Charlton Park Civil War Muster 2021

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.

Jillian:
This house is set up similar to the Adams House inside Greenfield Village,
which is,  perhaps,  another reason why I feel at home here,  for the Adams
House has been one of my favorites for decades.  Unfortunately,  the house
has been closed to the public for many years with no sign of reopening soon.

The Sixberry house looked and felt quite the same,  as if we'd never left,  and we spent our time in the back parlor.  In most cases,  the front parlors of this style home were formal and would have been used for entertaining guests,  weddings,  and funerals.  The back parlors were places for the family to relax.

  

For us,  however,  we sort of combine the two parlors in usage and generally
use the back parlor more often while inside the Sixberry House,  
sometimes in the manner reversed from what was the 19th century norm.
The back parlor would have been more commonly used for private  "family time,"  
which we have,  and not for visits with friends.
To an extent,  we have reversed its usage while inside this house,  for Sixberry is
a historic building,  so we maintain ourselves in the back parlor and kitchen
for most of our time there out of respect for Charlton Park.

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.

Ever since then,  the wonderful living historians that surround us at our events have more than complied and knock at the door,  only to be welcomed by Candace  (or Agnes,  our other servant when she's able to participate),  and become a part of the past with us.  And, oh!  the conversations we have!  This sort of thing takes research of the period,  so we have had some of our very best living history moments and conversations with our  immersed  "neighbors."
In this photograph we have Pastor Purdue with his  "daughter" - they visited us in full immersion and thus became another of our great highlights,  which will go into the annals of our Charlton Park time travel experiences.

Mr.  and Mrs.  Carlson also paid us a visit.
This wonderful couple helped us out a few years back when our
daughter Jillian was rather,  shall we say,  in need of learning
Victorian manners.  Mrs.  Carlson,  who was the head-mistress
of the local Carlson Seminary School For Girls,  took Jillian
into her care to school her in virtue.
It worked.

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.

You know,  eating in this manner inside this period kitchen is always a highlight. 
In fact,  it's one of my very favorite things to do as a reenactor.
And we do eat a traditional 19th century summer meal.

The reason I enjoy it so much is that whenever I've visited an open-air museum such as Greenfield Village,  I've always dreamed of being able to sit with the period-dress presenters such as at Firestone Farm or the Daggett House and eat the dinner meal with them,  and be a part of the past.

Here at Sixberry House,  I do!

Jim and Candy Cary take a proper Victorian image
inside the front parlor.

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.

................................

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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