Pattisongs: Raves

Notes From The Prairie: Folk Singer Teaches Kids About Music In the 'Olden Days'

Megan Angell is an expert on pioneer life.
The 7-year-old Naperville girl can reel off facts about prairies, bonnets and covered wagons faster than most grown-ups.

So during folk singer Patti Ecker's "Prairieland" program at Naper Boulevard Library last week, Megan was right at home. She had her hand raised high to answer just about every question.
She's gained much of her knowledge, she said, from reading the "Little House on the Prairie" books and visiting Naper Settlement.
"I'm just interested in the olden days," she said. "They do things the old-fashioned way, like wash things in a wash tub."

She's not alone, Ecker said. In general, youngsters are fascinated with life in the "olden days."
"I think we all want to know where we come from," she said. The Des Plaines woman has made a living for the past 12 years teaching children - and adults - how to play instruments like the banjo, mandolin and spoons.

The kids at last week's performances - which were presented as part of Naperville Public Library's summer reading program - were fascinated by the sounds Ecker could elicit out of the unusual-looking instruments.
In one song, called "Old Dan Tucker," she used a pioneer toy called a limberjack to drum against a board for a staccato, lively beat.
"This song is one everyone would know as they were crossing the wide prairie," she told her young listeners, who were rapt with attention.

Ecker said she loves teaching children about their history and exposing them to music from before the Industrial Revolution and the advent of technology.
"It's a great story - the story of America," she said.


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