Programs
Golden threads run through our national
heritage as . . . neighbors valued and helped each other in days gone
by. This thread weaves a foundational fabric in the programming for
Reliving History, Inc. We will weave history with the cultural values
that existed during the time our national history was being made. For
this reason "neighbors helping neighbors" will be a primary method for
our volunteers to portray the spirit of the people who lived in the
oldest wood frame house in today's West Virginia.
Our programming
is being
developed as a means for developing an 18th century "presence" in the
local community. We plan to dress a cast of characters who, like visitors from another time, will
become known in the local area as the Peter Burr family and friends.
The objective of these "visitors" from another time is to bring back
the spirit of neighbor helping neighbor as a cultural value.
Connecting values and
personality to historic facts will be part of our method for bring
history back to life in an experimentally educational process. Names,
dates, and events listed on paper or deeply buried in the bowels of
dusty archives have long left something to be desired when it comes to
making history come alive. Instead, the needs, circumstances, beliefs,
cultural values, and much more . . . help us to understand how and why
our forefathers made many of their decisions. The roles played by
relationships are important.
Like his Puritan
ancestor back in 1630 (who migrated from England to the new world),
Peter Burr in 1748 migrated
from Fairfield, Connecticut to the new frontier in the Virginia Colony.
Relationships were critical during both times.
The earliest settlers related to Native Americans for methods of
survival. They also helped each other build their homes and meet
day-to-day needs. The same may have been true for early settlers in the
Virginia Colony west of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Where the Shenandoah
and Potomac Rivers meet,
an early settler is believed to have built a permanent house about 1728.
By 1748, George Washington (age 16) arrived. Likewise, about the same
time Peter
Burr arrived. During this time, Robert Harper, founder of Harpers Ferry also
arrived. These and others recognized the land as a desirable and very
fertile location to build their homes.
Without modern
convenience in a totally new environment, survival
for
the early settlers included neighbors helping neighbors. Life was hard
enough, as land had to be cleared, food had to be raised, and most
necessities had to be made from scratch. Then there were Indians, many
of whom went from friendly to allied with the French against the
settlers for land
acquisition during the soon-to-be French and Indian War.
The
culture mixed with needs of the various clusters of settlers affected
decisions that
were made and how events affected their lives. Culture is an important
part of the history. Today,
in the same beautiful location, neighbors value and help each other in
the spirit of our ancestors.
Our focus will continue to be the golden thread that will allow
Reliving History, Inc. to focus on demonstrating for educational
purposes the way culture affected history in the making. Volunteers in
period dress and functioning as visitors from the 18th century will
deliver community service in the local area. This process will provide a
way to relive culture and history as two faces of the same story. As
neighbors help each other, we are Reliving History.
We are a Work in Process
We are a work in progress, and we invite all who
want to come along with us to join the fun.
In our first year, Reliving History, Inc. has focused on laying a firm foundation. Now that incorporation and tax exempt status has been completed in our first 10 months, our second year focus is turning to programming for 2010 and beyond.
Program planning is like starting with a blank canvass and a vision for an end result. Our end result is to create an experiential picture that brings our colonial history and American spirit to life in relationship with values and influences that drove the thinking of our founding fathers over 200 years ago. Painting the picture will involve discovering, learning, and accurately portraying the life skills from the period with some understanding of why and how these life skills existed.
As we start with our blank canvass, we have many ways to paint our picture. Reliving History, Inc. is choosing to reach out to the community for teams of people willing to help paint the picture. This would involve different people identifying and selecting period-correct skills, learning them, and beginning to share them with others. As we share, our experiential picture will grow more and more detailed.
So again, "We are a work in progress, and we invite all who
want to come along with us to join the fun."
Volunteerism
What colonial skills do you know or want to learn and share?
Read through the follow list of sample skills and let the ideas spark your creativity of other ideas or any of these that you would like to help to perfect and share with others at the oldest wood frame structure in the state of West Virginia; i.e. the ca.1751 Peter Burr House.
Would you like to learn, help with, or share any of the following colonial experiences?
Entertainment, Games and Toys, Social Life
- Marbles: How to make and play marbles and
then teach the skills to children and lead a marbles tournament
- Corn Husk Dolls: How to dry corn husks and make corn
husk dolls husk dolls and other useful items
- Social
Life: What friends did
when they got together
- Music:
Games and ways
people had fun
- Story Telling:
Agriculture
- Tobacco: The importance of tobacco in the Virginia and other colonies
- Farm Crops: Crops the settlers grew, why and how
- Agriculture
Tools and Equipment: Where tools came
from and how they were used
- Farm Animals: The role of animals
- Slavery: Did Peter Burr use
slaves to help farm his 400+ acres?
Childhood
- Childhood: What children did with their time
- Chores: How colonial children helped in the family
- Colonial
Education: What school and education
was like for children and how
families viewed the importance of education
Clothing
- 18th Century Clothing: How to make period clothing and
help with dressing or teaching volunteers and children
- Colors: Was there paints and dyes in 1750?
- Spinning and Weaving: How fabrics were made
Cooking
- Food Preparation: About open-fire or open-hearth colonial cooking and how
families ate their meals
- Artisan
Bread Baking: How to bake bread in
a brick oven
- Food
Preservation: How families kept
food from spoiling when there were no refrigerators
- Butter Churning:
- Cider Making:
- Jerky Making:
Building
- Homes and Barns: How early settlers
built houses and barns before Home Depot
- Carpentry: What was a casket in
colonial times? (Hint: it was not something to bury someone in)
Home Life
- Furniture:
What kind of
furniture would Peter Burr, a yeoman farmer have had in his house?
- Privies: Why is there no
bathroom in the Peter Burr House?
Life Style
- Home Remedies: How illness was treated and how health was assured and
who was responsible for medical intervention
- Traditions and
Customs: The customs went with birth,
marriage, burial, seasonal,
and life-style events
- Trades:
About any of the
different trades: i.e. blacksmith, tinsmith, silversmith, etc. including
what
is a joiner?
- Religion: The
role of churches in colonial life
- Money: How people purchased supplies
- Basket Making:
- Candle Dipping:
- Quilting:
- Soap Making:
- Spinning and Weaving:
- Toy Making:
- Wood Carving:
- Wreath Making:
Community
- Laws and Punishments: How were laws and
punishment different from our laws and punishments today?
Survival
- Old
Maps and Star Gazing: How settlers
found
their way around
War Time
- Revolutionary War Intelligence: Secret codes used by George Washington for communicating intelligence
- Black
Powder Rifles: Would Peter Burr
have had and used a rifle?
- Bullet Making: Where did soldiers
get their bullets during the American Revolution and other wars?
Other
- Archaeology and Preservation : How to preserve
artifacts and old documents
- Genealogy: Personalizing
discovery of our own roots
M : H
M : H
M : H
