With CWR cancelled this year due to covid-19, which is so tough for all of us who participate every year, I thought it would be a good time to create these "Best ofs" and search through the dusty old pictures lying in a box in the basement, gathering dust and mold.
Okay---not really. They are digital, so they've been stored on the computer.
But they are somewhat old.
I hope you enjoy them:
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| Though this picture was taken in 2012, it could have been taken during any of the years in this posting, showing the line-up of cars, trucks, and RVs filled with reenactors, tents, and everything needed to survive three and a half days inside the hallowed walls of Greenfield Village. |
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| 2010 For years we camped 'neath the mulberry trees near the old Silk Mill, and this was my view (slight changes of tents and people every year, but you get the idea). |
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| 2010 One of the best things about reenacting is working on period crafts and learning to do some of the tasks our ancestors may have done. |
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| 2010 My son, Tom, on the guitar and MSAS member Andy playing the concertina. There are no radios to "set the mood" at our reenactments, but we do have live music. |
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| 2010 A few of us in the ever-growing unit of the 21st Michigan pose for a photo in front of the 1832 Eagle Tavern. |
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| 2011 President Jefferson Davis and Michigan Senator Jacob Howard. North or South, we're all good friends. |
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| 2011 In 2011 we put on a recruiting scenario, which went very well indeed. In fact, one of the recruits was a female dressed in her brother's duds. She was caught and soundly taken home to her father and mother. Can you guess which 'boy' she is? |
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| 2011 Our new Michigan recruits getting sworn in and preparing to board the train at the Smiths Creek Depot as the ladies of town wave their goodbyes. |
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| 2011 A modern photo that I aged up a bit - taken at the Depot. |
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| 2011 Here are some of the military men of the 21st Michigan. My two sons: second from left and far right. |
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| 2011 Lovely ladies of the 19th century: Lorna, Sue, and Kristen |
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| 2012 My wife loves to spin on her spinning wheel, and the visitors love to watch. Many times she will have the children help by carding wool with the carding paddles. |
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| 2012 I mentioned working on period crafts earlier. Well, it looks like a few members of the MSAS (Michigan Soldiers Aid Society) are working on a quilt. |
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| 2012 I caught Mrs. Geyman standing and staring at the Ackley Covered Bridge entrance and saw a painting come to life. |
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| 2012 The young folk were very excited to be heading to the ball! |
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| 2012 Larissa works at the Village, and therefore was the presenter at the 1860 Susquehanna Plantation House. I stopped in for a visit, found a banjo, and began to play. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a fiddler came in and joined in the music-making. These off-the-cuff scenarios are the best. |
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| 2012 The battles take place daily for the three-day Memorial Weekend. |
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| 2012 My good friend (and mourning historian) Kim Parr posed with me for this faked tintype. |
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| 2013 Our tent is on the left, Larissa's on the right, and as you circle around you would see many other 21st Michigan member's tents in a sort of cul-de-sac. This was our location for over a decade. |
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| 2013 Pearl, Candy, and Melody play period music while beneath the grove of mulberry trees. There is always plenty of live music all around. |
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| 2013 I still had my period post office presentation in 2013. I presented as the postmaster for nearly a decade then stretched out into other scenarios, including a tavern owner and a farmer, which is what I currently present as. Ours' is a busy tent. |
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| 2013 Felicia and Larissa play a rousing game of checkers. |
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| 2013 My lovely bride and I |
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| 2013 Mrs. Morgan and Mrs. Root of the MSAS |
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| 2013 One of the 21st Michigan's newest members (at that time) was Robert Beech, who had recently begun to learn the trade of tintype photography. He is now considered by many to be one of the best around. |
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| 2013 Another year-another 21st Michigan picture. We're growing. |
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| 2013 Greenfield Village began allowing sutlers to set up at the Village during Civil War Remembrance. Here we have The Dressmaker's Shop: Kim and Jim Lynch proprietors. |
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| 2013 Here we have yet another 21st Michigan couple, Mr. and Mrs. St. John |
