Christmas on the Farm and Other Historical Holiday Happenings 2014

I'm at the point where the sentimental nostalgia of the old-time Christmas's that I regularly write about here have become a reality, for I believe I spend more time celebrating Christmas past than I do Christmas present (see links at the bottom of the page). I am being serious here. Every weekend from Thanksgiving through the first weekend in January I am in period clothing and presenting Christmas's of long, long ago by way of living history inside historical structures, teaching the public about the social historical holiday norms no longer a part of our society, and singing the old carols from an era when Christmas was more about feasting and Christ than about toys and snow.
With that being said, I am hoping you will enjoy this week's post consisting of mostly photos (with my own snappy commentary) and a couple video clips showing some of my more recent  2014 Christmas past excursions. These are but three of the five or six Christmas time travel journeys I've taken so far this year, with more to come.
I hope you enjoy them:

Let's begin with Christmas on the farm...historic Waterloo Farm built in the mid-19th century way out in rural Munith, Michigan. I fell in love with this place nearly a decade ago and have been celebrating Christmas Past here for more than half that time.

As you can see, throughout the 19th century additions were added onto the original structure.

Many historical museums tend to align themselves with the gaudy or the "country living" style of holiday decore', but the fine folks at Waterloo decorate very tasteful with a strong dose of history, which I appreciate.

Since the sitting room was filled with spinners (women and their spinning wheels), fellow 21st Michigan member, Jackie, and I spent our time enjoying Christmas in the formal parlor. Usually our group is in the sitting room so this was a little different, but we enjoyed ourselves and spoke of the use of the formal parlor during special occasions such as Christmas, weddings, funerals, or for special guests or events.

Here are a couple of videos I took of a woman playing the pump organ and of the parlor itself.
Hearing the sounds emanating from a 130 year old organ in this old parlor is a time-travel experience in itself.
Okay, I realize the woman playing the organ is not dressed 100% accurate - mind you, she's not a living historian - but the musical pleasure she gave us far out-weighed any fashion inaccuracies you might catch, don't you think?
Plus, she was so very nice to speak with!

Off to the pioneer log cabin we go...

Just outside the house is a log cabin used to show the pioneering life of the settler family before the farm house was built. Again, the decorations were done very tasteful and, as far as I could tell, historically accurate.

I loved the dried fruit ornaments hanging from the cabin Christmas tree.

Christmas dinner preparation. Yeah...I'm thinking of Ma Ingalls here. How can I not? I imagine Christmas with the Ingalls family wasn't too far off from what you see here.

Over at historic Greenfield Village, I was asked to help with a Soldiers Aid Society presentation which took place at the Smiths Creek Depot (built in the late 1850s). This is the infamous depot where, in 1863, an angry conductor threw a young Thomas Edison off the train when the boy accidentally set the baggage car on fire while conducting a chemical experiment using phosphorus. 
For the wonderful Holiday Nights Christmas celebration, folks are taken back to roughly the same time of the Edison incident - the period of the American Civil War - and the good folks of town, mostly ladies, have gathered many items to send to our Yankee boys off fighting in the south, things such as canned goods, newspapers and magazines, crochet items, blankets, clothing, and even games. 

On the table are many items being prepared to be sent off as Christmas cheer to our northern boys fighting the southern rebellion. Underneath is one of the boxes being packed for shipping.

As you can tell by viewing the left side of this photograph, there were many boxes to be shipped. Our boys, all far from home, would have a very happy Christmas this year!

Mrs. Lynch was the head of our local Soldiers Aid Society, and she and her husband invited me to help with the preparation of items.

Besides revising my role as the local postmaster, where I explained to the visitors the importance of the mail to the men so far away, I also found myself in charge of the cook stove, which (of course) doubles as a heating stove! The room was toasty!

I also cooked the salted ham (a "gift" from the pigs of Firestone Farm) on top of the stove. It was pretty darn good!

The station master and his family lived here in the depot back in its hey day, and the folks at Greenfield Village decorated what was once the parlor in the same probable manner as may have been done in the 19th century.

Here is a silhouette of Mrs. Lynch. I took this photo from the outside window - it turned out exactly as I had hoped!

