On the second Saturday of every month the Lee County Historical Society gathers at Pioneer Park in Loachapoka. Dressed in authentic attire representative of the period, they demonstrate and exhibit different arts and crafts from the area's historical past.
Activities you can expect to see include watching a blacksmith work in his shop, seeing a country doctor at work in Dr. McLain's office, looking at old farm tools in the Whatley Barn, learning a new craft or listening to the Whistle Stop Pickers.
The Whistle Stop Pickers are a musical group of mountain dulcimer, hammered dulcimer, autoharp, guitar and banjo players who meet weekly to practice and play "old time" mountain bluegrass and gospel songs in the Trade Center Museum.
Second Saturdays hosted the third annual Heirloom Cake Contest sponsored by Panera Bread. To enter the contest recipes must be at least 100 years old, or passed down through three generations.
"I saw an article in the New York Times about these ladies from Slocum who made these wonderful seven layer heritage cakes," said Jeanette Frandsen, president of the Lee County Historical Society. "So I said why don't we do that."
Wesley Ellis, a 93-year-old man who made a fruitcake, won the competition. Second place was Dale Chester with a blackberry cake topped with caramel icing. Sara Caldwell captured third place with a spice cake.
It was rumored among participants that one of the winner's secret ingredient was pickles.
"The general idea was to attract people to come by having it all happen one day a month when everything can be going on as opposed to trying to do little bits at a time," said Joanna Hoit, a volunteer with the historical society.
The historical society tries to have a theme every month to serve as the main attraction for people to come. Once at the festival, visitors can see all of the different things the exhibitors have to offer.
Next month will be the Spring Camellia Show put on by the Auburn- Opelika Men's Camellia Club where they will show visitors how to wax and preserve camellias.
April's theme will be the fifth annual Lee County Gathering, Old Time Music Festival, April 18-21, where people can learn to play dulcimer music or just sit back, listen and enjoy.
People come from all over the country to play and show off their talents in the music festival, with some coming from Ohio.
While having fun is important to the historical society, it is also important to educate people on how life used to be.
"Alabama history is taught in the fourth grade and we have groups come out from different schools from Lee and Chambers County," Frandsen said. "I usually do the school house to show them what a one room school was and what it was like. Also we show them how pioneers cooked."
It is important to not only show and teach these things to kids, but also to make sure that the knowledge of how life used to be doesn't fade away. All of these things would not be possible if it weren't for the volunteers.
Bonnie Temple from Montgomery makes the drive every month to help out with the events.
"I make the hour drive every month because the people are wonderful," Temple said. "Both the people with positions and the visitors. I've been doing this for three years now and it's really a wonderful thing."
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