Where all that good meat comes from … as if you really wanted to...
Paul Locher trakes readers to the early 1800s in Ohio Country, explaining how pioneers butchered hog carcasses and made sausage and what tools they used.
The wheat harvest: To winnow, grind and bag
After flailing the wheat, early Ohio settlers processed it into flour.
How do you make apple butter? It depends who you ask
Paul Locher recounts the process for making apple butter in Ohio Country in the early 1800s.
Corn was staff of life for settlers, but was always labor intensive
After corn was husked, it had to be shelled and processed before it could be cooked into a meal in the early 1800s in Ohio Country.
Furnishing the fireplace was the domain of the blacksmith
Early settlers relied on andirons and pokers for efficient fires and cooking. Blacksmiths turned these tools into folk art, crafting imaginative designs.
Winter was the time for renewal, rejuvenation and repair
Discover how early pioneers used the winter "respite" to repair leather harnesses on stitching horses and sharpen tools for the next hard farming season.
Improving apple varieties was a major endeavor for settlers
Paul Locher explains how valuable apples were on the frontier of Ohio Country in the early 1800s, and how settlers improved varieties.
Corn husking bees brought neighbors together for work, socializing
Paul Locher details one of the great seasonal traditions among settlers in the Ohio Country — the husking bee or husking frolic.
Dough Boxes: A much-kneaded item of pioneer Ohio country furniture
How did pioneers bake bread for large families? Columnist Paul Locher explores the history of the dough box—a distinctive piece of early American furniture used by settlers to knead and rise dough.
Early settlers’ decisions could mean life or death
After arriving and establishing a campsite, settlers had to deal with a trio of priorities immediately — clearing land, planting crops and building shelter.
