For twelve years a few of us have portrayed a family during the American Civil War on Christmas Eve.
Unfortunately, this wonderful event, known as Christmas at the Fort, is no longer; our final celebration took place in 2021. There were hopes and talks of a possibility of it coming back, but it doesn't look like that will happen.
Why did it end?
Well, that's pretty complicated, so we'll just leave it at that. But let us reminisce on those wonderful years when we brought Christmas Past to life in a real and historical way.
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In the living history world, I have certainly been able to do some pretty amazing things with some amazing historical people - those who have history in their heart and soul...running through their veins.
And celebrating Christmas in the 1860s has been one of the most gratifying and truly amazing things I have ever done.
That's what happens when you find and fall in with the right people.
You see, as soon as you start to think of the past as happening (as opposed to it having happened), a new way of conceiving history becomes possible.
This is true in every sense, as I have learned.
Nostalgia, as defined by Mr. Webster's dictionary, is described as, in part, "a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time."
And Memory is defined as being "the store of things learned and retained from an organism's activity or experience...by recall and recognition."
That would mean nostalgia and memory are both very personal experiences then, does it not? Can it be possible, then, to feel a nostalgic sentimental attachment to a time period one did not personally live through?
And, in the same vein, would memories differ or be similar under the same circumstances?
So, is nostalgia and memory portable?
I ask and mention all of this for I feel there are a few of us who have a pretty good idea what it was like to celebrate Christmas in the 1860s. And, as living historian civilians, I really am not sure if we can call what we've done at Christmas at the Fort 'reenacting.' I believe it might be more accurate to say we were actually experiencing an 1860s Christmas rather than 'pretending' or reenacting it.
That's not to say we actually time-traveled to the past; but what would you call it when we were in a period-correct home - sense-surround - and had created a family setting with consistent participants to spend our time immersed...engulfed...in such period holiday pastimes as was actually done in the past? And having, in a very strong sense, the same or similar memories?
In fact, the only hint of 21st century life was when the tour groups came through, and even then most of us were unaware of these ghosts of Christmas future, for only one from our group would quietly step out to speak with them as to not disrupt our holiday celebration.
Perhaps they went to the necessary...or to another room for a moment...
My first Christmas at the Fort venture was in 2009, and I was there at one of the houses as a "family friend." This was a sort of trial for me...so I brought along my writing desk and spent much of my time penning letters by oil lamp and taking my turn speaking to the touring public, who went house-to-house to get a history lesson at each stop.
So this first time out went fairly well:
2009
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2009 - My first Christmas at the Fort: Yes, this was one of my first times actually experiencing Christmas past in a sort of living history manner. |
What a magical time this event was! The home was candle and oil lamp lit and each of us had our impressions. I portrayed the visiting friend and spent time writing letters and spoke to the touring public of the importance of the letters from home and goodies being sent to the soldiers to keep their spirits lifted, while other members of the house we were in spoke on the activities of women on the homefront during the Civil War, including making bandages, repairing old blankets, and crocheting/knitting socks, scarves, and mittens, all to send to our men fighting in the Civil War. We also played the old parlor game Questions and Answers.
Rather than portray family life, we were very centered on the Civil War homefront.
Family Photo Time!
Our holiday meal consisted of ham, cheese, a variety of vegetables, beets, pies, and cider to drink.
I am certain the old carols as performed and sung in their time did not sound quite as upscale and perfect as what we hear today, for it was more the well-to-do that may have heard it performed by (accomplished) musicians and vocalists. But, in the same way we remember our own parents singing along to the old tunes, I'm sure it was as special as could be to the children (and others) listening in days of old.
Rather than portray family life, we were very centered on the Civil War homefront.
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2009 I was honored to join such a group of living historians and I brought along my mail writing utensils to show and speak to the modern visitors about the importance of writing letters to the men off fighting in the Civil War. |
"He was conscious of a thousand odors floating in the air, each one connected with a thousand thoughts, and hopes, and joys, and cares long, long, forgotten," wrote Charles Dickens' in "A Christmas Carol" describing the scene where Scrooge first enters the past. These words are true for me in a number of my own time-travel excursions...and I would feel comfortable in stating that these words are true for all of us who participated in Christmas at the Fort for these 12 years...
2011
Unfortunately, and very sadly, in 2010 there was plumbing issues at Historic Fort Wayne, and so the Christmas at the Fort event was cancelled for that year. But after that brief one year hiatus, 2011 found us making a resounding return.
And it would be different, for it was over the summer that a few of us spoke of devising a plan very different from anything we had done previously: we formed a living history group and we were stationed inside the very elegant commander's home, though our scenario wasn't about the commander who lived there in the 19th (or even 20th) century; it was to show how a well-to-do northern family would have celebrated Christmas Eve. In a very real way.
Stepping up the game.