Here is the Soldiers Aid Society group of Friday December 5th: That's me on the left with Village historical presenter Stephanie next to me, followed by Mr. & Mrs. Lynch. We had a wonderful time that evening! I enjoyed myself immensely.

As many of you know, I head up a period vocal group known as Simply Dickens. Our specialty is Old World Christmas carols, and we enjoy performing the music that radio does not play. In fact, we've found that most of our audience are usually not too familiar with most of our music at all.
But by the end of our show, we - and the music we perform - have gained a slew of new fans.

Ladies & Gentlemen, meet Simply Dickens, purveyors of old-world Christmas carols such as (among many others) The Boars Head Carol, Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day, The Goucestershire Wassail, All You That Are Good Fellows, Riu Riu Chiu, The Wexford Carol, and Masters in This Hall.

This is Beckie. Say "Hi" to Beckie. ("Hi Beckie!!"). Beckie is a seamstress beyond compare. She made everything you see here but the muff. That new hood is simply awesome! Great job Beckie!

Since Simply Dickens sings about wassailing all over the town, a couple of us saw it fit to pose for a photograph with some wassailers (otherwise known as mummers). In this photograph you see Kim and I with our new friends.

Here is one of the old carols we do, Masters In This Hall:

Christmas has always been a special time for me; my love for the holiday comes directly from my mother, for she would begin the preparations, including decorations, and start to play Christmas music even before Thanksgiving which, in the 1960s and 1970s, was almost unheard of (unlike today when radio stations become full-fledged Christmas stations sometimes even before Hallowe'en!). And to be able to enjoy and celebrate in the manner that I do has been a life-long dream.

It really has.

I suppose I could say Ebenezer Scrooge's nephew Fred speaks for me in Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" novel:

I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round -- apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that -- as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.  And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!"

..........................................

The links below will take you to some of my previous Christmas past experiences, including loads of photographs.
Enjoy:

Waterloo: Ghosts of Christmas Past 2011
Spirits of Christmas Past 2013
Fort Wayne 2013: An Immersion Experience: Christmas at the Fort 
A Christmas Eve Pictorial Through Christmas Past (Revisited)  2013
All You Have To Do Is Ask: Having An 1860s Christmas Celebration

Of course, I'm sure I'll have at least another post or three about Christmas before the season ends.
Stay tuned.














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Time and Again - A Reenactor's Story?

I received the book "Time and Again" by Jack Finney from a friend for Christmas this year. I have heard much about this book but had never read it. I guess there was a reason - I am writing my own time-travel story and I didn't want any influence from anywhere or anyone else. But, I suppose all time-travel stories have a connecting link in a way. A good thing is that my story is definitely different from this one, not just the time period but in style and in the plot.
That's a good thing.
However, Mr. Finney truly thought of a unique realm to the time-travel experience. It's here that I am going to infringe on the copyright laws, and present a very interesting concept to the possibility of time-travel from Mr. Finney's book in which I believe many true-spirited reenactors and living historians can possibly relate and learn:

' Presently (Einstein) said that our ideas about time are largely mistaken. And I don't doubt for an instant that he was right once more. Because one of his final contributions not too long before he died was to prove that all of his theories are unified. They're not separate but inter-connected.
He meant that we're mistaken in our conception of what the past, present, and future really are. We think the past is gone, the future hasn't happened, and that only the present exists. Because the present is all we can see. It's only natural. (Einstein) said we're like people in a boat without oars drifting along a winding river. Around us we see only the present. We can't see the past, back in the bends and curves behind us. But, it's there.
You know the year, the day, and the month for literally millions of reasons: because the blanket you woke up under this morning may have been at least partly synthetic; because there is probably a box in your apartment with a switch; turn that switch, and the faces of living human beings will appear on a glass screen in the face of that box and speak nonsense to you. Because red and green lights signaled when you might cross a street on your way here this morning; because teenage children you saw were dressed as they were, because the front page of the Times looked precisely as it did this morning and as it never will again or ever has before.

The main character of the story was then taken to an older part of the city (in this case, New York) and the prospect of time-travel began once again:

You can see yesterday; most of it is left. There's even a good deal (of the 2oth century). There are fragments of still earlier days. Single buildings. Sometimes several together. Those places are fragments still remaining, of days which once lay out there as real as the day lying out there now, still surviving fragments of a clear April morning of 1871, a gray winter afternoon of 1840, a rainy dawn of 1793.

