We had two people from Jones, OK, come by this week. A mother and son were at Roman Nose and it was too cold to do anything outside so they chose to come to the Ferguson Home. She said she loved looking at old things. Her son looked to be middle school age and seemed to be interested in the history of the Fergusons.
We are happy to welcome Ashley Crews as our new site director. She was off to a great start this week helping with the Chicken Noodle Dinner.
A big thanks to all of the volunteers that helped at the dinner and to those that brought deserts. It is our biggest fund raiser each year.
We are in the planning stages of having Pioneer Days with the third graders from Watonga on April 19, 2022, the anniversary of the Cheyenne Arapahoe Land Run which occurred April 19, 1892.
There is a steer horn on the third floor. It has “Lenard Warren” carved into it. There’s no indication whether he made it or if it belong to him. It has a cork in the smaller end. Makes me wonder if it was used to drink from.
Mrs. Ferguson talks of trying to cook when she first came to Watonga in her book They Carried the Torch. There were many cattle ranches and a few milk cows but canned goods were scarce. She said she tried to make gravy with canned milk and chipped beef. She said, “It turn out a sticky sweet mess and hard to go down.” At first they basically had canned beef, tomatoes, corn, dried apples, and sorghum. Most frontier women learned to make something out of nothing. They use what some now a days would throw away. Mrs. Ferguson made herself a dress out of calico that cost eight cents a yard and wore it proudly. She also learned to sew shirts for her husband and sons.
Don’t forget Sandra Maddux will be giving a program on card making April 2, 2022, 10:00 am at the Watonga Library. Please call the museum to register so we know how many card kits to have ready. Sandra makes beautiful paper cards and other paper items.
Also, the Easter Egg Hunt for five year olds and below, they must be able to walk, will be April 16, 2022, at 11:00 am. Pictures with the Easter Bunny will be at 10:00 am. Pictures will be $5.00 each.
Hours of operation are Wednesday thru Saturday 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Closed state holidays. We are always happy to open after hours for special tours. Just give us a call at 580-623-5069 or 580- 614-1018 to make arrangements.