You are currently browsing the 2008 Sturbridge category.
Here is another placeholder post for the wonderful Sunday battle description which will be put together just for you by Kris. Here are all the pictures and videos from the battle to tide you over until then.
Sunday at Old Sturbridge Village was a beautiful day. Apparently it rained buckets and buckets in New Hampshire for pretty much the whole weekend that we were at Sturbridge, but we didn’t have nearly that much rain while we were here. The rain actually held out for us on Sunday until after we were packed up and gone. The only rain we got was the little bit we had on Saturday (which was bad enough).
When I woke up on Sunday morning, I took a stroll down to the local tavern where there were flush toilets and mirrors and soap and running water, all of which I was very grateful to have.
Along the way, I decided to take some pictures of the scenery and the camps of others nearby. One of the first things I ran into was the neatest sleeping set up I have seen to date …
Though I guess they couldn’t all fit in there …
I also stopped to chat with a British gentleman and got some pictures of their area.
After my bathroom run, Kolby, Kris and I headed down to the bank to take some pictures. Kris’ real life job is at a bank, so we thought it would be fun to have one of these printed up for him to have there. We ended up getting some great pictures.
After our morning walk, we headed back to camp for some early morning conversation ….
And some breakfast cooked for us by Lori. She made scrambled eggs, sausage, and some fruit cakes, the really yummy kind, not the weird kind you think of around Christmas time. And we threw in some potatoes left from Glenn’s meal on Saturday.
And you guessed it, it was enjoyed by all! We really do eat well at these events!
After breakfast there was a little bit of free time that was used to play …
Fetch water …
Clean guns …
Make some tape …
Go for a walk in the woods (and get turned around just a bit) …
Visit the blacksmith …
Watch some fencing …
Take a portrait (Thanks Larissa!)
Check out the scenery …
And tune a drum …
After all the morning activities, it was time to get ready for the battle. Before the boys went down to fight, there was a prayer said.
Then it was time to march into position.
Once again I will defer all the good battle details to my hubby, but here are a few pictures and videos I really liked:
Unlike most of our events, we couldn’t leave Sturbridge immediately after the battle. This is because they are a running business that doesn’t close until 5:00. So a bunch of us took the time after the battle to go on a little boat ride. We learned a little more about the history of the area, and it was a nice relaxing time.
Old Sturbridge Village was a very fun event and I am very glad we had the chance to go. If you would like to see all the photos from Sunday please visit my gallery here.
This is a holding post for Kris. He is going to write you an outstanding write-up about the Saturday battle, but until he does that I wanted to give you all the pictures and videos I have from the event. This post will be replaced by his when it is ready.
The second half of Saturday started off with a super yummy lunch that consisted of chicken pieces and muffins made by Debbie, a cool cucumber salad made by Lori and grapes brought by me. (I know I had the easy end of that bargain!)
The food was very much enjoyed, and it really filled the men up before they went off to battle.
Kolby gave us a little lunchtime entertainment …
June and Kitty had a good rhythm going with their tape making and couldn’t be tempted away even by the offer of good vittles.
After lunch a Larissa and Lori worked on their lucets weaving string (ropes? Not sure what you would call them!) to be used in their petticoats (or anything else that requires tying).
Finally it was time for the Saturday battle. Once again I will let Kris tell you all about the goings on, but here are a few pictures and videos that I took from the battle …
Towards the end of the battle it started to rain. A few of us went and made hand dipped candles, and then we headed back to the dining fly. By then the boys were back and it was pouring. Everyone crammed under the dining fly to try and keep dry …
One improvised and stayed dry under the kitchen tent …
Most of us gave up and headed over to the tavern for a drink, so we could be dry inside …
After the rain, Jeffrey and Kolby had fun splashing around in the puddles. Luckily, even with the rain, it really wasn’t muddy. For that I was very grateful because I think we had enough mud from Boone Homestead to last us a few seasons at least.
For dinner, I had brought some roasts to cook up. We weren’t sure of how long to cook them, June had a thermometer to use (not period correct, I know, but we didn’t want to kill anyone either), but none of us really use a thermometer to cook with. So it was a bit of back and forth to try and settle on how long they should cook for and what temperature they should be at. But we finally figured it all out and got them cooked up properly (and no one died) (that I know of).