The main character then went to the Dakota Apartment Building, built in the early 1880's, which stands in front of Central Park. The dialogue continues:

The Dakota is unique. Suppose you were to stand at a window of one of the upper apratments and looked down into the park; say at dawn when very often no cars are to be seen. All around you is a building unchanged from the day it was built, including the room you stand in and very possibly even the glass pain you look through.
Picture one of those apratments standing empty for two months in the summer of 1894, as it did. Picture our arranging to sublet that very apartment for those identical months for the coming summer. If Albert Einstein is right - as he is - then hard as it may be to comprehend, the summer of 1894 still exists. That silent empty apartment exists back in that summer precisely as it exists in the summer that is coming. Unaltered and unchanged, identical in each, and existing in each. I believe it may be possible, you understand, for a man to walk out of that unchanged apartment and into that other summer.
(But), the uncountable millions of invisible threads that exist in here would bind him to this (coming) summer, no matter how unaltered the apartment around him. ...It occurred to me that just possibly there is a way to dissolve those threads...'

Pretty interesting stuff, eh? This is exactly how I look at my time during a reenactment. Dissolving those threads that connect me to the present (or future, however you would like to put it) is always at the forefront of my mind while I am at an event, even with the modern patrons about. I can see through these reminders of the 21st century, so-to-speak. I do not ignore them, of course, but I can over-look the fact that the visitors are wearing modern clothing - I am learning to bring my mind to that level. Actually, I have a much harder time with the period-dressed reenactors acting like their 21st century selves rather than their 19th century counterparts.

This is what I believe we all need to work on as living historians. Nothing ruins that moment like seeing the take-off-the-period-clothing-and-put-on-the-sweat-pants crowd after the event is closed for the evening to the general public.
In our camp, instead, my son will pull out the guitar and sing period tunes such as Lorena, Wayfaring Stranger, Goober Peas, or Just Before the Battle Mother (among others), or my other son will whip out the fife and perform Road to Boston or some other classic of the era.

And, as evening turns to night, sitting around the fire can keep you "in the moment." Members in our camp stay in their period clothing throughout, and then some of us - myself included, will put on period nightclothes at bedtime so as to awaken the next morning already "there." My time in the past continues for as long as I let it, or until someone has to, unfortunately, remind me (if you know what I mean).

My family and I eating breakfast at the restored Tillie Pierce House in Gettysburg April 2008. We were in our period clothing the entire time there and stayed at the Tillie Pierce House - now a bed & breakfast.
Note: nothing farby in this image.
Were we really there?

Can you imagine if every participant at an event did their best to practice accurately the authenticity of the early 1860's? Who knows? We might even be able to create a time warp in that alone!!
Happy time-traveling!

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Meet My Ancestors of Victorian England - A Guide to Putting Flesh on the Bones of YOUR Ancestors

“The foul language is due to the fact that from early childhood they have been employed in the fields. It was half articulate, nasal, guttural, made up almost entirely of vowels, like the speech of savages. (Farming) wears them out in body and makes them brutes in soul and in manners. They were shambling, slouching, boorish, degraded creatures, improvident, reckless, and always on the watch for what they could get out of the gentry."

This is a description of my English ancestors - my mother's side of the family. One might think that such a description is an afront to my heritage. Nope. It's fact, and there's nothing I can do about it. (Personally, I think it's pretty cool!).
Of course, the above description is not only of my ancestors, but of the lower class populace of the village in England from which they came, Great Oakley. I find it to be an interesting perspective on the dialect of the English language spoken by the lower class tiny village labourers - it sort of puts flesh on the bones of my long gone 2nd, 3rd, and 4th great grandparents (an elderly relative, who recently passed away, remembers her grandmother - my great great grandmother - from Geddington, near Great Oakley, speaking in a nasally tone).
This information about the type of dialect and style in which my ancestors spoke comes from the book Victorian People by Gillian Avery, a wonderful (and, unfortunately out of print) book about Victorian social history in England.

