It’s finally October! The month of pumpkin spice, Halloween, sweaters and scarves!

Of course, we all know the sad truth that follows fall, and that’s winter. But you know what comes with winter? More scarves and pea coats! It’s not so sad after all.

Aside from a complete wardrobe overhaul, how does one really prepare for winter?

A full tank of gas, a heater and a Christmas tree, that’s how!

It’s only been in recent years we’ve had such ease of preparation for the extreme temperatures, feet of snow and Black Friday. (Some of you are probably saying, “Ease? Ease! What ease!”)

And others may be wondering, “Huh. It is easy compared to how it used to be. Hmmm, how did it used to be?”

Let’s do the time warp!

Harvest Festival

• Pricketts Fort State Park
• October 11-12
• Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday 12 noon to 4 p.m.

Harvest Festival will focus on 18th century foods, demonstrations and displays about wild game, food production, harvest, customs and manners.

     What did they do without a refrigerator or freezer? Talking about way back when, they probably canned, right? They didn’t can. That was even beyond their time! So how did they store their      food?

That’s what you are coming to the fort to find out!

It wasn’t just about food. This time of year they’d begin soap and candle making, and lessen outside activities.

Though, it was mostly about food. Crops were harvested until late October, and hunting was the cool thing to do.

Okay, it was always about food. It was gone by spring. Winter was tough, but the end of winter was terrible.

What displays and demos might you see? Maybe you’ll learn how to make sauerkraut, apple butter, beer or pear butter, gather nuts, use nature’s refrigerator or make a corn husk doll.

At the Job Pricketts House, you can also learn about the advancements in 19th century. Not super techy, but certainly necessary. Learn about the more recent past when canning, livestock and butchering were the hip, new things.

Events at the fort are winding down and the fort itself closes for the season on October 31st.  But some off-season events to consider include:

• Survival Weekend with Dave Canterbury – Nov. 1 – 2
• Wreath Workshop – Nov. 29
• 18th C. Christmas Market – Dec. 5 – 7