Hectic Holidays Have You Hassled? Head Over to Hallockville

Why:  Making lists and checking them twice can be super-stressful.  Don't forget to slow down, spend some family time together, and enjoy the simpler pleasures that will bring.  A visit to Hallockville Museum Farm might be just the solution to the hustle and bustle of this season.  Last weekend Hallockville celebrated with a typical Victorian Christmas, but the decorations are still up and you have a little time before Christmas to enjoy them. Too busy for the tour?  Walk around the bucolic grounds and absorb the peace and quiet at your own leisure.

What's There:  Hallockville Museum has 18 buildings including several houses, barns, various outbuildings, and some farm animals, too. The museum is dedicated to preserving our local agricultural heritage and educating visitors about it. The homestead dates back to around the time of the Revolutionary War, though none of the original buildings still exist.  Over the years a few different families have lived and farmed in the vicinity of Hallockville - family names include Hallock, Howell, Youngs, Swezey, Wells, and Brown - names still found on local street signs, in neighborhoods, and on landmarks hundreds of years later. In more recent history, some of the property became home to farmers of Polish heritage. Names like Trubisz, Kujawski, Sydlowski and Cichanowicz began to crop up in records.  The last Hallock, Ella, moved off the homestead in 1979 when she was 95 years old. The house was still heated with a wood stove - which Ella fed every day, and the only faucet in the house was in the kitchen!

Helpful Tips:  

• Guided tours only of the inside of the buildings  $7/adult $4/ senior or child (Fri, Sat, Sun 11-4)
• Take self guided tours of the grounds 11-4   Free

Check Out These Great Websites:

• Watch a video made by the Hallockville Museum Farm here.
• Watch an amalgam of news clips about the Cichanowicz farm here.
• Listen to a lovely version of "A Visit From St. Nicholas" (possibly the most well-loved Victorian poem ever!) here.
• Check out this collection of Victorian postcards.

Soothe Your Seasonal Stress Level With Scent:  

Make a simple aromatic victorian pomander.  While pomanders have been around for a very long time, they reached the height of their popularity in Victorian England. They're basically apples or citrus fruits you stud with cloves and roll in aromatic spices before drying them.  Use them as natural moth repellents and air fresheners.  They're simple to make - your children can each make one.  The youngest children may need a little help poking holes in the orange/lemon/lime peels for the cloves, but should be able to make the apple pomander by themselves.  Visit Green Earth Natural Food Market on East Main Street in Riverhead for the ingredients - Steve Siegelwaks sells bulk spices and the orris root preservative called for in the recipe above, and he assures me that his cloves are fantastic - they were "hand delivered from St. Thomas by a friend!"  In no time at all, your home will be filled with the fresh natural fragrance of your pomander.

Grow a Bountiful Crop of Memories By Reading Together:  Don't forget to stop by the Riverhead Free Library to pick up the some stories about what Christmas was like if you lived on a farm. Here are a few of my favorites to snuggle up with on a chilly winter evening.

• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens with art by Brett Helquist (abridged by Josh Greenhut)
• What's Coming For Christmas by Kate Banks
• Millie In The Snow by Alexander Steffensmeier
• Christmas Day In The Morning by Pearl S. Buck
• Christmas Farm by Mary Lyn Ray
• Dream Snow by Eric Carle
• Bob Artley's Country Christmas: As Remembered by a Former Kid by Bob Artley*
• Christmas on the Farm Bob Artley*

*Not available at Riverhead Free Library.  These two books are worth looking for.  The illustrations are terrific; the books are pretty long, though.  They'd be more enjoyable for 8 to 12 year olds, I think.