More than ever...and it set the tone for all of our future-past endeavors of this type.
First off, we went from a somewhat plain house to one of more elegance, and it was as ornate and elegant as any Victorian house I have seen, and we got to call it "home"!
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| That's our "new" home - the white one ~ |
We did have a fine time bringing Christmas past to life. We took turns reading from the various material including Dickens "A Christmas Carol," the latest issue of Harper's Weekly (from December 1861), and from a book of poetry, short stories, and other period correct verses. We sang Christmas Carols to a pump organ, and played parlor games. And some of the ladies crochet and knitted Christmas gifts for the Boys in Blue off fighting the rebellion.
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Family and friends gathered in our front parlor to enjoy this joyous holiday. We did not have a Christmas tree quite yet, but we were beginning to feel our way into becoming a "family." |
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| Rebecca strikes the perfect Victorian pose. |
As any wealthy family would have employed, we had a domestic there, cleaning, sweeping, and keeping house for us. She was included in our scenario here and there: while we had a group of visiting public inside, our servant would stop what she was doing and take a peak inside the room to view the celebrating. I, of course, would chastise her and send her back to her duties of which I pay her for. The tour group loved this.
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Our servant girl continued doing what she was paid to do, especially on Christmas Eve! |
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| On a side note, as we gathered all of our participants together for a group photo, one elegantly dressed family member told the domestic in a rather stern tone, "Servants in the back!" 2011 / 1861 |
2012
The bar was raised pretty high in 2011 and I would think about this event throughout the year, trying to come up with ideas to make it even better. So for 2012 we decided to take the next logical step: decorations and a table top Christmas Tree. For this year it was Christmas Eve of 1862.
But that wasn't all - we were no longer a generic family; this year we had defined roles. You see, it's easy to have a bunch of reenactors hanging around in period clothing looking like...well....a bunch of reenactors hanging around in period clothing!
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| Mrs. Root literally decked the hall with boughs of garland |
But it takes time and effort and a special want with a willingness to learn to be transported to the past. So for this scenario, Sandy Root became Sarah Root - my married sister - and this was the home of she and her husband, a lumber baron away on business, Nora (Sandy's friend) was our cousin visiting for the holidays, Larissa became my wife, and she & I, with our two children Christina (Kristen), our eldest daughter, and my for real daughter Rosalia, and we were in from out of town to spend the holidays with my sister. And again we had the young lady who portrayed our domestic servant back with us again. Sandy Root is very well versed in Victoriana customs, and gave this young domestic, without choice, a new name - the name of Agnes, for it was felt Agnes would be a more suitable name to remember than Carrie. This was a common practice at the time.
Later in the evening, a second domestic was 'hired' on to help Agnes with all of her duties while the rest of us prepared for and enjoyed the Christmas frivolities.
The celebration of Christmas then commenced, and the ladies all pulled the greenery from a trunk, and did a fine job in their decorating, as you can see in the photo below. Afterward, both of my daughters spent the afternoon crocheting and playing the game of dominoes while my wife and sister took turns entertaining us by playing Christmas carols on the organ, our cousin singing along in a most spirited voice. I spent some of our celebrating time by reading aloud from Mr. Dickens' novel "A Christmas Carol."
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| Celebrating Christmas Eve 1862 in the parlor of my "sister's" elegant home |
As the day turned to night, parlor games were played by all of us and much laughter was heard. One such game involved each participant to make the sound of a barn animal of their own choosing each time said animal was mentioned in a story told by an agreed upon story teller. Such hilarity made a fine Christmas Eve game!
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| Agnes the servant girl serves Larissa. |
All in all, this was a unique presentation, for the 21st century tour groups who were brought to our home every 20 minutes or so were not allowed to roam throughout the home and speak to the various living historians as they may normally had done at places or houses there. They, instead, were able to witness, while standing in the doorways of the various rooms, everyday life from the past, as if peering through a portal through time. Upon noticing the tour group in the doorway, a member from our group of living historians would inconspicuously get up from our activity and move over to where the visitors were to speak of how we were celebrating this special holiday in a combination 1st and 3rd person manner.
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| Our 2012 / 1862 family and friends photo. |
The rest of the living historians in our house remained in 1862 and were oblivious to these apparitions from the future. And then, when our presenter had finished their talk, they re-joined our group and continued as if they had never left.
It was almost an ethereal way for the visitors to peek in and see Christmas Eve 1862 in action while hearing a live narration of the Christmas customs from the time.
Three of us would take turns as presenter.
But it didn't stop there; for the most part, we stayed in our first person persona even while no visitors were about: ringing the bell for Agnes when we needed water or something else, playing our games, singing the carols, reading, and speaking to each other in an 1860's manner.
This 2012 / 1862 Christmas at the Fort event was probably one of the very best of any reenactment I had ever participated in up to that time.
