Senior Connections SeniorConnections Oct 19 | Page 12

FOREST CITY from Pg 5
most historically accurate. That’s why.”
As a consequence, the events are not only a step
back into history, but a step out of the world for a
time.
“You just don’t see people on their phones or kids
playing video games,” Betty said. “And we never
have to walk the grounds
picking up trash afterwards. People show so much
respect for what we’re doing, there’s never any trash
or water bottles thrown on the ground.”
Besides local volunteers, the Stockade Commit-
tee prefers to not invite well-known musical or other
talent that would be a draw for people. They would
rather invite local musicians and artisans.
This past year the Pioneer Christmas visitors were
blessed to be able to talk with local craftsman Ed-
die Dollerschell about how he hand-crafts beautiful,
high-quality violins.
“Eddie has been making violins for 15-20 years,”
Betty said. “He has competed internationally and
received very high marks. And this is a local man.
It’s so special to have him be a part.”
Every year, the Rendezvous will attract four to
fi ve thousand people. The Pioneer Christmas pulls
in roughly 1,700 people, with as many as 700 chil-
dren.
“Kids under 12 are free,” Betty said. It’s inexpen-
sive for large families. At the Pioneer Christmas we
have a variety of activities and we push the educa-
tion part so it’s more than just fun.”
Funding the Vision
The Hermanns are proud of the fact that the Stock-
ade is self-suffi cient. There are no grants, county or
state funds that they rely on. Although it is consid-
ered a county park and they are insured through the
county park system, they are kept afl oat through the
gate receipts and private donations from others who
believe in what the Stockade represents.
“We would rather have local people donate so
they can come and inspect the work we have done
and see that all of the money they gave went where
we said it would,” Bob said.
If they have a building or maintenance project,
such as rebuilding the fence and/or buildings, they
will do a fund drive to fi nance it. The work is done
by volunteers.
Their last fund drive was to sell a log for $25.
They raised $70,000 for the building fund.
“There’s one story that I just have to tell,” Bob
said. “One year a couple from Illinois came to visit
family and they came about a week before the Ren-
dezvous and asked for a private tour of the Stock-
ade. At the end of the tour they asked if they could
make a donation. ‘Sure’, I said, ‘we always welcome
donations.’ They handed me a check for $300. The
next year they came again and asked for a quick tour
of projects we had been working on. Again, they
More FOREST CITY on Pg 13
12
Senior
Horse rides around the grounds.
Blacksmith making a tool.
Shy little one meets Santa.
Shy little one meets Santa.
Connections October 2019
Senior Connections HJ.COM