America 250 Springtime Events: Greenfield Village, School Presentation, Old Mill in Ortonville

Three days in a row found me wearing my colonial clothing recently.

It began on Thursday May 14,  which was a perfect spring day in Michigan,  with highs in the upper 50s and low 60s and the sun shining down.  My friend Norm and I decided to use this wonderful weather opportunity to spend a few hours in the past at historical Greenfield Village open-air museum wearing clothing from the 1770s.

At the Village,  there were literally thousands of school children there on field trips.

Good kids!  Many of them stopped Norm and I and asked us who we were.  Sometimes I would tell them I was a regular Citizens of the American Colonies,  while other times I would state that I was Paul Revere.

Norm and I tried to head to places and houses where the kids weren't.  Most of the time it worked,  though if we were at one of the houses and we would see a group of heading in our direction,  we would scamper out of the way to allow the presenters to do their jobs.

Speaking of Paul Revere...
Our first stop was at the early 18th century home of Thomas Plympton.

A little bit of wonderful American history on this house:

while on their way to Concord from Lexington,  Massachusetts,  in the early morning hours of April 19,  1775,  Paul Revere,  William Dawes,  and Sam Prescott were stopped by four British horsemen who were part of a larger scouting party that were sent out a number of hours earlier.  It was here that Paul Revere was captured,  but both Samuel Prescott and William Dawes succeeded in making a run for it.  Dawes hid in an abandoned house,  and Prescott made it to his home in Concord,  where he awakened his brother,  Abel Prescott,  who rode to the town of Sudbury.  Abel went directly to the home of Thomas Plympton,  the leading Whig in Sudbury,  and the town's alarm bell began to ring about 3:30 or 4:00 o'clock in the morning.  Warning guns were fired to summon militia companies.

The red house pictured here is the one and the same that Abel rode to.  What an honor to be here,  especially while in period clothing.

I suppose it could be said I am depicting Mr.  Plympton while our minister stops by.

Norm makes for the perfect living history parson.
Here he is inside the Plympton House.  I tried to angle my camera to hide
the reflection from the plexi-glass.  Looks like it worked pretty well.

This next house was almost razed---lost forever,  left for dreaming.

However...lucky for us,  that didn't happen.

Norm is standing in the doorway of the 1822 home of Noah Webster - the one and the same in which Webster completed his dictionary.
Even though it was built in 1822,  the house still has that 18th century feel.

Can you imagine,  then,  that the folks who ran Yale University,  an institute meant for higher learning,  wanted to tear down this historic house that once belonged to one of our nation's Founding Fathers - someone who's importance to our own American English language cannot be overstated - because,  they said,  not only did it lack architectural style,  but by razing it they would  "relieve itself of the financial burden to maintain it."

If you look closely you can see me at the foot of the stairs.
This is the back of the Webster House.. 

With demolition already begun by Yale University,  the home of Noah Webster's plight was,  luckily,  brought to Ford's attention by way of his son through one of his dealers.  The house was soon purchased,  and when Ford's architect had first reached the house at its location in New Haven,  Connecticut in September 1936,  wreckers had already demolished parts of the house.  Thankfully it wasn't too late and it was brought to Henry Ford's Greenfield Village here in Dearborn,  Michigan. 

The portion that was being demolished first was the rear end.

As they are positioned inside Greenfield Village,  the Giddings House and the Webster House are neighbors,  so next I walked over to the Giddings House.

Norm walking up to see if John Giddings was around.

John Giddings built this house in 1750 in Exeter,  New Hampshire.  According to the Exeter Probate Records of 1824,  this house was referred to as the  "mansion house."  One can see just by the exterior alone that it represents a more well-to-do residence of 18th century colonial America,  suitable for a man of means such as our Mr.  Giddings.   This beautiful structure was situated on property that also included a warehouse and mercantile shop,  both of which Giddings operated,  and over-looked a wharf on the Squamscott River.

Looks like the local minister is visiting.

Being that John Giddings was a merchant and in shipping,  he and his wife,  Mehetable,  maintained social and business contacts that helped to further his local,  regional,  and international business interests.  He and his wife had to  "keep up appearances,"  both with their possessions,  the home they lived in,  and in the entertainment they offered their guests.

