Homestead Heritage
I left Pilot Point to travel further south. Here to meet with college friends for a few days of renewing the connection we have enjoyed for so many years. Debbie is an amazing planner and had such a list of sights for us to see.
We browsed several little gift shops in Salado, Texas the first day and had lunch at a quiet and charming tea room, the perfect place for us share our stories since we were last together.
The next day the plan was to have lunch at the Homestead Heritage before touring the Dr. Pepper factory in Waco, TX.
However, Homestead Heritage became our final destination for the day. Dr. Pepper would have to wait for another time. There was much to see, and we were so intrigued, we stayed until we could stay no more.
The folks at Homestead Heritage have taken "shopping local" to a whole new dimension and they do it well. They not only shop locally but create locally much of what they use and sell. They explain their endeavor like this:
"Our Traditional Crafts Village showcases a community of craftsmen who have returned, not to the past, but to the enduring values exemplified in handcraftsmanship. True craft requires more than skill: it expresses the craftsmen's care and concern, their personal investment in everything they do."
We felt like welcomed guests as we strolled through the village,
from the Woodworking shop
to the pottery shop.
Along the way we savored some pizza made in this brick oven
with flour milled in this grist mill.
I considered that much of what I've called pizza, frozen and overly processed, should not
carry the same name as this delectable delight I tasted.
The gift shop displayed an array of crafts made throughout the village:
soaps
candles
brooms
and dresses of the finest workmanship I've ever seen.
So who are these folks who have chosen to live life so differently than most of us in this 21st century?
Several years ago a group of people grew weary of the hustle and bustle and frenetic pace they were living. The more weary they became the more they dreamed of living in way that allowed time to create things of beauty and utility, time to bake a pie and share it with people they loved.
Thirty years later Heritage Homestead is the manifest outcome of this dream.
People in town say if you want something done well, call the craftsmen at the Homestead. I've read that is just what President Bush did when he needed a house built on the ranch.
We had enjoyed our day of walking in and out of shade and the Texas sun. We had enjoyed the inspiration of doing simple things with excellence.
And after a dish of homemade sorghum pecan ice cream, we drove home to visit some more.
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