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| 2013 Members of the 21st Michigan, including my son, sitting against the tree. |
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| 2013 Southren gentlemen. I've been asked why I don't include more Confederates in my photos and postings. Well, that's mainly because I belong to a Union unit and, thus, surrounded by the north. But I do try to include them when I can. |
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| 2013 The gentleman standing there is Fred Denault, who fondly called himself "the perpetual private." Fred passed away a few years ago, but he is so very fondly remembered. |
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| 2013 Dave, Jackie, David, and myself just before the Memorial Day service. |
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| 2013 The Cavalry |
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| 2013 Me and my friend Sheri from the 24th Michigan |
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| 2014 Lee Cagle, Model T driver for Greenfield Village, is also known for his outstanding photographs, as you can see. Beckie, here, by the way, also used to drive Model Ts for the Village. |
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| 2014 Some of the ladies of the Michigan Soldiers Aid Society. |
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| 2014 Another group picture of the joyous 21st Michigan members! As you can see, we had a growth spurt! |
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| 2014 The men of the Union preparing for the Memorial Day service. |
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| 2014 Men still keep on marching off to war...and the beat goes on... |
To commemorate the 150th Anniversary of General Grant’s Overland Campaign of 1864, Greenfield Village had partnered with the Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park for a special tribute program that all CWR participants were asked to participate. To mark those events, Greenfield Village took part in Reverberations, an innovative program initiated by the National Park Service connecting three national parks in Virginia and eight communities around the country to illustrate the devastating impact of the Civil War on communities across the country.
Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan was one of those communities.
This special candlelight illumination ceremony was simultaneously conducted by the partner communities both North and South. This illumination ceremony culminated in taps being played in Greenfield Village and echoed to these other locations virtually as the event will be streamed live in conjunction with the other ceremonies. The activities concluded with a grand illumination ceremony at the Fredericksburg National Cemetery in Virginia.
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| 2014 ~The Passersby~
"I remember thinking that you were dead.
That doesn't make any difference now."
This road is the afterwards of the Civil War. It began at Fort
Sumter, South Carolina, and ended at a place called Appomattox. It's a road that won't be found on a map, but it's one of many that lead in and out of a strange province that knows neither North nor South during the month of May, the year 1865...the place we call...the Grand Illumination Ceremony." |
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| 2014 Andy "the eggman" makes his morning breakfast. Yes, that is an actual cast-iron stove he is cooking on. |
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| 2014 Larissa and little Zane enjoying another beautiful day. Children always play an important part in the realism we try to give. |
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| 2014 Mrs. Folcarelli makes the best reenacting pies, bar none! At one point she had actually set up a period bakery. |
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| 2014 Three patriotic women! Showing their patriotism was something the ladies of the time would proudly do. |
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| 2014 Every year, The Henry Ford throws reenactors a grand ball, held inside Lovett Hall. |
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| 2014 The ball is where everyone dresses in their 1860s finest. We dance the quadrilles and reels to the "finest orchestry music in these parts." |
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| 2014 My two oldest sons. I believe this was my son Tom's last reenactment that he participated in, for he was married with a growing family and other hobbies and opportunities came into his life. My son Robbie, on the left, continues on in the hobby. |
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| 2014 Senator jacob Howard greets the soldiers of the 21st Michigan. Dignitaries would often come and speak words of encouragement to the men about to go off to fight. |
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| 2014 After the battle: my son Robbie is plumb wore out. |
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| 2014 "Oh! Oh! My man has been shot!!" |
And just so you are aware - especially the local folks who read this: Greenfield Village is definitely planning to reopen this summer. As Patricia Mooradian, President of The Henry Ford, wrote in an e-mail:
"...it is highly unlikely that we will be able to open in a safe manner during the month of June, and therefore, we are extending our closure through June 28, 2020. At this time, it seems that the earliest timing for a safe and phased reopening is July; however, the exact date is not our choice to make alone because we must adhere to state mandates. Please be assured that we are doing everything we can to open as soon as possible."
Until next time, see you in time...
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