A Photographic Journey Through Christmas Past 2014

Nothing too serious here...just a few of the many pictures taken (so far) during the 2014 Christmas season. Between performing with my period vocal group, Simply Dickens, and visiting Greenfield Village during Holiday Nights, I have plenty of photos that depict Christmas past.
Then there were the living history excursions earlier in the month (click HERE, HERE, and HERE) that began my Christmas past travels.

I suppose for you to understand how this whole time-travel thing works for me, we'll have to paraphrase my favorite author, Charles Dickens, from my favorite book "A Christmas Carol:"
"Are you the Spirit, sir, whose coming was foretold to me?" asked Ken.

"I am." 

"Who, and what are you?" Ken demanded. 
"I am the Ghost of Christmas Past." 
"Long Past?" inquired Ken: observant of its dwarfish stature. 
"America’s past."            

As the words were spoken, they passed through the wall, and stood upon an open country road, with fields on either hand.   
The 21^st century had entirely vanished. Not a vestige of it was to be seen. The computers & televisions, cell phones  & iphones, and automobiles & jet planes had vanished with it, for it was a clear, cold, winter day, with snow upon the ground.

The past and present intermix as the time/space continuum transpires...

"Good Heaven!" said Ken, clasping his hands together, as he looked about him. "This could be Greenfield Village or Historic Fort Wayne! I was practically bred in this place."
The Spirit gazed upon him mildly. Its gentle touch, though it had been light and instantaneous, appeared still present to Ken’s sense of feeling. He was conscious of a thousand odors floating in the air, each one connected with a thousand thoughts, and hopes, and joys, and cares of long, long, ago.
"Your lip is trembling," said the Ghost. "And what is that upon your cheek?"
Ken, with an unusual catching in his voice, that it was a pimple; and begged the Ghost to lead him where he would.
"Are you prepared?" inquired the Spirit.
"Prepared!" cried Ken with fervor -- "This is my dream come true! I’ve researched history my entire life, and to now be immersed in the past - I must be in heaven, man!"
They walked along the road, Ken recognizing the social history he loved so much…every vestige; until a little market-town appeared in the distance, with its bridge, its church, and winding river. Some shaggy ponies now were seen trotting towards them with boys upon their backs, who called to other boys in country gigs and carts, driven by farmers. All these boys were in great spirits, and shouted to each other, until the broad fields were so full of merry music, that the crisp air laughed to hear it.
"These are but shadows of the things that have been," said the Ghost. "They have no consciousness of us."

Yes...this is kinda how I feel during nearly every reenactment I participate in. But it's at Christmas time that a certain special kind of magic overcomes me as well as the other living historians who enjoy bringing the times past back to life, for it is at this festive season when, except for the Scrooges of our society who feel that Christmas truly is nothing but a humbug, folks seem to smile a bit more often, will greet folks with a jolly "Merry Christmas!" and tend to open their hearts a little wider.
Or is this one of my little fantasies or psychological mind travels away from the realities of modern society? 
Well, if you think of me in this manner then I suggest you "come in and know me better, man!"
For I try to be upbeat and look to the brighter side of life year 'round, though even more so at Christmas.
Why more so at Christmas?
Because I have found that I can actually happily greet folks and they will, in return, usually respond in the same manner without thinking it's weird or strange.
This doesn't generally happen nearly as often at other times of the year, however.
Plus, just the whole festive feel of it all...the most wonderful time of the year is right!
So let's take another journey through Christmas past - what follows are pictures of Christmas 2014: the middle weeks, taken at various locations throughout this season, though mainly at Greenfield Village.
(I will be doing a post on colonial Christmas celebrations next week - stay tuned!)

Not the Village green, but the greens of Greenfield Village! You can purchase all sorts of real Christmas greenery during the Holiday Nights event.

Here is another photo of the greens being sold. I liked the look of the merchant standing in the lean-to.

Roast beef roasting o'er an open fire...chestnuts nipping at your nose...

Tom keeps the fire plenty hot for folks wanting to warm their nose and toes.

My wife participating in the Soldiers Aid Society presentation at the Smiths Creek Depot. This is her third year (maybe fourth) doing this and she really enjoys it quite a bit. I could see her as a permanent presenter at the Village - yes, she's that good!

The Eagle Tavern is my very favorite restaurant. Not only is the food period correct (as much as the modern rules will allow), but the atmosphere cannot be beat!

Toward the end of the evening, many of the participants line up, lanterns in hand, and, as a drum beats, a fife plays, and bells toll, they will walk across the Village green from the church to the Town Hall where a Christmas carol sing-a-long and a fireworks display will take place.

My wife (on the right) and her partner in crime, Lorna, work very well together as part of the Ladies Aid Society. On this night they were asked to be a part of the Village Green procession, which they gladly accepted.

