According to THIS page: "So far, what we can say with confidence is that travelling into the future is achievable, but travelling into the past is either wildly difficult or absolutely impossible."
HA!---They haven't met me...
==+==
In theory, it is possible for space-time to be folded like a piece of paper, allowing a tunnel to be punched through.
The day before I traveled to the Colonial Frankenmuth event, I was in 1864 at the Charlton Park Civil War reenactment (click HERE).
And then at Frankenmuth I was bouncing back & forth between two major 18th century American wars that are actually connected - the French & Indian War/Seven Years' War (1750s and early 1760s) and the Revolutionary War 1770s and early 1780s).
How are these two wars connected? "The French and Indian War began in 1754 and ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The war provided Great Britain enormous territorial gains in North America, but disputes over subsequent frontier policy and paying the war's expenses led to colonial discontent, and ultimately to the American Revolution."
So Frankenmuth shows a little of both wars. It's the history lesson that counts here.
And there certainly were plenty of visitors in this tourist town of Frankenmuth, Michigan.
Unfortunately, I was having some trouble with my camera settings, and I had taken many photos that really hadn't turned out as I would have liked - not nearly as good as they normally turn out.
But fortunately, I discovered the problem before it was too, too late.
Unfortunately, a number of pictures were throw-a-ways.
Fortunately, many were able to be salvaged...some to a pretty fair extent, and others to a lesser degree.
Live and learn, right?
So here's the good and bad of it:
The day begins with a parade of soldiers and civilians.
They march to a sort of Village Green.
Terry Todish gives a historical lesson speech.
And then the troops and civilians march off to their respective camps.
As you can see, the setting was on "bleach mode" (lol). I didn't notice it initially, but I changed it once I realized. Here we have Loyalist Dr. Tripp.
Behind every good man...or, in this case, Mann... Yes, here is Scott Mann being prepared for battle.
A true horseless carriage! We were a-waiting the wagon master to hitch 'em up. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Guns from the 17th and 18th centuries on display.
Matchlock A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of flammable cord or twine that is in contact with the gunpowder through a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or trigger with their finger.
The problem with this type of musket was that it was highly unreliable and inaccurate – the gun might fail to fire, or even blow up, and even if it did fire the lack of rifling and the irregular shape of the musketball would mean hitting a specific target at a long range was very difficult.
The flintlock was first developed in the late 1600s, but the transition from matchlock to flintlock in European armies was gradual and uncertain. Matchlocks were still the primary weapon for foot soldiers in European armies until around 1720 because they were simple, inexpensive, and easy to find. However, the Dutch were the first major power to adopt the flintlock as their standard infantry weapon, issuing snaphances in the 1620s and flintlocks by 1640. The 17th century, even into the early 18th century, is probably the best time to consider the transition from matchlock to flintlock, at least in Europe.
Charlotte loved the flowers.
Here we have the camp of the 1st Pennsylvania
The 60th Royal Americans
Not feeling energetic? A bit of bloodletting from Tom Bertrand should help!
It was a good-sized encampment, and included Voyageurs...
...and even a few Natives... I do wish more Natives would come out, for there are stories to be told.
I see corn roasting, and carrots, cucumbers, broccoli...
My friends, Bob Stark and his daughter, Abby. This is at their sutlery, The Salty Lantern. Bob is a maker of pretty much anything wooden, including rope beds.
Looking at "The Salty Lantern" sutlery from the back.
Now, time for the battle reenactment:
As far as historical reenactment history, I searched Google, but typical for them, they tended to push sites that wanted to sell things, so I went to the Duck Duck Go search engine - mighty better! This is what I learned:
Historical reenactments have been a part of human culture for centuries. Some examples of reenactments throughout history include:
~Roman Empire
Romans would recreate famous battles in their amphitheaters as public spectacles.
~Middle Ages
Tournaments would often reenact historical themes from Ancient Rome and other periods.
~17th century England
Military displays, mock battles, and reenactments became popular, with the first known reenactment taking place in London in 1638.
So when the Revolution began to be commemorated a century later, sometimes ‘sham battles’ - or pageants - were also held. Wildly popular in the early 1900s, they were planned more for dramatic effect than accuracy.
