A Step Back in Time in Jamesport

Well, after losing my phone and then not being able to get the pictures off of it (I ended up having to Bluetooth them to my laptop!), I finally can sit down and show you some scenes from our trip to Jamesport last weekend.

 

To start off, Saturday was beautifully sunny, and J. and I left the house in shorts.  When we got to Jamesport, the wind had kicked up and it was actually a little chilly.  Yeah, fall is here!

 

As we drove into town, we noticed that there were fall decorations everywhere.  Look at those mums!  They were selling them for just $8.00. In Kansas City, that size is going for $10 to $20!

 

I just noticed that it looks like somebody might have had themselves a snack of the corn!

First, we parked the car.

Okay, that's not our car but we did park next to where the Amish folks left their buggies and horses.  I just had to snap this pic - if you look closely, you can see the Mizzou sticker in the middle of the caution triangle.  Somebody is a fan!  Another one had a sticker that said "Powered by horse. Watch out for the exhaust!"  Seems the Amish have a good sense of humor.

 

Downtown was abuzz with people shopping and demonstrating crafts like candle dipping and spinning.  There was old time music and yummy smells from the kettle corn vendor wafting through the air in the background.  Then we ran into this friendly Jamesport citizen.

He wasn't too much on words, but he looked friendly enough.  For $20, you could pick out a shirt, hat and overalls or jeans and stuff them full of hay to create your own scarecrow to take home.  The kids were having a blast with it.  The crows on the hat are a great touch.

 

And then I turned around and fell in love.

Clyde the half Clydesdale, and Larry the Percheron, were pulling carriages through the town.  Larry (an interesting name for a horse, don't you think?) was quite the poser and liked to have his nose rubbed. Clyde was a little skittish and looked like he could use a good brushing, but I was still love-struck.  Honey, forget the miniature goats.....I want a horse!

Then everyone made way for some old time dancing.  While the banjo, guitar and fiddle played, the caller (the lady in the middle of the picture) called the dance moves.  You can tell from the look on her face that she kept everyone in line.

It was nice to have that as entertainment as J. and I were waiting in line for lunch at Gingerich's. If you find yourself in Jamesport and want fabulous service and some awesome fried chicken and homemade pie, this is your place.  That explains why the line streamed out the door and down the block.

With tummies full, we set off to explore the rest of Jamesport.  Further down the main drag, we came across the first brick house ever built in Jamesport.  It dates back to 1857 and I thought how they had exposed the back to show the original brick and horsehair plaster on the back was interesting.  Sadly, a couple of window were broken and it appeared to be in use as a storage area.

 

In addition to the stores on the town square, there lots of craft vendors in Jamesport Park and in the visitor center.  One gentleman was there selling old house parts and antiques and we spent quite a bit of time talking with him.  Among his wares, we found a porch post that perfectly matches the columns on the porch that we're working on and took it off his hands for just $30.  That was an incredibly lucky (and cheap!) find and it's going to look great once I strip it and paint it and J. gets it anchored on the porch. 

 

All in all, what a great day trip back in time.  In fact, the small town feel very much reminded me of growing up in mid-Missouri.  If you're into quilting, the famous Amish quilt auction is coming up on Saturday, October 13th.  They'll have hundreds of Amish-made and other quilts for sale.  I think I'm going to make a trip up again just to see that.

 

I hope you enjoyed Jamesport as much as we did!

 

 I'm sharing this post with this week's Farmgirl Friday blog hop.  Go check out what other folks are up to this week!