The $5,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities paid for the development and execution of several educational youth workshops at the Durant-Peterson House Museum titled "The 19th Century Prairie Family at Work and Play."
"Participation, rather than observation, will be the emphasis," read a description of the history workshops. Twelve workshops for children from 1st to 8th grades were held from April through December with hands-on activities on such as hearth cooking, sewing, spring planting, a day at school, and ills and cures. The grant writing, execution, and education programming were led by Janet and Liz Safanda (later co-executive directors) with a team of enthusiastic adult and teen volunteers.
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PHOTO: Rachel and Ben Johnston tightening a bed at the Durant-Peterson House Museum learning how 19th century prairie families lived. Geneva Republican, April 7, 1983.
SOURCES: "We are Proud of our Interpretation Committee," Restoration Advocate 4, no. 4 (December 1982), 1; "History Workshops Stress Participation," St. Charles Chronicle, March 23, 1983; "Children Can Learn History First Hand," Geneva Republican, April 7, 1983; "A Spring Sampler of Prairie Farm Life," Restoration Advocate 4, no. 6 (April 1983), 4; "The Interpretation of the Durant-Peterson House," Restoration Advocate 5, no. 2 (August 1983), 2.