From here we visited my favorite house inside Greenfield Village:

Ever since my first visit to this home back in 1983,  it has been at or near the top of my favorites list.
Here,  again,  we have a visiting pastor.

Inside the home,  Norm shows Melissa his 18th century bible

Oftentimes we hear from the presenters inside the Daggett home that he and his family were Congregationalists in their religious beliefs.  Congregationalism is a direct descendant of Puritanism,  and Puritans were part of a strict religious movement in early American history that emphasized strict moral discipline and purity as the correct way to live as a Christian.  Puritans believed that if they honored God,  their colony would be blessed,  and if they failed to,  it would be punished.  This led to strict laws,  including mandatory church attendance.  The American Congregational community was a part of the Great Awakening,  a widespread religious revival movement that began in 1734.  

The Daggetts were a strong Christian family.
I have no doubt upon walking inside this house during the time the Daggetts lived
here in the later 1700s we would have seen at least one family bible upon a table.

In the 18th century,  Congregationalists in New England lived lives deeply intertwined with their church community,  prioritizing strict moral conduct,  regular church attendance,  education,  and active participation in local governance.

 I learned through research and former presenters that it seems at one point later in his life,  though not sure when exactly,  Sam left the Congregational church and joined the local Baptist Society of Coventry.  I cannot say for certain why the change,  for the beliefs and ties to Puritanism from both denominations were very closely related. 

The Daggetts were very involved in their respective churches,  and both denominations were only a generation or so away from the puritans.. 

I appreciate that Norm brought along his New Testament Bible,  an exact replication of an original from 1733,  as made by James Moore,  Bibleman. 

Of course,  I,  too,  visited at the Daggett house.

"How do you do,  Miss Daggett,  I am right heartily glad to see you."

"Good day to you,  Sir."

"How does your father,  old fellow?"

"My dear Father had planned to be here with me only he felt unwell."

Then,  the very next day found me in my colonial clothing again.

You know,  I absolutely love when Larissa and I present together.  We just seem to click,  and we have since our very first time ever attempting to do this around 15 years ago,  which is why we continue presenting together to this very day. 

This is our third year presenting to 5th graders at St.  Michael the Archangel Catholic School.

These 5th graders all dressed as colonial as they could for this  "Colonial Day"  at St.  Michael's.

I very much like that the kids get immersed into what they now call,  "Colonial Day."

Larissa and I are honored that we are the main attraction for this.

We had a table-full of replicated artifacts.

Our presentation falls in line with the majority of the 18th century populace:  farming.  We go through an entire year  - season by season - and let the kids know whet their lives most likely would have been like.  We get a wonderful response from both students and teachers.

Larissa and I always try to get a shot of the two of us at each presentation that we do together.

We are always asked to give a quick visit to a few of the 1st graders down the hall,  who are always very interested in us and in colonial times.  It helps that I am friends with their teacher.

This is Ms.  Marchetti's class!
We did not do an entire presentation.  We instead just spoke to the kids and answered a few of their questions.

I think my favorite part was when I asked these first graders what was the world's most important book,  and they replied,  almost in unison,  "The Bible"!!
Gotta love private schools~~~

Now onto a brand new event that commemorated and celebrated the American Revolution and those who gave their all --- America's Semiquincentennial---America 250:

Here is the cover of the program.

The Road to Independence event included the SAR - Sons of the American Revolution - the Daughters of the American Revolution  (DAR),  and even the Children of the American Revolution  (CAR) - all were involved here to some extent,  and was held at the Old Mill Museum in Ortonville  (here in Michigan),.

The Old Mill Museum itself is a historic gristmill originally built in 1856 by town founder Amos Orton.  The four-story mill now operates as a local history museum housing agricultural artifacts,  military exhibits,  and a working rug loom,  and on May 16,  it was all about America's 250th,  and those in charge set up a very nice commemorative event.

The Bicentennial commemoration of 1976 still affects me,  and I thank God for the smaller towns like Ortonville - and even what  Macomb College did earlier in the year,  for they seem to be the ones putting forth the strong effort in celebrating our country's birth,  and I am so proud that there are those of us who can play a part. 

To me,  small-town America is where it's at,  especially in the American celebratory factor.

So,  let's check out inside The Old Mill building in small-town Ortonville,  Michigan,  which was built in 1856 by the man whose name the town still carries,  Amos Orton,  and the museum it harbors,  for the interior of the old building holds perhaps thousands of items showing daily life from over a hundred years ago.

