The annual Pioneer Day was celebrated on Saturday, November 22, 2025, at the historic Chesser Island Homestead in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Visitors were given the opportunity to step back into the 1800s and early 1900s to discover how families once lived around the Okefenokee Swamp in Southeast Georgia.

Throughout the day, guests enjoyed hands-on demonstrations of traditional skills, including cooking on a wood-burning stove, broom and soap making, quilting, butter churning, turpentining, sugar cane grinding, and syrup boiling. Additional activities such as corn shelling, meat smoking, wildlife and bear research exhibits offered both education and entertainment. Children joined in classic games like hoop and stick and musical chairs, while attendees sampled cane juice, went on wagon rides, and had opportunities to see chickens and hogs, which added to the authentic pioneer-era atmosphere.

Live music filled the homestead thanks to performances by the Johnny Griffin Band and The Roddenberry Sisters and family. Under the guidance of Chesser descendant Judy Drury, participants practiced their “Swamp Hollerin’” in preparation for next year’s Okefenokee Festival.

This successful event was made possible through the efforts of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Friends of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Okefenokee Chamber of Commerce, Charlton County Historical Society, Beach Timber Company, and many dedicated volunteers. Special thanks go to Pioneer Day Chairperson Gracie Gooch for her leadership.