Our 6th annual Frank Harlow Day was a great success! We had more visitors to the camp, collected more money for our event, and had way more fun!
I brought Abigail, my Canadian Production Wheel, along for some spinning demonstrations. She cooperated for most of the event but by Saturday afternoon she was tired and cranky and didn’t want to spin anymore. I was feeling that way myself, so I understood the feeling.
When I wasn’t spinning I was sitting around, answering questions about camp life during the Civil War.
I was also taking some photos of things like canteens.
And our bed with a basket of wool on it.
My favorite part of any reenactment is the end of the day. It’s a wonderful time to relax with some cheese and crackers and a cocktail. You can see that Captain Martini, errr Dale, agrees.
It’s also time to eat whatever delicious dinner we’ve pulled together. This year we had a chicken (which I have to confess I cooked at home. Yes, that’s cheating, but no one wants a period-correct case of dysentery), potato salad and fresh green beans. There was a strawberry rhubarb pie for dessert but unfortunately there aren’t any photos of that. Too bad, because it was a beauty.
All in all it was a great day. Dale told me that next year I’m not allowed to complain about all the work we have to do in the days leading up to the event because I always have so much fun once the day arrives. He’s got a point.
But I still reserve the right to complain.
Hey, look at those lilacs! I’m glad you had such a great time. It really does look like a lot of fun. Was the weather cool? It seems like all the clothes could get really hot.
It looks like a really fun day. I’d love to come to one of your re-enactments one of these days.
SO MUCH FUN!! Very cool. Bet it’s hard to come back to real life sometimes.
Thank you for a peek into a sort of activity that my family would otherwise never see. (We did go to Lexington, though, on April 19th at the crack of dawn – once – with two very reluctant daughters.)
Great pics – sounds like a fun day!
I love the quilt pattern on your bed. Were you hot in your costume?
I’d love to see an event like this. Kudos for being part of keeping our past in our present!
I snorted my coffee at “period-correct case of dysentary”. Thanks for a lovely set of photos on a dreary Monday morning!
It really does look fun. Was it hot there?
Thanks for the great photos – Abigail is gorgeous! CW reenactment is pretty active around here too – Pilot Knob and Camp Jackson (St. Louis) are a couple of the historic sites in our area.
It looks like fun because I am a big history buff.
Lovely photos and it looks like you did indeed have fun but I
am sure it was lots of work. But very cool, Carol, very cool.
Glad the weather was so nice. Good job.
We had a blast visiting you at Frank Harlow Day! You looked awesome in your period costume, and the girls were enthralled with Abigail and the spinning of Miss Carole and Miss Sharon 😉 Such a fun break from reality, and a great way to connect with our country’s wonderful history … especially with such a local flavor!
You had a beautiful day! Dinner sounds delish.
Life just doesn’t work well if we can’t complain. Having fun and enjoying what your preparing for is the icing on the ‘bitch’ cake. A martini takes the bitch right out of everything.
(Is it ok to use bad language on your g-rated blog?)
XO
That looks like so much fun. Thanks for sharing it.
Looks like a highly successful and period-appropriate day – sans dysentery, which I’m glad you did without!!
Good move with the chicken… that period-correct illness contributed to the deaths of many in that period!
Oh my, the lilacs! Mine are JUST starting to bloom — buried my nose deep in ’em yesterday.
I love these views into the magnificent life you and Dale have built for yourselves. Thank you!
You absolutely have the right to complain. By the time the event arrives, it looks positively idyllic, and we know that doesn’t happen without lots of work. (To hear Margaret Mitchell tell it, after the soldiers the people most affected by the Civil War were mistresses of large households, who basically didn’t sleep for four years. I’d be willing to bet that she got this at least pretty much right, and that it was true on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line.)
*gasp* that’s it, I’m calling the reenactment police! (kidding! I can’t remember what we ate back when the family was doing the reenactment thing, it’s probably better that way. ;o) )
It looks like a really fun day. I sure hope that you were cooler up there than down here in Maryland…you would have melted in all those clothes!
What year was it this year?
how nifty! i especially like the sign for your area! and your wheel is beautiful. 🙂
I’d be cranky, too. You go ahead and complain all you want, honey.
OOOOOO, Carole, the quilt is beautiful. (You look incredible, too.) Any information you have about the quilt would be sincerely appreciated!
bwah period correct dysentery. heh.
Wonderful photos! I LOVE the quilt on your bed. Is that a reproduction? Made by someone local??
You the captain look quite lovely there!
love your photos.. and I LOVE that quilt.. sigh.. so lovely.
I grew up doing civil war reenacting(my mom was best friends with the cook’s wife, so we got to tag along). I remember soaking hard tack in lemonade to make it edible. I also remember things like a whole spit roasted hog once. Actually, that and the stuffing from that hog are the only foods I remember. Granted i was 8-15, so… who cares about food when there are pretty dresses to see. Or soldiers to tend. ^_^
Thank you for a memory trip 🙂