PETERSBURG - Visitors to Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site appeared not to mind the crisp autumn breeze as they strolled from cabin to cabin Saturday along paths that were blanketed with fallen leaves.

Instead they seemed to appreciate the sounds of a fiddle and a dulcimer that drifted through the brightly colored trees and the aroma of freshly baked pies, sweet kettle corn and mulled cider.

"I come here every season. It's just beautiful,'' said Dorothy Warrington of Springfield of the reconstructed village that was once home to Abraham Lincoln. "It seems like a different place each time I come."

As part of this weekend's Harvest Feast, which continues today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., interpreters throughout the once-bustling community demonstrated barrel-making, quilting, blacksmithing, sheep herding, ham curing, candle making, spinning and other chores from days gone by.

In addition to their usual period clothing, volunteers donned extra petticoats, as well as long underwear, shawls and bonnets as they gave observers a glimpse of what life was really like for the pioneers in the 1830s.

"I would think it would be really hard to stay warm in the winter," said 10-year-old Bo Ledford of Hopedale.

"We think we've got it bad shoveling snow," said Skip Dampier of Peoria. "I'm sure it must've been difficult here in February."

Dampier said it was his first visit to New Salem and he regretted not bringing his children sooner.

"It's interesting to see and hear how the people worked together, how they bartered for what they needed," Dampier said. "Everyone had to be good at something."

In one of the cabins, Lila Chaplin of Witt prepared chicken and noodles over a hearth. A volunteer at the park for several years, the Pana schoolteacher decided to bring her grandson, Cody Chaplin of Salem, with her Saturday. He seemed right at home in the primitive surroundings, as he scaled the ladder leading to a loft.

"Sometimes kids sleeped up here," said Cody, 5.

Cody also showed off some of the toys that were played with long ago, such as a top and Jacob's ladder.

Down the road, Carolyn Whitehouse of Burnside and Lucy Collebrusco of Springfield peeled potatoes and chopped onions for a stew.

"They didn't have our conveniences, did they?" said Donna Allen of Meredosia as she watched the women work. "But then, they didn't have to put up with traffic and telemarketers like we do now."

"No, but if you were a woman, work began before sunrise," said Whitehouse as she noted that bread would have to be made, cows would need to be milked and water would have to be hauled.

Posing as New Salem's schoolmaster, Mentor Graham, Scott Whitehouse led a large group of students from the Chicago area in alphabet chants and he explained "ciphering" - or arithmetic rhymes - which would've been taught to the children of all ages who attended the one-room school.

He also passed out buckeyes when someone answered a question correctly.

"They were given as rewards," Whitehouse said. "People thought they had good luck spirits inside."

The seventh-graders groaned when they learned that school started "as soon as you can get here after doing your chores are done, usually around 7 a.m." and when Whitehouse told them that homework meant cooking, cleaning and chopping wood.

Dressed as a storekeeper, J.R. Heikes of Glenarm swept the floor of Sam Hill's general store with a corn broom. He said he went looking for a place to volunteer after he retired from the ministry, found out about the program at New Salem, and now has made it his goal to volunteer there at least 100 hours a year.

Jim and Deb Presley of Bloomington said they and their two kids try to visit the historic site annually.

"Every time I come here, I learn something new," said 10-year-old Morgan Presley as she watched a quilting demonstration. "It's really fun."

Ann Gorman can be reached through the Metro Desk, 788-1519.