Letting History Talk For Fun: Reenactments and Historical Demonstration

 In the way these things usually happen, I accidentally started myself down the road into a whole new hobby a few months ago when I did a letterpress printing demonstration in period costume. They say historical reenacting is one of the fastest growing hobbies in the world, as people engage personally in their favorite time period. Meet the newest wannabe American Civil War era civilian reenactor!

Late last summer, I heard about a museum-hosted event in nearby Stephenville, Texas: "By Gone Days on the Bosque". They were looking for demonstrators of old time crafts and life for the annual one-day fundraiser celebrating the post-civil-war period in this portion of Erath County along the Bosque River. Those were true Wild West Days, when the citizens really were  cowboys, outlaws, Indians, settlers, renegades, notorious lawmen, cattle ranchers, rustlers, fence cutters, farmers, and sheep herders.

I offered to show how a wanted poster would have been made, using wood type and my little portable press. They had never had a Printer and welcomed me. My sister served on the board of a local museum in her town, and lent me a dress she had made from a period-correct pattern. She also made me a "pinner" apron to wear. I didn't have a bonnet so I used a hair net and a doily gathered with ribbon to cover my hair. Given the short time frame, I cobbled together a fairly passable outfit (Marjorie, I have not forgotten that I do need a corset :-) ).

I went to the experts in letterpress history: the LETPRESS email list, and got wonderful advice on what to wear and how to approach it. They especially recommended the book "Newspapering in the Old West", filled with photos and detailed information that is essential for accuracy. It is one thing to tell people that women were actively employed in the printing trade, and even owned and published newspapers during that time, but showing photos substantiates it, important proofs for all of us who were educated in the myth that American women "didn't work" before the feminist movement of the 1960s.

I have attended reenactment events before as a tourist, been a vendor at antique shows, and have demonstrated printing as an art form and a modern day craft. So I expected to enjoy myself. I had the BEST time!!!! Paul's back was killing him (two days later was when we learned it really was killing him and the surgeon saved his life - see previous post for details), so I had to go by myself, but it was still loads of fun.

Since then, I have been absorbed in caring for Paul as he recovers, and have been reading up on Historical Reenacting as it plays out in Texas and considering how I can take part. Most groups accessible to me focus on the last half of the nineteenth century (Civil War, Wild West, Indian Wars). Although far from expert, my knowledge about printing and merchandise in that era would make it easiest to take on an impression of a civilian merchant ("sutler") and Job Printer.

So I guess, now,  I am nearing the stage of identifying people in near-by groups to learn about their focus and what kind of impressions their group needs, to see if any would be a good fit. It will still be quite a while before I have freedom to attend events or take an active role. In the meantime I can keep studying, read the various forums, prepare myself and some materials, and start putting together a nice, authentic costume.

Now I am wondering: is there anything I need to know that I don't know I need to know? ;-)

My Fair Lady: Support Your Local Theater

What's playing on the little theater stage in your town this week?

There are amazing hidden talents in our friends and neighbors, and we don't have to watch America's Got Talent to see it. The next person we speak with in any local business is very likely to be able to dance, write, sing, command, heal, paint, compose, design, speak, run, bat, build, perform, or act so well it would leave us speechless. The person next door, down the block, around the corner, is a suprising miracle.

If next summer you find yourself in Texas, in proximity to attend the Brownwood Lyric Theater's Summer Musical, by all means make the effort and go!

We saw My Fair Lady last week and it was WONDERFUL.

This is Paul's favorite musical. The book in that photo up there came out of our bookshelf. So, on the one hand, that made it a must-see production, on the other hand, he was a bit nervous. We know there are a lot of talented people in the area - we saw Fiddler on the Roof last year. But this is the middle of rural Texas after all, and the British accents are crucial to the story.

They did a fabulous job. The acting from the entire cast was top-notch. The music (solo, choral and orchestral) was perfect. The choreography was down pat. The directing was worthy of Broadway. The costumes were magnificent. The accents would have fooled a native Londoner.

We were both so pleased and delighted! It is noteworthy that Paul was impressed, because in his earlier life he did summer stock (The Lost Colony) and actually lived in New York City, working on off-broadway shows, for a while. So he has been immersed in professional theater - when he gives praise, he knows from personal experience what it is he is applauding.

I am no expert, but I know that there were times during the performance that I forgot I was watching a play and became completely caught up in the events on stage.

And the $10 ticket price made it the best bargain around.

We are so constantly exposed to the most sophisticated entertainment there is. Via television, movies, and dvds, any night of the week we can watch the greatest actors in the world, see the most cutting edge special effects, hear music recorded and mixed with the most exacting sound equipment.

But there's still room to be charmed, delighted, entertained, and even swept into a spontaneous standing ovation by our own neighbors, teachers, shopkeepers, administrators, cabinet makers, as they share their amazing talent in beautiful live events like this one. You have to be there to experience it.

So! What's playing in your town this week?

Mardi Gras in Shreveport!

Pat over at And So it Goes in Shreveport has a great post chronicling upcoming the Mardi Gras Parade - in Shreveport! That's right: just a hop and a skip across the river. And she makes it sound like a great long block party with something for everyone.

Looks like Fat Tuesday has its own special flavor in northern Louisiana - go see for yourself:
"Take a Trip to Shreveport's Mardi Gras"!

Pirates Talk, Pirates Walk, Pirates Have A Party

If whereever you turn, you hear people blurting out Spanish Main kinds of things like "Avast!" and "Aaaaarrggggghh", can International Talk Like A Pirate Day be far away? Time to start drawing the map - it's already August & September 19th will be blowing in on a fair wind before we know it.

Mom in High Heels has some very cute ideas for a pirate themed party, with games for little ones and a whole menu that would be a hoot even if the pirates are getting a little long in the tooth! There's a fabulous cake, and my favorite was this watermelon shark (photo above, with Mrs HH's kind permission). See the whole thing on her blog (and don't miss their trip to LegoLand while you are there).

Only 48 days to go. Better start trying to find some of those nifty Skull goblets!

~

What else happened on September 19th? Oh yeah - the Continental Congress passed the first Budget of the United States. As they've done every year since. Oh. Wait.

Vintage Photos: Child Actors in Mexican Costume

Aren't these little actors wonderful? No, they aren't family (although that little girl does remind me of Frances except Frances is not that old!). These photos date from the turn of the last century... the 1890's to maybe as late as the Nineteen "teens".



I love the way the children's costumes show off three different elements of traditional Mexican culture. ¿mismo dulce, sí? (What does that say, Valerie? I cheated and used Babblefish. ;-))

The photos are mounted on cardstock (as was customary in the era in which they were made - and this is one element used to help date them) and are fairly large. We sell a lot of photos but I also have a small collection of those I am just not ready to give up yet. These little siblings are in that category.

I've never been one to want lots of photos of the family, and I don't have many photos out on display. I guess in part it is because it makes me miss those so much more than I always do already.

Vintage images, though, of people I never knew, enthrall me as little slices of life captured to show us that human nature does not change. Fashions change, customs change, but the reality does not.

Vintage Dutch Postcards

Within my collection of vintage photos, I ran across these lovely ones from The Netherlands, before WWI (World War One). These were the everyday clothes of the people who lived there before the great technological, scientific and industrial breakthroughs of the 20th Century put us all the world over into blue jeans and sneakers.

Notice the skylight in the roof, and how the man stands before an open window to mend his nets? Before electricity, interiors were lit only at night, as people would not want to waste fuel by burning their oil or kerosene lamps during the day. In the old downtown parts of cities, you sometimes can still see the wells in sidewalks that were built to allow windows in basements of buildings.