And Bob was kind enough to cut them for us …
In addition to the roasts, I boiled some potatoes (very boring) and Debbie made a truly delicious vegetable medley that included carrots, green and yellow zucchini, onions, and green peppers.
And of course everyone enjoyed the dinner very much!!
After dinner Janie came by to read Kolby the Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar, and surprised him with a book she had brought.
Which involved some audience participation, and was enjoyed by all …
By now it was time for dessert and we got to enjoy the pie that Debbie had made earlier and a few pies that June made as well. Kolby liked the pie so much, he decided he couldn’t wait for an eating utensil before he dug in.
At the end of the night, there was a dance in one of the buildings and Kris and I wandered over there to check it out. We found a few people that were already enjoying the festivities.
There was a lot of dancing going on and even some singing from the HMS Somerset crew.
Saturday was a great day overall, even with the little bit of rain that we had. Stay tuned for all the festivities from Sunday. If you want to see all the pictures from Saturday afternoon, be sure to check out my gallery here.
This past weekend was spent at Old Sturbridge Village. Usually OSV does a timeline event where reenactors from all different time periods camp out for the weekend. This year they decided to hold a Revolutionary War exclusive event. Since the First New Hampshire did not go to Sturbridge last year, this was my family’s first time here.
Kris and I got out of work early on Friday, but we still arrived at Sturbridge just in the nick of time. They were not allowing anyone to enter the camp after 8:00 and because of traffic, we ended up running later then we had wanted to. But we got to the village by 7:30 and made our way into the park. By the time we got there most everyone had already left for dinner (which is no surprise considering we rarely arrive in time to make it out with them). But we had brought our own dinner anyway. The first New Hampshire was set up right on the corner of the road, our tents were set up right next to the dining fly, which was actually very nice.
After setting our tent up at the end of the row, we ate our picnic dinner, and waited for the troops to arrive back, figuring it couldn’t be much longer.
Well we waited for much longer then I thought we would because apparently in MA, even if there is a “No Left Turn” sign, but no sign specifically saying “No U Turn,” you still can’t make a U turn. A few of our members learned this the hard way. But once everyone arrived safely back, we settled in for a good night’s chat. Everyone headed to bed at about 12:30 and unfortunately it was not a good night’s rest, what with yelling sailors, gonging clocks that don’t know the right time, and roosters that were more then happy to tell us the moment the sun had risen.
But the morning was much better. Glen made us a super yummy breakfast that started with potatoes and biscuits with sausage gravy.
Most everyone dug right into this …
But I personally held out for my favorite, the second course, Eggs Benedict …
It was a thoroughly enjoyable meal and really gave us a great start to the coming day.
After breakfast, we started to prepare food for the rest of the day, because a woman’s work is never done, and we want to make sure we get our men sufficiently fed for the day. Debbie started the preparations by making a blueberry pie.
While the rest of us got orange hands from carrot duty.
Once the preparations were done, there was time for relaxing …
Bill entertained us with his bag pipe …
Laurel did her spinning …
As did the boys.
In the morning, Kitty, Glenn and myself decided to go for a little walk around the village.
It was a really nice place to visit; if you have never been there I would highly suggest it. Here are a few of the buildings and sights we saw along the way as well as some from a later walk with myself, Kris, Kolby, Jeffrey, Lori, Dan, Bruce and Debbie:
Shoe Maker:
Boys jumping rope:
Pottery kiln and potter (is that what it’s called?), all the items behind him in this picture were made on that one wheel in this building, they also sell the finished product in the gift shop:
Cheese making:
Herb drying:
Caring for livestock:
Pastures:
19th Century action figures:
Barn equipment museum:
A small building balanced on the points of large rocks (seriously amazing):
And finally (for now) the print shop:
After all our morning walks, it was time for lunch which was immediately followed by the battle. Tomorrow I will show you my pictures and videos from Saturday afternoon. To see all the pictures from Saturday morning, check out my gallery here.
Getting dressed at Old Sturbridge Village, Sunday morning ….
Kolby: Mom … You know why we reenact?
Mom: Why?
Kolby: Because we get to wear big socks and run really fast.
Mom: Oh really? That sounds like a good reason!
Pictures and videos from a super fun weekend at Old Sturbridge Village coming soon!!
In the mean time check out this video from Masslive.com about our event and the Civil War event in Brimfield.
| Two Wars, Two Days, Two Towns |