To us, Conner Prairie has always been a park, never a museum. We moved to Indianapolis in the spring of 2000, when our boys were five and three. Priority #1 for us was to survey the local playgrounds and parks. Armed with picnics, hats and various accessories (ranging from swords to rubber boots to dump trucks) we scoped out all of Hamilton County.

When we didn't feel like an outing, our backyard served our purposes just fine. It didn't much matter to my dynamic duo where they were. So on one hot, summer day, with a battle raging all around me, I was happy to run inside to answer the phone.

"Are you interested in joining Conner Prairie?" a pleasant voice on the other end asked.

Conner Who? Conner What? Never heard of it.

But she was nice - and, in those days, I rarely said no to a little adult conversation - so I listened. We had discovered the Children's Museum and the Indianapolis Zoo, but this one sounded a little different. So I pitched it as another park and off we went. . .

Our 10-year affiliation with Conner Prairie has included countless visits, special events, camps, school field trips and, finally, a little something extra for mom. In 2008, I joined the Conner Prairie Alliance, a group of women volunteers who have as much fun raising money for Conner Prairie as kids on a playground.

Here are a few observations for you moms and dads of the active-type boy (is there any other kind?), not to mention the adventure-minded girl:

* Did you know there’s an outdoor playground at Conner Prairie? Some days we started there and never even made it to the grounds. Today, the playground is located practically underneath the new 1859 Balloon Voyage – what kid (of any age) can resist a real-life helium-filled balloon?

* There are a lot of good sticks at Conner Prairie.  After a quick game of checkers at the Golden Eagle Inn or a lesson at the 1836 Schoolhouse in Prairietown, some of my best memories are of taking the hike out to Lenape Camp, searching out the best walking sticks and peering over the path at the White River.

* Conner Prairie special events are the best in Indy. Our first event was Headless Horseman. We couldn’t wait to take the hayride past that headless rider. Our 3-year-old was fine (probably couldn’t see over the side of the wagon), but our 5-year-old got spooked. Despite the long line, we decided to go again, just to prove that it wasn’t so bad. We signed up for everything: summer camp (always top-notch – and love the t-shirts!), special Lenape programs and anything that caught our eye!

* Take the video camera! My absolute favorite memory is of our boys in the barn on a Headless Horseman night, lined up with 10 other kids singing “The Twelve Days of Halloween.” Our older son was assigned the part of “nine giant goblins” and my little one’s line was “10 scary scarecrows.” Every minute or so during the song, #10 (his face scrunched up in concentration) “whispered” to #9, “Tell me mine again,” whereupon his brother (with cupped hands) “whispered” back the line. What I’d give for a tape of that!

* Big boys love Conner Prairie, too. Fast Forward 10 years from our first visit to Conner Prairie to last summer with our “big boys”. After taking the balloon flight, our 13-year-old and two friends had to be practically pried away from the exhibit’s hands-on area (funded in part by the Alliance, I might add)! Two years ago, our 15-year-old went with his class to Follow the North Star. That visit took me back to the days of my son running through the grounds – but this time, he was an escaping slave, stealing away through the night. And both boys have worked volunteer hours in the Alliance's Apple Store. Come see our industrial apple-corer in the fall – now there's a boy magnet!

So, next time you and your kids need a good park fix, try Conner Prairie. You might all just learn something (but you can keep that part to yourself).

Hello! My name is Katie Ryan. I have worked in the Guest Services department for four years. As a guest services representative, I am responsible for providing all of our guests' with exceptional customer service in any way that I can. It includes answering questions about Conner Prairie (via phone, email or in person), mailing brochures about upcoming events, taking reservations for various programs and checking in guests and members at the ticket desk.

The prairie may be quiet this time of the year; however Guest Services is still busy. Did you know that our department answers 95 percent of all calls at Conner Prairie? Types of calls we receive include questions about various programs and exhibits, hours and admission, upcoming events and more. This time of the year, most of our calls are about Summer Day Camp and scheduling school groups.

How many of you visited Conner Prairie in the fourth grade? Did you know that during the months of April, May, September and October, up to 1200 students visit Conner Prairie each day?  Guest Services is responsible for taking reservations for all school programs and sending all pre-visit information. Conner Prairie attracts school groups from all over Indiana as well as Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio and other states. Teachers, did I spark your interest? Check out what we have to offer for your class field trip.

The Guest Services staff is not only the first people to greet you on the phone; they are also the first to greet you when you arrive at Conner Prairie. We greet all guests at the ticket desk and make sure everyone has their tickets and daily map before they begin their Conner Prairie “adventure.” Our goal is to make you feel welcomed, prepared and excited for your visit! 

My favorite part of being a guest services representative is that I get to interact with different kinds of people everyday. It is always a pleasure to see and meet all our guests. Thanks for the opportunity!
 

It was an average Tuesday morning in late May. A black Infiniti G35 streaked down highway 46 in the town of Fishers, Indiana. The car lingered at the light, then turned down Allisonville Road toward a large building. The sports car pulled into a parking space and the passenger door swung open. Out stepped an average-looking, though not quite awake, teenager from the 19th century.

However strange it may sound, this is a true story. That boy is a youth interpreter at Conner Prairie. That boy is me, Zane Wright. I have been working at Conner Prairie since 2007, and about two days per week, from April through September, you'll find me here. Whether it’s throwing tomahawks in Lenape Camp or selling items as a mercantile owner’s son in 1836, a volunteer interpreter does it all. That’s one of the privileges of being a youth here. While most of the adult interpreters spend their time exercising only one skill, a youth interpreter has the unique opportunity to experience and enjoy all of these skills and more.

