Sneak Peek: What a Show

 Second Post of the Day

Yesterday's Happy Trails V/Dan Patch Show was so much fun! By the end of the day, requests were coming in to hold it again there at The Dan Messner building. The building worked very well and, as more than one person pointed out, could hold twice as many people next time. (And probably more.)

For a small, non-NAN card show, the competition level was very high, and more than once I wished I could just give every horse in the class a blue ribbon and call it good!

The toilet paper racing was a big hit - that's Kesley Kramer racing Kammie Fenwick.

I'd asked Brooke to share about the history of the building and the renovations that were going on.

I wish now that I had recorded more of what she'd said - it was fascinating to learn what they were doing as well as the history of the building when it had belonged to Dan Messner and his family.

After physically making it through the Feast (something I'd been worried about) I was pretty sure that, even though I was in charge of the show and judging, too, that I could make it through the day.  And I did! 🎉

A more in-depth look at the show is coming tomorrow. Stay 'tooned!

Prep for the Happy Trails/Dan Patch Fun Show

I'm really busy working on plans for Happy Trails V - The Dan Patch Show. While the show is an invitational pony party/swap meet/show, I still will be asking guests to RSVP so I can plan where tables will go, how many swag bags to make, etc. 

So, last week Lisa and I drove out to Oxford (a twenty-five minute drive from my house; so close!) and met with Brooke to tour the building and get plans into place.

The first thing we saw as we drove into town was this mural.

Oxford is very proud of being Dan Patch's birthplace and where he started his racing career. He lived there for the first six years of his life. Not only did he race while he lived there, but he pulled delivery wagons for Dan Messner, too.

The Dan Messner building where the show will be held is right on the town square. One of the things I wanted to check out was parking, and I was pleased to see when I arrived that there was plenty right there in front of the building. Plus, that accessibility ramp to the left of my car will make it easy for people to bring in their tubs and things.

Isn't the tile mosaic beautiful?

When Brooke and Tom bought the building a few years ago, it was in sad shape and on the verge of demolition. They are lovingly restoring it and while it's not finished, it's finished enough for events. They have renamed it The Prairie Victorian.

The double doors are original and 15 feet tall. What a gorgeous door handle!

I love bells (think sleigh bells and the farmhouse dinner bell at the barn) and this one jingles every time the door is opened.

A look from the back of the main floor looking forward to the front double doors. Brooke has lights she hangs for events that she will put up for us. Those original wood floors are going to be gorgeous when she and Tom restore them!

We sat in antique chairs by the front doors and discussed how the day would go, asked questions, and figured out details. I think this is really going to be a fun and a unique opportunity for us all to experience some Dan Patch history, right where it happened. 

When we finished, next on our list was to continue to look at parking and then talk to a woman who will be doing box lunches for us.

The town square's park and pavilion is right across from the building. This summer Oxford held an event where there was a potluck in the park and then everyone came across the street to the Prairie Victorian and had a hoe down!

See the big rectangular white sign? That's The Market by Midwest Prime Farms, the place that will make our box lunches. Right across the street; easy peasy!

While we were across the street at The Market, I snapped a photo of the Prairie Victorian's side, again to check on parking options.

There's plenty of room for parking beside it

and on both sides of the road. No one is going to have to hike a long distance to reach the show hall.

Lisa and I wrapped up with Brooke and then headed out. We wanted to find Dan Patch's barn and historical marker, and we wanted to try out the other restaurant in town.

The Dan Patch Cafe.

Stay 'tooned!

 

Two Tornadoes Confirmed

The National Weather Service has confirmed that we did indeed have two tornadoes pass through Wednesday afternoon.

If you look at the map, the top tornado is where the barn and Tim and Loni's home are located. (Our home is a mile east.) Curt and Vanessa live out near Shadeland, and Lisa lives just north Dayton. There was rotation in her area but not a touch down, thank goodness!

I went out to the barn yesterday to check for damage and what I saw was chilling. The tornado barely missed Tim and Loni's home. The path of the tornado was very clear in the trees that were down on either side of the road that runs past their home. And that path was at an angle that missed their home by about 100 feet or less.  

The house may have been missed, but the trees on their property were not. They lost three big, beautiful trees like this one.

My friend Brooke had several trees fall on her home.

This is what's left of the roof over her porch.

Yesterday a tree service came out and cleared the trees off her home. I am surprised and grateful that her home did not sustain more damage from those trees that landed on it.

