Norlands hosts Saturday Pie Social
Step back into the post-Civil War era against a backdrop of rolling fields and woodlands at a Pie Social hosted by Washburn-Norlands Living History Center on Saturday, September 9, from 1 to 4 p.m. History and music, along with the delicious aroma of fresh-baked homemade pies, will fill the autumn air at this seventh annual fundraising event for Norlands.
Whole pies will be for sale for $12 and slices will be served with real whipped cream for a donation. Live music will be performed by singer-songwriter Phil Poirier at 1 p.m. and the Merry Plinksters Ukulele Group at 2:00. New for this year’s event is a Pie Baking Contest. Adult and junior bakers are invited to enter pies for a chance to win Norlands-inspired prizes. Bakers may also win a special “Gold Medal” prize if they make the crust using Gold Medal Flour. For contest rules and entry forms, email norlands@norlands.org or see www.norlands.org/events.
Norlands is the ancestral home of the founder of Gold Medal Flour. Born in Livermore in 1818, Cadwallader Colden Washburn moved west and, at the age of 48, built a flour mill on St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1880, he entered several types of flours in the International Millers’ Exhibition in Cincinnati and they won the bronze, silver, and gold medal prizes. He then changed the name of his business and started the Gold Medal brand.
Visitors may hear much more about Cadwallader and the rest of the remarkable Washburn family during a tour of the Washburn family home. Guided tours to the home and the 1853 one-room schoolhouse will be available all afternoon for a $5 admission fee ($3 for kid ages 12 and under). Otherwise, guests are welcome to enjoy pie and music by Phil Poirier and the Merry Plinksters on the front lawn at no charge. Activities will take place rain or shine; in the event of cold or damp weather, the music will be moved into the meeting house.
The Washburn-Norlands Living History Center is a multifaceted museum offering in-depth experiences in 19th century rural life. Its mission is to preserve the heritage and traditions of rural life from Maine’s past, to celebrate the achievements of Livermore’s Washburn family, and to use living history methods to make values, activities, and issues of the past relevant to present and future generations. The center is located at 290 Norlands Road in Livermore. For more information, call 897-4366 or see www.norlands.org.