Trail of History

[altivo]

Besides the usual Saturday chores (and a funeral that Gary sang for in the morning) we spent the afternoon at "Trail of History," an annual historic recreation event at Glacial Park near Ringwood, IL. The period covered is roughly from Early Colonial North America through perhaps the War of 1812. It was pretty interesting, though the sunny weather brought out crowds and way too many wild "Indians" (by which I mean children.)



If you click through the thumbnail above, you can view 15 different photos in sequence by clicking the "newer" button at the upper right corner of each.

It was fun, but involved a lot of walking, including climbing several steep hills to get back into the park. We should sleep well tonight.

Comments

[avon_deer]

I liked the broom maker. :D

[altivo]

He did seem to know what he was doing, but wasn't very chatty. The wool guy was more willing to talk shop, sheep, and tools.

I didn't get a photo of the tinsmith's oven. He had built a "convection oven" that had a sort of cup in the back for an open fire, and was baking cookies in it. We each had one, and they were indeed successful.

[hrrunka]

Looks like it was an interesting display. I like the way some folks are prepared to keep the first-hand experience alive.

[altivo]

I'm always amazed at the number of adult visitors to these events who have obviously made it all the way through life without even realizing that Walmart and McDonald's weren't always there and OMG you had to actually do things yourself or go naked and hungry.

[hrrunka]

It's too easy for the older ways of doing things to get forgotten. Last week I visited the Guildhall in Lavenham, which now contains a museum of old tools and utensils, mostly relating back to the 16th and 17th centuries when the town prospered as a local centre for trade in wool and wollen goods. It amuses me (and saddens me, too) to see domestic utensils the like of which my grandmother used day by day now appearing on museum shelves, and being puzzled over by schoolchildren.

[altivo]

Heck, school children puzzle over a rotary dial phone or an analog watch. That isn't so surprising, I guess. But I still feel that by the time they have finished their schooling they should have some understanding of history and the fact that things weren't always the way they are right now and surely will not always be the way they are at this moment in time.

This failure to comprehend history and change is one disastrous factor in the crazy directions being taken by American democracy today. Voters with neither foresight nor hindsight being led by the false promises of wonks and unscrupulous liars make terrible choices.