enjoyed lunch in the lovely maritime town of Gig Harbor. Then a tour at Historic Fort Steilacoom and to the town of Steilacoom to visit the Nathanial Orr home and Wagon shop. Finally, we drove to the original site of Fort Nisqually and returned to the hotel after a full day of museum site seeing.

Saturday, we started our morning at Point Defiance Park in the Lodge for two wonderful workshops with Kay and Kelly Demlow and Steve and Kathy Iverson. We enjoyed a quick lunch and conversation then headed back to Fort Nisqually for the afternoon. We were greeted by many volunteers and staff to an afternoon of life as it was at Fort Nisqually in the mid 1800s. Two more classes in the afternoon included classes by Lawrence Bradley Mike McGuire.

We ended the conference with a visit to the Factor's House for sherry and cider, followed by dinner in the Great Room. The evening ended with a humorous first person portrayal by Nancy Keller-Scholz.

As a van driver, I had the privilege of listening to a variety of conversations as we traveled from place to place and marveled at what

a remarkable group of people were attending this conference.

The Fort Nisqually staff enjoyed putting together a conference for our peers. Thank you to Fort Nisqually and Metro Parks Tacoma staff who assisted us in organizing this conference and a special thanks to Peggy Barchi , who kept the conference organized and well planned.

It is my hope that the participants enjoyed the conference and I look forward to meeting you all again at the next regional conference.

Lane Sample, Education Specialist, Fort Nisqually Living History Museum

WESTERN REGION ~ ANNUAL MEETING

Western region newsletter W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

S P E C I A L

P O I N T S O F

I N T E R E S T :

Meeting New

Friends at Fort

Nisqually

“Living

History” the

art of a

magazine

cover

Living

History Recipes

Annual Confer-

ence and Meet-

ing: Jackson’s

Mill

Newsletter

Submission

Guidelines

“Stepping into the

Future…

Connecting with

the Past!”

The annual meeting for the Western Region of ALHFAM was held November 4th – 6th at Fort Nisqually Living History Museum in Tacoma Washington. It was well attended by participants from Arizona, California, Oregon, Montana and Washington.

It began with a “meet and greet” at the Shiloh Inn where many of the conference guests stayed. It gave us a chance to chat and get to know new friends as well as renew acquaintances from previous conferences.

On Friday morning, vans transported participants to Fort Nisqually. Upon arrival the participants listened to Keynote speaker, Melissa McGinnis, who spoke of the challenges and joys of working in the living history field and ended with a great question and answer time.

We then headed across Tacoma’s Narrows Bridge to the Harbor History Museum in Gig Harbor, Washington. We watched a living history program in a historic one room school house, toured the new museum and

P A G E 2

“...by the end

I felt a true sense

of belonging.”

Lawrence Bradley

I’ll be honest; I’ve been known to fall asleep in meetings. The idea of attending a conference is usually anathema to me; had the ALHFAM West-ern Regional Meeting not been so convenient (I live two miles

from Fort Nisqually where the meeting was held) I probably would not con-sidered attending.

Had I passed up this op-portunity, however, I would have missed out on an outstanding opportu-nity to learn, share and meet some wonderful new friends. The event defi-

nitely breathed a new fire into my passion for this addiction called “Living History.”

This was my first ALHFAM event and, as I am very much an amateur histo-rian, it was with a certain degree of trepidation that I arrived at the initial so-cial event. My anxiety was quickly put to rest as I slipped into easy conver-sation with the profes-sionals. The following two days were packed with site visits and other learn-ing opportunities that left me hungry for more.

The second day of events coincided (deliberately) with one of Fort Nis-

qually’s special events (the annual “Arts of the Fur Trade”) and I felt very proud to be offered the opportunity to represent the fort and ALHFAM in a presentation in the fort’s period kitchen. It was, I believe, an excellent op-portunity for the fort to show ALHFAM what it could offer and vice versa.

By the final culminating

social event I was cer-

tainly glad I had attended

the meeting. Before the

meeting I was just a mem-

ber; by the end I felt a true

sense of belonging.

Lawrence Bradley ~

W E S T E R N R E G I O N N E W S L E T T E R

...Meet some new friends...

P A G E 3 W E S T E R N R E G I O N N E W S L E T T E R

Kimberly

Rose~

featured

Reenactor in

snapshot of

the

conference.