That's how good it was.
2013
So onto Christmas 1863 / 2013, where we continued on in the same manner, and we had a few more family members join us.
This whole immersion thing had been building up for a while, and with each passing year those of us who enjoy this sort of reenacting were finding ourselves making that strong effort to live up to the name "living historian."
And in 2013 we took another rather large leap in the right direction. We even added an elder sister, Caroline, who joined us this year with her husband.
It was always my goal to increase the 'intensity' of the living history experience and to expand it to have as close to a you-are-there experience as we could have. So as the Christmas season approached, I sent an e-mail explaining our plans:
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| Our 1863 / 2013 family~ With an addition of my elder sister, her husband, and their daughter. (on the right) |
Good day to Everyone -
As you know, we plan to go (as best as we can) into a full immersion for this event, which means no 'coming out' into the 21st century during the duration. Three people will be 'stepping' into the future during the touring group visits: Sandy, Larissa, and myself will be taking turns speaking to the tour groups when they come into the house. Everyone else will be totally oblivious to the modern folk. They are not even there as far as you're concerned.
We are also looking for everyone to plan something for our Christmas Eve entertainment: Singing Christmas carols, read a poem, pantomime something, have a parlor game ready for us to play.
Something else along these lines: we are family in my "sister" Sandy's home - conversation on our 1860's lives is a must. Please come up with something about your life you can speak casually on during conversations.
And crafts: sewing, knitting, crocheting, and sketching. Also, writing letters or in your journal.
Remember etiquette. Remember how we are to address one another and how we are to act. But we have our own personalities as well - we don't want Hollywood History. If you're a jokester in the 21st century, then you would most likely be in the 19th century, just on a different level.
We will be eating in the dining room - - this is a first and we must be as careful as can be here. They are allowing me to bring my two 1880's oil lamps for light in there - again, we must use extreme caution.
I am letting the other reenactors know what we're doing so no one comes in and breaks the mode.
We are really going to make the attempt to make this as real as can possibly be done. We have the best of the best here - - we have those who can do this right.
Please respond to "all" in this e-mail so we can all remain on the same page.
Thank you everyone - - -
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| Larissa & I about to go visiting. |
Each of us who participated continued our roles...
Not a character, not a script, but a life story, just as we have in our modern lives. Done through historical research.
For our backstory, my first wife died during the birth of my eldest child, Christine. Larissa is the mother of my youngest. We live on a farm inherited from my mother & father in rural Erin Township, Michigan, quite a distance from both of my sisters, so we don't visit very often except on special occasions such as Christmas.
For this year at Christmas at the Fort, something special happened that no one had been able to do in over 30 years: we were able eat in the dining room...and we even ate by oil lamp!
Throughout the year we spoke on how we could expand our Christmas impression - up our game - to make it even more real than in previous years, and when the idea came up of possibly eating a Christmas meal in the dining room I didn't expect the Historic Fort Wayne Coalition to agree to it.
But we have proven to them over the years that we are historical professionals in all we do, and because of that we got the thumbs up.
Wow!
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| This was a large leap for our living history. It felt even more like a Christmas celebration and less like presenting. |
During our festive Christmas meal we remained in 1st person and spoke of current 1863 news, of the past memories we had in our "family." And we spoke of a possible 4th of July gathering, though it would be tough for Larissa and I to get away from the farm during that time of year.
And, as in previous years there, we had my sister's two hired servant girls there for our every need.
As you can see, between our conversations and the style and manner in which we carried ourselves, we were well-rooted in the 1860's, and those of us taking part seem to agree that the dining room portion of the evening was the most magical of nearly anything we've ever done thus far.
It really was.
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| Being interrupted by the touring groups every-so-often, I learned real quick what it was like to work at Greenfield Village, where presenters eating their meals are continuously speaking to modern visitors while their food grows cold (lol). But there were so many snapshots taken of us eating there! |
Tom B., who was in charge of the Fort Wayne Coalition, mentioned the dining room experience was also a highlight for the touring groups who witnessed it. He said many folks liked that best of all.
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| The two domestic servants: Candace and Agnes |
Like last year, we rarely broke our immersion no matter if there were tour groups or not in the house; we continued on as if we truly were a family from the 1860's.
What this meant for the modern tour groups coming through was that there was always something different going on at any given time: one group of visitors saw our 1860's family decking the halls, another saw a discussion between my older sister, Carolyn, and Larissa & I on the possibility of sending our eldest and slightly out of control daughter to a girls seminary school.
Another group may have heard an intense political discussion between my brother-in-law David and myself. Even my wife, who I support in expressing her knowledgeable opinions and well thought out views, joined in the conversation, much to the chagrin of my older sister. The eldest of my siblings does not believe a woman should discuss such matters.
