Return to the Delicious Days of Yesteryear

This Labor Day weekend, let us return to a time long ago, say 1899, and enjoy our respite from work with a slow-paced indulgence, an Olde Fashioned Ice Cream Social. It will be Sunday at the Museum Village at Heritage Square, where almost everything is as it was around the turn of the century.

Yes, there was a time before Nintendo, when entertainment meant getting together with neighbors. And, on the really special occasions, ice cream would be served. According to the museum’s director of education, Ellen Hughes, the ice cream social began as a church function and evolved into a secular event. A hundred years ago, she said, ice cream was a very special treat usually served only on the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving.

The museum chose Labor Day weekend for its social to celebrate the end of summer. It is an annual event that started in 1988, although last year the social was canceled because of restoration work on the museum. This year, entertainment will include music by the Magnetic Ragtime Orchestra, restoration demonstrations by local craftsmen, tours of the museum by docents in period dress and reproductions of turn-of-the-century toys that today’s kids can play with to find out what life was like before Nintendo brought out the Mario Brothers.

“Unfortunately, we do have to use some 20th-Century conventions,” Hughes said. An important one is electricity to keep the ice cream cold. The chilly confection and lemonade are included in museum admission of $5 for adults, $3 for senior citizens and teen-agers 13 to 17, $1 for children 7 to 12, with children under 7 admitted free. The museum is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Picnicking is encouraged. The museum is at 3800 Homer St., Highland Park.