Today it is a different display altogether. Much time, effort, and money is invested for period-accurate clothing and accoutrements by most who participate:
All those many years ago, before I was reenacting, I recall the thrill of hearing the muskets and rifles going off, and seeing the smoke. To me, even back then, it was akin to "hearing the past." It's the same for me today. It was a time when I thought the only reenacting was military. I am happy to say I was one of the earlier male civilian reenactors. Civilians back then were mostly females, at least in the Civil War world. Though there were a few male civilians, we were definitely a minority.
In September, 1778, the Continental Army was camped near Fredericksburg, NY. Lieutenant Colonel Henry Dearborn of the 1st New Hampshire wrote, “Our men had a Gill of Rum Extra to Day on account of its being the annivercery of the Glorious victory Obtained over the British army at bemus Heights- & the Officers in General had a Meeting at Evning had a social Drink & gave several toasts suitable for the Occasion- & our men had a Grand sham fight.” This, was, perhaps, the first battle re-enactment in American history. Unfortunately there are no details of this ‘sham fight.’
I enjoy seeing the variety of military uniforms at the Frankenmuth event. For years we were taught it was the Redcoats versus the Bluecoats, but because of these "general battle" reenactments, visitors can see history class got it wrong. There was much more to it.
That being said, you may ask why, then, at my Patriot's Day reenactment - the Battle of Lexington & Concord - do I only have Redcoats and Militia?
Because I am doing my best to depict a specific battle - an actual historical event is being pinpointed rather than an overview. Both types are important in teaching the general public history, contrary to what some may say.
In case you are not a reenactor and were wondering, yes, reenactors do use real guns, but they fire blank cartridges.
During the second Morristown encampment in New Jersey an even larger re-enactment was held by the army on May 29, 1780. There seems to have been nothing else like it, either before or since, during the conflict. Several participant’s accounts give good details, and unlike in many (actual) battle accounts, they all agree! Lieutenant Colonel Josiah Harmar of Pennsylvania wrote of this dusty and hot day, “Several Manouvers perform’d this day in presence of the Honble Comitte of Congress, the firings with black (blank) cartridges well executed.”
Private Joseph Plumb Martin of the 8th Connecticut wrote, “About this time there were about 3,000 men ordered out for a particular field day, for the Prussian Gen Von Steuben to exercise his maneuvering … We marched off our regimental parades at dawn of day, and went 3 or 4 miles to Morristown, to a fine plain, where we performed a variety of military evolutions. We were furnished with a plenty of blank cartridges, had 8 or 10 field pieces, and made a great noise, if nothing more. About 1 or 2 o’clock we ceased, and were supplied with a gill of rum each. Having had nothing to eat since the night before, the liquor took violent hold . . .”
So what we do in our reenactments is as old as the battles themselves, in some cases.
And what great teaching opportunities!
Dr. Trippe helps a wounded soldier. The addition of doctors only ups the game.
In 1802 a sham battle was fought at Bennington, Vermont to commemorate the American victory of 1777. What makes this and other early battle re-enactments noteworthy is that Revolutionary War veterans, revered and celebrated as living connections to the conflict, actually would have been on hand, much in the same manner as WWII soldiers are today available to those who reenact them.
Today the journals and diaries and letters of those who lived during the various wars, as well as the pamphlets used by military leaders in those old days showing the tactics of the soldiers at the time, are used to help guide both soldier and civilian.
Keeping the tradition alive~
The reenacting hobby grew in popularity during the Civil War Centennial of the 1960s and Revolutionary War Bicentennial of the 1970s. Living history, or re-enactment, became integral parts of the commemorations and have only grown since then, though after a brief respite during the Covid years of 2020/2021, and now continue to grow larger each year, and being major aspects of many historic sites.
The Colonial Frankenmuth event draws a pretty decent amount of reenactors from both the French & Indian War and the American Revolutionary War. And their battles, even though just depicting a general overview of battles, are well done and truly give the visitors a well-rounded view of 18th century war-time America.
Now, there's not nearly the amount of soldiers as there were in actual battles, yet look at all the smoke. I can only imagine thousands of men, all firing at the same time.
I counted 21 muskets here, all firing at the same time. And what a BANG they made! And look at all the smoke~
"The Revolution and the beliefs and ideals that came out of it are what hold us together and make us a united people. There is no American ethnicity so the Revolutionary beliefs in liberty and equality and constitutionalism are the adhesives that make us a nation."
