OSVFIELDTRIP.ASIAKE09

Field Trip to OSV Group: Kayla, Katie A., Taylor, Asia K., Kristina, Asia H.   Our essential question was: What can’t you live without?” Based on the notes we took from the information that was provided by the people that were at OSV, our answer to that question was quite simple: water, salt, sawmill, barn, animals, and fences. The water was obviously for drinking, cleaning, and cooking and that would be a bad thing to lose. Without it, the citizens probably wouldn’t be able to get their jobs done. Salt was also a very important thing to have. Its use was to preserve the meats and fish so that they wouldn’t spoil. This was especially great in the summer time because food would spoil quickly and it would be impossible in that time to preserve their food without salt. The sawmill was an important factorial necessity because without that, it would be fairly hard to get wood and other parts to build homes and important buildings like the meeting house. To the farmers, barns were important because they could hold some animals and tools they used. Barns could maintain tools and the animals by keeping them out of bad weather. The animals played an important role also. The animals provided food for the community and families of the farmers and they also did some work on the farm that the farmers or other workers may not be able to do. For example, the bulls would pull bulk wagons and push rocks, which would be physically hard for a human to do. The cow’s role was to provide milk and give birth to calves. When the bulls didn’t have any work to do, they would be sent to pull steel boats around. And as John the Farmer said, “It’s like working out in a gym for them!” The people who lived in the early 1800s lived in fairly small homes. Usually, people didn’t get their own rooms. There would be a pull out bed in the family room/kitchen and it could fit about four people on it. Since the homes were made out of wood, cloth would be put in the cracks of the walls so that cold air wouldn’t blow through in the winter. The fireplace was mainly their only source of heat in this time and its use was important in the everyday life of a citizen in the 1800s. The fireplace was used for heat and cooking. Next to the hearth, there was a small brick oven for cakes, breads, and pies. In order to make those foods, a person would make a small fire and set it in the middle of the oven. When the oven was hot enough, the fire would be taken out and the food would be placed inside. Since the oven was made out of bricks, it would take and hour or so to heat up. This gave the homeowner time to take care of other household jobs. The bricks played a good part in the cooking; these were able to contain the heat in the oven and cook the food thouroly, then the bricks would cool down as the food became more whole and this was how the breads cakes and pies were made. Now you’re probably thinking, “Do you cook the meat in there too?” That answer is no. The meat was normally too big to fit in the brick ovens and the people would cook their meat in the hearth. What they would do is connect a long string from a hook above the fireplace and to the meat. Then they would put hot coals underneath the meat or mainly over the fire. It was good t give the meat direct fire so that it would cook nicely. A pan was then put under the meat to catch any of the juices that were to fall from it and then that was used for gravy or broth to use in soups. To cook the whole meat, the person would twist the string and then the meat would get a good 360 degree full cook.