When it comes to rating the strength of the two tornados, they were labeled EFOs, the weakest tornados of them all. And yet the damage was fierce. Imagine what damage a stronger tornado could have wreaked! Brooke, Tim, Loni, and many others were very, very lucky these were weak tornados.

Changing topics, it's busy around here! Breyer has released a lot of information that I have not yet posted. Auction horses, the Vintage Club Gambler's Choice models, and more. 

I just sent off a big order of pony pouches, am deep in Feast preparation, and am working on details for Happy Trails V as well as finishing up research for a blog series of BreyerFests I've attended.

Lots to do and to write about!

Pepper has an appointment this morning to receive her monthly Percorten shot (it helps her manage her Addison's Disease) and then I plan to come home and WRITE.

There may or may not be another blog post later today - we will see.

Stay 'tooned!

 

And the Winner Is...

Congratulations to Elise P., this year's Horsie Mama's Horsey Super Bowl Champion with a perfect score of 15/15!

Runner ups are Kat with 14/15, and Betsy in Wisconsin who scored 13/15.

Well done! Your books will go out in the mail soon!

Next, all the other entrants were put on the spinner for a chance to win a prize, too.

You're the winner, Samantha! Please email me your mailing address. (horsiemama8@gmail.com)

There was a question that I felt might've inadvertently been unfair, the one about the Dan Messner building. Here is the question:

Try as I might, I cannot find the blog entry where I said Brooke was going to give me a piece of wood. (Although I would happily take one of the bowling balls, too. There had been a bowling alley on the building's second floor and she and Tom have been finding bowling balls in odd places around the building!)

Having said that, half of you answered the question correctly. I thought I'd written about it, half of you got the answer right, half got it wrong, I couldn't find where I'd mentioned it... Did I or didn't I? And if I didn't, the question wasn't fair.

I finally decided that, if I couldn't find it on the blog myself, then it wasn't a fair question and so I counted it right for those who'd missed it.

Here's a recent photo of the Messner building from the outside.

If you'd like to follow the building's progress, Brooke has set up an Instagram account, @theprairievictorian. Brooke and Tom are very active with this restoration and she posts a lot about it.

Brooke and Tom out at Fort Ouiatenon last weekend. (Photos from Brooke's social media.)

HMHSB III is already in the works and I think (this could change) the theme is going to be early hobby history. We shall see.

Stay 'tooned!

 

The 1874 Dan Messner Building

One of my favorite re-enacting friends is Brooke Sauter. She is a knowledgeable historian and when Leslie retired last year, became the new director of The Feast of the Hunters' Moon. (She will do a fabulous job!)

Brooke, Leslie, and me getting silly as we set up my tent at the Feast last year.

She is also a very accomplished sewist and leads the Feast Sewing Circle. When I have a question about how an 18th century garment should be sewn, Brooke is my go-to gal.

Showing us how to use the burn test to determine the fiber content of our fabric.

This is a picture of Brooke and her husband Tom in front of a historical building they recently bought and plan to restore and preserve.

The 1874 Dan Messner building in tiny Oxford, Indiana, just west of us. And that's Dan Messner as in the DAN PATCH Dan Messner. (All photos and text used with Brooke's permission.)

Red tag: Oxford, Indiana. Red dot: my home. Blue dot: the barn.

Brooke writes,

A little history about the building:

Built in 1874, the Messner building was a general store for the first 104 years, called "Messner and Sons," he who also bred and raised Dan Patch the race horse! (Read more about Dan Patch at http:www.danpatch.com.) Messner and Sons sold everything from clothing, shoes, sewing supplies, and other dry goods.

I have already found images of the building during its early days and look forward to using these as inspiration as we work on restoration. It was also interesting to learn that there was a bowling alley up on the second floor for many years (and) there are still a few bowling balls floating around. The building actually suffered a fire in 1943 that gutted the place but (it) was saved and again in use by the Messner family through 1978. Some of the charred boards remain and remediation will be done.

This grand gal is about 9k square feet and two stories. It sits on the town square of Oxford and was built during an era where Oxford was the County Seat.

Now, what Brooke plans to do with it? Stay tuned, but let's just say it will be cool.

I've heard a little bit about her plans and she's right, they are cool. And Brooke and Tom know what they are doing when it comes to history and how to preserve it as well as showcase it for others to learn from and enjoy. Stay tuned is right!