21st Michigan and Simply Dickens member, Beckie, contemplates on whether she should cross the green or not. The mummer next to her may be able to convince her where others may not.

The lantern, the tavern, and thou.

At Town Hall, the singing commences! See the mummers? Yeah, watch out for them, for they are quite a group of merry pranksters!

Here's my group - Simply Dickens - performing at Greenfield Village near the craft store. We so enjoy being a part of Holiday Nights; the visitors are usually very much into Christmas and quite a crowd will gather 'round to hear our music. We like to think we give them a good bang for their buck by singing the old world Christmas Carols one does not hear too often such as The Gloucestershire Wassail and The Boar's Head Carol, among many others.

There's a story behind this next picture:

Beckie and I with her new lantern.

I’ve been slowly trying to collect a series of water-color prints of four different structures located inside Greenfield Village. I received my first one last year for Christmas (of the Daggett Farm) and had been searching for the print of Firestone Farm. I put the word out on my Friends of Greenfield Village Facebook page, and a very kind person, who just so happened to be a volunteer there, had an extra copy in her collection. When I asked for a price, she stated that rather than give her money for it she would like me to, instead, purchase a lantern from the Village store to give to our mutual friend Rebecca.
I can do that!
Rebecca is not only one of the awesome vocalists in Simply Dickens, but she is also a member of the civilian contingency of the 21st Michigan Civil War reenactors.

Beckie had no idea of this lantern plan, so when she offered to walk with me to one of the shops on Main Street, I tricked her into picking out her own lantern by asking her to give an opinion of which lantern looked the best. (heh heh...pretty good, eh?)
The look on her face when I gave it to her after the purchase was priceless - - - she had a look of "Really? I'm confused? Really? Why? I'm confused!"
As this whole set up was devised in secret, that's where it shall stay, and poor Beckie still has not figured out who the perpetrator of the original idea was.
Yeah...Christmas certainly is a grand time!

Speaking of having a grand time, Simply Dickens was contracted to perform at a Christmas Tea for the Louisa St. Clair Chapter NSDAR (Daughters of the American Revolution). This took place at the beautiful circa 1910 Grosse Pointe War Memorial located in upscale Grosse Pointe, Michigan.

As other members of our group was still getting ready for our performance, I took the opportunity to pose Beckie and Diana in the beautiful room we were in. Here Beckie is standing by herself, looking lonely. Come on out, Diana!

"Okay girls, act natural. Act like two Victorian ladies having a conversation. Good...okay...yep - got it! Thanks!"

"Let me fix the ribbon on your bonnet, Diana! Sheez! You'd think for an art teacher you could tie a proper bow!"

Sometimes ideas for pictures happen just by looking UP! That's how this picture came about.

The men of Simply Dickens; the Dickens you say! Me, my son, and TC (far right).

See the young lady on the left? That's my daughter-in-law. See the young lady on the right? Another good friend! Both have beautiful voices - Simply Dickens is one awesome group to have all the great vocalists it does!

And here we have my home. Actually, a room in my home. The fire in the fireplace is not real. I mean, it's real, but not really here - it's actually taken from a photo I took of the fireplace at Firestone farm. One can work wonders with Paint Shop Pro. Also, the fruit on the fireplace is not period correct. Folks from the past would not have wasted fruit as decorations. They'd have eaten it. Fruit was pretty hard to come by here in the north in December. But the cricket on the hearth is not only period correct (according to Charles Dickens), but is really there! Except it's not real. But I love it just the same!

Something else that's not real: Ken in modern clothing. W-e-l-l...the expression on my grandson's face as he gazes in awe at his first-ever look at a lit-up Christmas Tree should overshadow any deformity in my attire.

Having my grandbaby Benjamin around is certainly a treasure for us. Sometimes I have to do a double take to realize that I'm holding my GRANDson!
You know what this means, right? Yep - I am hoping to take him with me on a warm day next spring to visit Greenfield Village. I also have my mind set on having him participate in his first reenactment over Memorial Weekend, again at Greenfield Village.
Life goes on. When I hold Benjamin I feel like I am holding the future of the past in my arms.
At least, I hope so.
Merry Christmas.
(Remember - stay tuned! A bit of colonial Christmas history coming up next!)

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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History in the News: Paul Revere Time Capsule Unearthed

 I found this to be so cool! I can't wait to see the contents once its opened.

Paul Revere's 1795 time capsule unearthed

By Kevin Conlon, CNN

updated 8:45 PM EST, Fri December 12, 2014

CNN-- Paul Revere hasn't stirred up this much anticipation in Boston since his midnight ride from Charlestown to Lexington.

More than two centuries later, a recently unearthed time capsule he buried with fellow revolutionary Samuel Adams -- the man whom Revere was riding to see that night to warn that the British were coming -- has got his former city, state and most of the Internet abuzz.