Another excellent book that I was lucky enough to obtain is one called Geddington As It Was by Monica Rayne. It is a local (to Geddington, Northamptonshire, England) history book and I found it through my genealogist and good friend who happens to reside near that village. In this particular book I found a gold mine of information on this tiny hamlet that my great great grandmother (born in 1858) grew up in. There are wonderful maps and detailed descriptions, by street name in many cases, of the tiny village, as well as the style of clothing, businesses, daily chores, food, lighting, bathrooms, and even the inside of the cottager houses, just like what my ancestors lived in. Like the other book, Geddington As It Was offers information that puts a flesh-on-the-bones description of the agricultural laborers (farmers) such as my ancestors:
"12 hours a day, six days a week, starting 6:00 am or earlier of hard, physical work. What was known as the 'eight hour bell' was rung at four in the morning, at noon, and at 8:00 at night to give the various labourers notice of the hour to begin their day, when to have dinner, and when to go to bed. This out door farm life was physically demanding, but not necessarily equally heavy all year round.”
The authoress goes on to say that, "there was a class barrier within the village, as there was throughout England. By and large, the children from the larger homes” (described as having three or more rooms) “were not encouraged to mix with children from cottages where families were forced to carry on all their activities in small cramped quarters. The residents of the West Street cottages for instance,” the street on which my ancestors lived "were frowned upon by the slightly more affluent occupiers of some of the larger Queen Street or Wood Street homes. (But) in spite of a strict hierarchy - the doffing of caps, addressing superiors as ‘Sir’ or ‘Ma’am,’ and observing the pecking order down to the seating in church - Geddington was a close-nit community, within which the family unit was paramount. They shared a common background which created a strong sense of community feeling."

I write the above not only to share a little about my ancestors (whose surname was Raby), but to show the importance of social history books and, just as important, local history books. Most communities have them readily available, and the cost usually supports the local historical societies.
I have tried to collect the community history books of all of my ancestral home towns, such as:

A History of Great Oakley by Peter Hill

Burial Records of Northamptonshire 1813 to 1973 by the Northampstonshire Record Office

East Gwillumbury in the 19^th Century by Gladys Rolling

Blue Water Reflections: A Pictorial History of Port Huron by Mary C. Burnell and Amy Marcaccio

The Halfway-East Detroit Story by Robert Christenson

(Unfortunately, I have yet to find any sort of local history books from Alcamo, Sicily. Maybe one day...)

The above mentioned books (and others I have not listed) truly gives the researcher a peek into the daily lives of those who have long gone before us - of a lifestyle seemingly archaic by today's standards. Again, putting flesh on the bones of our ancestors.

Then there are those books that can add meat to the flesh and bones: social history books such as Gillian Avery's that I spoke of and quoted at the beginning of this blog. One in particular that I find to be a must for any researcher of the 19th century is Juanita Leisch's An Introduction to Civil War Civilians. Don't let the Civil War moniker fool you - this book, in only 86 pages, gives an excellent overview of the lives, times, and, most importantly, the mindset of mid-19th century Americans.
And there are so many other books, individually covering virtually every detail of lives once lived; books on clothing (including one on period undergarments!), language, death and mourning, occupations, lighting and furniture, homes (and what each room was used for), religion, roads and travel methods...and on and on.

I would also recommend searching out (for usually fairly cheap on eBay) books of Currier and Ives prints. These wonderful collections of the sketches and paintings are a literal pictorial look at every day life of 19th century America. For the 20th century, we have millions of unposed photographs - 19th century photos are rarely unposed. Most show folks in a photographer's studio or of Civil War battle scenes. Currier and Ives are our main link to the everyday *mundane* life IN COLOR - of scenes and people from the 19th century. Yes, they are drawings, but they are as close as we will ever get to seeing that era in its natural state.

"Four Seasons of Life: Middle Age" Currier and Ives print from 1866. Notice the things in this scene not found in the "great paintings" of the rich: average dress, a hall tree, the style of wallpaper, even a Currier & Ives print hanging on the wall...an average middle class family in an average middle class home in the mid-19th century.