Gordon S. Wood
At the top of this post I wrote how The Treaty of Paris ended the French & Indian War in 1763. Well, if you know your history, you should also know that twenty years later, the Treaty of Paris of 1783 ended the American Revolution between the United States and Great Britain.
Whether you are a historical novice or one who deeply engulfs it, I do hope you enjoyed this blog post, for it does represent this wonderful reenactment and the people who participated in it, and many thanks must go to the hosts: may Colonial Frankenmuth and all of our events continue to shine as we head into America's 250th!
Won't you become a part of the celebration?
Here we have Yours truly~ Until next time, see you in time.
you and your friends went outside to play together for the last time
and nobody knew it.”
But time marches on...and friendships are a whole lot different now - - -
As Clint Eastwood said, and Country singer Toby Keith sang, "The old man's knocking - don't let him in."
Even with degenerative discs in my lower back and sciatica in both legs, I'm living by these words. I'm far too immature to allow an old man to take over and age me. And I'm far too much a historian - a living historian - to pass up time-travel opportunities. And I do thank God for putting people in my life who either don't mind (my wife) or will join me (again, my wife plus my amazing friends Larissa, Charlotte, Jackie, and Norm). Even if we're not perfect.
None of us are letting the old man - or old woman for my female friends - in.
~*~
We're ba-ack!
I do a lot of reenacting throughout the year, even during the heat of summer or when the bitter cold of winter strikes. And I have to say, out of all the times I spend in period clothing, my most favorite of these times spent in the past are when we utilize the Waterloo cabin as our 18th century frontier "home," where we do cooking, gardening, and other period chores, and live the day as if it were 250 years earlier.
And we do this in all four season of the year, no matter the weather.
So that's where we were July 27th - right smack-dab in the middle of summer!
Living history doesn't end for me.
In fact, the weekend previous I did Charlton Park's Civil War event on Saturday and Frankenmuth's colonial event on Sunday.
And here I am---a week later, at the frontier cabin living as if it were summertime 1774, including celebrating the summer holiday of Lammas Day:
You see, August begins with Lammas Day (or Loaf Mass Day), August 1st, the day when a bread loaf baked with flour from July-harvested wheat or corn would be brought into the church and blessed. It's one of the oldest points of contact between the agricultural world and the Church.
Our loaves to be blessed for Lammas Day.
Many colonial farmers celebrated the holiday (or holyday, as these special days of celebration or worshiping were called) on August 1st, which marked the first major harvest of the beginning fall season. Yes, it's still summertime - we're not rushing anything - but, in fact, oftentimes the words "fall" and "autumn" could be replaced with "harvest." At least, back in the old days.
Even though it is still technically summer, August was once considered the first month of harvest time. As such, Lammas Day was a sort of Thanksgiving, and so it remained for many colonial families not only here in America, but in many parts of the world, especially the British Isles.
Our summer harvest Thanksgiving meal.
And vegetables from our kitchen garden!
On a colonial-era Lammas Day, it was customary for the head of the household to bring to church, for a blessing, the first loaf of bread made from the new crop. We did not have a period church near us, so we invited the pastor into our home to carry out the blessing.
Pastor Gerring performs a Lammas Day prayer and ritual of the colonial times. In fact, to hear his Lammas Day prayer, please click the You Tube link below: Religion is so very down played in many living history events and organizations. I've seen it here n there, but not nearly as often as it should be, especially in historic museums.
Religion in Colonial America was dominated by Christianity, although Judaism was practiced in small communities after 1654. Christian denominations included Anglicans, Baptists, Catholics, Congregationalists, German Pietists, Lutherans, Methodists, and Quakers, among others. Whether one wants to agree or not, it is true that religion was fully integrated into the lives of the colonists and completely informed their world view.
The New England Colonies had been founded by separatists – Anglicans who advocated separation from the Anglican Church, and Puritans - those who sought to purify Anglicanism of Catholic influences and practices – while the Middle and Southern Colonies were founded by Anglicans, Quakers, or in the case of Maryland, Catholics and non-conformist Protestants.
Lammastide - August 1st - fell at the halfway point between the summer solstice and the autumn September equinox. Bread loaf/loaves were then used as the center of the family’s Lammas Thanksgiving feast.
And this is what we also did for our Lammas Day meal.
We did our best to replicate this tradition, though 'twas not actually on Lammas Day - - our celebration was held on Saturday July 27 - five days before - the best day for our gathering.
