Hello Friends and Family,

Pioneer Living History Museum, Part 4

Link to this year's index by clicking here.

Every day around 11:30 AM, there is a robbery in the town of Goose Flats. Fortunately, the sheriff and deputies are there to take on the bad guys. Here the sheriff is just learning that there has been a robbery of the town bank and the perps are holed up in the saloon.



The sheriff alerts his deputy and together, they call out and confront the bank robbers.



The bank robbers exit the saloon to confront the sheriff and deputy. A lot of yelling and put-downs are exchanged...



...until the gunfire breaks out. It's loud --- but the kids love it. Finally, both bad guys are shot and fall to the ground.



After the bodies are dragged away, the deputy sheriff gives a brief lecture to the kids explaining that this was all in fun but that the actors are skilled in the use of real firearms (they used blanks, of course). She emphasized that if the kids have not had formal training in gun safety, they should not even pick up a gun if they encounter one --- but to contact an adult, preferably a police officer.



I watched which way the assembled kids were going and I went in the opposite direction, ending up at the Victorian House. This is an original building constructed in the early 1890s on an 80-acre homestead in Phoenix. The owner was John Marion Sears who farmed the land with his wife Mary and their daughter, Ella, and two sons, Perry and George.

Their home was one of the earliest wood-frame houses built in Phoenix. Earlier homes were primarily built of adobe bricks. Once the railroad came to Phoenix, it became cost-effective to transport lumber from back east to the desert communities — at which time, wood-frame homes became the norm.



The home is set up as an example of a typical Phoenix home from the late 19th century composed of a parlor, music room, kitchen, and two bedrooms.



This side of the house seemed a bit unusual in that it had what appears to be a handicapped ramp offering wheelchair access to the dwelling. I wouldn't think it unusual for a modern home to have such a ramp but it surprised me for a home built in the 1890s.



I'm scared! Mr. Scarecrow is overseeing the garden next to the house. It certainly looks like it has seen better days. But if it works...



...and we certainly do not see any crows here. The Sears farm occupied some 80 acres where the family raised apples, peaches, apricots, pears, figs, almonds, and dairy cattle. This garden would appear to provide vegetables for the dinner table.



Last for today, we see a cute little scarecrow. Perhaps it had a former life as a little girl's rag-doll and is now offering her services protecting the garden from avian pests.



To be continued...

Life is good.

Aloha,
B. David

P. S., All photos and text © B. David Cathell Photography, Inc. — www.bdavidcathell.com