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Cemetery tours and reenactments of conversations with Jacob Blaisdell are paired with the upcoming Blasdel family reunion .
Pioneer Day Planned for Dearborn County
Think back to a time when log cabins dotted the landscape and horse-drawn wagons were the mode of transportation . Those days will come alive in Dearborn County during Pioneer Days on Oct . 14 .
Paired with the Blasdel family reunion , the day will include presentations about the Tanner Creek Valley Pioneer Association which was formed in 1877 . The group met annually to celebrate their pioneer heritage with food , music , sermons , speeches , games , and demonstrations of pioneer life . At times over 500 people attended these events .
Pioneer Day will begin with a presentation by Carter Blasdel about Ralf Bleasdale , the ancestor of Dearborn County pioneer Jacob Blaisdell . A reenactment will follow of conversations between Jacob Blaisdell and John Ewbank , neighbors on Tanners Creek .
Dearborn County was a part of the Gore- the part of Indiana east of the Treaty of Greenville
1795 line . Talks about the history and early settlers of this area are planned .
Historic structures featured in the Pioneer Day events include the Vance-Tousey House and the Angevine cabin , both located in downtown Lawrenceburg . At the Angevine cabin , originally built about 1820 overlooking Tanners Creek , re-enactors will present the “ Hoosier Pioneer ,” a program about the life of Andrew Amonett , and frontier life just before the War of 1812 .
Area cemeteries will be open , and individuals will be present to share stories about those buried there . The East Fork Chapel and John Ewbank home will also be open .
A replica of the blockhouse built during the War of 1812 to protect the settlers from the Indians will be on display during the day ' s event .
Pioneer Day will culminate with a banquet at Perfect North Slopes . Reservations are required . Contact Gary Gellert at 812-487-0232 for more information .
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Have you ever met a young person whose attitude takes you by surprise ? Anyone who meets Ethan Shepherd can easily answer that question with a resounding yes . He is a typical fifteen-year-old young man with one exception- he already knows that he wants to be a farmer . Pretty impressive since plenty of us over forty still don ' t know what we want to be when we grow up .
Ethan has set his sights on continuing the family tradition of farming for a living . His class studies are diverse since the job of a farmer entails the skills of several different professions . A farmer does not simply understand seeds and the seasons . First of all , he must be mechanically inclined . For example , during harvest , a tractor may break down . Rain is predicted for the next day , so the farmer must be prepared to fix that tractor or risk losing thousands of dollars worth of crops to due inclement weather or the inability to get back into the fields to continue harvesting .
Being well versed in meteorology is a necessity . Missing a window of opportunity for good weather can result in late planting and the threat of crops being too immature to harvest before winter . Crops planted too early run the risk of rotting due to excessive spring rains . Either way , thousands of dollars of seed and time can be lost .
A financial background is essential to the survival of a farmer such as Ethan .
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Understanding a successful plan for the planting and harvesting of any crop requires an understanding of basis . The basis is calculated by subtracting the daily closing futures price of grain in the stock market from the daily local cash price of grain . Simply put , the basis is defined as the cash price minus the futures price . This calculation will determine the best time to buy or sell , when to use the futures market to hedge a sale , and when to accept a buyer ' s bid for the farmer ' s grain .
Crop futures and projected prices must be calculated on potential yield and selling at the highest point of return . A farmer must ascertain the cost of his crop on a peracre basis and determine the least amount that he will take for his investment . He must consider the cost of seed , fertilizer , pest and weed prevention , equipment maintenance and upgrades , and labor . When the futures price of his crop reaches the desired level , the farmer can call a grain company and commit to selling a certain amount of bushels at an agreed-upon price per bushel . The projected number of bushels to be sold can already be stored in a grain bin or have yet to be harvested .
Not only is Ethan completing his studies of
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At age fifteen , Ethan Shepherd is already preparing his future as a farmer .
science and agriculture , but he is also taking every opportunity to get any hands-on experience that he can . His family farms over 3000 acres in Ripley , Ohio , and Switzerland counties . Discussions around the family dinner table are often about crop rotation , cover crops and of course , the weather .
Ethan is well aware of the risks of farming since his family has farmed for generations . When asked why he would want to pursue such a volatile profession rather than take the safe path in an office or factory , Ethan simply smiles and replies , " My great , great grandfather bought this land and was a farmer . Every generation since then has farmed this land . How can I walk away from such a legacy without giving it a try ?"
Quite an impressive young man indeed .
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