Spring 2012 - Lang Pioneer Village

Spring 2012
Vol. 5, No. 1
BUILDING OUR FUTURE FROM THE FABRIC OF THE PAST
The War of 1812 Comes to Lang Pioneer Village!
By Laurie Siblock, Assistant Manager
The War of 1812 was a defining event in
Canadian history and visitors to Lang Pioneer
Village Museum can learn all about it at our
Heritage Celebration Weekend, August 18 and
19, as reenactors and interpreters bring the
era to vivid life.
For citizens in the British colonies and
First Nations warriors, the stakes in the
conflict were high. Rene Chartrand,
Canadian historian and former military
curator for Parks Canada, aptly described the
stakes as “you lose the war, you lose the
country.” Not only did the British colonists
and forces pull together to defend their land,
so too did First Nations warriors and French
Canadians. The participation of the First
Nations in particular was crucial to the
outcome of the war. The War of 1812 was
instrumental in shaping a Canadian national
identity, in the creation of our military and
War of 1812 Primer
By Laurie Siblock, Assistant Manager
Chief Tecumseh meeting with Major General
Sir Isaac Brock
Use of image authorized by, but not affiliated with,
the Government of Canada
the setting of
international borders
between the U.S. and
Canada, yet most
Canadians know so
little about the conflict
that it is often called
“the forgotten war.”
49th Regiment of Foot reenactors
Because of its
Photo courtesy of: Mark Stubbs
monumental
significance to Canadians and the fact that so
few know anything about it, the federal
government will be spending $28 million over
the next four years to commemorate the
bicentennial anniversary of the War of 1812.
Attending a War of 1812 commemorative event
should be a priority for all Canadians. Yet,
because there are no battle sites in the Central
Ontario region where Lang Pioneer Village
Museum is located, there is little going on in
In 1812, Britain was fighting for its survival in the
midst of the Napoleonic Wars. U.S. interests were
interfered with when the Royal Navy blockaded
France, preventing American trade ships from
reaching any port controlled by the French.
Americans were also angered by the practice of
impressment, whereby the Royal Navy boarded
American ships and removed any seamen deemed to
be British, pressing them into service on Royal Navy
ships. The “war hawks” in the U.S., intent on
territorial gains, sought to conquer and acquire
Upper and Lower Canada and also saw the war as an
opportunity to drive the Indians out of what would
later become Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois.
They felt further justified in declaring war on
Britain because, when attempting to expand into
Native territory, they found that Native warriors
were armed with British guns.
the area to commemorate
the war. Therefore
residents in the area are
less likely to be able to
attend an event that will
raise their awareness
and engage their
interest in this critical
episode in Canadian
history.
The lack of commemorations in the area is
one motivating factor for our desire to
organize a War of 1812 event at Lang Pioneer
Village Museum, but it is not the only reason:
we wanted to create an event that would
distinguish itself from other events that are
more focused on the battles that took place
during the war. We selected our four event
themes to highlight aspects of the war other
Continued on page 2
When American Congress declared war on June 18,
1812, a majority of the 77, 000 inhabitants of Upper
Canada were recent American immigrants who had
moved across the border to take advantage of cheap
land and low taxes. Others were Loyalists, who
remained loyal to Britain during the American
Revolutionary War, yet still most Americans
expected to be greeted as comrades and liberators,
and assumed the conquest of Canada would be, to
use former president Thomas Jefferson’s oft-quoted
phrase, “a mere matter of marching.”
In fact, the U.S. was woefully unprepared for war,
and the initial ineptitude of the military, combined
with the tactical brilliance of British Major-General
Sir Isaac Brock, led to an initial string of
embarrassing defeats for the Americans. Brock’s
boldness and success at Fort Mackinac, Detroit and
Continued on page 2
The War of 1812 Comes to Lang Pioneer Village!
continued from front cover
than specific battles, and we focused on
dynamic themes that would appeal not just to
locals, but to a broader audience. Our main
themes include:
combat weapons and strategies, as well as how
they impacted the outcome of the war.
infrastructure developments to the area such
as the Trent-Severn Waterway.
• The Role and Experience of
Women: Through the exploration of
• The Role of the First Nations: The
individual women’s lives, including, but not
limited to, War of 1812 heroine Laura
Secord, visitors will gain an understanding
of the role of women during the war and the
impact the war had on the lives of women.
Of course, no War of 1812 event would be
complete without a battle re-enactment, so we’ve
also got an exciting battle planned that will pit
American invaders (portrayed by reenactors
from Norwood District High School) against
British regulars (49th Regiment of Foot),
Canadian Militia (East Northumberland
Secondary School reenactors) and First
Nations warriors (Curve Lake First Nations)
in the “Battle of Lang Mill.”
In addition to celebrating 200 years of
peace between Canada and the United
States, we have another good reason to
celebrate over the weekend of August 18-19:
this year marks the 45th anniversary of Lang
Pioneer Village Museum. During the War of
1812 event, there will also be public ceremonies
and cake for everyone to highlight this
milestone in the Museum’s history. If you
don’t come for an exciting step back into a
pivotal moment in Canadian history, then
come for the cake! <
participation of the First Nations played a
significant role in the conflict, and warriors
from the local Hiawatha reserve fought in
the very earliest battles. Based on the report
of successful returns of warriors back to their
homes from the Battle of Beaver Dams made
by Captain William J. Kerr of the Indian
Department, it has been determined that 70
of these warriors were from the Rice Lake
region in the southern portion of
Peterborough County. Of the 70 who
participated in the Battle of Beaver Dams,
around 20 were likely Mississauga warriors
from Curve Lake in Northern Peterborough
County. With the participation of the Curve
Lake First Nation, activities and interpretation at the event will provide visitors with
an understanding of the First Nations’
motivation for joining the conflict, their
The War of 1812 Primer
continued from front cover
Queenston Heights convinced Britain’s Native
allies to join the fight and rallied the
population to the Union Jack. Encouraged by
initial British success and urged to participate
in the war by the great Shawnee leader
Tecumseh, Native nations allied with the
British to defeat the Americans, hoping
ultimately to defend Native land against
American westward expansion. However,
Tecumseh’s death at the Battle of the Thames
ended any threat of an Indian confederacy
standing in the way of westward expansion.
