Archives > Plano Star-courier > News
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
RSS
Share
Buttermilk makes debut at Heritage Farmstead Museum
Kelsey Kruzich/Staff Photo - Buttermilk, the mechanical milking cow, was delivered to Heritage Farmstead Museum today. She serves as a tool to teach visitors how to milk a cow. The museum hosted a welcome party for Buttermilk on Friday where visitors could try their hand at milking a cow.
By Kelley Chambers, kchambers@acnpapers.com
Julie Bayless watched her daughter and Daisy Troop happily handwash a pile of clothes over a tin bucket and washboard at the Heritage Farmstead Museum on Friday and immediately wondered what she could do to instill the same interest in her own home.
"I'm thinking about getting rid of my washer and dryer and putting up a clothesline," Bayless said, jokingly.
The Heritage Farmstead Museum had more to offer curious kids than just old-fashioned laundry on Friday. It was a holiday for Plano schools, and local parents like Bayless spent the day off with their children learning about farm life at the agricultural museum to welcome the its newest addition.
Buttermilk is a fiberglass, hand-painted, 200-pound bovine made by Marquis Enterprises in Glen, N.H. Similar to its predecessor, Buttermilk features a self-contained pump that delivers constant fluid from the udders to a stainless steel milking pail, allowing kids of all ages to learn about the art of milking.
"[Buttermilk] is top quality and will last much longer. We want it to be one of the top attractions in North Texas," said Kathy Strobel, the museum's education director.
The museum partnered with Blue Bell Ice Cream and Southwest Dairy Farmers to make Buttermilk a reality. Blue Bell handed out free ice cream bars to sweeten Friday's event, and Southwest Dairy Farmers donated Buttermilk's educational exhibits and an authentic milk wagon, which was once used to transport milk from the farm to be bottled.
Currently on display in a covered, open-air barn, Buttermilk will eventually move to an enclosed barn once the museum raises enough funds to have it built.
Blue Bell donated $1,700 of the $8,800 raised over the course of 18 months to purchase Buttermilk. The Collin County Historical Society also donated $4,000 toward the purchase.
In addition to its new milking cow, the museum also celebrated its 25th anniversary weekend on Saturday. Reminiscent of what a typical dairy farm in Plano may have looked like in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Heritage Farmstead Museum stands on four acres and boasts a vegetable garden and an assortment of guinea fowl, chickens, sheep, goats and horses. The main house, which was built in 1891, recently underwent a two-year, $65,000 renovation to bring it back to its former glory.
"This is a way for generations to meet and removes us from that technology that we are so bound to," Strobel said. "We like to give them a step back in time, a taste of what farm life was like -- many kids have no idea where milk even comes from."
Museum volunteer Nicki Derrick said the museum has been Plano's best-kept secret for years but hopes new features like Buttermilk will attract more people. Derrick brought her 4-year-old son Miles and 2-year-old son Noah to see Buttermilk on Friday and said the exposure to life on the farm has been an eye-opening experience for them all.
"It's good, simple, wholesome fun," Derrick said. "They get to interact with the animals a lot. I wanted them to have a good experience other than city life. Most children don't even know where food comes from."
The Heritage Farmstead Museum is located at 1900 West 15th Street and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.; however, the new dairy exhibit will not be open on the weekends until the museum recruits enough volunteers to oversee it. For information on the museum or how to volunteer, visit www.heritagefarmstead.org.
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
You must register with a valid email to post comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here:
Become a Registered User
- Return to: News «
- Home «
- Top of Page ^
