“History is the ship carrying living memories to the future.” Stephen Spender
Our family has been reenacting American history since about 1987. Lately we’ve been working on a good portrayal of 1860 and 1838. Before that we represented the American Revolutionary War period from 1770-1780.
The main reason we do it is that we find it interesting to know how people lived so many years ago. From their clothes, to their religion, their occupations to their food…. its all interesting to us. Another reason is that we know that other people find it interesting too, and since we learn so much from our study, its fun and exciting to share that knowledge with other not just through talking about it, but by living it out for them to see. We learn from reenacting, too. We learn about people, their decisions, and about God’s plan for mankind through the ages.
This past weekend, my husband, youngest daughter and I, and my oldest son, went to the Tennessee History Festival in Nashville, Tennessee. Right there in downtown Nashville at Bi-Centennial park we camped out in 1838 fashion and set up all our wares for children and adults to come by and take a look. We talked all day long for two days.
The History Festival begins with Hernando DeSoto and works all the way through World War II. There are re-enactors for all eras.
Here are some photos for you to enjoy of the Tennessee History Festival…
Hello and welcome! I'm Sylvia Britton, and I've been online since 1996 offering encouragement and help in the spirit of Titus 2 and Proverbs 31 at Christian Homekeeper. CHK is the original Homekeeping site on the internet
Weve been doing (un) Civil war reenacting for over 12 years. It is such a wonderful experience for the children, but all of us.
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Fascinating! What a wonderful way to learn…and teach your kids! Wish I lived closer. How far do you travel for these events?
The farthest we have traveled is 2 hours. This last event was in Nashville and only about 45 minutes away. I wish you were closer too Tammy!
I don’t know how many people came through. I know it was a LOT. The information about last years event said about 6000 people came through. with the rain this year it might have been a bit less than that. We got there right at sunrise Friday and spent the night, went home Saturday evening.
That looks like a lot of fun! It would have been fun to see in person. You said you were camped there for 2 days, did you sleep over? Can’t imagine. How many people came through the park in those two days?
My what a handsome Long hunter I see there! Who is that rugged man?! 😉
Why that is your handsome husband! 🙂
Sylvia, how fun! Love the photos! Love the one of the shoes especially. Who is that? Thanks for sharing ~ I really enjoyed the peek at your other life. 🙂
Wardee,
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Those are Lydia’s feet, still clean….. they were pretty dirty at the end of our stay! 🙂