Children from around the county came to Colvin Run Mill on Sunday to enjoy old-fashioned fun by painting toy sailboats and then floating them in a pond near the mill.
Dozens of children took turns either pretending to be yachtsmen or playing battleship by ramming and sinking the wooden boats. Sharon Smith and her two sons came to Colvin Mill because “this is the only place around here where you can do things like this. It reminds me of the innocence of my youth. Anything to get away from the video games, right?”
Seven-year-old Chase Smith said, “We’re going to use these in the bath [tub] tonight and tomorrow, too.”
Caroline Alcott, 3, could only say of her boat, “Pretty, pretty,” because she was too busy keeping it safe from her older brother and two other boys who preferred to ram the boats than sail them on the quiet pond.
Colvin Run Mill regularly holds family and children’s activities on the grounds. The events serve as a means to raise funds to maintain and upgrade the mill.