Once we were involved in the hobby of reenacting we began to notice that some of our friends took on the actual persona of famous people from the time period. We had friends that portrayed Abraham Lincoln, Mary Todd Lincoln, Governor Austin Blair and his wife, K.C. Barker the Mayor of Detroit during the Civil War, George Armstrong Custer and his wife, and others.
One afternoon I was sitting with a gentleman who portrayed Abraham Lincoln when a group of spectators came up and started to chat with him. After a short while they turned to me and asked if I was his wife, Mary Todd, and I answered "No, she is out giving a speech at the special impressions tent, but I am a friend". They inquired how I knew Mrs. Lincoln and I launched into an explanation. I told them that Mary was from Kentucky and was sometimes alienated and without many friends, living in Washington, as many people thought she had Southern ties, she was even being accused of spying. I understood her since I myself was from Tennessee. I had married a man from the North who had done business with my family's mercantile. My parents had also been conductors on the underground railroad and were anti-slavery. My husband was quite a bit older than I and when we wed I moved to Port Huron, Michigan with him and continued my families underground railroad activities by ferrying runaway slaves across the river to Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. We had two young children when my husband passed away with heart problems. In order to preserve my husbands business and wealth/inheritance for my son I had remained in the North placing a foreman to keep the business thriving, when the war broke out. I had brothers, Uncles and Cousins still in the South, many of whom were fighting for states rights in the Confederate army. I understood how Mary Todd felt, but also knew that she was a strong supporter of the Union, as was I. That is how Mary Todd and I had become friends..through our similar backgrounds. The Spectators left and Ralph (Lincoln) turned to me and asked me when I had come up with the personal back ground I had just explained? I answered "OH, about 2 minutes ago. I just made it up". He was quite impressed that I came up with the story on such short notice. Though here is what makes it all so strange . About two years later my Uncle was digging around in the family tree and found some interesting information on the family during the Civil War. It seems that my ancestors really did own a Mercantile in Nashville Tennessee. The family had six children four sons and two daughters. One daughter married and moved North....Do I hear the Twilight Zone theme song playing??? That is just too close to the made up story I told to those spectators off the top of my head. Perhaps there was some kind of genetic memory??
I have kept that story and embellished it to accommodate the aging of my children and myself. Now that the children are in their mid 20's I say that my son, being a strong unionist went to fight with the 2nd United States Sharp Shooters Co.B and I could not leave the family business and return to my family in the South without cheating my son of his inheritance. It still works as a story for the family. It puts us in the 19th century middle class and allows me to have a background that can be altered when necessary for any given event or time line.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
How It All Began
This is the beginning of our 17th season as living historians. My children and I have been interested and portraying periods in history since 1993. Mostly we represent the time period of the American Civil War 1861-1865. Also known as the War Between the States and The War of Northern Aggression, depending on which side of the Mason Dixon line you are from.
I had a small taste of this hobby as a young girl while visiting The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan. A friend of the family from Ohio would come each June and attend what was then called "The Muzzle Loaders Festival" with his Civil War military unit from Ohio. My mother made me a dress and I would walk around feeling very much a part of the past. I even attended a couple of the balls in the beautiful Lovett Hall and became completely enamored with the mid nineteenth century recreation. Little did I know then that the zipper up the back of my dress or the polyester fabric my mother used was in no way, shape or form period correct.
Later, during the summers of 1969 and 1970 I had a job working at Greenfield Village as a part of the Public Relations Department. I attended six weeks of training and had to become not only familiar with the Museum and the Village, but all of South East Michigan and crossing the Canadian border. I wore a late 19th century costume and greeted and gave directions and instruction to visitors entering both museums. I sure had my picture taken a lot during those summers. However, the costumes (yes, I said costumes) were not period correct either. They were just for show and not researched or looked at too closely by even the museum personal.
I have always had a love of history, especially the early Victorian era when the American Civil War was raging. It was a terrible time in our countries history but also a time of great change. It has shaped us and still effects us today in the year 2010. That is probably the reason why I was drawn to the hobby of being a "Living Historian" in late 1993.
Our church was holding a holiday "Tea" in the church parlor and I attended. I had recently been divorced and it was one of those rare occasions that I could get out without the children and do something for just myself. I was chatting with one of the ladies and mentioned how I was looking for an activity for my young children (then ages 9 and 6 yrs. old)and I to participate in together as a family. You see, I had visions of being a single parent and shuttling my son to one location for his activities and then shuttling my daughter to something else, working full time, and not having any time to do things together. I didn't have any support system back then as the grandparents were in their 80's, the children's child carer had just passed away after a battle with cancer and I was not getting much, make that ANY help or respite from parenting from their father. This woman that I was speaking with asked if I would like to attend a Civil War Event...held at....Greenfield Village!!! All of a sudden my mind was flooded with memories of the times I had spent at the Village and I thought ..This is it!! What I had been looking for! A family hobby we could all participate in together.
I have been a seamstress all my life. In fact I come from a long line of seamstresses and crafters. My friend gave me some books on the fashions of the Civil War era. With the books she gave me and the little research I did at the library and through my own stash of costume patterns I made myself and my daughter our first outfits to wear at our first event. My friend was surprised how well turned out we were for our first event. However, looking back on those first outfits I cringe at how inappropriate and FARBE (this means far from being correct) it was from being "authentic period clothing". They didn't have zippers up the back but that being said they were still not appropriate, they were still just "costumes".
We had a glorious time at the Village that first time. My son was particularly interested in the military aspects of living history. My daughter made a best friend of the women who introduced us to reenacting. At that first event I made a discovery of something we could all do together. Thus we became time travelers, reenactors, and living historians.