Brock also paid the ultimate price of war when
he was killed while leading the soldiers to victory
at the Battle of Queenston Heights.
Though their stories are seldom told, women
had an important role to play in the war. Some
wives—and even children—accompanied their
men on war campaigns. In the camps, they were
laundresses, seamstresses, cooks, nurses and
companions to the soldiers. Women were also
stationed in forts and garrisons as servants in
high-ranking officers' houses where they
2
• Music of the War of 1812: Music has
always been an important aspect of events at
Lang Pioneer Village. The songs and music
that were popular at the time of the conflict
or were inspired by it will be performed by
Gopher Baroque at the event, further
augmenting the living-history experience
with the sounds of the era.
• The Local Connection: The impact
of the War of 1812 on Peterborough County
will be interpreted, including the
participation of local First Nations warriors,
as well as investigations into the impacts of
the war on later settlement and
worked as cooks, and as nursemaids and
laundresses. Women who stayed behind while
their husbands went off to war took care of
possessions and family and continued to work
the farm. One of the most famous women of
the War of 1812, Laura Secord, became a
Canadian heroine after trekking 20 kilometres
through thick woods and wild streams to warn
the British of an impending American attack
on the British outpost at Beaver Dams.
The war ended with no clear winner on
December 24, 1814, when the Treaty of Ghent
was signed by British and Americans meeting in
Ghent, Belgium. But, because 19th-century
communication was slow, fighting continued
until February 16, 1815, when the treaty finally
crossed the ocean and was officially ratified by
American Congress and President Madison.
In the end, the war had been an inconclusive
series of battles—battles that included the
burning of York (Toronto) and a retaliatory
sacking of Washington and burning of the
White House and the Capital to the ground.
It was a war in which 24,000 U.S., British,
Canadian and Native people were killed in
battle or died of disease in the camps. It was a
war in which the Native nations lost their great
leader Tecumseh and, with his demise, their
hope of fending off American westward
expansion.
The War of 1812, however, was also a war that
spawned the American national anthem, the
“Star-Spangled Banner,” written by Francis
Scott Key as he witnessed a successfully repelled
attack on Baltimore. More importantly for
Canadians, it was during the War of 1812 that
our national identity was born. The defense of
what was then known as British North America
between 1812 and 1814 was a foundational
moment for Canada. What was initially a
disparate group of relatively recent immigrants,
spread across a vast and lonely expanse, became,
with the conclusion of the war, a burgeoning
nation with a distinct Canadian identity.
The War of 1812, despite its shadowy existence
in the Canadian cultural consciousness, is as
significant to the birth of Canada as
Confederation. It is indeed a moment to be
remembered and commemorated. <
Repairing Your Old Kitchen Chairs
Chairs emerged from Ancient Egypt, and
thousands of years, they were mainly used
only by pharaohs, royalty and other
individuals of high stature. Because of this,
they became signifiers of social standing. In
the days of royal courts, social status was
further indicated by whether one sat in a
chair with arms or a chair with a back but no
arms. The humblest chair of all was the
stool. It was not until the 16th century that
chairs became common everywhere,
providing seating around even the most
modest of dining tables. The chest, the
bench and the stool were until then the seats
used.
This is my lab with many old friends waiting for repair.
Today, it is not uncommon to find old
wooden chairs at yard sales, flea markets or
on the curb with a sign that reads "Free to a
good home." Likely these old soldiers are
being tossed because they have a broken leg
or a loose joint or are covered in layers of
peeling and cracking paint. Because wooden
chairs are commonly used in high-traffic
areas, such as kitchens and dining rooms,
they take a lot of abuse. Even the toughest
wooden chairs can become wobbly or have
spindles and legs that come loose.
Chair repairs are among some of the easiest
of household repairs. If you can assemble a
puzzle, you can put a chair back together.
With just a few materials and a little tender,
loving care, you can make your wooden
chairs strong and sturdy again. If your
kitchen chair has a wobbly leg or is missing a
rung, don't throw it away! In many cases a
simple basic repair could put these old
family friends back in service for many years.
To make a broken-down kitchen chair into a
functional, beautiful piece again, take the
following steps:
• Clean the chair by wiping it down with a
warm damp cloth and just a bit of Orvus
soap, a neutral synthetic detergent available
locally at Peterborough co-op or tack shops.
By Basia Baklinski, Conservator
• Missing rungs can be replaced with the
right size dowelling from a hardware store;
wooden broom handles also often work like
a charm.
• Finally, if you haven’t opted for the
laborious job of stripping the paint off to get
a bare-wood look, you can repaint the chair.
In the conservation lab, I am careful to
match the paint to the original colour of the
chair and properties of the paint (e.g., milk
paint vs. acrylic) but you can use whatever
colour your heart desires!
• If you would like to have a natural wood
chair, stripping the paint is an option;
however, a chair can often have six or seven
layers of paint, and stripping it can be a lot
of work. You may opt instead to sand the
chair down and repaint it.
• Before painting, secure all loose parts, such
as split seats and detached rails or rungs,
with an adhesive. In the conservation lab, I
use fish glue (available at Lee Valley), but
wood glue will work well, too. Apply the
adhesive, then clamp the two sides together,
wiping any excess adhesive away with a damp
cloth. If you don’t have clamps, use a string
to hold the sides together. Tie it good and
tight, then use a pencil to torque the string
as tightly as possible and secure it in that
position.
The repaired and repainted (to match the oldest
paint layer found) chair ready for many more
years of service in the Village.
Among other things, I repaired 22 of these
types of chairs from the Lang collection last
season, preserving them for future
generations and, in some cases, ensuring
more comfortable, safe seating for visitors,
volunteers and staff in the Village. With
these repair instructions in hand and a little
time and care, you too could sit one or two
more guests around the kitchen table. <
“I had three chairs in my house,
one for solitude, two for friendship,
three for society.” Henry David Thoreau
A great old chair that came to the lab from the
Village. It was suffering a split seat, loose rungs
and spindles, a wobbly back, a detached rail and
layers of chipped and peeling paint.
