Before July 18, it had been three years since I'd been to Charlton Park, and I must say that when I stepped inside the Sixberry House - our "home" while there - it felt like nary a day had passed. In one sense, that was pretty scary because it shows just how fast time goes by. But in another sense, it felt like...coming home. I have been reenacting inside the Sixberry House since 2008, only missing two years between then and now - 2019 due to illness, and 2020 due to the covid pandemic shutting everything down - so this year was a sort of homecoming for me. It was in 2010 that I came up with the idea of an 1860s family scenario, where those of us who are in the house fall into immersion and 1st person, mostly as a Maryland family during the Civil War. It was in 2014 where I found my, shall we say, permanent 1860s family: my friend, Larissa, reenacted as my wife, Jackie became my sister, and Candy (as well as Carrie/Agnes) as our servants. And we've had various young ladies portray our daughters, most prominently and consistently it has been Jillian.
So this year we carried on as if there were no break since 2018, and Larissa, myself, Jackie, Jillian, and Candy all came together once again, recreating the Logan family of the 1860s.
Here is how it turned out:
Home again after an extended absence, Larissa & I, along with our now 20-something year old daughter, found our way back to our home. |
A little bit of an artsy photo, I used the hall tree mirror to add a some etherealness to Larissa climbing the stairs. |
You know how, as a living historian, you make the attempt to make it all real...to be there? And then, while everything is going perfectly past, you get that one reenactor who rips the veil of time and, due to either their ignorance or their non-compliance, they ruin the entire immersive feeling, like the 1979 penny in the movie Somewhere In Time.
Well, beginning back in 2014 we asked any reenactors who wanted to visit with us inside the house to act as if they actually entered our real home in the summer of 1864 and to stay in period.
Jillian still enjoys some fun time inside the front parlor which, as you can see, holds our more fancy furniture items. |
However, she did eventually settle and took her place as a genteel Victorian lady. |
We heard a commotion outside along the road where our house sat, and upon peering out the window we saw and heard a regiment of Union soldiers march past. |
Looking through the parlor window, Jillian spotted the men with great interest. No matter that our sympathies lay with the south (just for this one event). |
When Johnny (or Billy) comes marching home again, hurrah...hurrah... |
As we portray a solidly middle class family, we are able to afford a servant.
Candace has portrayed our servant since 2014. When asked if she'd prefer to be a "regular lady" and not a servant, she declined. She enjoys her role in her 19th century life. |
Servant Candace also serves us at the Christmas at the Fort event during the holiday season. |
She works harder than the rest of us, that is for sure. Oftentimes she is included in our scenarios. |
After our dinner, we took time to stroll the Village:
As a historic village, Charlton Park does a tremendous job at replicating the past by way of wood-plank sidewalks and dirt roads and 19th century buildings. |
Every village needs a blacksmith shop! |
As we moved along the road we found that we were not the only living historians who were able to acquisition a period historic structure:
I see Mrs. St. John is open to do business as a seamstress. |
And inside we have Mrs. Mitchell, Mrs. St. John, and Mrs. Hadley busy at work. |
Why do I love reenacting at Charlton Park? Just look at these two photos...above and below- - I see nothing but the past. This could easily be a scene directly out of the 1860s. |
The carpenter's shop. With wood-plank sidewalks, the local carpenter could be kept very busy. |
The stagecoach stop - The Bristol Inn - wasn't as bustling today as on a normal day. I would love to see all of these buildings utilized by living historians for the Civil War weekend to bring the 1860s to life in a rare and unique way. |
One of the very cool pluses for us who reenact the Civil War era is the fact that not only can we recreate the era itself (as best as we can), but recreate the historic images of the period in an authentic manner - by way of having our likenesses taken with an original tin type camera, such as by circuit-riding photographer W. C. Badgley. |
We also have the Confederate Army's medic, Dr. Tripp. |
Of course, visiting with long-time friends was wonderful - friends we have not seen in nearly two years! |
Shopping at the sutlers: Amazon Dry Goods had their set up at the event this year. Many thanks to Samantha Hickle for not only being there at the event, but also for doing such a wonderful job in keeping her business historically accurate. |
Our annual "Family Photo" |
And our group photo as well: Me and Larissa at the top Candace and Jackie in the middle and Jillian at the bottom. Top-notch living historians. |
And there you have it, my friends!
Our historically fine and fun day at Charlton Park.
Even though we're not perfect in our immersion and 1st person experiences, we are certainly striving to reach higher and higher levels. Like I said, the core group I "work" with are the best; in our reenacting world we have been together in this capacity long enough that I feel will keep us heading in the right direction of becoming even more of a believable and credible family of the 1860s (within limits, obviously).
And we see no end in sight.
By the way, none of the pictures herein were taken using a flash. I wanted to capture the realism of the 1860s in all of its glorious naturalness.
So, I hope the kind folks at Charlton Park who allow us such opportunities in bringing the past to life in such a unique way are pleased with our actions.
With all my heart I thank them for their trust in us.
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One more thing before we leave for this week:
I am saddened to report that "One is missing from our 'family' who will never return."
For numerous years since 2014 we have kept this special day at the Sixberry House, as well as Christmas at the Fort, with the inclusion of Larissa's mother Violet, who, during our living history excursions, became my 1860s mother-in-law while there. On this just past July 28 our dear friend passed from this world. She was very ill and in hospice care. A few days before her passing, Larissa asked her mother what should be said to everyone who asked about her. In Violet's own words: “Thank everyone for their prayers, love and concern. Your prayers have been answered. I’m healed and gone home.”
Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
God bless the family of Violet Kyryluk.
Thank you for your friendship.
An 1860s "Family" photo. That's Violet, 2nd row left in the light-colored dress. |
Violet, you will be sorely missed.
Until next time, see you in time.
For a quick photographic overview of our history at the Sixberry House, please click HERE
To visit Amazon Dry Goods for your 1860s needs, please click Amazon Dry Goods
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2 comments:
Another extraordinary event! Hubby and I at some point want to load up our little trailer and make a loop about the US. We really need to coordinate it with one (or more) of such events as these. (We both enjoy history.)
Also, blessings to Larissa and her family. Violet is indeed in good and loving hands.
I really enjoyed this article Mr Ken :-) and I sure love all of the beautiful photos too.
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