From time to time, historic interpreters hear a question they haven’t been asked before. When I receive a question I’ve never considered, I always find myself saying, “That’s a great question,” as a way to stall while I consider the answer. This series is about some of those great questions. Yesterday while learning the presentation […]
What is the History of Consumer Sewing Machines? Read More »
This weekend, I spent a good while struggling with pleating a petticoat (the skirt part of an early 1800s working outfit). It got me thinking about the role clothing plays in living history. It helps create the scene, inform visitors and volunteers/staff alike (there is a stiff learning curve when you first wear a historically
Keeping Costumes Historically Accurate for the 19th Century Read More »
Everyday, we overlook the ingenious simplicity of hundreds of inventions. Doors, latches, zippers, buttons, and hammers – just to name a few. At Quiet Valley, we explore this topic with school aged children through a presentation called Simple Machines. We walk the students through simple problems that can be solved with machines such as levers
The Wheelbarrow: History & Varied Uses on The Farm Read More »
We often explain ourselves in terms of food. Take a look at social media and invariably there will be something about food or cooking. (It’s so widespread that my significant other took a picture of the grill the other night, albeit it did look nice with its smorgasbord.) Most of us don’t think too much
How Did We End Up Eating the Foods We Eat Today? Read More »
This week on the farm we had our first lambs of the season born. Molly, who has never given birth to twins, gave birth to two little boys on Easter Sunday. Which prompted this week’s post about sheep. Sheep are ruminants meaning that they have 4 chambers in their stomach to assist with digestion. This
All About Sheep: Wool, Food, Behavior & Intelligence Read More »
Easter is right around the corner. Most of our Easter celebration comes from the Germans and traveled overseas with them to America. The Easter Bunny, Easter Eggs, and Easter candy all have their roots in German traditions. Like Santa Claus or the Christ Child, The Easter Bunny would traditionally come the night before the holiday
Easter, A Year of Pennsylvania German Holidays Read More »
One of the things I’ve always found interesting about the Pennsylvania Germans is their folk art such as hex signs on barns and frakturs. Scherenschnitte (pronounced something like Sharon-Sh-knit-a) is the German and Pennsylvania German tradition of cutting paper. Traditionally, these paper designs were done by folding the paper and cutting to make a continuous
Scherenschnitte, German Folk Art of Intricate Paper Cutting Read More »
A little over three weeks ago we had piglets born on the farm. Squeakers, the proud mama, timed it just right and gave birth on March 1st, which is National Pig Day! We even made the front page of the local paper, the Pocono Record. (Finally some good news on the front page.) Coming into
The Story of Pigs: Quick Facts, Domestication, Pop Culture Read More »
Reenactors, historians, and the general public often marvel at the creativity of our historic counterparts. They were able to make from simple tools and equipment ingenious solutions to everyday problems. Imagine us trying to do the same things without Google! Recently, I learned about bandboxes during a training activity. Bandboxes are a catch-all term for
Bandboxes, a Historic Craft of the Victorian Era Read More »
Each Spring, Quiet Valley makes its own maple sugar. We all love the sweet, sticky sap that comes from these types of trees for our pancakes and for adding to all sorts of recipes, such as maple ginger salmon. This past week we started tapping the trees around the farm. A good tap tree is
Gathering Maple Sugar, Tree Tapping, Syrup Processing Read More »