An old gristmill now a local museum.  And since Ortonville is a farm community,  much of the historic artifacts inside are old farm tools.

Methinks I may have to make another visit to the Old Mill Museum,  for most of the historic artifacts are from the later 1800s and early 1900s and are farm related,  which is fine by me.  Back around 1916,  Henry Ford commented that children knew more about wars than about harrows,  even though harrows did more to build this country than wars.  Hence part of his reasoning for his creating the Greenfield Village open-air museum as well as his oft-repeated  (out of context)  "history is bunk!"  statement:  "History as it is taught in the schools deals largely with...wars,  major political controversies,  territorial extensions and the like.  When I went to our American history books to learn how our forefathers harrowed the land,  I discovered that the historians knew nothing about harrows.  Yet our country depended more on harrows than on guns or great speeches.  I thought a history which excluded harrows and all the rest of daily life is bunk and I think so yet."

Here we see a variety of saws and what I believe to be harvesting equipment.

Now,  I do believe that  "wars,  major political controversies,  territorial extensions and the like"  are truly important in the making of our country.  But if you only speak of these things and not plows and harrows,  then history loses,  for only a part of the story is being told.

Drills and drawknives were tucked away under the stairs..

So,  all sides of history - wars and  harrows - go together hand in hand when it comes to teaching about the past.  As Daniel Webster,  former U S Secretary of State  (mid-1800s)  is quoted as saying:

"Let us not forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of man.  When tillage begins,  other arts will follow.  The farmers,  therefore,  are the founders of civilization." 

A corn sheller.

So,  learning about the farmers and the politicians and the war heroes are all very important in the history of our country.

A sort of mix of history.

For America's 250th the museum had sectioned off an area for the Revolutionary War and colonial period.

  There were numerous tributes to the Revolutionary War inside this Old Mill Museum,  and to those who fought including the Bennington Flag/Spirit of  '76 flag floating above Mrs.  Washington.

Beautiful and colorful placards were on hand to help spell out the story.
Beginning with the root of the issues.

Resistance grew...

This placard and the one above it go hand in hand.

Here is a timeline of the Revolutionary War.

The Declaration of Independence and what followed.

Next to the placards was another display:

Showing life during the Revolutionary War for both men and women.

Information to go with the mannequins. 

From another angle.

We living historians who were representing the 1770s were situated inside the old school house...

The morning began with showers,  thunder and lightning,  and a bit of wind.
But the wind gave me the opportunity to get a good shot of the commemorative flag they flew.

I fly my flags as well~~~

This was Charlotte's first time out as Martha Washington.
Folks,  I'm here to tell you she did a splendid job!
But then,  with Charlotte,  I wouldn't expect anything less.
 When she spotted an image of her husband,  she began to swoon...

Mrs.  Washington and Mrs.  Ross.

Modern-day parsers of the past suggest that several 19th-century authors and enthusiasts of American history were overanxious to champion the story of Betsy Ross brought to public attention by her grandson, William Canby,  in a speech before the Pennsylvania Historical Society in 1870.  That the story of the patriots of the Revolutionary Era required a deserving female role model.  That magazines,  textbooks,  and artists uncritically have echoed the contrivance of a man who was an 11-year-old boy when his grandmother died.  Some historians ignore Canby altogether and say,  "There's no written record of the sewing of the first flag;  therefore we cannot accept the story as truthful or likely." 

Historians,  to their credit, always want source documentation. 

Yet,  we have this:
Betsy Ross's own daughter,  Rachel Fletcher,  wrote out an affidavit about her mother's flag creation:  "I remember having heard my mother Elizabeth Claypoole say frequently that she,  with her own hands,  (while she was the widow of John Ross)  made the first Star-spangled Banner that ever was made.  I remember to have heard her also say that it was made on the order of a Committee,  of whom Col.  Ross was one,  and that Robert Morris was also one of the Committee.  That General Washington,  acting in conference with the committee,  called with them at her house." 