Fort Nisqually Featured in Magazine Cover Art Project

Still in school at age 49, I was assigned a project to create a magazine cover of my choice. I knew that the upcoming weekend would be a wonderful opportunity to take a picture worthy of a cover as I would be attending my first ALHFAM Western Regions Conference. On Saturday, the last day of the conference, Lawrence Bradley was giving a class on "Adapting Historic Recipes to Modern Times in a Period Kitchen." The class was held in the kitchen building and the food he was preparing would be lunch for the volunteer enactors at Fort Nisqually that day. The enactor looking through the window, reminded me of the conversations that must have gone on through the windows when meals were being prepared at the Fort many years ago. Deciding on a magazine name and then researching that name didn’t take me long as living history museums are a passion of mine. Why not name a magazine dedicated to them? The magazine name has never been used. There was once a magazine named Living History in England until it merged with the BBC History magazine. The font I chose gave me the feel I was looking for while the article topics listed on the cover were topics of workshops and discussions that weekend, and some stated my feelings when leaving the conference. Conferences: The ties that bind--I connected with many people who work in the industry during the conference. It felt good to talk with others who have similar passions; who have worked through or are working through all the issues I will soon be dealing with at my sites. Fall at Fort Nisqually--this could preview the living history day we and the public experienced that Saturday, pictures included. Costume or Period Clothing?--this title could cover the topic of the disconnect that exists between the public and those working or volunteering in the field. The conference workshop on this topic included a discussion on the use of the term “costume” which the public gives the clothing worn at sites, yet how important the accuracy of our “period clothing” is, as the public walks away with the impression that what our enactors were wearing “is really what they wore back then”. Last but not least another topic of discussion between enactors and others at the conference was that of “First person or third person: insights and perspectives on interpretation”. This covered questions such as “What types of interpretation really draw the public into what is going on at your event or site, and gives them a feel for how things were during that time period while also allowing them to ask where the bathroom is? For some visitors, being told that the “Necessary” is two buildings over and around the corner, just doesn’t work. All in all my husband and I came away from the conference with many more insights and new understandings than I can put on a magazine cover.

-Terri Towner

Living Recipes...

W E S T E R N R E G I O N N E W S L E T T E R P A G E 4

Stoneground Favorite: Fruity Pumpkin Cake Ingredients: 1 cup mashed cold pumpkin 4 oz. sultans (golden raisins) 4 oz. mixed dried fruit (chopped) 4 oz. finely chopped dried apricots 1 teaspoon mixed spice 1 cup unsweetened orange or apple juice 1 teaspoon baking soda 4 egg whites 2 cups of stoneground whole wheat flour 1 tablespoon honey Combine fruit, juice (2 teaspoons of brandy may be used for special oc-casions), and honey in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add the soda. Cool. Grease an eight-inch round cake pan very lightly or line with foil. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat egg whites lightly. Add cold pump-kin and the fruit mixture and beat until smooth. Stir in flour and spice. Beat until smooth. Bake for 1-1/2 hours. Hint: For a moister cake, soak fruit in the juice overnight. For a festive occasion, replace 2 teaspoons of the juice with 2 teaspoons of brandy.

Take from “Stoneground Favorites From Jackson’s Mill” by Joy Gilchrist and Erseline Rumbach

Richard Thornhill’s Fort Nisqually Stew Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 pound stewing beef cut into 1 inch cubes 1 large onion diced 1 cup of red wine 4 cups beef broth 4 cups of chicken broth ½ cup pearl barley 2 leeks (white and pale green parts) chopped 1 bunch kale chopped Heat oil over high heat in large saucepan. Brown beef well on all sides; set aside. Brown onion. Deglaze pan with red wine and reduce. Return beef to pan, add 2 cups beef and 2 cups chicken stock. Bring to boil then reduce to simmer, covered, 30 minutes. Uncover, bring to boil, add barley then reduce to a sim-mer, covered 40 minutes, stir occasionally. (Add additional stock if necessary.) Add leeks simmer, covered 20 minutes, stir occasion-ally. (Add additional stock if neces-sary.) Add kale and simmer until just tender, about 20 minutes. This sounds much more appetizing doesn’t it? By browning the beef in oil, substituting stock for water and adding the onion, (I often add some garlic as well) and wine this dull rec-ipe becomes vibrant.

Courtesy of Lawrence P. H. Bradley and

Richard Thornhill

Help us with the Newsletter!

We need your submissions

and feedback. See the back

cover for details.

How do I adapt the recipe? · Find a modern recipe that is similar. · Decide how many servings you want and then calculate how much of

each main ingredient is appropriate for each serving. (Four ounces of beef per person etc.)

· Envision how you want the dish to taste. · Substitute ingredients. · Add or omit ingredients. · Don’t be afraid to experiment! · PRACTICE before you serve it to others! · Don’t be afraid to fail. You can always try again! ·

Courtesy of Lawrence P. H. Bradley and Richard Thornhill

P A G E 5

Growing

Living

History: In

Good Times

and Bad

ALHFAM National Meeting and Conference

In today’s tumultuous times, historians and museum professionals continually face the challenge of finding

innovative ways to keep the past alive. Visiting new places, experi-encing new op-portunities, and sharing our in-dividual suc-cesses and fail-ures are valu-able parts of that process.