3
New Victorian Mourning Exhibit in the Keene Hotel
By Audrey Caryi, Museum Specialist
Walk on up to the second floor of the Keene
Hotel, turn right at the top of the stairs and
you’ll see that there is a new salesman in
town. The Salesman Room, upstairs in the
Keene Hotel, has a new exhibit this summer
based on the Victorian traditions
surrounding mourning. Queen Victoria’s
grieving practices during her mourning
period for her beloved Alfred (d. 1861)
became the traditions copied throughout the
British Empire. Black, symbolic of spiritual
darkness, was worn throughout the
mourning period for both adult males and
females. It was used on everything from
clothing to handkerchiefs, fans, gloves and
black-edged note paper for announcements.
Dictates about Victorian mourning
fashion were mainly directed at females. This
serious period in a widow’s life extended for
black furs were allowed. The lack of
decoration was meant to show the expression
of the widow’s deep sorrow rather than
drawing attention to her appearance.
After one year of deepest mourning, the
second stage of mourning — half mourning
— continued for the following six months.
Now the veil could be drawn off the face to
the back of a hat or a silk bonnet trimmed
with crepe and black ribbon. The
introduction of white cuffs and collars was a
move from the totally black attire of the
previous stage of mourning. Materials with
decorative patterns, or elaborate fabrics such
as velvet, could now be used as trim, but still
only the colour black for these decorative
pieces was acceptable during this middle
period.
The last six months saw the introduction
Audrey Caryi with Victorian mourning clothing
Photo: Rhonda Akey
two years. For the first year of mourning,
referred to as the deepest mourning, a
widow was not allowed to leave her home
without wearing full black attire and a
weeping veil of crepe that covered her face
and extended down the length of her back.
Veils were intended to shield widows from
the outside world seeing her expression of
grief, a private emotion. Her clothing was
simple with no lace or decorations. Black jet
jewellery, hair bracelets made from the hair
of the deceased, or a locket with a picture of
the deceased and possibly a piece of their
hair were accepted, but otherwise
adornments were not worn. In winter, only
4
of colours such as grey, mauve, purple and
lavender. In many cases, widows could not
afford to purchase their black mourning
garments, so it was common practice to dye
clothing black. Certain types of dyes were
objected to by doctors because, when
breathed in while wearing a veil, they could
produce catarrhal, a respiratory disease.
After the mourning period, those women
who had economized by dying their clothing
black would now bleach the colour out.
Also, jewellery of all sorts was now allowed.
Males were less encumbered by
restrictions on their mourning clothing.
Victorian men’s clothing was often made of
black or dark fabrics anyway, so the addition
of a black arm band or hat band was added
to note his grieving position. A man’s
mourning period extended for a shorter
time than a woman’s and, during this time,
men were not as isolated as women; they
were able to continue to conduct their
professional business while their female
counterparts were expected to minimize
social interactions.
Children under 17 did not wear black;
instead, they wore white with black trim.
Mourning for children in many families was
a sad reality. It was not uncommon for
families to lose more than one child in
infancy or early childhood. When out in
public, mourning mothers wore black with
white lace trim on their dresses to represent
the purity of the child that had died.
These Victorian practices, imitating the
British Victorian Royal Court, were not
always practical in rural Ontario. Queen
Victoria’s excessive 40-year mourning
period, complete with the commissioning of
statues of her beloved Albert, was extreme.
In most rural situations, the role of the
married female was to care for her children,
husband and the home, and she was often
left with no financial support after her
husband’s death. It was understood and
accepted that widows and widowers, who
both faced the practical need for survival and
financial support, might remarry before the
end of the grieving period.
The Victorian mourning exhibit in the
Keene Hotel provides a space for us to share
these Victorian mourning practices with our
visitors while at the
same time
enabling us to
display artifacts
from our collection
that have not been
on public display
before. <
What’s New at Lang Pioneer
Village for the 2012 Season?
By Joe Corrigan,Museum Manager
Anniversaries are important dates—they
prompt us to remember and reflect on
significant occurrences in the past. The year
2012 will see more than its share of
commemorative milestones in Canadian and
world history. In addition to being the
bicentennial of the War of 1812 (June 18,
1812 to December 24, 1814), it is also the
centennial of the sinking of RMS Titanic
(April 15, 1912), the 95th anniversary of the
Battle of Vimy Ridge (April 9–11, 1917), the
continuation of the 150th anniversary of the
American Civil War (1861–1865), the 145th
anniversary of Canadian Confederation
(July 1, 1867) and the 45th anniversary of
the opening of Lang Pioneer Village
Museum (August 19, 1967).
Since the last edition of the Lang Register in
November of 2011, several important
milestones have been achieved here at the
Village as well. Last year was one of the most
challenging in the Museum’s history. During
this time we witnessed the completion of the
S. W. Lowry Weaver Shop and Jacquard
Loom Interpretive Centre, as well as the
opening of the Weaver Shop exhibit. The
Museum staged its most ambitious program
of special events in several years and saw
many construction and restoration projects
undertaken. None of this could have been
accomplished without the hard work and
dedication of our many volunteers and staff.
In December 2011, these efforts were
acknowledged when Lang Pioneer Village
Museum was presented with the County of
Peterborough’s Award for Corporate
Volunteering. The Museum also won the
2011 County of Peterborough
Environmental Services Waste Reduction
Challenge with a campaign spearheaded by
Premises Coordinator Graham Varrin. In
January, the Museum’s Historic Dominion
Day event, featuring its Fenian Raid military
reenactment, was named one of the top 10
Laurie Siblock and Joe Corrigan accept the County of Peterborough
Corporate Volunteerism Award from County Warden J. Murray Jones
on behalf of Lang staff and volunteers, December 2011
Photo: Amanda Dibbets
Ontario events of 2011 by the Ontario
Festivals Visited website.