I've also read that there are other family members that had recounted Betsy's story,  and historically the dates and circumstances remain unrefuted.  There is even a notation that Martha Washington's granddaughter made it a point,  while in Philadelphia in 1820,  to visit Mrs.  Claypool  (Betsy Ross).  This is,  as author Marla T.  Miller wrote in her book,  Betsy Ross and the Making of America,  "a tantalizing point of contact between Ross's life and her legend."  It also reveals us to  "check the fables that lace through popular historical memory against the historical record itself."  Ms.  Miller also evaluates the circumstantial evidence that also supports her story,  including the paper star found in a safe in the 20th century. 

In April 2009,  the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission officially recognized Betsy Ross's contributions with a historic marker in front of her house,  stating,  "Credited with making the first stars and stripes flag,  Ross was a successful upholsterer.  She produced flags for the government for over 50 years.  As a skilled artisan,  Ross represents the many women who supported their families during the Revolution and early Republic."

So...no proof,  that's true,  though I see a strong argument in Ross's favor.

Back at The Old Mill Museum grounds,  the celebrations and commemorations continued on as numerous speeches were given during a special ceremony,  including from the SAR,  DAR,  and CAR.

The SAR actually did an honor presentation:

The SAR Honor Guard.

I tried to snap a wide screen image of the presentation.

The ceremonial unit within the SAR is typically composed of Color Bearers  (who carry flags)  and Musketeers/Riflemen  (who carry and fire weapons).

In a local graveyard,  there were numerous Revolutionary War soldiers buried.  And due to these several men,  an honor shot was fired from a musket.

There was also a cannon salute.
Directly in the center of the picture you can see the flames shooting out of the cannon.

An honorable bow was given during the wreath presentation  (also known as a wreath-laying reverie).

The three wreaths for the Oakland County Patriots that died during the Revolutionary War,  were presented by the SAR,  DAR,  and CAR.

Although Lydia,  here portraying Betsy Ross,  has been volunteering at the Waterloo Farm Museum for a while now,  she has been coming out with us lately as well,  including her first real reenactment this past April at Patriot's Day  (click HERE).

I love seeing the younger folk joining us in this hobby,  and with quality newbies as Lydia here,  our future in presenting the past is in safe hands.

Citizens of the American Colonies:
Mrs.  Martha Washington,  Benjamin Rush,  Betsy Ross,  Dance Caller Karen, 
& Paul Revere.  All on hand to share historical knowledge and stories.

This was the first time I wore my new coat that I purchased from Samson's Historical.
Okay,  so red is more associated with Samuel Adams,  who was very fond of the color, 
but that's not to say no one else did not wear the color as well.
I like it.

Karen and Tom enjoying a chat.

As you can see,  the area around is beautiful.

It was nice to see Karen come out and take part with us once again.  And Tom was portraying Dr.  Benjamin Rush,  a signer of the Declaration of Independence. 
I like the whole naturalness of this photo - it looks like a window into the past.

Benjamin Rush  (1746–1813)  was a prominent Founding Father,  physician,  and social reformer who is most famous for signing the Declaration of Independence,  but he also was a pioneering  "father of American psychiatry."  Rush was a leader in the anti-slavery movement as well as an advocate for public education and prison reform. 

Our own little America 250 vignette

Dr.  Rush speaks of his revolutionary life to interested visitors.

There was an over-sized Declaration of Independence,  and everyone was welcome to sign it.

Karen is a signer!
And if you look at a couple of signatures below her's,  you can see mine.

Mrs.  Washington signed the gigantic Declaration of Independence

Charlotte who??
Why,  it's Mrs.  Washington~~~

These smaller more rural museums,  most of which tell local history,  are every-bit-as-important as the larger museums.  It's these smaller museums that fill in the gaps.  America is one big beautiful country,  and I wish more of these smaller collections could afford to put out books or pamphlets.

Besides the mill,  there was an old school house and blacksmith shop.
I foresee historic growth on this property.

I loved being a part of another Semiquincentennial celebration.  It's still only May - there's more to look forward to in the upcoming weeks and months;  June,  definitely in July.  Even later on past July;  more visits to Greenfield Village,  more presentations,  and more America 250 celebrating yet to come!  Michigan,  for being such a Victorian state  (lol),  certainly knows how to take part in America's birthday party!  I will document as much as I can right here on Passion for the Past.

Until Next time,  see you in time.

Photographers  (aside from myself)  whose pictures I used:
Charlotte Bauer

Karen Dunnam

John Fross

Emily Marchetti

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