The Somerset Historical Center is a beautiful property to explore…
…with a covered bridge…
…a cider press…
…a newly finished lime kiln…
…and an annual festival called Mountain Craft Days.
All over the grounds, festival goers were able to watch demonstrations and learn about such things as stone cutting…
…coopering…
…broom making…
…surveying…
…rifle making…
…flax scutching…
…and sauerkraut making…
…while also taking advantage of more than 125 craft booths selling jewelry, purses…
…baskets, furniture…
…egg art, barn stars…
…herbal products and more.
One end of the grounds held a museum…
…where visitors could explore a general store…
…see various exhibits…
…and gather information on other Westmoreland County festivals.
This area also held some antique farming equipment…
…some crafts by the Somerset County Carvers Club…
…and a lone food vendor selling kettle cooked soups.
The opposite end is where most other food booths sat…
…offering chicken (Stoystown Lions)…
…fried mush (LHOAF)…
…and good ole apple dumplings (Somerset Welfare League).
(I tried a ham pot pie, but didn’t realize it was a Pennsylvania dish not closely related to the chicken dish of the same name.)
Between these two ends were stages galore…
(…and the occasional tree…)
…where you could find plenty of entertainment…
…via stories…
…and song.
And, if you explored even further, you could find tractor rides…
…games…
…the occasional maple walnut sundae…
…and interesting characters to converse with…
…traveling all by one’s lonesome…
…or with the company of rats.