For those of us with a passion for understanding the past - and for those of us looking for a method of time travel - books, such as what I have listed above (and more - research!!), are the best way to do so. And, as a reenactor/living historian, they are indispensable for an accurate impression.
However, please do not take every author's opinion as law - there are many writer's books out there, particularly about religion in American history, that try to dispel the truth for their own agendas. Like the pollsters of today, they will take a minority and turn it into a majority.

De-stressing Yourself With Historical Therapy

The following is my own personal therapy session. No charge for my visitors - - - -

Me on a horse at Historic Fort Wayne - Downtown Detroit

I have been to Greenfield Village at least a dozen times so far this year. I also visited the Dearborn Historical Society, which has a few historic buildings from the 19th century.

The 1840's Gardner House at Dearborn Historical Museum

I also went to the Crocker House in Mt. Clemens with their 1869 beautifully furnished Victorian home, and traveled out to Crossroads Village in Flint as well.

My wife and some very good friends at Crossroads Village
(note the wood-plank sidewalks)

This does not include my re-enacting events, which has taken me to a number of other historic villages such as Waterloo, which has a wonderful collection of historic 19th century structures, the Witches Hat Train Depot Museum, and they have a fine collection of turn-of-the-20th century buildings, Charlton Park in Hastings, another super collection of 19th century buildings, and Historic Fort Wayne - an actual fort built before the Civil War. Included in this fort are the officer's houses, a blacksmith shop, and a jail - all over a hundred years old.
And let's not forget my vacation this past April to Gettysburg.

And, to look toward the future (so to speak), within the next six weeks is a reenactment at the 19th century gristmill known as Wolcott Mill, and another living history event in Waterloo (fairly close to Jackson).

A home in the open-air historic village of Waterloo

Plus, I get to hang out at the East Detroit Historical Society 1872 Halfway Schoolhouse virtually any time I want, and, yes, I plan on visiting Greenfield Village at least a half dozen times more before the year is out (it's great to be a member!).
All of this in 2008.
And, to top it all off, my house - my 1944 bungalow - has a Victorian feel once you step through our doors. A Victorian that also includes a computer, digital TV, cell phones, etc.

Another photo shot at Crossroads Village - again, wood-plank sidewalks.
Wouldn't you love to live here?

One would think that, after all of the above that I would tire of historic places. On the contrary, I cannot seem to get enough and the continued visits just make me want to go back again and again. It's a comfort thing, I suppose. Almost therapeutic.
Well, no, it is therapeutic. It gets me away from all of the crap of today.
As I have said before, yes, I live in today's world. I am up on news and politics. I am aware of 21st century lifestyles. I accept and use modern technology.
But we all need that place we can go - real or imagined (or, in my case, a combination of the two) - to de-stress ourselves. Some folks go to bars, others to the casinos, others to a sporting event, and still others love to travel. For me, though, it has to be something historical. And, I have been lucky - nay, BLESSED - to have a family who shares my passion for history. Oh, maybe not quite to the extent that I do, but they enjoy re-enacting as well as visiting and studying historic places, and even dressing up in period clothing on the off-season here and there.
One of the questions I receive is, "Don't you get bored looking at the same thing (buildings) over and over?"
My answer to them is a resounding "NO!"
Every time I visit Greenfield Village, for example, I learn something new. ~Every time.~
Or I catch a glimpse of something I've never seen before.

But, mostly, I just enjoy the atmosphere. Even if I go for an hour just to walk among the old houses and farms, I can feel my stress leave and my muscles loosen, as if I were getting a rub-down from a massage therapist, only quicker and much cheaper.

My daughter and I at the Loranger Gristmill in Greenfield Village

I also have learned to lower my stress level through my writing, whether it's my time travel story, this particular blog, or my Greenfield Village blog (see links below). And, I started another blog for Crossroads Village as well, and hope to begin still another for other historical places in the general area.
It's like it's my own personal therapy session, only my psychiatrist is myself and my medicine is history.
Works for me!
By the way, here are a list of websites of the above-mentioned museums. Just in case you want to check them out.

