Bringing in the Harvest

Date: August 25, 2015
Contact: Melinda Day, 304-535-6063
Contact: John King, 304-535-6064

On Saturday and Sunday, September 5-6, 2015, at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, join nineteenth century historic foodways expert Carol Anderson for an in-depth look at how summer harvest foods were preserved for winter consumption. Demonstrations include pickling, drying, potting, and canning. Roeder’s Confectionery displays feature the history of this nineteenth century immigrant family and their survival through the political and national upheavals before and after the Civil War. The location of the family’s home on the edge of “hog alley,” where local citizens kept their hogs penned, further illustrate the town’s practices of preparing food for the winter. Every fall, local townspeople would butcher the hogs and use attic spaces in their homes to smoke meat.