Celebrating the Swiss Heritage
Saturday July 31, 2010
10:00am - 4:00pm
Stocker-Stampfli Farm Museum
Gruetli-Laager, Tennessee

 

Schedule of Events

10am

Celebration Opens
     Announcements by President
     House open for tours
     Vendors open
     Membership desk and Souvenir booth open

 

10:15am 'Die Musik Meisters' band starts entertainment at band stand

 

11:30am & 1:00pm

Demonstrations of draft animals and life in both the old country and the new.

We are running the demonstrations "conference style" this year in hopes that everyone can "take in" both the Grady's oxen team and the Bernese Mt dogs. Attend one in the first time slot then the other in the second. These sessions will provide a window into Swiss life in the mid 1800s. See details below.

 

11:30am & 1:00pm

Oxen team demonstration and history by Grady Partain.



Oxen were an important componment of life in the early colony. Colony records indicate many of the Swiss used oxen for draft animals. Grady will demonstrate yoking, unyoking and pulling of carts or logs, as well as a history of the animal and how it differs from working mules or horses. This year the animals weigh over one ton each!

We are running the demonstrations "conference style" this year in hopes that everyone can take in both the Grady's oxen team and the Bernese Mt dogs. Attend one in the first time slot then the other in the second.

Hayrides behind house and barn tours

Tours of Cheese house and outer buildings

 

11:30am & 1:00pm

Bernese Mountain Dog demonstration and history by Chattahoochee Valley Bernese Mountain Dog Club of Atlanta. www.cvbmdc.org



Bernese Mountain Dogs were working dogs for generations in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland. Traditionally, Bernese hauled dairy products, such as milk and cream, from the farms to the dairy. Members of the Chattahoochee Valley Bernese Mountain Dog club will demonstrate how the dogs worked on the farms by having them pulling carts (aka drafting).

Hayrides behind house and barn tours

Tours of Cheese house and outer buildings

German tap beer on sale at concession stand (Limited to persons over 21 and as supply lasts).

 

12pm

Introduction of distinguished guests and welcoming comments at the band stand

Address by Swiss Consulate representative at the band stand

Historian Clopper Almon available for book signing - "The Swiss Colony at Gruelti" written in the 30s by Frances Helen Jackson. Mr. Almon has spent years updating, adding maps and indexing this valuable resource

 

12:30-1pm 'Die Musik Meisters' band
1-2pm

Dutch Oven cobbler behind old house
Tasting and Sampling
     Swiss Wine and Cheese at concession stand
     American Cheese Tasting
     Home Made Wines

Second demonstration of Bernese Mt dogs and oxen

1:45-3:30pm 'Die Musik Meisters' band
3:45pm Closing remarks
4pm

Gates close

 

Activities

  • Mountain cheese sampling
  • Hay rides
  • Oxen team demonstration
  • Bernese Mountain Dog demonstrations
  • Primitive Farm Skills demonstrations
  • Historic displays by Grundy County Swiss Historical Society
  • Storytelling
  • Arts and Crafts vendors with locally made items
  •  

Gate Fees

$5.00 per person;  Children under 12 free.

Concessions

Various venders provide all different kinds of food, including brats, kraut, BBQ, sandwiches, Swiss Chocolate, Swiss Cheese, local wines and beer.

Tours

The farm and all of its out buildings will be open for touring. 

Directions to the Stocker-Stampfli Homestead & Farm Museum

  • From I-24 in Monteagle, take Hwy 41 to Hwy 56 North
  • Follow Hwy 56 North through Tracy City and Coalmont
  • Turn right onto Hwy 108 East to Gruetli-Laager
  • Turn left onto 20th Avenue at the Old Post Office (There will be a large sign over the highway)
  • At the Swiss Colony Cemetery sign, turn right and travel past the cemetery to the Stoker/Stampfli Farm Museum
  • You can also click the following link to bring you in from any direction. Just click link which will open a map to the farm. For step-by-step directions click "Get Directions" in upper left under Google Maps, then type your address in the "A" field and hit enter. This will give detailed directions from your location to the celebration.
    Stocker-Stampfli Homestead - Gruetli-Laager, TN

If you have any questions, please e-mail info@swisshistoricalsociety.org


Grundy County Swiss Historical Society
c/o President
3054 SR 399
Palmer, TN 37365