Close enough, I would say.
It's too bad museums have forgone religion in presentations.
We proudly keep it alive.
We arrived at the cabin in the early part of the day. You see, this cabin where we do all of the wonderful colonial living is at least an hour and a half freeway driving from mine & Patty's house, and a little less from Charlotte's house and from Norm's house, so it is a bit of a journey to travel from our suburban city life to the country past.
Like traveling through time...
Arriving is a magical feeling, especially on a soft summer morning, where the air is still cool, the humidity is low, and the surrounding trees give cooling shade.
A summer morning at the cabin - heading out to the kitchen garden.
For this first part of the day - the coolest part - we spent our time doing the work before the afternoon heat set in. The ladies were out in the kitchen garden weeding and harvesting and doing general care.
Patty was pulling weeds. She absolutely loves gardening, so she is in her glory here. We so very much appreciate Waterloo for allowing us to experience our research!
The beans were growing like gangbusters
This was only the beginning...
Green beans on the trellis
As my mind is in constant wonder, I had to find out what salads were called in the 18th century - or were they simply called "salad"?
In the 18th century sallad (spelled in the British manner) referred to a mixture of greens and herbs, possibly radishes, dressed with vinegar and oil and perhaps a raw egg. It could also mean chopped cabbage, known in the early 19th century as “cold” slaw.
In the 18th century, salads took on many different forms. Of course, they had their cabbages and their lettuces. In fact, today we know this as Romain lettuce, in the 18th century it was just Roman lettuce.
Salmagundi was a popular dish in 17th and 18th century America, although it has its origins as far back as the 1500s. In 18th century America, salads were often called salmagundi, which were composed salads that could include many ingredients and were eaten like a meal. Salmagundi recipes varied by time and place, but typically included greens, fresh vegetables, roasted meat, and something pickled. Ingredients could also include fruits, nuts, edible flowers, and cheeses, and the dressing was usually oil and vinegar based. In high-end homes, salmagundi was sometimes made from leftovers from the previous night's dinner.
Here are some more of our green beans
Green beans, pumpkins, and beets - all doing well!
Charlotte making sure her plants for salad were doing well.
Pastor Gerring is not as strict as he looks here! lol He blessed our crop during spring planting on Rogation Sunday and God saw it fit to bless us with a bountiful harvest.
Patty called me out to the kitchen garden see how well the pumpkins we planted in May were doing - she knew I would be most excited about seeing how they are coming along~
Checking out my pumpkin patch~
I was ecstatic to see that, so far, we counted about a half-dozen pumpkins! I certainly hope they last on the vine until at least October 6 so we can show the visitors who come out for Pioneer Day!
Whoa! Check this one out!
I am so pleased, for I have been wanting to plant a small pumpkin patch, and this past spring, I did---from seed! The fruits (gourds) of my labor are coming forth. As mentioned earlier, I do hope they can remain on the vine until we are there on October 6 - Pioneer Day. (Click HERE for our spring sewing - in fact, here are two pictures from this past May of our planting):
May 2024 - planting the seeds for our pumpkin patch~ What a difference from then til now, eh? Only a couple of months~
A classic vignette (without even trying!) of colonial cabin life~
A gathering of friends.
We do our best to refrain from modern "hot topic" talk, for we do come here to get away from such topics as best as we can, though it does tend to find its way into a conversation here and there, almost without thinking. But once it does, I try to kick it out and get back to where we once belong (lol). Mind, I don't mean we speak in 1st person - that would take far more time and practice to do correctly and not sound "Hollywood." I mean, we may throw in a period word or phrase here and there, but to make the attempt to carry on in such a manner all the day long is beyond what we actually care to do. 18th century English is like learning a second language. So, we keep our time there focused on daily life-researched based, and that works just fine.
I completely understand how such modern political discussions can so easily occur, and we all do it, for it seems like that is all anyone talks about anymore in 2024. It's blasted at us 24/7. It can be difficult to stop cold turkey, but we all do our best to conform to a more 18th century subject matter for our time here.
Leave the 21st century where it belongs - in the 21st century!
It can be done - and we are working on it!
(By the way, yes, we've all made mistakes through the many reenactments we have participated in and have been politely called out - and that helps us to keep our focus where it should be while "in the past")~
I am working at the shaving horse to make myself a cudgel – an item to mash apples before pressing them into cider. For I plan to make cider the “real” old-fashioned way – as was done 250 years ago!
