Living on a pioneer farm was not easy. My friend’s family spent the whole weekend at the Pioneer Farm at Genesee Country Village actually living, dressing, eating, and working like the pioneers did. They had to even make their own beds from ticking and straw. They had to tend to all the animals including this pig. I went just for today to visit and gained a whole new appreciation for our forefathers (and mothers.) especially after seeing what they ate and the flies surrounding it. Let’s just say that I don’t like anything pickled nor anything that looks like mush.

The village has lots of other businesses and houses to look at. We toured the print shop, the basket shop, and the brewery (no samples,) and looked in at the tinsmith, the blacksmith, the pharmacy and the insurance office.

You won’t be surprised to find out that my favorite house was the Octagon House. It wasn’t just the outside that was interesting. The inside was full of patterns on the floors and walls – a math teacher’s dream.

I also enjoyed seeing George Eastman’s boyhood home from Waterville, NY although I didn’t get a picture of it. The house was fancier than you would expect, given the fact that only a few years later, after moving to Rochester, George’s dad died and they were penniless. But we all know the end of that story.