Greenfield Village http://gfv1929.blogspot.com/
Dearborn Historical Society www.cityofdearborn.org/departments/historicalmuseum/faq.shtml
Crocker House Museum http://www.crockerhousemuseum.com/index.html
Crossroads Village http://crossroadsvillageofflintmichigan.blogspot.com/
Waterloo http://www.waterloofarmmuseum.org/index.html
Witches Hat Train Depot Museum http://www.southlyonmi.org/Attractions/witch.htm
Charlton Park in Hastings http://www.barrycounty.org/parks-and-services/charlton-park/
Historic Fort Wayne http://www.historicfortwaynecoalition.com/
Gettysburg http://passionforthepast.blogspot.com/2008/04/gettysburg.html
Wolcott Mill http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM1YBY
East Detroit Historical Society 1872 Halfway Schoolhouse http://www.macomb.k12.mi.us/EASTDET/FEATURE/SchMo.htm




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Would I, If I Could?

One question I get asked quite frequently is "would you live in the past if you could?"
Hmmm...good question. We can romanticize the past through tales in books or through movies - take the best of the 19th century and tell of that joyous part of life that makes the 19th century look so wonderful. By reading social history books, we can tell how long it took to travel from here to there by horse and carriage, how folks worked together as a family to grow the crops so they had plenty to eat come harvest time, made by hand whatever furniture needed to make life more comfortable, had no worries about paying the electric or cable bill...
We can also hear about the not so good part of Victorian living - sickness, rough daily occupations and working conditions, going to the dentist, mortality rates, pollution...
And, when the period book or movie is done we can 're-enter' the 21st century: cooling off in an air-conditioned car or house, maybe go for a dip in a pool, drive through a local Burger King, throw on a Green Day c d, and relax.
When one compares the past to the present, my guess would be that the greater majority of common folk would choose the present time in which to live.
I used to feel that way as well - and, I still do to a certain extent. But, the more 'time' moves on, the less comfortable I feel living in this day and age, and the greater my wish to be able to travel through time to my favorite era, that, of course, being the mid-19th century, has become.
Even with all of its roughness, I feel the Victorians had 'cornered the market' on dealing with life. They put their lives on the line daily - they accepted everything that came their way - good and bad - and gave glory to God no matter what.
I'm not like that. I try to be, but my mindset is of the 21st...well, OK, the 20th century, and we of this era in human history have become the stressful nation - a nation of want and need of material goods, not acceptance for what we already have; a society of Doubting Thomases instead of a nation of faith; a nation of blatant in-your-face screw-you-if-you-don't-like-it leftists instead of respecting our neighbor and fellow man for a belief in tradition.
In the 19th century - heck, even throughout most of the 20th century - people knew the difference between right and wrong. Today, folks instead will state, "what's wrong for one person might be right for another." They will claim there are no absolutes when it comes to such a "gray" area. That everything is pretty much 'right.'
They will also blame whatever and whoever they can for their own wrong doings (do you here me, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick?).
Disciplining your child for being bad was not considered a crime - yes, it's true, contrary to the revisionist historians (who love to place today's societal ills upon our 19th century counterparts), kids back then were more disciplined and respectful. They knew the difference between right and wrong, good and bad. They knew the importance of having and practicing religious faith in their daily lives; the importance of family; the need for hard work in order to survive. Most did not feel they were owed anything by anybody, especially the government. They persevered through thick and thin and survived.
I guess my original answer to would I go back if I could go back in time was wrong - I am going to have to say "no, I would not."
Why?
Because, being a child of our modern times, I could never measure up to those wonderful survivors of the 19th century.
God Bless Them, and God Help Us.

More on Time Travel (and How to Accomplish It)

My wife and I as we are in 1863

Well, not actual time-travel per se, but as close as you will come to it - - - -

I partake in a form of time travel in a variety of different ways, most notably by re-enacting the Civil War era as a civilian. Re-enacting as a civilian is also known as living history mainly due to the fact that civilians do not normally "re-enact" an actual event, as soldiers do in the battles, but portray everyday life at an earlier time and place.

To do living history correctly, and to get the most out of it for not only yourself but for others around you, "full immersion" is, to me, a must. What's full immersion? This is where everything you see, think, feel, say, eat, &c., is of the period you are portraying.

And, yes, this is nearly impossible to attain, but it can be done.