A later group heard us singing Christmas Carols to the pump organ, while still others heard a reading from Dickens' novel "A Christmas Carol."
And I haven't even brought up playing checkers or writing letters or hearing jokes read from the pages of Harper's Weekly or...well, you get the idea..
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| ~Angels we have heard on high...~ Carolyn and Violet (who became my mother-in-law, for she was Larissa's real-life mother) played and sang carols. It was wonderful! |
All as natural as us being a real family of 1863 - - - - there were no stage calls of "Places everyone: here comes the next group! Back to one!"
No lines to be studied, for we wouldn't study lines in our real lives, now, would we?
No breaking the immersion spell, whether the modern visitors were there or not.
Nope - except for one or two very minor blips, we stayed back there.
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| My reenacting family photo~ (except for my real-life daughter there on the left on the floor) |
2014
And so now we enter Christmas Eve 1864 / 2014.
Okay, so none of our Christmas at the Fort events ever actually took place on a real Christmas Eve, but you could've fooled us! It sure as heck felt like it!
So for this year we did a sort of side-step. Larissa could not take part this year; she and her real-life husband welcomed their second child only a few weeks earlier and, very understandably, could not participate. Since our scenario here requires for me to have a wife, my good friend, Kim, stepped up to the plate and became my misses (and did a fine job indeed!). Kristen continued to portray my daughter (and always did a wonderful job in her role), but my real-life daughter, Rosalia, did not come out. Neither did Sandy Root. And for this year the house belonged to Carolyn and Dave.
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| Kristen and her "cousin" Laura festively decorated the staircase. |
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| Servant Candace offers Christmas treats to Kim & Laura. |
Here are two video clips taken this day:
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| For the second year, we enjoyed our Christmas meal in the dining room. |
There was nothing "pretend" in our meal nor of the food we had.
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| The domestic servants stood at the ready and were at our beck and call - ready to react to our requests without a delay. |
By the way, the word “beck” is a shortened form of the word “beckon,” which means to summon or signal, typically with a wave or nod. To be at someone's “beck and call” means to be ready to follow their orders or be at their service. And the two ladies who were our servants, Candace and Agnes (Carrie) truly, in every sense of the word, presented themselves wonderfully. These two wonderful ladies chose their lot in their 19th century lives, and have repeatedly told me they felt as if they had a real purpose in this presentation, and took their jobs seriously.
I am touched and proud of how well they did.
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| Servants Candace & Agnes enjoyed a Christmas meal after serving us ours'. |
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| Another "family" photo. In my real life family, we, too, take an annual family Christmas photo. |
2015
The next year our 19th century Christmas celebrations continued on, same as it ever was, and Larissa was back portraying my wife. And her mother returned as well!
It really is just not the same without them (no, I am not being weird here - we just work well together in this capacity).
“We shall see shadows of the things that have been,” said the Ghost. “They will have no consciousness of us.”
As the words are spoken, you pass through the wall, and stand upon an open country road, with fields on either hand. The city had entirely vanished. Not a vestige of it was to be seen. The darkness and the mist had vanished with it, for it was a clear, cold, winter day, with snow upon the ground.
You are conscious of a thousand odors floating in the air, each one connected with a thousand thoughts, and hopes, and joys, and cares long, long, forgotten.
(Paraphrased from Stave II of Charles Dickens ‘A Christmas Carol’)
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| Because all of us were so used to working together, I believe we were reaching a pinnacle here. My real life daughter, in the pink, rejoined us this year after a year hiatus. And Elizabeth returned after a couple years break. In part of our backstory, Larissa and I have no sons - only daughters. Because I need help on the farm, Christine is treated as if she were a boy (unfortunate for her, but what can I do?) and helps me with the necessary farm chores such as manuring, plowing, harrowing, fence and barn repairs, and caring for the larger animals such as the horses, cows, and pigs. |
Living history can be an amazing experience, and there is nothing else quite like it, I dare say.
It's when you find the right people to join you that transportation to the past can almost eerily magically happen.
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| Another "sister" of mine, Jackie, had joined us for the first time. And her daughter, Andrea. |
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| Being that Christine is my right-hand helper on the farm, but so very much loves to wear her pretty dresses, when an opportunity to do a feminine craft comes along, why, she is always anxious to learn it and teach others. And she did just that on this Christmas Eve day - we found her teaching all of the females in the family a sewing project...a project involving the making of butterfly jewelry that she had learned. |
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In her exuberance (and perhaps given the fact that she works manly chores in the fields with me), Christine became a little 'bossy' while showing her family how to make the butterflies - - she even said, "Now, ladies..." as if she were the adult! Her mother had to reprimand her and reminded her that she needed to "mind her tongue." |
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| Agnes the servant girl was on her own this Christmas, and did very well. She was given a day off after New Year's for all of her hard work. |
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| A moment of relaxation after our Christmas dinner~ Eating inside the elegant dining room was such an experience - it made it all come to life in ways not done elsewhere. |
Once again, we had a traditional period Christmas meal, this year being turkey, cranberries, mashed potatoes, vegetables, pickles, cheese, breads...and pumpkin pie!
