In 1909, the first building blocks of Powell were laid down. Water was brought to the Powell Valley to jumpstart the farming process, and many people of different backgrounds came to make their mark in the dirt. A century and fifteen years later, we still celebrate the homesteading of our small town of Powell during Homesteader Days.

“I think [Homesteader Days is] a very important thing to have these type[s] of things, you know, have people out and socializing,” junior Mason Coombs said. “Also, another great thing about Homesteader Days is that it kind of shows what Powell was like when we were, you know, just a fresh young town.”

This event also provides an opportunity to round up the community behind a noble cause, providing funding for the Homesteader Museum to keep doing what they do best, preserving our past and fondest memories. The Powell-Shoshone Future Farmers of America [FFA] chapter volunteered at this event to manage a booth featuring FFA scrapbooks over the years and to help out with the pie auction. 

“I think it’s just a neat way for the history of agriculture to be connected to today,” agriculture teacher Mr. Benjamin Curdy said. “Young people, young kids, and even young adults now maybe don’t realize how far we’ve come in agriculture just in the last 50-60 years, and how much more efficient we’ve become in producing food, and what that’s enabled us to do as a society, and this just really represents that.”

This gathering provides opportunities for apple cider tasting, pie auctions, tours down memory lane, and opportunities to buy items from the artists and crafters of the community. The PHS culinary arts class baked pies to donate to be sold at the auction. 

“It took me three hours to prepare it, I spent extra time after class to do so,” junior Alex Watts said. “It was a peach blueberry pie that is very yummy.”

Featuring pies, scrapbooks, auctions, and apple cider, this year’s annual Homesteader Days was a Home Run.