There have also been several significant
senior staff changes over the past few
months. The Museum’s Administrative
Support person, Karis Regamey, resigned
her position in December 2011 and moved
to Barry’s Bay, Ontario, following her
husband Phil’s posting to the OPP station at
Killaloe. Karis continues her association
with Lang, acting as the Museum’s Marketing
Coordinator on a contract basis. Her
Administrative Support position was
redefined as a supervisory-level position that
would provide enhanced support to our
volunteer program. This position was
renamed Administrative/Volunteer
Coordinator and long-time employee
Elizabeth King was hired for this position
in December.
In April 2012, Julia Gregory and Trevor
Merriam, both seasonal employees for the
past several years, joined the ranks of our
Museum’s part-time staff as Lead Interpreter
and Premises Assistant respectively.
Rosemary Davidson, a 12-year veteran of
the Village in a variety of roles, decided to
resign as the Museum’s Visitor Experience
Coordinator (formerly Retail and
Operations Coordinator) as of the end of
April 2012 so she could spend more time
with her two daughters. We’re happy to say
Rosemary will continue her association with
the Museum on a casual contract. The search
for a new Visitor Experience Coordinator is
underway and a replacement should be in
place for the start of the season.
Laurie Siblock was named the Museum’s
Assistant Manager in December, having
served as Special Event and Community
Liaison person for the past five years.
Laurie’s assignment to this position was in
recognition of her dedication to her work
and to provide the Museum with an
identifiable second-in-command.
Seasonal recruitment for our summer
interpretive staff took place during February
and March. We’re pleased to say that most of
our 2011 seasonal interpreters are returning.
There were only a handful of openings for
positions this year and these have been filled
by experienced interpreters from our
volunteer ranks, prior year’s staff and
experienced staff from other, major livinghistory sites.
At the Royal York Hotel in Toronto, in
January 2012, Rosemary Davidson made a
presentation to the Canadian Museum
Association’s Museum Retail and Visitor
Services conference in conjunction with
renowned retail consultant Barbara
Crowhurst. Their presentation profiled the
Lang Pioneer Village Museum Gift Shop
and Barbara’s suggestions for enhancements.
Several of Barbara’s recommendations have
been implemented and will be apparent
when the Gift Shop opens for business on
May 22, 2012.
Premises Coordinator Graham Varrin,
Premises Assistant Trevor Merriam and
Historic Buildings and Facilities volunteers
Norm Blodgett, Terry Brown, Andy
Crowell, Ron Lang, Alex Lyons, John
McIntyre, Peter Nelson, David Mitchell
and Harry vanDompseler have been busy
with improvements to several buildings and
with facilities projects both on and off site.
The floors of both the Food Booth and
Trades Barn have been repaired. A gravel
pathway has been constructed for the
Blacksmith Shop, replacing the wooden
ramp, and the doors have been replaced on
Continued on back cover
5
This Spring at Lang Pioneer Village:
Volunteer Workshops and Recruitment Seminars
By Elizabeth King, Administrative/Volunteer Coordinator
Would you like to sew your own costume?
That was the question we asked our staff
and volunteers earlier this year. What a
way to start the season— with a brand-new
dress and a labour of love to call your
own!
The first workshop of the 2012 season was
the Staff and Volunteer Historic Costume
Sewing Workshop. The focus of the
workshop was women’s period dresses
from the 1820s, ’40s, ’60s and ’70s.
Over three Saturdays in March, and one
in April, 10 women joined together in
the MacKelvie Gallery to sew their own
costumes with the help of Costumer Janet
vanDompseler. The process entailed
picking the dress that would be suitable to
each individual’s role at the Village,
tracing an appropriate pattern (for some
that meant as much as enlarging the
pieces from a tiny pattern book),
selecting authentic-looking fabric and,
finally, sewing the garment into a
wearable piece.
Not only did this workshop help us at the
Museum by relieving some of the stress
on the Costuming Department, but it was
also an opportunity for volunteers with
similar interests to come together and
spend time getting to know one another.
We were an eclectic mix, some of us
meeting for the first time. We also made a
new friend, Emily Sturgeon, who has
been bringing her classes here to the
spring educational program for years,
and will now be joining the Lang family
behind the scenes volunteering at events
and in costuming.
Janet vanDompseler and Breah Beazer-Clarke working on Breah’s historic costume Photo: Elizabeth King
Together we have made an 1890s skirt, jacket and blouse, two 1890s walking dresses, an
1870s day dress, an 1860s maternity dress, two 1820s day dresses and an 1830s gown. I
think I see a fashion show in our future!
March was a busy month, during
which we also hosted a volunteer
recruitment seminar entitled
“Wildflowers” — Catharine Parr
Traill Historical Gardening
Presentation. Lang Pioneer
Village historic gardening
volunteer Joyce Higgs introduced
guests to the botanical world of
Catharine Parr Traill, an early
Elizabeth King and Joyce Higgs Photo: Laurie Siblock
settler in 19th-century Upper
Canada. The evening event, which was attended by 70 people and took place in the
Jacquard Loom Interpretive Centre on March 21, highlighted historical plants that we
grow in our gardens today. It also emphasized the need for volunteer support for the
Village gardens.
All in all, the seminar was informative and pleasurable.
All of the guests had positive things to say and we have
created ties in the gardening community that will help
us to grow and expand our own gardening resources.
The evening raised $168 in donations to help with this
year’s gardens and encouraged awareness about a
growing volunteer opportunity here at the Village. <
6
Become a Member of Lang Pioneer Village
Museum and Enjoy the Privileges of Membership
By Joe Corrigan, Museum Manager
Lang Pioneer Village Museum
Bronze-Level Family Membership Benefits
• Free admission to Lang Pioneer Village for 1 full year
• One-year subscription to the Lang Register semi-annual
newsletter
• 1 $3-off coupon valid for up to 2 guest admissions
• 6 free drink vouchers for drinks served in the Keene Hotel
• Invitations to workshops, exhibit previews and special events
• 10% discount in Museum Shop
• 10% discount on Youth Interpreter Program
• 10% discount on workshops
Ask us about the added benefits of our Silver, Gold and Platinum
programs.