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| In the evening, carols were sung. Carols of the period: religious in nature - no Santa, Rudolph, or Frosty. |
By the way, our ladies sang, in my opinion, beautifully.
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| And Agnes cleaned up. As I said, our servants are true to form. |
Well, they knew their status and applied it to our events.
There were even times when folks in the modern tour groups became a little miffed at how they perceived our treatment of the servants as being poor.
History lesson without realizing it!
And just so you know, Feather Christmas trees became most popular here in the States during the early 20th century, and were sold by department stores.
Many modern folks believe the myth that it was the Victorians who "invented" the more contemporary manner of Christmas celebrations.
This year, for our first time, we "employed" a real tree.
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| Here is a good picture showing how Larissa moved out of the shadows of the past to speak to the shadows of Christmas yet-to-come to explain what it was like to celebrate this holiday during the American Civil War. |
2016
In our minds the Christmas of 2016 was Christmas of 1861 - - - -
And our 19th century family celebrations continued on...
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| One of the reasons Larissa & I do not "own" this fancy house in our story is because we are more suited to farm life, coming to the city to be with family. It works very well for us. |
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| Here are the 2016 / 1861 participants. Aside from a few slight changes, our core has remained the same. |
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| For years we used a feather tree for our table-top tree. These first artificial trees became popular in Germany in the mid-1800's and then became popular here in America later in the 19th century. We may have jumped the gun a little by having such a tree, but each year we learned a little more and applied and/or changed up whatever we needed to as our research dictated. |
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And what would a Christmas celebration be without food? Food has been a staple of this holiday since time immemorial, and naturally we continued this tradition. Have you ever had a fine meal inside a historic home dining room while in period-correct clothing? And served to you by a domestic servant? If so, then you know it is quite an experience, especially at Christmas time. |
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Saying grace. As living historians, each and every time we sit down to a meal, whether here at Christmas at the Fort or at the Frontier Colonial Cabin, or anywhere else, we say grace. Even at my own real-life modern home... We had a very nice spread for our Christmas Eve dinner, including slices of turkey, cranberries, fruits and vegetables, crackers, and pickles. Candace served us very well. I believe we shall raise her salary next year! |
It is a rarity to be able to see what a Victorian bedroom was like after the sun went down while the darkness of evening covered the land, for most historic homes in open-air museums are either closed up by nightfall or they do not allow visitors on the 2nd floor without some sort of modern lighting to guide their way. Kristen/Christina wanted that opportunity, so she and I went upstairs and took numerous photographs of her in "her" room lit by a candle.
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It is a bit eerie to be in a room only lit by a single flame from a candle. I sometimes wonder if those from the era felt that same eeriness or perhaps they were simply used to it, seeing as this was all they knew. The picture here is one of the more haunting photos I took. |
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| The image here makes me think of a melancholy young lady, spending some quiet time in her room, maybe thinking about her betrothed off fighting in the War. Or reading one of the many novels in her collection... |
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| For those of us used to electric lighting, we don't really consider how truly dark it was in the world of our ancestors. I really enjoyed setting up and taking these photos. |
2017
Another year, and another daughter...or, perhaps, she could be an older version of my daughter from a few years back?
That could very well be - - but we were back to the fort again in 2017 - - we really were feeling like a Christmas family.
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| The 2017 / 1862 participants. |
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| And then my 1862 family We always try to take a yearly "family" photo. This year, for the first time, we came up with a family name: we became the Logan Family. I suppose I just felt it was kind of odd giving everyone my real last name, especially when the servants would call Larissa "Mrs. Giorlando," so this worked perfect. |
Though Jillian had portrayed our daughter during our summer Charlton Park living history excursions (where we also get a period house in which we could immerse ourselves), this was her first time experiencing Christmas at the Fort with us. And we called her the more period-correct name of Jill.
Kristen / Christine had portrayed my daughter for so long that she had repeatedly told me that sometimes she thought of me as her actual father because I always treated her as I would my own daughter. Sometimes even at regular reenactments.
I am what I am...
I think...
(I also will discipline her - oh! the look on her face when I do!)
Now, Jillian was ready for her first Christmas at the Fort, though it sort of bugged her that she was portraying our young daughter - perhaps mid-teens - and, thus, oftentimes acted the manner.
I think to sometimes get back at me (all in good fun, though).
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| Oh, if we could afford to, we would send her to a finishing school. But, alas, there was too much farm work to do. But if you click HERE, you can read how we actually did at one time. |
It is true that many of our traditions in the 21st century come from the Victorian era, there were still many traditions from previous centuries that have carried over as well, including Christmas carols and even bringing live greenery inside the house.
