A Visit to Old Deerfield, Massachusetts

Juno, Freyja, their grandmother (my mom), and I went to Old Deerfield, Massachusetts to see Historic Deerfield today.  We checked out tickets from the Greenfield Public Library before Thanksgiving, since it would be closed until Monday.  There was a special program today where re-enactors demonstrated many trades and how daily life was for people in
seventeenth century Deerfield.




First, we went to the Hall Tavern Visitor's Center where we got our wristbands and went upstairs to see a man making clay plates, a woman making bobbin lace, plus we saw the implements of candle-making and, also, an entertainer playing a fiddle (violin?) and singing.  Juno got to try out making the bobbin lace.  She was actually good at it!

Freyja did not try the bobbin lace.  When we went downstairs, I lost track of her for a little while only to find she had gone to the open hearth kitchen to churn butter.  They were proud of her churning perseverance.  There was definitely butter in the churn by the time I located her in the kitchen.

The Open Hearth Cooking demonstrations were interesting.  They had cooked a codfish and maybe a turkey was roasting in front of the enormous hearth/fire.  We were there during lunch time.  So the re-enactors doing the open hearth cooking were actually making plates for and serving the food to the other re-enactors.  We got a kick out of that.
   

While we were downstairs, we saw a basket weaver who told us how the wood is soaked for the baskets.  They used water in which tobacco stalks had been soaked in order to add a dark brown color, and (as my mother pointed out) insect repellent qualities to the baskets.



We also spoke for a while with a man who used horn to make many items such as powder horns, spoons, dishes, and drinking cups.  He was really friendly and very informative on all the aspects.  He mentioned that horn was the predecessor of plastics!  Things we might use plastic to make, were often made of horn in those times.

After we left the Hall Tavern, we went down to the History Workshop which had a Handmade Gift-making room set up so visitors could make a Band Box with a Mulling Sachet.  So we all decorated a Band Box and made a Mulling Sachet there before we walked back to the picnic tables for a little snack.

Finally, we decided we had enough for one day and went across the street to the Museum Store to see what kind of trouble we could get into there.  Juno and Freyja bought a slate and slate pencil each and they both got some candy canes.  Freyja also bought a little glass top to spin.  She has an appreciation of tops and collects them when she can.

Here is a photo of the fiddler!


Then, we went to the car and headed for home.  What a fun time we had today!  Here is a link to the video page of Historic Deerfield.