Lots of fun (and a little mess) lures families to Trail Center

Rice cakes, peanut butter and seeds are quick and easy ingredients to make crispy, gooey bird feeders. Eager to please the birds Friday during Family Fun Day at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center were, from left, Janelle Boothby; her daughter, Hadley, 4; niece, Mason, 3; and daughter, Ella, 7; and husband, Casey. Sara Durflinger, right, helped youngsters get started and wrapped bird treats to be taken home.

By CHRIS COLLINS
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Brothers Mark and Casey Boothby brought their families home to Baker City for the Thanksgiving holiday and were among those to participate in Family Fun Day at the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center Friday.

Seven-year-old Ella Boothby and her little sister, Hadley, 4, toured the center with their parents Casey and Janelle Boothby, who traveled from Boise. Mark and Amy Boothby made the trip from Homedale, Idaho, with their two girls, Logan, 8, and Mason, 3.

They gathered for the holiday at the home of the men’s parents, Glen and Shawna Boothby.

The Boothbys, including Grandma and Grandpa, listened to the pioneers tell their stories as they walked through the center, stood next to the life-size buffalo and watched a miniature stamp mill demonstrate how gold was pounded from ore.

Alexa Nickens, 11, guided Ella and Hadley through a project to make imprints of animal tracks, leaves and other shapes and designs on paper.

Alexa’s brother, Austin Nickens, 14, supervised the beeswax candle-making project. And Sara Durflinger and her mother, Jan Durflinger, were on hand to help the girls make bird feeders.