First off, for me, my clothing must be accurate to a fault, from the wearing of period undergarments to outerwear to my shoes and socks, hat, shirt, collar, and on and on. This has taken quite a bit of research on my part. And I have also subjected myself to being critiqued by nationally known clothing historian Bill Christen. In fact, when I mentioned that I was going to ask Mr. Christen to critique me, I was asked repeatedly “Are you sure you want him to critique you? What if you have to buy a whole new wardrobe?”

My answer? “So be it.”

You understand that the clothing under scrutiny cost me quite a bundle, and any possible mistakes in any part could cause me to lose that much more of my hard-earned cash.

After looking at my garments through and through (and me just having that strong feeling that I ‘flunked’), Bill stepped back and told me that, as far as he was concerned, I was accurate and that he could see I ‘did my homework.’

Yes, after I let out my breath I practically jumped for joy, and my good friend told me that I had guts for even doing something like that.

With that out of the way, it was time to ensure my “esposita” was accurate as well. My wife, God love her, thoroughly enjoys our trips to the past during our re-enactments. Unfortunately, with our weekday work schedules not coinciding with each other, time spent on researching is extremely limited for her. Therefore, I research for her. I now know much more about 19^th century women’s clothing than any man should. But, she, too, is as accurate as any female living in 1863. She even made her own day dress last year from a pattern bought off of Mr. Christen’s wife, Glenna Jo, who is a women’s clothing historian herself. So, my wife now looked the part as well. That is, except for her eyeglasses. Yes, her glasses were pretty “farby” (meaning not period correct) and would remove them upon our walks out of camp or when our photograph was taken. Thankfully, a sutler (one who sells items for re-enacting), Blockade Runner, had the correct eyeglasses for our time. But, knowing that sutlers, being in the retail business, are out to make a buck and will sell many items that are not correct, I emailed numerous folks in the know to get their opinions and was able to order an accurate pair for her. I had found a lens specialist who can put her prescription lenses into the frames, and, once that is done, she will be period correct inside and out.

Let’s not forget our children. My two oldest are no problem, considering they do military and their Civil War uniforms are pretty much laid out for them. But, our two youngest, once again, needed to be researched. Glenna Jo and a member of the Michigan Soldier’s Aid Society helped us out here, and my very talented wife made our two youngest their clothing.

But, what good is accurate 19^th century period clothing if you are still going to act as if you are living in the 21^st century? Nothing will take away from your authentic persona more than the very contemporary earrings (especially if they are located at the top of your ear), or an unsightly nose ring that, as far as I know, no woman ever wore during the era of which you are supposed to be representing. At least, no respectable woman. (I do know of one who wears a nose ring but, to be honest, it is so small that, if it’s noticed at all one would think it was a freckle).

Nail polish, lipstick, a wristwatch, cell phones, bottled water – ahem…PLASTIC bottled water - anything plastic (barrettes, toys for kids, &c.), - them stupid “phone buddies” that the robotic humans keep in their ears…the list goes on and on.

In fact, if it’s not wood, bone, or glass, you probably should not have it. Well, OK, certain metals are acceptable.

Conversations - - - - nothing can ruin a moment worse than hearing folks supposedly from the 19^th century speaking about the latest DVD they copied onto their computer. Yes, I know we live in the 21^st century but, while you are taking part in a Civil War era re-enactment / living history event, you are from the mid 19^th century – please act like it. Save the modern political conversations for the tear down or a get-together on an off weekend. I will admit, I have been guilty of doing this myself (I picked up a period guitar and began playing the riff to "Locomotive Breath" by Jethro Tull while there were patrons about. I have since beat myself over and over for that - it will not happen again).

Reading journals, diaries, and replica newspapers of the period are three of the four best ways to not only understand the time of which you are attempting to "travel" to, but to learn how the people of the period spoke - their language was a bit different than our own. Certain words were rarely - if ever - said. For instance, "hello" was not the greeting as we know it to be today. And "excitement" had a different meaning as well. These are just two examples of very common words used frequently in the 21st century, but would not work as we know them to be in the 19th century (if that makes sense). There are a great many books of the journals and diaries available, especially on Amazon.com. To me, these are a must.