The Faleiro Family Photo: Karis Regamey
Lang Pioneer Village Museum introduced its membership program in 2010 as a replacement
for the season pass. Memberships are available at the Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum
levels. Bronze memberships cost $95 for a family (2 adults and up to 4 children), $60 for an
adult and $50 for a senior or student. Memberships provide great value for regular visitors
and make an ideal gift.
If you have any questions about the membership program, or to become a member,
contact the Visitor Experience Coordinator at 705-295-6694 or by
e-mail at [email protected]
Cheyenne and Derek Thompson Photo: Dawn Knudsen
LANG’S VISION, MISSION
AND MANDATE
VISION
To provide each and every visitor to Lang Pioneer Village with a
living history experience of exceptional quality.
MISSION
To preserve, promote and authentically recreate the rural history
of Peterborough County.
MANDATE
To be a vibrant living history museum that engages our community
and actively preserves our cultural heritage in order to provide an
interactive and educational visitor experience.
7
Rare Jacquard Looms Are Ready
for Harnessing
By Joe Corrigan, Museum Manager
Since the official opening of the S. W.
Lowry Weaver Shop and Jacquard Loom
Interpretive Centre at the Museum’s
Festival of Textiles on August 13, 2011, the
Museum’s project team has focused on
getting the historic looms up and running.
We currently have a two-harness and a fourharness loom on exhibit in the Weaver Shop
portion of the building, along with the
original Lowry Jacquard loom.
Didier Schvartz’s replica is set up in the Interpretive Centre portion of the building. The
two-harness loom was warped in time for the opening, and interpreters have been
performing demonstrations on it ever since. The four-harness loom and the two Jacquard
looms are more complex to set up, and arrangements are under way to bring them on stream.
The Museum staff have spent considerable effort over the winter on a worldwide search to
track down suppliers of the materials necessary to harness the two Jacquard looms. I’m
pleased to say great progress has been made— our team has secured 5,000 tiny eyelets
required for harnessing the looms and we have identified a source for the manufacture of the
210 cardboard punch cards each machine will need to reproduce the ingrain carpetting
pattern identified on the cards that were left on the loom by Samuel Lowry.
Lang Pioneer Village Museum would like to eventually acquire a card-punching machine of
its own to assist in the repair of our existing sets of cards and to aid in the development of a
more diverse set of patterns. This may be possible somewhere down the road, but obtaining
a working set of punch cards for each of the two machines is the current priority. Once the
punched cards are obtained, Didier Schvartz will be invited back to Lang Pioneer Village to
harness the looms and our volunteer weavers will have the opportunity to learn about the
operation of the Jacquard loom.
Educational programs have been designed for public school primary and senior grade-level
curriculum and will be implemented once the looms are ready and sufficient weavers have
been recruited to provide demonstrations. These programs will be unlike anything currently
offered in the Province of Ontario and will be expanded to include a wider range of grade
levels over time.
Audrey Caryi with replica Jacquard loom Photo: Laurie Siblock
If you are a weaver interested in volunteering
and learning to weave on our Jacquard loom,
please contact Laurie Siblock at
[email protected]
or (705 ) 295-6694 or 1 (866 ) 289-5264.
8
When the building housing the looms was designed, it was determined that to fully appreciate
the workings of the Jacquard loom, visitors should have the opportunity to gaze upon the
mechanical heads from above. As the fully assembled loom is 10 to 12 feet high, the ceilings
were constructed at a height of 18 feet. That will allow for a viewing platform to be built
around the Museum’s working replica Jacquard loom. This platform, to be installed once the
looms have been harnessed, will be constructed in a way that will also accommodate the
weaver’s need to access the loom’s working parts for ongoing maintenance.
The S. W. Lowry Weaver Shop and Jacquard Loom Interpretive Centre was designed in a
heritage architectural style but was also designed to be fully accessible. For those visitors who
are unable to negotiate the stairs of the platform, a closed-circuit TV camera and monitor
will be set up on the ground level for their convenience.
Much progress has been made, but there is still work to be done. Our vision at Lang Pioneer
Village Museum is “to provide each and every visitor with a living history experience of
exceptional quality.” Our S. W Lowry Weaver Shop and Jacquard Loom Interpretive Centre
is now a reality. All that remains is to complete the final touches for our Jacquard loom
experience to be unique in North America. The Museum hopes to celebrate the realization
of that dream at our next Festival of Textiles event, scheduled for Sunday, August 18, 2013. <
Volunteers! You are invited to the Spring
Volunteer
Meet & Greet
at Lang Pioneer Village Museum
on Sunday, May 6, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm
We hope you can join us on May 6 to kick off
an exciting 45th anniversary season.
Come visit with your Lang friends while enjoying
light refreshments and the traditional music
of Nassau Mills.
We’ve missed you and can’t wait
to see you all again!
Please RSVP by May 1st to Elizabeth King at
(705) 295-6694 ext. 21 or by email at
[email protected]
Danica Thompson Photo: Dawn Knudsen
9
Many thanks to Lang’s 2012 Season SponsorshipPartners!
EVENT SPONSORS
MEDIA SPONSORS
SEASON SPONSOR
10
“The Fenians Are Coming! The Fenians Are Coming!”
By Joe Corrigan, Museum Manager
Historic Dominion Day, 2011 Photo: Dennis Halstead
the greater Peterborough area, Lang Pioneer
Village Museum’s commemoration event will
also focus on interpretations of four major
social themes of the War of 1812 era. These
include the music of the era, the role and
experience of women, the participation by
our local First Nations communities in the
battles and the impact of the war on the local
area. It promises to be a very entertaining and
informative event.
The 2012 season will see a great many military
reenactments staged across the province,
including one at Lang Pioneer Village
Museum during the weekend of August 18
and 19. Most of these will commemorate the
War of 1812. Lang Pioneer Village also plans
to stage another reenactment pertaining to an
even lesser known, but equally significant,
aspect of our military history; our Fenian
raids reenactment will take place at the
Historic Dominion Day event on Sunday,
July 1st.
