Connecting in 1846

Brendon and I had an incredible 24 hours this week (actually it was closer to 28 hours).

As mentioned in the previous post, his class was part of the ELP (Enviromental Living Program) this week.

I arrived at the Fort bright and early on Tuesday morning in full 1846 regalia. I was dressed as a Norwegian Immigrant (I figured it wasn't much of a stretch) thanks to my wife's creativity in sewing and finding a costume. Once there, the parents prepared the Fort for the arrival of the "wagon train" from across the country. 

We had spent a day training with the docents earlier in the year. There were "teams" of parents who learned specific trades that were common to the era. The teams positioned themselves around the Fort in various stations that would have been common back in the day. Here's an incomplete list of our stations: Blacksmith, grain mill, carpentry, rope-making, bakery, butter-making, trade store, fur-trading/trapping, corn-husk doll making, and more.

I was partnered with two other parents to teach rope-making. We crammed a bunch of rope-making facts in our heads and quickly learned the art... and it is indeed an art. Did you know that Columbus carried over 15 miles of rope on his ship alone? But I digress...

The kids soon arrived at the front gate in covered wagons. We poured out the gate to use, what the fort manager described to the kids, as "magic boxes" that doing something called "taking a picture."

Once the formal welcome was over, the kids spent the next 7 hours going from station to station, learning life at the Fort. Each child was a specific character who had been documented as part of Sutter's Fort. They had done research and were to pretend to be that individual for the day. They did a fantastic job.

Kiley came and helped for a while. Which was somewhat of a chore on her part as any parent coming had to be in costume. So she got all dressed up for 2 hours.

About noon, we paused to fire the cannon (which set off car alarms all over the area) and eat some old-fashioned lunch. Then, it was back to learning the trades.

At dinner time, their principal showed up in full 1846 garb and led them in tug-o-war, sack races and more until dinner was ready. Dinner featured bread and butter made by the kids during the day.

After dinner, we gathered around the fire with a fiddler and guitarist to learn some folk songs. Then we moved inside to learn how to square dance... THAT was an experience for them.

As late night drew near, we put the kids in two big rooms in their sleeping bags.

But, in the interest of helping them understand what life was like... we woke them up in groups until late in the night to walk guard duty. There were scenarios we arranged in which they discovered people breaking in, checked on prisoners in the jail and so on. 

I was one of the fortunate ones who talked the girls into feeling sorry for me and letting me out of jail and feeding my in the kitchen because I was hungry. You can always get them to feel sorry for you...

In the morning we feasted on sticky buns and bread which they had made in the outdoor fire-oven, cleaned up the fort and headed back to the school. 

Brendon and I crashed about 12:30 at home. Well... I crashed. He had gotten sleep during the night. I hadn't...

It was an incredible memory for my son and I. And a great learning experience for him that has fostered some great conversation this week. The time Brendon and I spent together has connected us in some great new ways this week.

Pictures are posted on Facebook...