Passport to Texas

Butchering and Curing Program Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

They’re going whole hog at Barrington Living History Farm next month. On January 14 & 15 they’ll present a hog butchering and curing program to the public.

05—Butchering is just one part of many things that we do seasonally throughout the year.

Barb King is a park interpreter at the farm, located at Washington-on-the-Brazos SHS. The program takes place outdoors in January just as would have happened in 1850s rural Texas.

15—So, all the meat that will be produced, and the sausage and the fat that we will save for soap or cooking all needs to be at a constant temperature, which is cold—like your fridge—so that we can start the curing process without worrying about it spoiling.

The public will not witness staff dispatch the Ossabaw Island Hog: a heritage breed. But after that, Barb says the rest is for public view. And while this is primarily a demonstration…

18—People are able to do a tiny bit if they choose—like helping us scrape the hogs. But cutting up the carcass into specific portions of meat is only done by staff. A lot of people come right at 10, and we normally have a big group waiting. And then on Sunday, we focus on more of the preservation aspect.

Visitors may return Sunday to see how staff cures the meat for storage. The butchering and curing program at Barrington Living History Farm is January 14 & 15, beginning at 10 a.m. both days. Find complete details at texasstateparks.org.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Early Texas Farm Life Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Life in rural 1850s Texas wasn’t the simple existence you might imagine. There wasn’t a grocery store or drive through fast food restaurant on every corner. Eating… was an exercise in long-range planning.

11—One part of being a farmer, not only is growing what you’re going to need to eat today, or tomorrow or the day after. But you’re projecting ahead, maybe six months or a year.

Barb King is a park interpreter at Barrington Living History Farm at Washington-on-the-Brazos. The farm belonged to Anson Jones, the last president of the Republic of Texas. Yet, being president didn’t mean Jones was on easy-street.

23—Even for this family, which is upper middle class, they’re still worried about survival on a more intimate basis than we are. You know, just even getting hot water is a chore, not only in hauling, but then you have to heat it up. So, all the daily chores that we have today, required and a lot more forethought—as well as just physical labor. Men, women and children—everybody was working towards family survival.

Dispatching livestock and then curing the meat for use throughout the year was a chore that rural Texas families performed during cold months, because they lacked mechanical refrigeration. Next month visitors to Barrington Living History Farm have an opportunity to witness parts of that process.

02—We get a lot of interest in this event.

And if you’re interested, we’ll have details tomorrow.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Holiday Time off in 19th and Early 20th Century Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We have something in common with early Texans.

06—Christmas and the month of December—in large part—was the time when Texans gathered.

Cynthia Brandimarte is program director for Texas historic sites. Unlike today when a short trip by car or plane will get us to our holiday destination, travel was difficult for early Texans.

09—And so when you traveled, you tended to stay. People had time at Christmas to do that—to travel and spend weeks.

Which makes the few days that most of us get off at Christmas seem like a rip off. And early Texans made good use of this block of time.

08—It was then that they celebrated not only Christmas, but other special events, and planned weddings for the month of December.

Since Texas was mostly rural in the 19th and early 20th Centuries, and there wasn’t a lot of farming that could happen in December…

15—It almost gave 19th Century and early 20th Century rural Texans an excuse not to work. And thus to play a bit more, and socialize a bit more, than they had time to do many other months of the year.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

History of Christmas Trees in Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The custom of decorating trees for Christmas took root in German villages during the sixteenth century.

07—A lot of Germans, as you know, settled Texas. And they brought a tradition with them of the tabletop Christmas tree.

Cynthia Brandimarte is program director for Texas historic sites.

12—When you look at interior photographs of Texas houses, you see many tabletop Christmas trees ornamented for the season, particularly in German households in the late nineteenth century Texas.

Ornaments were handmade then, and small gifts often dangled from branches. Eventually, the tabletop conifer gave way to larger trees that became “floor models,” and the decorations sometimes mirrored the day’s events.

22—You saw more and more seven or eight feet trees that were placed on the floor. And because we had just ended the Spanish American war in victory, there was a fashion in the early part of the twentieth century to decorate trees with a few American flags here and there. We have photographic evidence for that.

What kinds of ornaments will hang from your tree this year? Tell us about it at passportotexas.org.

That’s our show… we record our series at the The Block House in Austin, Texas, and For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

This is Passport to Texas

Experience the holidays the way 19th Century German settlers did when you take part in an Early German Christmas at Monument Hill and Kriesche Brewery State Historic Site in La Grange. Bryan Frazier has details.

That part of Texas has such a history with the German influence, so they’re calling it An Early German Christmas. And every year, they light up a quarter-mile hiking trail for night walks.

Absolutely. They typically do period costumes and they’re really dressed up nice. So, you’ve got everyone getting in the Christmas spirit in general, and then to see it circa 1850s with the history there, and the interpretation programs they have and the lighted trail…it’s really nice.

Thanks Bryan,

Find more information www.texasstateparks.org.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

An Early German Christmas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download