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| The Christmas Tree itself is a Victorian custom that comes from the Germans, but it is still (in most cases) a live plant brought into the house, as was done with boughs and other greenery from centuries past. |
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| Our Merry Victorian Christmas! |
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| All who participate have said how special our Christmas dinner was here at the Fort. |
And for this year we had a fine repast of ham, green beans, potatoes, apple sauce, breads, pie, and other Christmas dinner delights
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| We still call our servant girl Agnes rather than her Christian name of Carrie. If you recall, it was a few years back that Sandy gave Carrie that name. |
Then is was back to the front parlor for more Christmas activities.
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| Our front parlor, all festively decorated. |
2018
As I continued on with my Christmas research, I learned something I had not known before, and then we applied it to our 2018 recreation.
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My 1860s reenacting family: we've been working in this capacity for nearly a decade and pretty much have our 1860s lives of the period down pat. |
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| Violet, my reenacting mother-in-law, played carols on the pump organ. |
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| Jim Cary surprised us by joining us that year. Jim is the husband of our servant, Candace, so it had moments of awkwardness, but all turned out well in the long run. He played along to Violet's carols on his mouth organ. |
I learned that the mouth organ (I read that's what the more common name was, though 'harmonica' was accepted as well) was developed in Europe in the early part of the 19th century, and by the last half of the century it was a popular instrument, and even Billy the Kid & Wyatt Earp, as well as Civil War soldiers on both sides of the Mason-Dixon, were fond of playing it.
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| And, of course, we had the beautiful singing voices... Jennifer joined us this year as Larissa's sister. |
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| Larissa, the mistress of the house for this year (are we no longer farmers?? lol) made sure the pie was up to her standards. I mean, it's Christmas after all, and family & friends would be by - no disappointments allowed!. |
My real-life family and I cut down our Christmas Tree every year, so I thought it natural to also grab one for Christmas at the Fort!
Time for our Christmas supper:
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| In the old Victorian times, Christmas Trees generally were not "dressed" (or decorated) until Christmas Eve. |
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| Ceiling to floor trees inside the houses were not common during the 1860s, especially in the city. |
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| Upping our game, as we continuously say! Doesn't it look beautifully traditional? |
Time for our Christmas supper:
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| The oil lamp I am lighting here is an actual antique from the 1880s. |
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| A toast to Christmas! |
Eating together as we do here has become, perhaps, the most favorite part of our entire day, just as it would have been in the 1860s. I recall many-a-time visiting Greenfield Village and watching the presenters, while in their period clothing in a historic setting, dine as if they were from the past, and just itching to be able to do such a thing; to be a part of a time long past in such a manner as this...
And for so many years, I got to have this dream come true for me as well.
When all is said and done, there is something special about eating a fine Christmas meal in a period setting, dressed in period clothing, especially when using only lighting apparatus of the time.
True sensory immersion in every way.
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| The young lady in the center of this photo is long-time friend and reenactor, Jennifer, who joined us this one time to see how it was. She loved it! |
Just as the singing of carols took place before our meal, the playing of parlor games commenced afterward, including the Twelve Days of Christmas memory game (using all different gifts from the popular song we all know and love today), and an alphabet game.
Oh! What joy - - -
And before we knew it, the evening was over. It is always a bit sad to take everything down -
un-decorating the tree, etc., - for this is as real a Christmas party as any one could have, whether 1862 or 2018.
2019
2019 was a different year indeed!
To begin with, Christmas was cancelled.
No, not the holiday itself - - here...let me explain:
It was different not having tour groups come through. I habitually kept looking out the window to see them walking up to the house, but not this year. We did this strictly for ourselves.
There was a problem with the heat in the holding building where the touring guests begin and it could not be used.
So, the event was cancelled...sigh...
I had to let my fellow living historians know, and they, like me, were none too happy:
Larissa wrote: "What?????? So sad. It’s the highlight of my holidays."
Carrie wrote: "Yeah not to get too depressing here, but Christmas at the fort officially kicks off the holiday season for me."
Yeah...me, too.
So I went to work in asking if we could still celebrate Christmas the way we always do, only without the visiting public.
The answer was a resounding "Yes!"
Oh, smiles on faces as if they were children on Christmas morning!
And then it was decided we would try to keep in an immersion zone at our own private event, though we also agreed to allow for some modernisms, as long as they were not too intrusive. Without the touring modern public, we could live out the 1860s without 21st century intrusions. No scripts or planned "drama." No reminders that we were reenactors ("They would have done this, right?"). Nothing planned other than what many families of the time did during that period such as 'dressing' the Christmas tree and preparing for Christmas itself.