The third armed invasion of Canada, the
Fenian Raids, took place between 1866 and
1870. The United States had threatened to
annex Canada “by force if necessary” during
the American Civil War (1861-1865), but
cooler heads prevailed and nothing came of
the threat. The Fenian Brotherhood was an
organization largely made up of Irish-born
Civil War veterans (from both the north and
south) that was reputed to be 60,000-strong
at one point.
Our country has actually repelled armed
invasions from our neighbours to the south
on three occasions over the last 250 years. In
late December of 1775, a colonial American
army under generals Montgomery and
Arnold was defeated at the gates of Quebec
City. After that defeat, the Americans made
no further significant attempts to attack
Canada for the rest of the Revolutionary War.
Act Two came when the American Congress
declared war on Great Britain in June of 1812
and focused its military efforts on the
invasion of Canada.
The Fenian organization came into their own
in the days immediately following the
American Civil War. Their stated aim was to
invade Canada and use it as a bargaining chip
to negotiate the liberation of their Irish
homeland from British rule. This military
threat was a major motivation in bringing the
four original provinces of Ontario, Quebec,
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia into
Confederation. It also led to the rapid
expansion of the Canadian Militia, which
ultimately resulted in the creation of the
Canadian Army in 1883.
As part of the War of 1812 bicentennial
commemorations, over the next two years,
people will be able to witness reenactments of
the major engagements of the war, such as the
battles of Queenston Heights, York,
Chrysler’s Farm, Lundy’s Lane and Beaver
Dams, as well as our own “Battle of Lang
Mill.” Because no actual battle took place in
Somehow this major event in our military and
political history has slipped under the radar
of our national consciousness. For the last
three years, Lang Pioneer Village has staged a
Fenian raid reenactment at our Historic
Dominion Day event to make our visitors
aware of this fascinating period of our history
and to tell the story of Peterborough County’s
contribution to the defense of our then
fledgling nation.
In 2007, Lang made the decision to refocus
the Dominion Day event into one that told
the story of Canadian Confederation. For
several years our Canada Day attendance had
remained around 100 visitors and it was
difficult to compete with the vast array of free
events staged all over the area. Since 2007
marked the 140th anniversary of the
founding of the Dominion, we decided to
bring Sir John A. Macdonald out of
retirement to read the British North America
Act and give an interpretation of the history
of Canadian Confederation.
We elaborated on that portrayal in 2008 and
saw attendance grow to 245 visitors. In 2009,
we staged our first Fenian raid reenactment
with three Fenians and four members of the
49th Regiment of Foot wearing their 1812
attire serving as “our brave Canadian Militia.”
We also introduced the singing of the historic
Canadian Militia marching song “Tramp,
Tramp, Tramp,” which boldly states, “For
beneath the Union Jack, we will drive the
Fenians back and we’ll fight for our beloved
Canadian home!”
The event grew again in 2010 with the
participation of more members of the 49th
Regiment of Foot, this time shedding their
1812-style jackets and shakos to represent the
1860s vintage “Home Guard” volunteers, and
the Cobourg High School drill team came to
take on the role of the Fenians. Last year the
event grew even more. In addition to the 49th
Regiment of Foot, our reenactor ranks swelled
with the addition of the East
Northumberland Secondary School drill
team representing the Brockville Rifles
Militia Company in their authentic green
uniforms and the Norwood District High
Continued on back cover
11
Lang Pioneer
Village Seeks
Gas and Steam
Enthusiasts
By Graham Varrin, Facilities Coordinator
Brian Nelson on the Titan tractor
Photo: Larry Keeley
We are looking into the potential of
developing a Gas and Steam Club here
at Lang Pioneer Village. I’m really
excited to learn about the level of
interest that local gas and steam
enthusiasts might have to create a club
here at Lang that would work with our
tractors, engines and machinery. There
are a number of interesting antique
tractors, farm machinery and hit and
miss engines in Lang’s collection and we
are looking to have a group of people
meet on a regular basis to share their
enthusiasm for preserving these rare and
interesting pieces and to perform
regular maintenance, run our antique
equipment and research appropriate
restoration. One of the most complex
pieces of equipment at Lang is the
Sawyer-Massey Steam Engine; we are
also seeking steam engine operators, or
those interested in learning to operate
and help us maintain the engine.
At this point, I would like to
ascertain the level of interest in the club,
then work with the members to
determine the direction the club will
take depending on Lang’s needs and the
interests and abilities of the members.
If you are interested, or know someone
who might be, please contact me at
(705) 295-6694 or by email at
[email protected]
Lang Pioneer Village Museum is
seeking additional experienced
STEAM ENGINE OPERATOR
VOLUNTEERS
to operate our Sawyer-Massey
Steam Engine at special events and
occasional weekends.
Steam Traction Operator Certification is
required for the operation of the Steam
Engine. While preference will be given to
those with the certification, training and
certification can be provided.
Please contact Graham Varrin at (705)
12
295-6694 or by email at [email protected]
Traditional Music Workshops at Lang Pioneer Village
By Rosemary Davidson, Visitor Experience Coordinator
Once again, we are pleased to be offering our fun
and instructive music workshops with Al Kirby
this season!
This workshop focuses on traditional folk,
country and blue-grass–style music. It features
instructional and jam sessions, as well as
discussions in Canadian music history. The
workshops are intended for beginner and
intermediate players.
Please note that we have changed the schedule
this year to avoid the hot summer months. These
workshops fill quickly, so please book early!
Instructor Allan Kirby has over 45 years of
music experience and uses an interactive teaching
style that is fun and rewarding for participants. A
guitar and banjo player, he has travelled and
recorded with many traditional music groups.
Session 1
Monday, May 14 to Wednesday, May 16
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day
Session 2
Monday, June 11 to Wednesday, June 13
SOLD OUT!
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day
Session 3
Monday, September 17 to Wednesday, September 19,
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day
Session 4
Monday, October 22 to Wednesday, October 24,
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day
To make enquiries or to register, please contact
Elizabeth King at (705) 295-6694 x23 or by
e-mail at [email protected].
