It's hard to imagine what life was like in Alabama during the 1800s, but volunteers at the Lee County Historical Society's Second Saturdays event have helped Loachapoka and the surrounding community relive that era.
"The overall purpose of the Second Saturdays is to simply get the members and friends of the Lee County Historical Society involved with the museum and to highlight bits of Alabama's cultural heritage," said Charles Mitchell, vice president of LCHS and professor of agronomy and soils.
Tia Gonzalez, agricultural program assistant at the LCHS, said the program, sponsored by the historical society, is held the second Saturday of each month at Pioneer Park.
"There are always different events going on," Gonzalez said. "Last Saturday we had blacksmiths, spinners, weavers and gardening demonstrations."
One of the most popular events is the rain barrel making demonstration, the cost of which covers the required materials.
"The rain barrel program is put on by Doyle Keasel. He works for extension here at Auburn," Gonzalez said. "He'll talk about the rainwater harvesting and how important this practice is to society."
The Second Saturdays program is in its fifth year.
"We at the Historical Society started this to get the members and the community more involved in the museum and to expand the exhibits that we have there," Mitchell said.
Gonzalez said each monthly event is free to the public.
"Since these events are put on by volunteers, we encourage participants to make donations to go toward the expenses of organizing Second Saturdays, but there is no mandatory, up-front cost," Gonzalez said.
Mitchell said some University students are learning how to blacksmith, and he would love to see more college students get involved with the program.
"There's just so much offered at each Second Saturday that I think college students would enjoy," Mitchell said. "While everyone is working, we spend our time talking with one another about all sorts of topics, whether it be current issues or agronomy. We're all learning from one another."
Alana Jones, sophomore in nutrition, said although she would be interested in helping at Second Saturdays, her busy schedule doesn't allow her the time to volunteer.
"I would love to work with the kids and help them harvest crops like potatoes and cotton," Jones said. "But I don't think I'll have the time to devote to Second Saturdays, especially during midterm season."
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