A Weekend Steeped in History

The third weekend in September may have been my busiest of the year up to that point,  as far as history goes.  Friday and Saturday found me in my period clothing - two different eras in two days.

We'll begin with Friday evening's experience during a special  birthday party for a handful of  young men over at the Plymouth Historical Museum in Plymouth,  Michigan.  You see,  one of the really cool things the Museum does that I have not seen elsewhere around these parts is their  "Night at the Museum"  birthday party for kids,  based on the very successful movies of the same name.  This is something that really gets the children involved in history in a very up close manner:

The  "Night at the Museum"  has come to Plymouth,  and now children can experience a birthday party they will never forget.  Plymouth Historical Museum staff,  inspired by the movies of the same name,  created this magical evening,  where children discover that the characters within the Museum come alive after hours.

Kids begin the delightful evening in the lower level meeting room,  where they gather and socialize before sitting down for a dinner of pizza or subs and drinks while watching one of the  "Night at the Museum"  movies.  When the show ends,  a reenactor meets them and their magical journey begins.  They are greeted on the pretense of touring the Museum,  but when presented with a personalized  "Tablet of Akmenrah,"  they discover that not all is as it seems.  This tablet is a recreation of the Egyptian tablet used in the movies that brings the Museum characters to life,  which the children soon realize seemingly works in this Museum as well. 

The Group Shot:
100 years of American History

The Museum is filled with reenactors silently waiting for the kids to bring them to life with the tablet.  Kids could discover a Roman soldier dressed in full battle gear or Civil War soldiers preparing for war,  or women wearing big hoop skirts and fancy dresses.  There may even be a teenager from the 1950s hanging about,  waiting to be awakened so she can dance and sing to her favorite rock and roll music.  Anyone can be discovered at the Museum,  and children will enjoy the living history.  Each character chats with the kids about a slice of history so they might learn a thing or two while they are having fun at the party.

So dare we visit the museum...?

I don't know if  the boys thought I was a real statue or what,  but they walked right past me and stopped at the woman behind me:

Nellie Bly was an American journalist,  industrialist,  inventor,  and charity worker who was widely known for her record-breaking trip around the world in 72 days,  in emulation of Jules Verne's fictional character Phileas Fogg.
Bly covered the Woman Suffrage Procession of 1913.  Under the headline  "Suffragists Are Men's Superiors,"  her parade story predicted that it would be 1920 before women in the United States would be given the right to vote.

Following Nellie was another interesting story that I heard when I was young,  but I am certain these kids were not familiar with:

Mary Mallon,  born in 1869 and died in November of 1938,  also known as Typhoid Mary,  was an Irish-born cook believed to have infected 53 people with typhoid fever,  three of whom died,  and the first person in the United States identified as an asymptomatic carrier of the disease.  Because she persisted in working as a cook,  by which she exposed others to the disease,  she was twice forcibly quarantined by authorities,  and died after a total of nearly three decades in isolation.

By the way, Miss Mallon hated the nickname  "Typhoid Mary."

I don't blame her.

Here I am as Paul Revere  (of course!).
The kids were,  unfortunately,  unfamiliar with Paul Revere and much of the Revolutionary War era itself,  which is why I portray the man.  We,  as reenactors,  are here to teach,  and when I asked the kids my name after all presentations were ended,  they remembered.
My favorite occurence that evening was when I spoke about the Revolutionary War itself,  and as I came to the part where we beat what was the greatest army in the world and truly gained our independence,  one young man made a fist and exclaimed,  "Yes!"

Now we have Thomas Edison.
Seriously---what more can be said about the Great Inventor we already don't know?  
Well...young kids aren't always taught about our American heroes such as Edison;  about how he developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation,  mass communication,  sound recording,  and motion pictures.  These inventions,  which include the phonograph,  the motion picture camera,  and early versions of the electric light bulb,  have had a widespread impact on the modern industrialized world.
Plenty of  known and some not-so-well-known information was passed along to the kids,  in such a way that they understood and enjoyed the lesson.

Amelia Jenks Bloomer was an early suffragist,  editor,  and social activist.  Bloomer was also a fashion advocate who worked to change women’s clothing styles.  Bloomer’s most influential work was in dress reform.  After noticing the health hazards and restrictive nature of corsets and dresses,  Bloomer pushed for women to adopt a new style of dress.  The pantaloons,  now called Bloomers,  not only illustrated a departure from the accepted dress for women,  the garments also came to represent activists in the women’s rights movement.  The style of dress attracted much ridicule from conservative men and women.