After I reach the youth lounge (the headquarters for youth interpreters) and check out my favorite straw hat from the costume room, I head through the top-secret, staff-only doors with some other youth and adults to our briefing, which takes place on the porch of the Golden Eagle Inn in Prairietown. During our briefing, I learn that I will be interpreting today as David McClure, a carpenter’s son and apprentice in the carpenter’s shop in Prairietown, 1836. As I hike out to post, I mentally prepare myself for the hordes of school kids and guests that I will “enlighten with my historical wisdom and knowledge,” as one of the adults likes to say. Soon, guests start to appear. First they arrive in small groups of escalating sizes, but when the school buses pull in, delivering their cargo of energized elementary students, the day starts to heat up. Around 11 a.m., when the activity is at its highest, loads of children pour into the carpenter shop, all asking at the same time, “Mister, is that fire real?” or “ Can I touch that gun?” and random shouts of, “What’s that?”

After my lunch break, the action settles down and I find myself either playing cards with a fellow interpreter or finding some work around Prairietown to do on my spare time. One of my favorite pastimes is just strolling around, picking up samples of historical wisdom from adults who are far more experienced in the ways of Conner Prairie than I am. The afternoon passes quickly, and soon I am ready to go home, take off my costume and crash on my bed. After we lock up the houses and travel back to the Welcome Center around 5pm, my dad is ready to take me home.

As you can see, being a youth interpreter is exciting, entertaining, and at the same time, serious and challenging. I definitely recommend this job to any hardworking, responsible youth between the ages of 11 and 18. In the fall, applications will be available to those interested in becoming part of the Conner Prairie youth interpreter team. We hope you will seize this unique opportunity to learn and experience Conner Prairie like never before!

Have you seen slabs of bacon and ham hanging in Prairietown? Have you wondered how they got there or if they're real? I can tell you firsthand, they're real. Several years ago Conner Prairie had a program called "Butcherin’, Stuffin’ and Smokin.” Since that time, we have had many new staff join us who had never experienced the process of butchering and since the meat in the smokehouses in Prairietown tend to be such great conversation starters, we decided that this was a good year to prepare our own meat on site. So, we undertook the butchering process as a training session for staff last week.

We secured two hogs from a local butcher, which they prepared as they would meat for a hog roast at a local church or community event. Our job last week consisted of separating the various pieces of meat and then packaging or preserving them accordingly.

One of our first steps was to separate the sides of pork. We used a hatchet to cut through the bones along the spine. Then, we could remove the tenderloin, the delicious cut of meat that runs along each side of the spine. Next, we had to separate the ribs from the bacon, which is a delicate process that requires a certain amount of patience and focus. Once the ribs were removed, we could separate the shoulder and ham from the sidemeat or bacon. This step was relatively easy, but required attention to detail; it is important to make sure that the cut surfaces are as smooth as possible because these are the cuts of meat that will be packed in salt to dry, then be smoked and hung in the smokehouses. Any little pockets or flaps can create havens for tiny insects to lay their eggs, or pockets for mold to grow, but if cut correctly, these pieces of meat can be stored and used safely for many, many months. We saved all of the little pieces of meat that we cut from the bacon, shoulders and hams in order to make them smooth and added them to a bowl of scrap meat that we will grind into sausage. This way, virtually every piece of the hog is used, just like it would have been in 1836.

In this modern era, where we can be so disconnected from our food, I find it somehow soothing to have been a part of this training program. I am a vegetarian, so I naturally had a few uncomfortable moments during this process. But I was able to see just how much care and effort went into the process of working with this meat. I could see that everyone involved was very serious about the process. Each piece was handled by hand, free from chemical or mechanical impurities. And great care was given to make sure that every ounce of flesh was examined and used to its best purpose. It was a reminder to me of just how much life has changed over the past 170 years.

Next time you come to visit Prairietown, be sure to keep your eyes open for ham, bacon and other pork, and be sure to ask about how it got there. It's a fascinating process!

The minute I stepped out of the van and set foot on the clay-rich soil of Chuaquenun, I felt like I was in a different world. I'd been there before—to Guatemala that is, and even to other poor, rural, indigenous villages on mountainsides just like this one—but it felt like I'd been transported to another place and time.

This was a place where people live differently than I do, where they wear different clothes, use different words, sing different songs, eat different foods. But I was reminded again and again that their stories are still part of my story, and that our stories together are part of the human experience, the past and present and future that make up the beautiful and complex mosaic of our lives.

We spent three days building houses and building relationships in Chuaquenun, then brought medical care and supplies to two other rural villages and visited several orphanages. A busy week away from the office? You could say that! But my mission trip to Guatemala a few weeks ago reminded me of something key about Conner Prairie that I often take for granted: I don't have to go to another country to be transported to another place and time. It's right here, in my own backyard!

Our shared history is all around us—and Conner Prairie is one place where you're guaranteed to experience it every time. Visit Prairietown for a taste of the 1830s. Ask questions, learn, think about how the people there are different or the same as you. Or take a flight in 1859 Balloon Voyage and be awed by the landscape of Hamilton County, landscape that has been here for many, many years and is also a part of our history.

Our outdoor areas open in a few weeks (on March 27, to be exact), and I hope this year you'll come visit us with fresh eyes. I hope you'll look at Conner Prairie as an opportunity to live a piece of your own history—OUR own history. See you soon!