Photos from Tales of Texas
Thursday, March 7, 2013
We were thrilled to see so many smiling young faces swarming the George Ranch Historical Park this last weekend for Tales of Texas! Some students traveled from as far away as Caldwell and Kemah, while others had come from just up the road in Sugarland and Rosenberg.
Visitors During Tales of Texas:
425 home-schoolers day on Thursday, February 28
1,278 public and private school day on Friday, March 1
149 general public day on Saturday, March 2
The 1830s Jones Stock Farm offered continuous tours of the dogtrot cabin and various outbuildings. There was so much to see and do that this location stayed very busy all day long. At 10:00 a.m., the cowboys rode in to round up the calves that wandered up to the fence to meet all the new people.
Henry Jones (played by JR Thomas) teaches a group of students about life in 1830s.
Mary Crownover Rabb (played by Tina Griffith) demonstrates spinning at the Jones Stock Farm Cabin.
William Little (Played by Phil Steffen) demonstrates woodworking with antique tools.
Curious calves wander up to the fence at the Jones Stock Farm.
Cowboys ride out to round up the calves.
Visitor Madeline Norman Fuentes, waves at the cowboys in the field. She and her parents traveled all the way from Kemah to explore the ranch.
At the 1860s Ryon Prairie Home, students were brought into the house every half hour. After visiting the functional kitchen at the back of the house and participating in a one-room school house demonstration, many children went out back to see the hogs and chickens.
Susan Ryon (played by Leslee Gupton) welcome a tour group into the Ryon Prairie Home.
Lizzie Johnson (played by Megan Caromeens) leads children in a one-room schoolhouse demonstration.
4th graders of Mrs. Besch’s class of Williams Elementary meet the hogs behind the Ryon Prairie Home.
Uncle Bob Beringer told stories of chicken-thieving bobcats and other hardships encountered by small farms back in the 1890s at the Sharecropper Farm Area.
Uncle Bob Beringer shows students where he trapped a bobcat last summer.
Just across the field, kids clambered through the stockyards and explored the railcar while they learned about all the ways cattle were brought to market over the years.
2nd &3rd graders of First Baptist School in Caldwell, TX pretend to be cattle on the loading ramp.
Then, guests had the privilege of observing a real blacksmith at work, just behind the 1890s Davis Victorian Mansion. Blacksmith, Robert Swim explained how easy it was for Native Americans to make dozens of deadly arrowheads from barrel wraps.
Robert Swim holds out the freshly made arrow head so guests can feel how sharp the edges are.
The mansion is an impressive sight both inside and out. Tours ran every half hour, and guests were lined up along the sidewalks waiting their turn to meet their guide, Belle Davis (played by Anna Wysuph).
Children wait outside Davis Mansion for their tours.
(Top Row) Abigail Hoang, Brooke Magner, Belle Davis (Ana Wysuph)
(Bottom Row) Jake Magner, Elija & Joshua Hoang at Davis Mansion
Cowboys gave cattle working demonstrations at 11:30 a.m., 12:45 p.m., 2:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. and roping classes at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. at the original barns of the 1930s George Cattle Complex.
The cowboys showed how to separate calves from the herd, rope them and check them for injuries.
Next door, guests were invited into the George Home by Rhydonia Jones (played by Ellen Ferrill). Here, they learned about the last generation of the family who ran the ranch.
Rhydonia Jones (Played by Ellen Ferrill) poses for a photo in her favorite room of the house, the front parlor.
At 1:00 p.m. guest gathered around the picket fence at the Davis Mansion’s lawn to watch a shootout reenactment.
Uncle Bob Beringer takes cover behind one of the 200 year old oak trees.
Matt Driggers reloads quickly.
After the shootout, Robert Swim, Uncle Bob Beringer, Nick Castelberg, Matt Driggers, JR Thomas pose for photos on the Davis Mansion’s lawn
Did you miss out on this exciting event? Don’t find yourself out of the loop for the next one!
Trails Through Time, our annual Spring Break celebration, starts this Saturday, March 9 and will be going on all next week, March 12-16.
Be sure to keep checking back on our blog www.georgeranch.blogspot.com, like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/pages/George-Ranch-Historical-Park/80441016532
and see our full calendar on our website www.georgeranch.org/annua-events/