Annie Oakley  (born Phoebe Ann Mosey on August 13, 1860)  was an American sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.

Oakley developed hunting skills as a child,  in order to provide for her impoverished family in western Ohio.  At fifteen,  she won a shooting contest against experienced marksman Frank E.  Butler,  whom she later married.  The two of them joined Buffalo Bill in 1885,  performing in Europe before royalty and other heads of state.  Audiences were astounded to see her shooting-out a cigar from her husband's lips or splitting a playing-card edge-on at 30 paces,  and she earned more than anyone except 

Buffalo Bill himself.

As you can see,  masks were worn by the guests,  and we reenactors social distanced,  aside from the group picture  (where mom insisted the boys remove their masks for the shot).

The following day my friend Jackie & I drove nearly three hours to the western part of Michigan where a private Civil War-era event was taking place.  Called  "1860's Gathering Knowledge,"  Mrs.  Sandy Root planned the weekend to coincide with the event's name.  As noted on her events page:

Plan to attend this enriching getaway weekend to meet,  learn,  and talk with others who share an interest in the mid-19th century.  There are several fun and educational activities planned throughout this weekend. 

Ladies and gentlemen,  leave your silks and finer wear at home.  Rural/Work attire is recommended.  

This event will have a civilian rather than a military focus,  but the military and their families are welcome to attend.   

This Event is a private event for Living History Enthusiasts only,  and is being held on private property. There will be NO Public in attendance.

And did we have a blast!
(Either that or they're singing Italian songs...lol)

On the left you see Jackie,  who often portrays my sister during some of our events, 
but especially at Christmas at the Fort.
And that's Sany Root on the right,  our hostess with the mostess.  Early on in my reenacting  "career,"  Sandy had taught me much about bringing the past to life, 
so I try to support her and her endeavors as much as I can.

Susan had brought her Carrot Patch Farm woolen sutlery out,  and on such a cool weekend,  she certainly had the product for everyone to keep warm!

Taylor prepared the fire to cook dinner and supper.

Morgan was there to help as well.

Larissa joined in the fun of food preparation.
All three ladies are historic interpreters at Greenfield Village and are well-versed
in period cooking of the 19th  (and 18th)  century.

Mr. Smith has an original 1860s concertina,  all restored and
sounding as it once did over 150 years ago.  Yes,  we were able
to listen to the sounds of the past as he played it. 

Special talks were given:

Including one on women's pockets...

...and...

Larissa and I gave our Victorian Farming presentation - first one we done in a year. 
We were a bit rusty but it sure did feel good to be back in the game!

And there was a woods walk as well....

...but not just any old woods walk - - it was a learning experience:

There were stopping points where different activities occurred, 
such as  "1860s Price Is Right"  where you had to guess the price
of the items shown...the 1860s prices. 
There were other educational stops as well.

A few members of the 24th Michigan

Robert Beech,  well-known tintype wet plate photographer,  was there,  taking everyone's tintype for a donation to help pay for the event,

Jackie,  Larissa,  and I decided to have our likeness taken.  
The three of us often portray a family:  Larissa my wife and Jackie my sister.

It is always so cool to watch the image come to life on the tin plate.

Here it is - all fully developed!

And here we are,  live and in color!

Taking the above selfie

Two frontiersmen stop to have their image taken for posterity.

As did our own Taylor and Morgan...

Such an awesome picture!

Mr.  Beech prepares the plate

Mrs.  Yockey poses for her likeness

The outcome.
The best  "souvenir"  of your time in the past.

This was a first-time event and the numbers were lower than hoped,  especially considering the absence of any reenactments this year.  However,  a smaller count doesn't equal to a poor event;  quite the contrary.  Instead,  it felt  "neighborly."  Personally,  I very much enjoyed the camaraderie and the time available for speaking with friends I've missed all year. 

Most of all...I was at a reenactment.  It's just been too darned long since many of us had such an opportunity to enjoy some time in the past.

Many thanks to Sandy for coming up with and hosting such a fine event,  and to those who helped her to put it all together,  such as Debbie Jones.  

I plan to be back next year.

Until next time,  see you in time.

~   ~   ~