Traditional music workshop participants
Photo: Laurie Siblock
A Taste of Time: A Heritage Recipe Collection
By Elizabeth King, Administrative/Volunteer Coordinator
Spring is in the air. I love that phrase
because if spring is in the air, it’s also
in the ground and we’ll soon be seeing
tender shoots sprouting from the earth
and, more importantly, finding their
Fiddlehead Photo: Carol Siblock
way to our table! Thanks to the beautiful
weather we have been having, I think it is safe to say that we are very close to
welcoming the wild and abundant early spring vegetables that our pioneering
ancestors would have seen as a blessing and even, for some, a means of survival.
After a long winter of eating dried and pickled fruits and vegetables and living off
hunted game and preserved meat, the fresh, growing wild vegetables of the forest
would have been a welcome sight to the early settlers, who were no doubt feeling
sickly and malnourished from eating a dwindling store of perishing foods.
This spring I have chosen to write about one of the earliest of the wild spring
vegetables, the fiddlehead. Fiddleheads are the edible furled fronds of a young
fern. They grow wild along marshy areas and rivers and should be harvested early
as they have only a very brief season of about two weeks. This season can come as
early as mid-April.
Historically, fiddleheads have been used both as a food and a medicine by the
Native people of New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. They were so revered as a
useful plant that many Natives painted fiddleheads on their canoes and wigwams as
a sign of their high regard for the plant. It was the Native
people who taught the early European settlers about
fiddleheads as an edible vegetable.
For the modern foodie, fiddleheads can be frozen for later
use, and are a known source of antioxidants and iron. Below
I have included a traditional, simple way of cooking this
delicious wild vegetable.
Skillet-Fried Fiddleheads
1 lb. fiddleheads
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 cup butter
Salt, to taste
Remove any brown ends from the fern shoots and wash the shoots
thoroughly in cold water. Make sure to remove any of the paper-like
brown skin. Drain, and pat the fiddleheads dry.
Heat half of the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the
fiddleheads and turn heat up to medium-high. Toss and stir
continuously so the butter doesn’t burn and until the fiddleheads
begin to soften. Crush the minced garlic with the back of a spoon or
knife and add to the skillet with remaining butter.
Continue cooking another minute or until the
fiddleheads are tender. Season with salt. Serve hot.
13
Living History Interpretation:
Tips for Success
By Sharon Skinner, Interpreter
I’m very happy and excited to be returning to Lang
Pioneer Village this year. I’m looking forward to
renewing many friendships, making new ones and
learning new things. Here are some of my thoughts
on interpretation and some helpful ideas from the
Heritage Interpreter Course I took through the
Ontario Tourism Education Corporation.
Our job as living-history interpreters is to interact
with the visitors and supply accurate information. It’s
important that we relate this information to the
modern-day experiences of the visitors. When
dealing with children, we need to make sure they
understand what we are talking about. The
information should be presented at their level, not
above or below their knowledge. You will be able to tell if you are
hitting the mark by watching their facial expressions. If necessary, you
can always make some quick adjustments in your delivery style.
Our job is communication. Verbal communication is found in the
tone of our voice, the pitch, volume, rhythm and rate of our speech,
and the words we choose. If we sound interested in our topic, we will
be interesting to the visitors.
Non-verbal communication is a message conveyed by our behaviour,
such as posture, gestures, eye contact and facial expressions. Once
again, the visitor will be able to guess how interested we really are in
what we are saying, even before we begin to talk. I try to tune in often
to my body language to ensure that I am standing straight, making
good eye contact and conveying interest in what I am saying through
my posture, gestures and facial expressions.
Generally speaking, there are three types of visitors who come to
Lang—the streakers, the strollers and the studiers. The streakers move
quickly through an exhibit or demonstration. The strollers are a little
slower and may ask questions. The studiers are focused and want to
know everything. I often use my intuition to size people up quickly,
and this helps me decide how much information to convey to them.
There are many learning styles. “Visual” people learn by seeing.
“Auditory” people learn by hearing and “kinesthetic” people learn by
14
Sharon Skinner, 2006 Photo: Didi Anderson
doing. As much as possible, we need to make sure
our demonstrations are allowing for all these types of
learning styles.
When dealing with groups of children, I usually ask
for the shorter children to come to the front and the
taller ones to stand in the back. I always face the
group and make sure I have their attention before I
begin to speak. Remember to speak clearly and,
again, to make good eye contact. Present your
information in a logical way, from basic to advanced
concepts. Allow time for questions. You may not
have all the answers, but do try to find out. It may be helpful to
present the question to the group to get their feedback. This is a great
way to spark a discussion.
Sometimes you will find that the children’s attention is diverted from
you and they are interested in something completely different from
what you are talking about, but often
still relevant to the Village. These are
“teachable moments” that I notice and
work with. For example, one day while
talking to a group of students in the
Milburn House, I lost their attention to
the noisy pigs snorting and grunting
happily in the mud in the pen outside.
This was a great teachable moment! I
took this opportunity to explain to the group something I had just
recently learned myself — that pigs require the coolness of the mud on
their body to lower their body temperature or else they can become
sick. The pigs weren’t just playing and fooling around; they were
keeping themselves cool and healthy. I had the children’s undivided
attention after that. If you find yourself in a similar situation, work
with the group and try to satisfy their curiosity. You may still be able
to return to your original idea, this time with their full attention.
As a living-history interpreter, I always feel I am learning as much as
I am teaching. It is a very challenging and rewarding position. Good
luck to everyone this season! <
Youth Interpreter Program:
Your Chance to Step into a World So Different from Today
By Julia Gregory, Lead Interpreter
During the months of July and August, Lang Pioneer Village Museum
hosts several two-week sessions of our Youth Interpreter Program (YIP),
led by me, Julia Gregory, and assisted by our trained interpreters. This is
a fun and interesting way for youths from 12 to 17 to complete their
community volunteer hours and learn the skills and trades of the 19th
century. Participants wear a period costume and train for a few hours
(noon to 3 pm), three days a week, for a two-week period.
After each session the participants will receive a Certificate of
Achievement for their completion of training in interpretation and
19th-century craft and trades skills. For example, youth interpreters
have a choice of learning two skills of interest per session from the
following areas:
Interpretation: Practice speaking to people using artifacts and
history as inspiration.