On the way home from that first event I asked each of the children to answer four questions. 1. Did you have a good time? 2. What did you like best about the event? 3. What did you like least about the event or would have changed if you could? and finally 4. Do you want to continue in this hobby and attend/do another event? Little did I know that I was instilling a tradition that we still adhere to even now.
The answers to those questions were all so positive that I knew we would become more immersed in the hobby if at all possible.
I have had many people over the years tell me that my children, when they became teens, would want no part of the living history hobby, thinking it was stupid and dorky. I guess that is why we still use the four questions. I figured if they ever came to the point that it was no longer something they wanted to participate, we would stop. Well, just the opposite has been true. Both of the children embraces the history hobby and have even expanded into other aspects of the Civil War and also other eras of history.
The need for more authentic, period correct clothing has also captured my interests. I have endeavored to learn more about sewing techniques of the 19th century. I have also tried to learn and research clothing and manners of the period and continue to incorporate them into the hobby. I really wanted to be an educator and give a correct impression of the period from the skin on out, whenever possible. I have not perfected my period clothing wardrobe, but it is something I continue to try and improve. I can not imagine how many photo and scrapbook albums our pictures have graced over the past 16 years.
This is how it all began. I will continue this blog with more incite into our persona/first person story and where we are now in our living history hobby.
Regards,
Momma Linda
I had a small taste of this hobby as a young girl while visiting The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan. A friend of the family from Ohio would come each June and attend what was then called "The Muzzle Loaders Festival" with his Civil War military unit from Ohio. My mother made me a dress and I would walk around feeling very much a part of the past. I even attended a couple of the balls in the beautiful Lovett Hall and became completely enamored with the mid nineteenth century recreation. Little did I know then that the zipper up the back of my dress or the polyester fabric my mother used was in no way, shape or form period correct.
Later, during the summers of 1969 and 1970 I had a job working at Greenfield Village as a part of the Public Relations Department. I attended six weeks of training and had to become not only familiar with the Museum and the Village, but all of South East Michigan and crossing the Canadian border. I wore a late 19th century costume and greeted and gave directions and instruction to visitors entering both museums. I sure had my picture taken a lot during those summers. However, the costumes (yes, I said costumes) were not period correct either. They were just for show and not researched or looked at too closely by even the museum personal.
I have always had a love of history, especially the early Victorian era when the American Civil War was raging. It was a terrible time in our countries history but also a time of great change. It has shaped us and still effects us today in the year 2010. That is probably the reason why I was drawn to the hobby of being a "Living Historian" in late 1993.
Our church was holding a holiday "Tea" in the church parlor and I attended. I had recently been divorced and it was one of those rare occasions that I could get out without the children and do something for just myself. I was chatting with one of the ladies and mentioned how I was looking for an activity for my young children (then ages 9 and 6 yrs. old)and I to participate in together as a family. You see, I had visions of being a single parent and shuttling my son to one location for his activities and then shuttling my daughter to something else, working full time, and not having any time to do things together. I didn't have any support system back then as the grandparents were in their 80's, the children's child carer had just passed away after a battle with cancer and I was not getting much, make that ANY help or respite from parenting from their father. This woman that I was speaking with asked if I would like to attend a Civil War Event...held at....Greenfield Village!!! All of a sudden my mind was flooded with memories of the times I had spent at the Village and I thought ..This is it!! What I had been looking for! A family hobby we could all participate in together.
I have been a seamstress all my life. In fact I come from a long line of seamstresses and crafters. My friend gave me some books on the fashions of the Civil War era. With the books she gave me and the little research I did at the library and through my own stash of costume patterns I made myself and my daughter our first outfits to wear at our first event. My friend was surprised how well turned out we were for our first event. However, looking back on those first outfits I cringe at how inappropriate and FARBE (this means far from being correct) it was from being "authentic period clothing". They didn't have zippers up the back but that being said they were still not appropriate, they were still just "costumes".
We had a glorious time at the Village that first time. My son was particularly interested in the military aspects of living history. My daughter made a best friend of the women who introduced us to reenacting. At that first event I made a discovery of something we could all do together. Thus we became time travelers, reenactors, and living historians.
On the way home from that first event I asked each of the children to answer four questions. 1. Did you have a good time? 2. What did you like best about the event? 3. What did you like least about the event or would have changed if you could? and finally 4. Do you want to continue in this hobby and attend/do another event? Little did I know that I was instilling a tradition that we still adhere to even now.
The answers to those questions were all so positive that I knew we would become more immersed in the hobby if at all possible.
I have had many people over the years tell me that my children, when they became teens, would want no part of the living history hobby, thinking it was stupid and dorky. I guess that is why we still use the four questions. I figured if they ever came to the point that it was no longer something they wanted to participate, we would stop. Well, just the opposite has been true. Both of the children embraces the history hobby and have even expanded into other aspects of the Civil War and also other eras of history.
The need for more authentic, period correct clothing has also captured my interests. I have endeavored to learn more about sewing techniques of the 19th century. I have also tried to learn and research clothing and manners of the period and continue to incorporate them into the hobby. I really wanted to be an educator and give a correct impression of the period from the skin on out, whenever possible. I have not perfected my period clothing wardrobe, but it is something I continue to try and improve. I can not imagine how many photo and scrapbook albums our pictures have graced over the past 16 years.
This is how it all began. I will continue this blog with more incite into our persona/first person story and where we are now in our living history hobby.
Regards,
Momma Linda
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