Gilfillan Farm open house a part of Upper St. Clair Community Day
Rachel Carlson, head of the Upper St. Clair Historical Society, which owns and operates the Gilfillan Farm, with Clydesdales during the farm’s open house.
A petting zoo was set up on the grounds of the Gilfillan Farm during its open house, part of the activities of Upper St. Clair’s Community Day.
What would Upper St. Clair Community Day be like without the Gilfillan Farm – and a little rain?
As usual, there were downpours for the May 16 community celebration. But, there were wide windows of light drizzle or relative dryness, which provided ample time for adults and kids to explore the wonders of the Gilfillan Farm open house.
Jean Brown – born Jean Gilfillan – was seated snugly in one of the farm’s barns, providing living history lessons. She was the first president of the Historical Society of Upper St. Clair, and recalled how her cousin, Margaret Boyd Gilfillan, willed the family farm to the society.
“Margaret turned 100 and decided that was that,” Jean Brown said. “She said, ‘I’m not going to eat any more, I’m ready to die.’ And she died 13 days later.”
Jean was enjoying watching kids romp around the farm’s 15 acres, with a petting zoo set up, demonstrations on bees, milking cows, blacksmithing and other aspects of farm life. “They like the tractors,” said 88-year-old Brown. “They like to see the big ice cakes in the ice box. And the ink wells.”
Brown ran the Historical Society for a few years, then turned over the reins to her granddaughter, Rachel Carlson. Setting up the Community Day event is quite a bit of work, Carlson said, but pays off in little ways.
“It’s not often that kids in the suburbs get a chance to see this,” Carlson said, as a pair of Clydesdales pulling a carriage pulled up, letting some children off and taking on other families for a relaxing tour.
Gilfillan Farm only has a half-dozen cows, some of which volunteered (more or less) for milking demonstrations. The big horses, as well as sheep, goats, donkeys and roosters at the petting zoo were brought over from Greenfield Farms in Perryopolis.
The kids and their families were able to see all the fun parts of farm life, though they didn’t have to do any dirty work. Brown recalled when she was a girl, helping clean the chickens for cooking. And, yes, what you’ve heard is true: “After they had their heads removed, they would run around.”
Thankfully, there were no demonstrations of that during the open house.