Baking: Develop the skills to bake with a Dutch oven in an open
hearth, or in our period wood stoves.
First-Year Crafts: Understand the difficult life of the first
settlers by making candles and carrying water with a yoke.
Woolen Ways: Explore the process of taking raw wool and making it
into a knitted or crocheted item.
Jewel Hamshaw and Clair Doris, Corn Roast, 2011 Photo: Jake Walling, SNAP
The Youth Interpreter Program Dates
for 2012 are:
Session 1 – July 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12
Session 2 – July 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26
Session 3 – August 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16
For further information, or to register for the YIP, please contact
Elizabeth King at 705-295-6694 x21 or by e-mail at
[email protected]. The application form can also
be found under the Educational Programs section of Lang Pioneer
Village’s website at www.langpioneervillage.ca. Get your application in
early to avoid disappointment!
Recycled Crafts: Reuse material as pioneer women did, making
scraps of cloth into beautiful quilted pieces or hooked rugs, or weave
rags into useful articles.
Decorative Arts: Learn the paper crafts or decorative needlework
that were popular during the Victorian era.
Blacksmith Shop: Use tools of the trade to pound out iron into
objects such as miniature horseshoes.
Carpenter Shop: Use authentic tools to craft your own wooden
projects.
Print Shop: Learn to work our 1827 Washington Flatbed Press.
Many of Lang’s Youth Interpreters have found a niche here at the
Village and return to volunteer at special events. Not only is it fun, but
this program is also an excellent experience for anyone interested in a
future career in customer service, history, tourism or teaching.
15
“The Fenians are Coming!” Continued from page 11
What’s New at Lang Pioneer Village?Continued from page 5
the structure to make the building more
accessible. Several overhanging trees around
the Log Barn and beside the Trades Barn
have been cut down to ensure that the roofs
on those respective buildings sustain no
further damage.
With any operation like Lang Pioneer
Village, maintenance is an ongoing priority.
Painting and cleaning is underway and, by
opening day, we hope to provide another
accessibility upgrade by extending our
entrance walkway to the parking lot by the
Food Booth. Perhaps the most visible
premises project our volunteers and visitors
will notice is the removal of Portable #1,
which took place in January, thanks to the
efforts of Jim Glenn and the crew from
Drain Brothers.
Karis Regamey has been busy with her
marketing efforts, the highlights of which
include a new 2012 Season, 45th
Anniversary brochure, an updated website
and newly designed roadside and entrance
signage for the Village. Elizabeth King and
Janet vanDompseler organized a staff and
volunteer Historical Costume Sewing
Workshop, which was staged over four
Saturdays this past winter. Elizabeth also
assisted in the staging of a very successful
“Wildflowers Workshop” that was developed
and presented by Historic Gardening
volunteer Joyce Higgs. Both these ventures
are profiled in more detail in this issue.
Laurie Siblock has been focused on
planning for the 2012 season special events
and working with Elizabeth King to continue
development of the volunteer program. The
big event for this season will be the August 18
& 19 weekend, which will feature the War of
1812 Bicentennial Commemoration and
45th Anniversary Celebration.
As profiled elsewhere, Audrey Caryi has
been working to complete the Jacquard loom
exhibit and, with the support of Julia
Gregory and Nipissing University Intern
and summer staff member Teri Prendible,
to update our educational programs, among
other things. We also received help from
Renee Homiak, a former Lang intern who
has moved on to work in Ottawa, to draft the
Museum’s Research and Collections
Management Policies.
In addition, work in the Collection area
was furthered by volunteers Rhonda Akey
and Allison Brown, who continue to update
artifact records, and by volunteer Rob Paul,
who is documenting and researching our
collection of carpentry tools. We are also
grateful to volunteer Jill Brown for working
to establish a database for our research
library.
Those are just a few of the changes
around here and the things we worked on
over the winter months. We are all looking
forward to another memorable season, the
45th in the history of Lang Pioneer Village
Museum. <
Dawn Knudsen Photo: Larry Keeley
School drill team in their red uniforms
representing Peterborough County’s own 57th
Battalion, “the Peterborough Rangers,” a
militia unit that was formed in May 1867, just
over a month before Confederation.
The reenactors put on a great show, setting up
their encampments, demonstrating their
weapons for the visitors and staging a spirited
battle between 40 participants for possession
of the Douro Town Hall. The skirmish,
which broke out just after Prime Minister
Macdonald’s address to the crowd, was a rousing
climax to the event on a day that saw close to 485
people enjoy the festivities. That’s not all!
This past January, Ontario Festivals Visited,
a website that attends and reports on events
all over the province, rated Lang Pioneer
Village Museum’s Historic Dominion Day as
one of the top 10 Ontario events of 2011.
Our research on the subject of the Fenian
raids continues, and preparations are again
underway for the staging of the Fenian raid
reenactment on July 1, 2012. If you’d like to
learn more about this period in our history
I’d suggest Ryerson professor Peter Vronsky’s
book Ridgeway: The Battle That Made Canada.
Published last fall, it contains a thorough and
readable summary of the events surrounding
a series of battles and troop movements that
took place in early June of 1866 around Fort
Erie. The Battle of Ridgeway represents the
last battle to be waged on Ontario soil to date
and the first fought entirely by Canadian
Militia units without the involvement of the
British, whose commitment to the defense of
her Canadian colonies began to wane during
the American Civil War. The other way to
learn more about this fascinating history is, of
course, to join us on July 1, 2012, for the
Historic Dominion Day event at Lang
Pioneer Village. <
Spring 2012 Vol. 5, No. 1
Building our Future
from the Fabric of the Past
Editor: Laurie Siblock
Proofreader: Stuart Ross
Graphic Designer: Brenda Mahaffy
Illustrations: Audrey Caryi
Contributors: Basia Baklinski, Audrey Caryi, Joe Corrigan,
Rosemary Davidson, Julia Gregory, Elizabeth King, Laurie Siblock,
Sharon Skinner, Graham Varrin