It would be like having our own private 1860s Christmas celebration!
In our world it was Christmas Eve 1864, and we would be visiting my sister Sarah's house (Sandy rejoined us this year). Larissa & I found it better for us to continue as farmers.
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| Our 2019 family group photo~ The little girl being held by Kristen is Nadia - the daughter of Agnes (Carrie), but for this event she was Christine's daughter. Larissa and I found ourselves suddenly becoming grandparents! |
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| Christmas Tree decorating time! Yes, we got another real table-top tree this year! |
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| One of the best parts about all of our gatherings are the conversations. More often than not, we attempt to stay in 1st person. |
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| The tree is, as they said, "dressed." |
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| Sandy / Sarah played carols on the pump organ. |
Carol singing was always a highlight.
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| Looking at the front parlor from the back parlor. |
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| Agnes baked us a pumpkin pie. |
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| And she did a marvelous job festively setting the table. |
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| Another "family" photo. |
Little did we know of what the modern future had in store for us:
2020
The year of covid.
The year the entire world shut down.
The year without a Christmas at the Fort.
They wouldn't even allow us to hold another private celebration.
That's what the fear did to everyone.
So..
Onto 2021.
2021
If there ever was a magical Christmas at the Fort, it was the one we did in 2021. It was also the accumulation of all we did before...
Sadly, it was also the last one. The Fort had been taken over by the state, therefore there are all sorts of restrictions put upon it. Which is a real shame, because it was reenactors who kept it alive for the past 25+ years.
Yep---get the government involved and they mess it all up.
So, without knowing, we went out on top with the best one yet.
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My 1860s family~ The group of finest living historians I've ever had the pleasure to work with (aside for one or two who were missing this year). From left: Jackie (portraying my sister), me, Larissa, Charlotte (portraying Larissa's sister), and standing in the back is our servant girl Agnes with her daughter...who, dare I say, sort of portrays mine and Larissa's granddaughter (Kristen was not here this year). |
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Charlotte had never seen a stereoscope before and enjoyed looking at the magic of eyeing two photographs to make one...and give it a 3-dimensional depth. (Okay, so in real life she has seen stereoscopes before...lol) I spy an undecorated table-top Christmas tree there as well. |
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It was in our front parlor that we decorated the table-top Christmas tree. It's freshly cut and smells wonderful. |
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| Little Nadia did help us to decorate (or "dress") the Christmas Tree. |
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| Once decorated, she simply stared at its beauty. Christmas... |
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| A family photo with the tree~ |
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| My wife knitted and listened as I read from Dickens' novella, "A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas," which was originally printed in 1843 and has remained one of the most popular and enduring Christmas stories of all time throughout the 19th, 20th, and now 21st century. The book I read from is a replica of the original from 1843. |
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| Larissa playing the grandmother role in showing Nadia knitting. |
It is always such a good time carrying on as an 1860s family and keeping our mindset focused on our lives at this time.
Now Christine's step-mother, who she affectionately called "mother," continuously taught her step-daughter the art of mothering, how to be a respectable lady, and how to take care of her own husband, when he returned from off fighting in the War.
And how to care for her daughter.
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| Fresh baked pies and bread made by our servant, Agnes. |
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| Our Christmas Eve table setting in the dining room. |
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Since 2013 we have been able to eat our "Christmas Eve" meal inside the dining room of this historic house. Out of everything we do throughout the day, this has always been our biggest highlight. |
We've been doing 1st person/immersion long enough together to successfully be as close to the 1860s as one can. And I can tell you, I am certain that the differences from our celebration to one from 160 years ago were not many.
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| Agnes serving her mistress. |
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Jackie - my 1860s sister |
Something very special happened this year - something we've not done here before.
For nearly 40 years I have been lighting the candles on our home Christmas Tree, just as was done in the 19th and early 20th century. So this year I thought I would ask if perhaps we could...just to see...hmmm...do you think we could maybe try it here to really recreate a Victorian Christmas?
So I asked...
The first response was, "No, I don't think so."
It wasn't an outright No!" but an "I don't think so" kind of no, meaning it was still a possibility.
So I then said, "I've been doing this for nearly 40 years - I know what I'm doing."
The next response was, "...I don't know..." meaning there was no "no" there at all. So I added, "Imagine what it would be like!" To which the reply was, "The tree goes right out on the front lawn should anything happen." And I said, "Immediately. But I promise nothing is going to happen."
