FISHERS, Ind. —
There’s a team spirit of urgency and cooperation as 12 people prepare a meal over a roasting fire inside an electricity-free home at Conner Prairie.
Each of the cooks, whether making noodles, cutting carrots or churning butter, is responsible for feeding a dozen folks who are getting hungry.
Everyone pitches in for one common cause: dinner.
“You either help and eat now or not help and eat in two hours,” instructs one of the Conner Prairie characters wearing a period dress and bonnet.
The Conner Prairie interactive history park, of course, takes visitors back to 1836, when Willilam Conner and his family lived along White River. His home is the site of Conner Prairie’s annual Hearthside Suppers, which runs on weekends through March 25.
Based in 1836, kitchen utensils are without electricity. Cooking is over a hot, flaming fire. And candles light the room.
Difficult? Certainly.
Yet it’s rewarding. And filling.
After checking in at the Conner Praire main entrance along Allisonville Road at 6 p.m., diners walk by lantern light to the Conner home.
There, four characters in period costume greet visitors with popcorn and cider before going into the kitchen. The toughest task, besides churning butter, may be in fixing “rolled pudding” or “roley poley.” Two cooks roll fruit jam inside a light puff paste, then wrap it in cloth and hang it from a stick inside a pot of boiling water.
The involvement has changed since previous suppers.
“We usually do some sort of bread — biscuits or a soda bread. Noodles have taken that place this year and take a little more time. This is only the second time in 29 years that we’ve had guests help prepare the dessert., said Michelle Evans, operations manager who oversees and runs Hearthside Suppers.
“Oftentimes it’s a cake of some sort that is prepared earlier in the afternoon. The roley poley is more labor intensive and not only gets guests even more involved in their meal but also allows us to serve the dessert direct from the pot, since we leave it cooking until just before it is ready to eat.
“Other hands-on activities — grinding coffee, prepping vegetables, churning butter — are the same as previous years.”
By 7:30 p.m., the dinner is ready and served at one large table. But beware, the common table fork is just being introduced to the Midwest in the 1830s so diners are encouraged to follow custom and use large knives to scoop up beef, chicken and noodles and slippery brandied pears.
Before dessert, two of the Prairietown residents take guests into the parlor to play games or sing. Then it’s back to the dinner table to try the roley poley, which bears little resemblance to the sloppy mix that was placed into the boiling pot. It’s now a tight dessert treat with a curled hint of jam.
The spirit of cooperation adds a special quality to the meal.
Kyle Lively, an experience facilitator, who played Mr. Ferguson, noted, “Hearthside is my favorite program because it relies on teamwork and cooperation not only between staff, but also between staff and guests. This teamwork makes the program run seamlessly.”
Our group of 12 consisted of adult couples and one family of four which included two children. Getting involved with the meal brought us closer together and took us through always awkward get-to-know-a-stranger moments. By dinner time, we had pleasant conversations. More importantly, we had stuffed our stomachs with food we were proud to call our own.
Contact Scott L. Miley, 648-4230, scott.miley@heraldbulletin.com
Food
Related Photos
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Diners gather around the Hearthside Supper table inside the William Conner home after preparing their own meal for the night at Conner Prairie near Fishers. Submitted photo
Discussion
Working for their supper
Conner Prairie's annual Hearthside Suppers runs through March 25
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