We’re pleased to welcome the Association for Living History, Farm and Agricul-

tural Museums to West Virginia for its annual meeting June 4-8, 2011. The Farmstead at WVU

Jackson’s Mill has a very rich history as an 18th and 19th century rural economic hub, the boyhood home of Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, and the first state 4-H camp in the nation. 2011 marks 90 years of operation by the Extension Service of West Virginia University.

W E S T E R N R E G I O N N E W S L E T T E R

Need financial assistance to attend the 2011 Annual Meeting and Conference?

Why not apply for the ALFHAM Fellowship?

See website for details.

P A G E 6

First Impressions are Lasting Impressions

The old adage is certainly true for my experience at the recent Western Region ALFHAM con-ference held in Tacoma, WA. Hosted by Fort Nisqually, Phyllis and I were quite im-pressed with the level of or-ganization and accommodation that moved us from place to place and kept us constantly busy, learning and entertained! We were greeted and treated to great company and light snacks on Thursday evening. It was a great evening of net-working. The opening remarks by Melissa McGinnis, the His-toric and Cultural Resource Manager for Metro Parks Ta-coma set the tone for the rest of the conference – Living His-tory Interpretation works to bring history alive and keep museum visitors coming back again and again. We traveled to Gig Harbor to the Harbor History Museum, lunched and then onto Fort Steilacoom. It was a great day and fun to see the museums. Saturday was the best day of all. There were two great presentations: “Costume or Clothing? What not to wear for Living History”

by Kay Demlow followed by “A Model for Living History Research at Rancho Lost Cerritos Historic Site” by Stephen Iverson and Kathie Schey. Both were very informative. The second work-shop was ex-tremely valuable to these two volunteers. It was a “how to” research and document the infor-mation needed for historical character interpretation. We were amazed at the level of detail and thoroughness of thought that went into the example notebooks that were available as examples. All too soon it was time for lunch. The afternoon was spent at Fort Nisqually. They were having a public event “Arts of the Fur Trade”. We were quite im-pressed with the level of volun-teer and staff activity throughout the museum. The High School Apprentice program was of great interest to us – these young inter-preters - and there were many – eager to share their knowledge,

did so in a most excellent manner, evidence of a great training program. There simply was not enough time to visit all the sites, shop and talk with the volunteers! As Mike McGuire put it, we will just have to go back to see it again. For the

grand finale evening, we were transported back to the Nine-teenth Century as we sipped Apple ale or sherry in the Fac-tor’s house, hosted by Living History Interpreters, treated to a fabulous catered dinner and entertained with instruc-tion on Nineteenth Century manners. It was quite evident that there was a lot of thought, organiza-tion and creativity put into this conference. The only rec-ommendation that Phyllis and I could offer is that we would have loved to have an hour or so after each of the work-shops for a discussion period. Although the sites we visited on Friday were very interest-ing, we would have been quite happy spending all our time at Fort Nisqually! Thank you everyone for all you did to make it a great conference! Looking forward to next year. Megan Spring and Phyllis Mueller Volunteers for the Nevada City

Living History Program Montana

W E S T E R N R E G I O N N E W S L E T T E R

Western Region on Facebook!

Don’t forget to join the Western Region on Facebook! The address is: http://groups.to/alhfamwesternregion/ Also, interact with the different ALHFAM pages by ‘liking’ or ‘sharing’ items posted on the walls. This will increase ALHFAM’s visibility on Facebook!

Use the “Discussions” tab to generate conversation about specific areas of interests, site questions, general queries, and anything living history. Treat this section like a forum.: Start a “thread”!!!

I’ve Got Issues….

P A G E 7 W E S T E R N R E G I O N

Of course we are talking

about future issues of the

ALHFAM Western Region

newsletter.

In an attempt to be a little bit

more timely in keeping the

Western ALHFAMily together,

we have the following sched-

ule and themes for the re-

gion’s newsletter.

All articles from members are

welcome, but we will be fo-

cusing particularly on the

subjects mentioned. For Ma-

chinery you could write on

restoration of an object, inter-

pretation of the use of ma-

chinery or in the case of the

Boston Mill, an entire site de-

voted to machinery.

Spring – to come out in

March, articles due by Febru-

ary 15th, topic – Machinery

Summer – to come out in

June, articles due by May 15th,

topic – Historic Apparel and

Textiles

Fall – to come out in Septem-

ber, articles due by August

15th, topic – First Person In-

terpretation

Winter – to come out in De-

cember, articles due by No-

vember 15th, topic – regional

meeting and Curation

Mick Woodcock

Western Region Representative

Articles and photographs

should be sent to our Western

Region newsletter editor

ZairaValdovinos:

zaira.valdovinos@gmail.com

Help us put

out a quarterly

newsletter for

the ALHFAM

Western

Region!!