Many thanks to Chuck and Roy, historic presenters from the historic 1750s Daggett House, for it was they who inspired me to take my living history a bit further. This is why you see me doing what I am here in this photo.
Stripping off the bark with the draw knife before smoothing it out.
All participants in our cabin excursions must have something to do. We get dirty, and so does our clothing. Some folks think we're nuts, getting our period clothing - which are not cheap - stained with dirt, spills, melted wax, greens, and soot, and filled with wood chips, dust, sweat, and even burn holes from fires. But that's what gives us the authenticity we strive for. How can we claim to be farmers, workers, pioneers, colonials, while wearing pristine clothing?
And here at the cabin, to work is to eat - everyone pitches in, in one way or another.
I got the fire going good. I remember when I was a kid my father asking me to start the fire in our fireplaces. In our house we had two, so I got pretty good at it.
Bringing in water to be boiled.
I smile each and every time a modern visitor says, "Oh! I would love to live in these old day!" Um...no...you wouldn't.
Imagine spending the day in a colonial cabin/home, no air conditioning - not even a fan! - no shower, no entertainment (TV, cell phones, radio, etc.). We are lucky, for our cabin has a wood floor, unlike most cabins at the time, often with a dirt floor. And windows! Many, many had no windows or a small one without glass, but with oiled paper.
No heat in the winter, aside from the very meager warmth coming from the hearth. Candles for a light - and what it takes to make them will ensure that they will be used sparingly.
Flies and other insects like you've never experienced: Those pesky flies, attracted to the wonderful aromas of fruit and food wafting through the open screen-less kitchen window, were seemingly given an invitation to come and eat. Covering food with cloth was a common way to keep the flies off, though once they found their way inside the home, they multiplied and swarmed throughout.
The variety of insects only made the heat of a summer night even more unbearable, therefore making sleep nearly non-existent. With summertime bringing an invasion of the flying (and crawling) insects, there was little defense. On these sultry nights, our ancestors suffered with flies and mosquitoes with far greater difficulty than we do in our modern day. Garbage and human waste all highly contributed to the factor of an over-abundance of these pests, as did the large number of horses and other livestock that were so prevalent in nearly all walks of life at the time.
The extinguishing of any light from the candles proved to be necessary as well "for if you do not, you will find yourself eaten up by mosquitoes."
But, if you preferred to have some light, be prepared; Mary Almy wrote on a hot August night in 1778, "frightful dreams and broken slumbers, listening to the noise of a fly or mosquito as they hummed around a candle."
Food? Better pray for God's blessings for a successful crop, for there is no local store to skip to in case you run out of anything. Hunger was common in 18th century America, with some periods of famine after the American Revolution. Malnutrition led to diseases like beriberi, scurvy, pellagra, dysentery, and malaria, which could worsen the psychological effects of isolation and despair.
Medicine? Hahahaha!
Don't forget to boil your water first before using or drinking!
No...most would not want to live back then.
We as living historians very much enjoy emulating those from the past, their trials and tribulations. It's a sort of challenge. But we know - everyone today knows - we can always come back to modern times to enjoy 21st century conveniences.
As I like to say, the past is a great place to visit (which I do often), but I wouldn't want to live there.
Patty snapped the beans as Charlotte put the meal together. Cooks snap off the end of green beans so that they can cook evenly and be more tender.
Given that we did not have a massive garden, we were still pleased at the amount of yield we were already getting. It was perfect for our Lammas Day celebration.
As my modern wife likes to say, "Fresh from the garden." However, in the 18th century she says no such thing lol
For our meal we had a quick and easy pasty.
"Say the word “Pasty” (pronounced “past-ee”), and you’ll likely receive a passionate Pavlovian response from hungry folks from several regions of the U.S. (i.e., Michigan, or parts of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Montana, and California)."
Pasties ready to be cooked~
Pasties have been a popular dish on English tables for centuries. The Oxford English Dictionary claims the earliest use of the word in English literature was in 1300. The OED’s definition of a pasty matches most modern expectations of the dish:
a meat filling, enclosed in a crust of pastry, and baked without a dish. I have traced similar definitions at least as far back as 1764. Earlier definitions seem to be a bit more generic or obscure, describing a pasty as “a great pie” or “a pie made with flesh or fruit.”