The artifact was unearthed Thursday thanks to a water leak near its resting place inside a cornerstone at the Massachusetts State House in Boston.

When workers investigating the leak stumbled upon it, Secretary of State William Galvin, who heads the state historical commission, called Pamela Hatchfield, the head of object conservation at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.

"There was a big discussion about whether or not it should be removed," Hatchfield told Brooke Baldwin on "CNN Newsroom" on Friday. "(But) because there was water infiltration in that area of the building, it was decided that we'd try to see if we could find it, investigate and see whether the box was still intact."

Hatchfield spent seven hours Thursday delicately and painstakingly chipping away at the stone to extricate it.

"The contents are of concern, but the plaster that held the box in place is in good condition," Galvin said.

According to Galvin, the box-shaped capsule was placed by the Revolutionary-era duo in 1795, a year when Adams was governor and when construction began on the State House and its iconic dome, which would eventually be overlaid with copper by Revere.

Both he and Hatchfield said that based on historical records, the box is believed to contain coins, a plate and a Revere-inscribed plaque -- but no one knows for sure.

"It may contain other stuff, too," said Galvin. "We don't know that yet."

But we might soon: Galvin, whose office is inside the State House, said the capsule's contents are expected to be revealed sometime next week.

For now, it's getting some TLC and a thorough exam -- including X-rays over the weekend -- by the museum's staff.

This is not the first time this capsule was unearthed. In 1855 it was dug up during emergency repairs to the State House and put back in place, something that has Hatchfield "a little worried."

"We're a little worried because in 1855, they cleaned the contents with acid," she said. "So we're a little concerned that things maybe deteriorated inside."

Galvin sounded more optimistic.

"There were some coins that were tossed in the 1855 ceremony in the mix of the mortar. They are in good condition, so we are optimistic that the box itself has withstood the test of time and that it will therefore be holding the contents securely," he said.

Galvin told CNN affiliate WBZ the capsule will probably be returned to the State House, and that he's mulling both a new container for the capsule and new items from the current era.

 ~From January 6, 2015:

Time capsule dating to 1795 included coins, newspapers

By STEVE LeBLANC

Associated Press | 01.06.15 | 2:12 AM

BOSTON (AP) — Early residents of Boston valued a robust press as much as their history and currency if the contents of a time capsule dating back to the years just after the Revolutionary War are any guide.

When conservators at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston gingerly removed items from the box Tuesday, they found five tightly folded newspapers, a medal depicting George Washington, a silver plaque, two dozen coins, including one dating to 1655, and the seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

While some of the coins appeared corroded, other items were in good condition and fingerprints could be seen on the silver plaque.

The capsule was embedded in a cornerstone of the Massachusetts Statehouse when construction began in 1795. It was placed there by Revolutionary era luminaries including Paul Revere and Samuel Adams, governor of Massachusetts at the time.

The contents were shifted to what was believed to be a copper box in 1855 and placed back into the foundation of Statehouse. The box remained there until it was rediscovered last year during an ongoing water filtration project at the building. The box was actually brass, according to conservators.

The oldest coin in the box was a 1652 ‘‘Pine Tree Schilling,’’ made at a time when the colony didn’t have royal authority to create its own currency. Pine trees were a valuable commodity at the time. The trees were used as ship masts. And at the bottom, an inscribed rectangular silver plate, "probably made by Paul Revere and engraved by him," Rogers said. 

Experts say they haven't been able to confirm whether Paul Revere made the silver plate, which commemorates the placement of the legislature's cornerstone by Adams and Revere on July 4, 1795.

Michael Comeau, executive director of the Massachusetts Archives and Commonwealth Museum, said he has seen the coins offered for as much at $75,000, although given the context of this particular coin and the association with Paul Revere and Samuel Adams, the value would likely be much higher.
The newspapers were folded in such a way that the names of the publications weren’t always visible, but one might have been a copy of the Boston Evening Traveller — a newspaper operation that was eventually absorbed into the current Boston Herald.

A portion of one of the papers that was visible showed a listing of the arrivals of whalers from various ports to Boston. Conservators didn’t try to unfold the papers.

Pam Hatchfield, the head of objects conservation for the museum, removed each item using a slew of tools including her grandfather’s dental tool. Hatchfield said the paper in the box was in ‘‘amazingly good condition.’’

Massachusetts state Secretary William Galvin said he expects the items will be on display at the museum for a period of time, but that eventually they will again be returned to the foundation to be discovered by a future generation of Bay State residents. 

Officials are considering adding something contemporary for future generations to discover. 

Galvin said he didn’t know if modern items might be added to the foundation.

Comeau said the objects in the box are a bridge back in time.

‘‘This is the stuff of history,’’ he said.

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Speaking of history, read my blog post about Paul Revere HERE

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