So I began to prepare for this event - - -
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Positioning the candles for safe lighting positions. I have been lighting candles on our Christmas Tree at my modern home for 37 years now. This was my first all-period lighting. |
Then the last tour group came in, and the guide noted to them that they were about to witness something no one has seen here, then handed the floor to me. I gave a bit of history of Christmas Trees, then the highlight of the evening...of the entire day...came about when we blew out our oil lamps and then lit the candles on the Christmas Tree:
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| The lighting of the candles commenced. |
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| One of the most magical moments in my reenacting history - lighting the candles on a table-top tree at Historic Fort Wayne for Christmas at the Fort. |
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And to make it even better, we had the tour group - the last group of visitors for the night - sing "Silent Night" while watching the tree all aglow. Immersive~ I do not believe anyone there was not Overwhelmed. |
The person in charge of the Fort at that time was in awe and I believe had tears in his eyes.
And the looks on the faces of the modern people in the tour group - they could not take their eyes off the tree. It was magical for them as well - something I am certain they will continue to speak of as long as their memories will hold out ("Remember when we were at Fort Wayne at Christmas and...").
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The moment captured here and in the following two pictures was indescribable. Simply breathtaking. This just may have been the most "Victorian" we have ever become. It was, simply put, one of those unforgettable moments. |
Here it is in a short clip Larissa took:
This memory will also never leave my mind...nor any of us in that 1863 family.
I believe our 2021 Christmas at the Fort, with carol singing, eating in the dining area, decorating the Christmas Tree, then lighting the candles on said tree, was the pinnacle - the culmination - of all of our years there. I do not believe the past felt more real or more alive than that Saturday, December 4th.
So, within a day or two after the Christmas at the Fort event took place, we all wrote quick "reports" - a line or two each - to summarize our opinions of how we felt it went.
Carrie - Last night was a great time. The tree was the highlight of the evening for me. Magic.
Charlotte - ‘‘Twas a lovely day” spending time with my “history family” at historic Fort Wayne Detroit for their Christmas tour. We were privileged to occupy the commandants quarter’s as a Civil War era family. We laughed, dined, decorated and sang Silent Night around a Candle lit tree. Thank you Ken, Jackie, Carrie and Larissa.
Jackie - I don’t think we can top last night, but knowing all of you we probably will. What a special moment.
Ken (me) - I spoke with Tom B. tonight - - he was absolutely thrilled with what we did, as he usually is, but the candle-lit tree just put it over the top. He said, just as we all have, that it was magical.
Yes...it truly was - - I've never lit candles on a tree while in my period clothing before...while surrounded by others wearing clothing of the same era. And definitely not in an authentic period home - a home that Tom says did exactly as we did a hundred and forty years ago.
Just wow-----
Larissa - We had a very special moment lighting the candles on our Christmas tree with a group of visitors at Fort Wayne last night. It was magical.
And 'neath my posted picture on Facebook I received a few very nice comments as well:
Kimberly - Beautiful! This makes me think of my Great Great Grandparents and I wouldn't be surprised if they had Christmas trees just like your beautiful Christmas tree.
Vicki - Absolutely gorgeous!
Joyce - What a great picture!! Merry 1800's Christmas.
Susan - Oh my goodness.
Linda - Beautiful! That’s a Christmas card right there!
Sharon M. - It’s simply beautiful Ken. Thank you for sharing.
We need to also put it in context what had occurred earlier that year:
"On a sad note, we lost a very important member of our 1860s Logan "family" - - - - Larissa's mother, Violet, who joined us nearly every Christmas here at the Fort, passed away in August, so it was much tougher for Larissa - and all of us - to take part. Violet portrayed my mother-in-law, and I was proud to call her that, even if for only a short few hours each time. And when those who portrayed mine and Larissa's children could join us, they happily called Violet "grandmother," and she took them on as her grandchildren. Most of all, however, Violet added to the Christmas cheer and celebration by playing and singing Christmas carols at the pump organ there in the parlor.
But through it all, Larissa pulled through, and she even noted to us that-------
"(This was) something very special that I won’t forget. Thanks to you all for making a hard but wonderful day perfect."
We were very happy to do so, my good friend.
Very happy to do so.
So I dedicate today's blog post to Violet Kyryluk - a wonderful lady to all who knew her, wife to Nick, mother to Larissa and Marcus, and grandmother to Zane & Titus...and actual mother-in-law to Mike (Larissa's husband). You were all blessed...and we who knew her were blessed as well."
And with that, our Christmas at the Fort is ended.
I always have this slight hope I may receive a call or an email asking if we could resurrect the 1860s Logan family.
Perhaps one day it will happen...
Until next time, see you in time.
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Postscript:
I suppose now, for those of us who participated for so many years, we actually can have a nostalgia and do have memories of a 19th century Christmas, similar to those of 160 years ago, due to the manner in which we projected ourselves for so many years; experiencing same nostalgic emotions and memories. I mean, it's pretty obvious that we were not around during the horse-and-carriage days, and yet I still have a sort of nostalgic feeling for Christmas past of that time.
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You know what would be fun to do sometime?
A colonial Christmas.
Yeah...that would be interesting to try...
Merry Christmas~
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