November daily life event in Missouri

[Abrams]

Re: November daily life event in Missouri

Cool. Thanks for the info. :) I just had no knowledge at all about what these events were like. I'd not considered the civilian side much before I guess. In town here, we had a Heritage Days at the Stevenson House in town, and people got dressed up in period clothing and did demonstrations of life in the early 1800's, but it closed up and they all went home at evening. It was really pretty neat. Best thing would be to just go to one I reckon, and jump in.

I just figure that every soldier was a civilian both before and after the war, and so some items might actually do dual duty. I am sure soldiers carried some mundane items, like combs, writing sets, utensils and such. Things that regular civilians would also use. Also, soldiers returning home after their enlistment was up, or due to wounds, would likely retain some of their soldier's gear.

I'll just have to come to the next one and see whats up. :)

[Hargis, G. 5 A-1]

Re: November daily life event in Missouri

Retted moss not being a ready option in other areas, I'm wondering what the holding medium was.

At Camp Ford (Texas), we fireproofed the wooden fireplaces and chimneys with clay and pine straw “cats.” The clay shielded the structure and the pine needles served as the binder.

Hargis, G.

[Deborah Hyland]

AAR & Thank Yous

First, my AAR: I sold candy. That's it.

Seriously, I was busy from dawn until dusk on Saturday, updated my books starting at dawn on Sunday, and settled accounts and sold more candy until the event ended Sunday afternoon. I had a free period of about 30 minutes when someone spelled me in the mercantile while I introduced Melissa Walker (welcome!) to some other folks.

The weekend was such an immersive experience, that I really can't say what went on except for my very small part of it, which was about candy, candy, and more candy.

All I can do is thank the following:

Virginia Mescher, for her article on candy in the CW Historian and for so graciously answering my emails with follow-up questions.

Silvana Siddali, for all her behind-the-scenes work, most of which we'll never know about, for her supplies for the Mercantile, and for taking the time to write period letters for our post office.

Mike Kupsch, for running the Widows and Orphans table and for making a period mason's apron so that my husband did not have to spend his weekend surrounded by a gaggle of women.

Carl Anderton, for playing wonderful music. I'm so sorry that exhaustion prevented me from staying up and enjoying more of it.

Our schoolmistresses, Misses Souter and Miles, for keeping the children occupied for several hours. We all benefited and it is you who truly deserve the reward of merit cards.

The parents of said children, espeically the parents of young Fallon and Kyle P for entrusting them to us for the weekend. They were a testament to their good rearing.

Nancy Troxel for all her work in the kitchen and for her beautiful organ music in church on Sunday.

Terry Sorchy for first-person conversation and truly the best turkey dinner I've ever had in my life.

Vivian Murphy for all her help with the dinner and for being willing to drive so many others to the event, thus adding to our experience.

Trish Hasenmeuller for spelling me in the shop for a bit. I truly needed the break.

And to everyone else I don't mention by name, just for looking so nice. Everywhere I looked I was so pleased to see such wonderful impressions. Each glimpse was like stepping back in time.

[elcid01]

Re: November daily life event in Missouri

Great event, thanks to all the hard work of those who made it happen.
I am looking forward to more events at this site, trully a wonderful experience.

I suggested that we incorporate a Milita theme to the next one... thought Ideas?

once again this was a Bully weekend and I trully enjoyed myself. had to run a extra 5 miles on monday to work off all the extra food. terry made the young man traveling through town on his was to San fran feel at home.

[M_Kupsch]

Re: November daily life event in Missouri

Skip,

Top drawer idea about the militia theme. That wide open field would make a perfect parade ground for drilling.

[Silvana Siddali]

Re: November daily life event in Missouri

Yes, that is a great idea, and in fact the Lindenwood University administration were quite enthused about it. So mark your calendars for April 25-27 for a very early-war recruitment & militia drilling event, with strong civilian interaction, at Boonesfield. More info on that event shortly.

Like Deborah, I would like to thank everyone who attended and who did such a wonderful job with their impressions and their environments. Terry and Nancy created a perfectly cozy, detailed 19th century farm home. Yes, that turkey was stunning; almost unbelievably good. There was a chorus of gasps and cheers. That dinner was so lovely! What a treat to have such a fine banquet in a lamp-lit room with a cheerful fire in the background and friendly company around the table.

Vivian, Trish, Fallon, and Shirley worked monumentally hard on the cooking and cleaning. The Aufmuth Family was a pure delight as always, even if some of the kids didn't quite understand why they had to attend school on a Saturday! But the two schoolteachers Stormi and Sandi had prepared excellent and enjoyable lessons for them. By the way, the director of Education at the University was deeply impressed with the school.

Mary Gutzke and Mary Warren ran the Dressmaker's shop with their period sewing machine; Mike and Larry ran the Freemasons' "Widows and Orphans" table; Deborah's mercantile was truly a work of art. Not only did she have a magnificent and carefully researched display of period candy, she had arranged the whole store beautifully. She also researched period-accurate book-keeping and made sure everyone's bills were handled correctly. I know that was a lot of work while dealing with a steady stream of customers. Anna worked hard in the garden -- she cleared out half of it all by herself. Mr. Owens, Mr. Miles, and Mr. Smith chopped our wood for the winter and did other chores. Charles Hoskins was dapper as an attorney from out of town who blew a cloud with the other fellows. Carl Anderton and Kyle regaled us with their brilliant music all weekend. We enjoyed a little singing and some of us even took a few turns of "Soldier's Joy" around the room after the supper.