The fourth way to give a very accurate impression and feel and seem (to others) that you are from the mid 19th century is to read history books so you have an awareness of what was contemporary to the people of that time. Learn what inventions were not invented yet and do not speak of them (the electric light or phonograph for instance). Know what important events took place within the previous ten years of the Civil War. Here in the 21st century, we can speak of 9 11, of the election fiasco, of the poor economy. As a 19th century person, you should be able to do the same of that era, especially if you are a male (sorry, but most - not all, mind you - women did not bother with that sort of thing - they were too busy running a house and family to give a hoot).

Given the fact that time travel is not (and probably never will be) something that can ever happen, participating in living history and re-enacting is the only (and best) way to "physically" travel into the past (unless you can afford to move into a period house, farm the land, have a horse and carriage...um...become Amish, in other words). But, if you truly want to feel that you are in another era, that you have time traveled, so to speak, then you need to be with folks that have the same passion for the past that you yourself have so the feeling comes..

Time Travel Thoughts

Just a quick thought that kind of harkens back to my very first post a few months back where I speak a bit on time travel.
I have had many discussions on the possibilities of a human traveling back in time. I personally don't believe that could ever happen, at least not in the way that we know it. By that I mean, for a person of the 21st century to literally travel back, say, to the colonial times where he could partake in associating with the folks of the era would/could never happen. As the well-worn scenario goes: if one meets up with one's own grandfather as a child and murders said grandfather as a child, how can he be born to go back in time to murder his grandfather?
But, can a "time-traveler," instead of physically going back in time and perhaps changing an event, go back and witness an event 'as it happened?' In other words, if I were to travel back to the time of, say, the Civil War, maybe I would be able to watch the Battle of Shilo as it actually occurred but yet not be able to take part in it, for fear of changing history.
Or am I going off the deep end here?

Passion for the Past Pt. 2

During the off season of reenacting (November through April) I go through "time travel withdrawals," so I have to come up with ideas to carry me through those rough, cold months of Michigan winters.
Actually, December isn't really too bad. I spend my weekends up in Holly dressed as a Dickensian character at the annual Holly Dickens Festival (it's nowhere near authentic as in CW, but we give a fun impression). This year one of my portrayals will be Mr. Charles Dickens himself!
Another way to keep me from pulling what's left of my hair out is to write. Last year I began to write a story for the first time since I was in high school (too many years ago!) - it's a time travel story and it involves my family and I. Without getting too deep into the story line, I will say that I am making the attempt to write it as if it actually happened. This forces me to research, very deeply, every little part of life as lived in the 1860's. By doing this, I have found that my social history knowledge has grown immensely! I have been having loads of fun writing this little tale, trying to show me and my family's reactions to this major change in our lives. No, I don't become a CW hero or anything like that - the story just shows how we attempt to adjust to a very antiquated lifestyle, with attempt being the key word. As much as I love history, you see, in my story I/we have a very rough time with day-to-day activities, especially my wife.
I have consulted many "schooled" historians to get their thoughts and opinions of accuracy in my story, lest one day I let it go beyond the extremely few eyes that had ever seen it.

History, Genes, Reenacting, and Time Travel

Why is it that the past enthralls me so much? I have asked myself that question many times but I have no absolute answers. I don't believe in reincarnation, but I do believe in the passing of genes. Of course, we know that genes are passed on from parent to child. What I mean is, (correct me if I'm wrong) it's genes that make us act like, look, even sound the way we do, right? "You have your great grandfather's talent for carpentry," "you sing just like grandma," or "I can't believe how close you resemble your grandfather when he was your age." We've all heard something similar, right? Then why can't genes be passed on that enable us to have the same feeling as our ancestors? I mean, if my great great grandfather truly embraced life and his era, then can that passion be so strong that it can be passed down? Can memories (or snippets of memories) be passed down as well? Or am I nuts?
I belong to a Civil War reenacting unit where I portray a civilian postmaster. I wear not only accurate clothing of the era, but I also study the speech and etiquette as well, as does my wife. And we both find ourselves enjoying stepping into the lives of our ancestors very much, and do it as often as possible. We found that the more research we do for our 19th century persona, the more we find that we identify with that era in so many ways. It's almost scary. It's very much a kind of time travel, at least in the way we make the attempt. When in our period clothing, we try to fully immerse ourselves in our portrayal. And every so often, you get that certain magical split second where you really are "there...
This subject will be continued...