While most 18th century recipes were for venison pasties, other types of meats were used (e.g., beef, pork, mutton, and poultry). Many period recipes also suggest marinating and aging meat for several days, as well as beating it to a pulp with a rolling pin. This was done to further tenderize the meat. Beef was likely much tougher then than it is today.
So which style of pasty is most historically accurate? They all are. It seems the common denominator between all pasties is simply two things: a crust and a meat filling….oops, then again, there were also fruit pasties as well.
Ok, it seems there is ONE common denominator: crust.
Here you are - making the paste for pasties.
This comes from the book "The Compleat Housewife; or, Accomplish'd
Gentlewoman's Companion" which is a cook book written by Eliza
Smith and first published in London in 1727. It became extremely popular,
running through 18 editions in fifty years.
This is an original copy:
It was the first cook book to be published in the Thirteen Colonies of America:
it was printed in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1742 and contained the first published
recipe for "katchup," and appears to be the earliest source for bread and butter pudding.
Using what they called "paste" for the encompassing dough is likely where the word “pasty”/ "pastie" came from. And I found a few pasty recipes in "The Compleat Housewife" 1744.
More pasty recipes from The Compleat Housewife.
Tin kitchen...reflector oven...or roasting kitchen?
All of these titles are acceptable, though I usually use the term "tin kitchen."
Tin kitchens were used from about the mid-17th century through the 19th century, until cook stoves took over and their popularity waned greatly. Due to their shape, they cooked food more efficiently than a simple spit over an open fire, for the oven surface reflected the heat back from the fire, centering it onto the front and back of the food.
Placing the tin kitchen on the hearth. The curved nature warms front, back, and sides.
By the end of the 18th century, more and more households were equipped with tin kitchens for roasting. The cook put the fowl or meat inside and would turn it so the open side would face the fire, using the small door in the back to baste or check on the progress of the food...
Pasties in the tin kitchen~ Doot doot doo lookin' through the back door!
I so very much appreciate that I was able to obtain such a contraption from a friend! And I appreciate all of the teaching that Larissa has done in 18th century hearth cooking!
Did you know these tin kitchens also went by the name of "Roasting Kitchen"? According to historian Alice Morse Earle in her Home Life In Colonial Days book, this was another name listed for this hearth-cooking tool.
Since it was such a wonderful summer day, it was decided to eat our first harvest meal underneath the shade tree outside the cabin door. The light breeze and low humidity made for a perfect day to do this.
Looking out the cabin door, we can see our Lammas Day celebration set up.
And I snapped a quick shot from the opposite angle.
The food - all the food - was so good!
We did not grow wheat to grind into flour to bake the bread. We're not actual farmers who live at the cabin site to be able to do such a thing. But the bread was made from scratch, though with store-bought flour. However, the vegetables we had did all came from our kitchen garden there on the grounds or from the gardens at our homes.
The following comes from the 1964 pop hit by Chad & Jeremy called "A Summer Song."
I purposefully left out a few lines because, well, it's a love song, so I left the "love" part out ~~~ lol
But it still works pretty well for what I'm trying to convey:
Trees swaying in the summer breeze
Showing off their silver leaves...
Soft kisses on a summer's day
Laughing all our cares away...
They say that all good things must end someday
Autumn leaves must fall...
And when the rain beats against my window pane
I'll think of summer days again...
As one who loves the season of Autumn most of all, I don't think of good things ending just because summertime will be over...au contraire! I, instead, know that the good things will be getting even better! And our fall celebrations here at the cabin I love most of all! But let's still enjoy summer while that season is here - - - - - - -
Our Lammas Day meal - this will go down in the books: A half of a pasty, green beans, gourd slices, and bread - all fresh! Plus we had beets and cherries and cheese as well. And a gravy for the pasty. Yes, we ate with our knives (and fingers), as colonials did.
I am proud and happy that we are experiencing life in the past in this agricultural manner. In a very real sense, we are living by the seasons at each and every cabin visit. That was my absolute intention from the start - to experience the seasons of America past. In fact, one of my favorite books by thoughtful historian Eric Sloane (click HERE) is called "Seasons of America Past," and under 'Author's Note' he writes (with very slight modification from me put in parenthesis): We have actually come to believe today that we must either progress or retrogress. Each season of existence should be an entirely new one, according to 20th century thinking, and there is no such thing as intelligently remaining stationary. Next year's things, we assume, must necessarily be improvement on this year's, and to want anything but the newest, brands us as quaint.