One of my favorite parts of the event was the Sunday service. Frank preached a good sermon that took into account Missouri's troubles in 1861 and the theme of Resurrection. Terry (our Sexton) seated everyone in church, took care of the collection for the poor, and arranged the procession. Nancy Troxel is a trained church organist, so she was able to provide inspiring music for our hymns. That was such a treat!

The village looked particularly lovely nestled in its valley, with the leaves on the trees just finishing their display of color around all the hills. What I love about the site is that it's surrounded by farmland, so as you approach it you gradually leave the present behind.

I'm happy to report that the university administration was very, very pleased with the event and has already asked us to come back as often as we like. They're envisioning "November Daily Life" as a regular annual feature, and have already scheduled a spring event. I think that's a tribute to the hard work and dedication of all the people who traveled so far and did so much research on their impressions. We had folks from North Carolina, Georgia, Wisconsin, Tennessee, and Iowa (not to mention a few St. Louisans!)

So think about coming out next spring for our militia muster, and start planning some civilian impressions too! We will be able to invite more people next time and can probably accommodate a few more specialized impressions. We're particularly interested in someone who can occupy the print shop and someone who would be willing to run the pottery shop. We could also use a miller and certainly anyone who's willing to bring livestock.

Looking ahead to next fall, the village has acquired two new (well, antebellum, but new to the village) houses; those will be ready for occupation by next autumn.

I don't have too many pictures, unfortunately, but you can get an idea from these:

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2330605590077991546HzsGeu

I hope others will contribute their photographs.

[Annette Bethke]

Re: November daily life event in Missouri

Oh how fun. I'm so glad your event was such a success! I have the April date down; we'll see if I can swing it out of Texas....so many great events, so little time...oh, yeah and money :).

Congratulations on your success.

[23rdIllinoisIrish]

Re: November daily life event in Missouri

Silvana,
The Boonesville event pictures looked fantastic and I'm greatly saddened that I missed it! The militia event in April sounds great and I hope I'll be invited to take part :wink_smil I hope to meet you all soon in April, fire on the Homeguard in Athens, and stomp through my native woods at Marmy's raid!

I'm also sending you a PM about the pottery shop at the event.


Thanks all,
For Missouri and the Cause,
Matthew Jas. Shomaker

[Anna Allen]

Re: November daily life event in Missouri

Had an awesome time last weekend! I was amazed at how many people from far away showed up. It was really neat to be able to meet several of you who I'd heard so much about. I hope we'll be able to do more events together in the near future. I also want to thank those of you who spent hours, weeks and months preparing for this event. Silvana, you did an amazing job coordinating everything! Thank you also for sharing the cat... and for putting up with me all weekend. You know how much trouble I can cause.

Deborah, your mercantile was fantastic! I can tell that you put a lot of time and money into it. I rarely saw you outside the shop all weekend! It was fun watching customers look at the colorful array of candy you had on the counter. Adults seemed to turn into little children as they eyed the sweet confections. Every time I saw a little one walking by I noticed their hands filled with candy. I'm sure their parents weren't too happy to discover the large amounts of sugar they had consumed throughout the day. The kids really added a lot to the event for me as well. While I was gardening I got to watch the children at school during their art lesson with Trish and then later in the day when they played games. It was a bit of a "period moment" for me. Stormi and Sandi did an impressive job keeping all those kids occupied the entire weekend!

Saturday's dinner was absolutely scrumptious! Everything tasted so lovely. It's a good thing I had my corset on; you can't really eat too much in one of those things... ;) A special thanks goes out to Frank Aufmuth for providing the lovely lovely cherry bounce after dinner. I know you said it wasn't quite ready, but it still tasted wonderful. Those cherries sure have a powerful punch, though! It enabled me to dance a few rounds after dinner. Doubt I could have done it without that bit of "inspiration." :) Also a huge thanks to Carl Anderton for playing his new banjo for us and for all the intelligent conversations we've had. I always enjoy talking music with you, Carl! It was fun to hear Kyle P. on the bones. You sure know how to move your arms! It was entertaining just watching you! Mike Kupsch, thanks for always being so pleasant to be around. You're a true gentleman. You Kansas City guys really make an event special for me. I know it's always going to be a great time when ya'll show up to an event.

Thanks to each and every one of you who attended. You're what made this event so special. My only wish would be that we all could have continued living in the village for at least another month! Perhaps one day... :) Hope to see many of you again next month in St. Louis!

Because pictures speak louder than words, click here to see for yourself. :D

[Silvana Siddali]

Re: November daily life event in Missouri

Here are some more pictures, taken by one of the dressmaker ladies.

http://s201.photobucket.com/albums/aa317/MGutzke/Boonesfield/

[Old Cremona]

Re: November daily life event in Missouri

I will add to the chorus of gratitude and esteem for our North Carolina friends, Stormi and Sandy and Keith. My daughter and her friend have never had so much fun in school! I really enjoyed watching the period activities in the schoolyard. Katrina and Sarah haven't stopped bragging about it yet. I hope to see you all at an event again real soon.