Adam Crocker got a first-hand look at the type of programming that fits Malcolm Blue Farm while watching children write letters to Santa Claus on parchment paper using quill pens dipped in ink.
“The kids actually had to feel like, just for a moment, they were back in the 1820s,” said Crocker, director of the Aberdeen Parks and Recreation Department. “It’s such a simple, yet brilliant, idea. It gives us a framework for other programs we can hold out there.”
Crocker said the Early American Christmas event earlier this month gave him “a glimpse” at how to incorporate the theme and history of the farm into future events.
“That’s the challenge to us,” he said. “The sky is the limit, and yet there are parameters. You want to keep it within the history of that space. But, in that vein, you can be creative and turn that space into an amazing spot for people.”
The Malcolm Blue Historical Society, a nonprofit organization founded in 1973, owned and operated the farm until donating the 7.5-acre site, as well as all buildings and their contents, to the town last August.
The town has maintained the property since then, but will not hold any town-sponsored programming until the 2015-2016 fiscal year begins in July.
“I don’t know what the budget is at this point, so I don’t know when the programming will start,” Crocker said. “My best guess is next fall.”
Society volunteers made sure the 45th Malcolm Blue Historical Crafts and Farmskills Festival was held last September, albeit on a much smaller scale. They also organized an Early American Christmas.
“Both were really spearheaded and run by volunteers,” Crocker said. “They took it upon themselves. There was no push from the town. Our role in it, more than anything else, was observatory. It gave us great ideas for programs to run, as well as activities within those programs.”
Crocker added that he was not surprised the events were held because dozens of volunteers “have come to me and indicated very passionately that they want to stay involved.”
“You can tell it’s not just lip service,” he said. “They really do care about the property.”
Crocker said he envisions town staff organizing, marketing and budgeting future events, with volunteers implementing them.
“I’m hoping the volunteers stay very involved,” he said. “It’s hugely important that we keep them. They’ve put their blood, sweat and tears into the place. They want to see it not only survive but thrive.”
Pam Dannelley, a former society president, donned period garb to bake pies and pour apple cider at an Early American Christmas.
“I like working in the kitchen,” Dannelley said. “I do food demonstrations and talk to the kids about early American cooking. They learn about cooking without refrigerators and electricity. They like to see things made from scratch, which some of them have never seen. They seem to really love that, and I really enjoy it.
“I hope that we continue to do this every year. These events help educate kids and show them the richness and history of Aberdeen and Moore County.”
The farm along Bethesda Road provides insight into the lives of early pioneers in Moore County. It is essentially a trip back in time to the days that the Sandhills was known as “the Pine Barrens.”
The farmhouse, which was built in 1825, is filled with authentic furnishings of everyday life during the 1800s, while the grounds also include a windmill, gristmill, water well and numerous barns. Only the museum, a barn-like structure constructed in 1986, is not an original building.
The farmhouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the farm has been designated by the North Carolina Civil War Tourism Council as part of the North Carolina Civil War Theme Trails and the National Civil War Trails.
During the Civil War, a wing of Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman’s army, commanded by Gen. Judson Kilpatrick, camped at the farmhouse. The farm and nearby Bethesda Church were commandeered for the officers’ use.
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