Contentment, too, is considered a bogey in this century. One should either be sad or joyful. Contentment is a warm sty for eaters and sleepers. How different was America (over) two centuries ago when Benjamin Franklin declared that "Contentment is the philosopher's stone that turns all it touches into gold!"
We often observe that great (great great great) grandfather had a knack of enjoying himself that we seem to have lost.
The American heritage, as I see it, is grounded in the freedom and expression of the individual, and individual freedom, I maintain, was a fresher spirit (two centuries) ago. Individual expression was likewise richer. I believe that freedom becomes stale and expression becomes poor without constant appraisal.
Do my lovely wife and I look content? We most certainly are! I have to be honest - - I find her more attractive in these clothes far more than in modern clothes.
“Let us never forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of man. When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of civilization.”
Daniel Webster
Time to soon begin our journey back to the future...
It's difficult for some to accept that we do this sort of thing for our own personal benefit. We call it "experiencing our research." Except on occasions when we are asked (and will usually say "yes"), there are no visitors who come to see us during most of these 18th century cabin excursions, for that's not our purpose. We had no visitors come out, nor did we really expect any. We just do our thing, and those who work/volunteer at Waterloo Farm Museum let us be to do our thing - they simply let us be. And, yes, we will happily present to any visitors that may happen by, but that is a rarity for us on these "off" days (which is fine with us).
There is very little there to remind us of the 21st Century. More often than not, there is not even a modern sound to be heard - no cars, no planes, no electronics, no modern people...just us in nature's silence. In fact, at one point, I made a note of that:
"Listen," I said. "Do you hear that?"
Both Charlotte and Norm stopped what they were doing and perked up their ears. Aside from a light breeze blowing the leaves at the tops of the trees, there was nary a sound.
We all smiled at each other.
Even nature kept us in the past.
Utilizing our senses once again.
We are not perfect, but I believe we are heading down the right path.
Happy Lammas Day everyone!
Until next time, see you in time.
~I took photos, my wife Patty took photos, and Norm (Pastor Gerring) took photos. I certainly appreciate all of the images that allow us to relive - and to allow others to see - our wonderful day in summer 1774!~
To learn about Michigan's Log Cabin history - click HERE
If you are interested in our other colonial cabin excursions, please click the links below to the many posts I wrote, all of which are filled with photographs:
To read about our 2020/1770 our first autumn excursion at the cabin, click HERE
To read about our 2021/1771 wintertime excursion at the cabin, click HERE
To read about our 2021/1771 springtime excursion at the cabin, click HERE
To read about our 2021/1771 summertime excursion at the cabin, click HERE
To read about our 2021/1771 summer harvesting of the flax at the cabin, click HERE
To read about our 2021/1771 autumn excursion making candles at the cabin, click HERE
To read about our 2022/1772 winter excursion at the cabin, please click HERE
To read about our 2022/1772 spring excursion at the cabin, please click HERE
To read about our 2022/1772 summer excursion at the cabin, please click HERE
To read about our 2022/1772 autumn excursion at the cabin (Pioneer Day), please click HERE
To read about our 2022/1772 autumn exploits - including the cabin - please click HERE
To read about our 2023/1773 winter excursion at the cabin - Candlemas, please click HERE
To read about our 2023/1773 spring excursion at the cabin - Rogation Sunday, please click HERE
To read about our 2023/1773 late spring - more planting at the cabin, click HERE
To read about the 2023/1773 early summer weeding at the cabin, please click HERE
To read about the 2023/1773 mid-summer Lammas Day Celebration, please click HERE
To read about the 2023/1773 autumn Pioneer Day event we participated in, please click HERE
To read about our 2023/1773 Thanksgiving celebration in early November, please click HERE
To read about our 2024/1774 Winter experience at the cabin, please click HERE
To read about our 2024/1774 spring excursion at the cabin, please click HERE
To read about our 2024/1774 summer gardening with just Patty & I, click HERE
~And that brings us up to today's colonial cabin post.
Just in case you are interested, we've also experienced 1860s time at the cabin as volunteers for Waterloo's Cabin, Blacksmith, and Soldiers Day:
