to step into a 19th century home and see period-clothed interpreters performing seasonal chores using tools and techniques of the era such as sewing, spinning, dying, cooking, washing, gardening, harvesting, preserving, candle making and many other household chores.

The open house setting allows guests to discuss the activities with the interpreters. Involvement will be encouraged when possible.

Pre-registration is encouraged and a participation fee of $3 per person is required. All ages are welcome. All sessions are scheduled from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

The session schedule is Jan. 16, Feb. 20, March 20, April 17, May 15, July 17, Aug. 21, Sept. 18, Oct. 16, Nov. 20 and Dec. 18.

Nash Farm offers special events and interpretive programs, as well as educational tours that allow visitors to connect with the agricultural heritage of the Grape Vine Prairie.

Nash Farm is overseen by the Grapevine Heritage Foundation Board of Directors, who partners with the Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau to provide the staff for the site.

“We show people how to use heritage skills to enrich their lives,” said Jim Lauderdalecq, Nash Farm manager. “We want them to see the rural atmosphere right here in the middle of the Metroplex.”

Lauderdale said those who visit will get a glimpse of what life was like on the farm more than a century ago, even though Nash Farm is located on 5.2 acres several blocks from Historic Downtown Grapevine.

A big part of Nash Farm experience is education, Lauderdale said.

“The Grapevine Heritage Foundation’s mission for Nash Farm is to preserve, protect, and visually reflect the significance of our farming and agricultural heritage so that future generations may appreciate and experience a way of life lived by settlers of the Grapecq Vine Prairie,” Lauderdale said.

To register or for more information about the Frugal Farm Wife series, visit www.NashFarm.org. For information about Grapevine, call the Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau at 817-410-3185 or visit www.GrapevineTexasUSA.com.

This story was originally published January 13, 2015 at 8:48 AM with the headline "Nash Farm hosts yearlong Frugal Farm Wife series."