Cera Tackitt of Yorkville, along with her husband Ryan and son Nolan, decided to enjoy a beautiful Sunday morning in Montgomery spending some time on the farm.
“We’ve never come to this event before,” Cera Tackitt said during the Spring at the Dickson-Murst Farm event in Montgomery. “We have a toddler, an 18-month-old, and we saw a picture of a furry highland cow and we said, ‘That’s it – that’s all it takes’ and we were all in.”
The event at The Conservation Foundation’s Dickson-Murst Farm, 2550 Dickson Road in Montgomery, offered hayrides, farm demonstrations, face painting, a plant sale and more.
According to a press release from The Conservation Foundation, the event was organized as “a celebration of our area’s rural heritage and a gathering place for family and friends” as well as offering “a taste of what farm life was like in bygone days.”
Jill Johnson, communications manager for The Conservation Foundation, said the farm event has been held for more than a decade and that “a host of volunteers come together” to put on the event.
“The goal is for families to have an affordable day together and watch farm demonstrations, and teach people what life was like on a farm,” Johnson said. “We also have some native gardens and solar panels and conservation displays and examples so people can learn about those things too.”
The event usually draws 1,500 to 2,000 guests, Johnson said.
New this year were some additions to the farm animal collection as well as some activities.
“We’ve had farm animals for a long time, but this year we’re adding alpacas and a highland cow which we’ve not had in the past and there is also an opportunity for adults as well as kids to drive a tractor,” she said.
Students from the Newark Chapter of Future Farmers of America displayed their farm animals at the event and also were selling flowering annuals and hanging baskets. Kendall County 4-H clubs provided “make and take” craft projects for kids.
Johnson said the event is about “good quality time together for families as well as appreciating the heritage of the area.”
“Also, we want people to come away with some knowledge about conservation and how they can preserve our environment in this area as well,” she said.
Ryan Tackitt said he grew up in the area and remembers “going to Blackberry Farm and doing all of the things out there.”
“I think for me – the agrarian, the farm lifestyle – it’s all about taking things a little bit slower and doing things a little more old-fashioned and taking your time with things and not jumping too far ahead,” he said.
A variety of old-time farm machines were on display including one that was manned by Joe Richmond of Sandwich, who was demonstrating a 1911 four-horsepower Rock Island power generator that he said “was used on the farm before electricity.”
“This is a massive amount of power for a four-horse – it weighs about a half a ton,” Richmond said. “People ask about what it does and why is it doing it because it’s not electric.”
Brandon Seggebruch of Newark brought his two children Sunday and said he visited the farm event years ago “when I brought some sheep.”
“This is the first time back and I brought my kids here to see the different farm activities they do around here,” Seggebruch said. “My daughter Vivian, who is 4, wants to see the farm animals and my son Hudson is 2 and he wants to see the tractors.”
Tori Shaffer of Oswego brought her son Timothy, who is 15 months old, to the farm event Sunday.
“Timothy is excited to see the animals and we’ll probably have some lunch,” she said. “My sister and her family live nearby and come here every year and they thought that my son would enjoy it.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
