WOMEN ON THE FRONTIER April 18-19, 2015 Boone’s Fort, Fincastle Co., Virginia
Ft. Boonesborough State Park, Madison County, Kentucky
Saturday morning
9:00 am Fort opens to the Public
9:15 am Welcome and Introductions
Meet near the garden in the center of the fort
9:30 am Frontier Gardening: Preparing the soil, planting, watering, setting cane tripods for climbing vines, etc. We will talk about seeds, what they planted, etc., and the ladies and anyone else who wants to participate will be “manning” primitive garden tools to do the above mentioned work.
Mid-morning 10:45 am A visit with Queen Charlotte the Cow: We will talk about the importance of a milk cow to the early settlers and about the earliest breeds in Kentucky. Participants will be able to try their hand at “milking” Charlotte.
Lunch on your own (The Fort Boonesborough Foundation will have concessions for sale)
Early afternoon
1:15 pm Meet near the large fire area toward the front of fort Splitting wood with period tools, plus firebuilding. This was a vital and daily chore. We will have some different tools to try.
2:15 pm Meet near the fire pit on near the forge toward the backside of fort
Carol Jarboe (aka Maggie Delaney) will be doing a dyeing presentation. She appears as Carol, living history interpreter for this session. She will talk about natural dyes and mordants and display various colors obtained from the different dye materials, fabrics, and mordants.
After Carol’s presentation, we will do our own experiments with dyepots for the rest of the afternoon at the fire pit where we split wood. Please feel free to join in with your own fabric, dyes, etc. We will have several pots going and will see what colors we can get. We will play in this area as long as everyone wants.
5:00 pm Fort closes to the Public
6:00 pm Evening meal – provided for Reenactors with potluck added
(Bring something to share if you wish)
7:30ish Music and Games in the Tavern till he quits Frontier and Celtic Balladeer Jon Hagee will perform for your enjoyment in the lower blockhouse tavern. Tavern games will be available for your leisure as well.
Sunday morning
8:30–9:00 am Devotional service with Parson John (Frank Jarboe) (meeting in the orientation blockhouse – where the movie is shown – if weather permits, we may be outside)
9:00 am Fort opens to the Public
10:00 am Location to be Determined…. “Some things Natural” Presentation – Bill will share some highlights from his wonderful presentation “All Things Natural,” telling us about how you can use items found in nature to help with certain chores or to make certain items that you would need on the frontier.
We will also grind corn, and work with yokes – carrying various items and vessels to get a feel for how women went about their daily chores. And we might just build a fence if time allows.
This will be followed by a hands-on knife sharpening session. (Bring a knife and/or whetstone if you have one)
12:00–1:00 pm Lunch on your own (The Fort Boonesborough Foundation will have concessions for sale)
1:15 pm Carol Jarboe will repeat her dyeing presentation. (same spot as Saturday)
2:15 pm Meet out back of fort near half face shelter Games and Prizes
3:30 pm Pack up to head home 5:00 pm Fort Closes
There will also be ongoing activities in the fort throughout both days. We encourage you to spend some time with these as they will round out your weekend experience and perhaps help you in our competitive finale.
Firestarting and Tomahawk Throwing: Tom – a fort interpreters will be demonstrating fire starting with flint and steel and tomahawk throwing all day- both days in an area on the East side of the fort – near the primitive cabins.
Woodworking: Mike Murphy will be doing a woodworking demo with hands-on participation with woodworking tools such as a drawknife, auger and shaving horse. Women helped build cabins, fences, outbuildings and even furniture right along with their husbands.
Mike may not be doing this all day, but it will be an ongoing activity that can be visited during the time he is available.
Book signing – Harry Enoch and Anne Crabbe Authors of the new books Women of Fort Boonesborough will be here sometime this weekend to sell and sign their book. Women of Fort Boonesborough was released last fall and includes information on all the known women who passed through or lived at Fort Boonesborough during its existence. We will not hold the authors to a particular time, but look for them outside the Transylvania Store. Cost of the book is $10 and well worth it.
Firearms: Loading, Firing, Cleaning – (Location to be determined – just follow the loud noise) Boys and most girls learned to shoot as soon as they were big enough to shoulder a firearm. The ability to shoot on the frontier could mean the difference between life and death – both from threats of attack and to provide food for the table. You’ll get to fire powder blanks from period reproduction weapons. If you are already a shooter, consider attending the Rifle Frolic here at the fort on Labor Day weekend. Details are on the website: www.fortboonesboroughlivinghistory.org
Cabin Interpretations: There will be interpreters in some cabins all day, both days (9:00 am – 5:00 pm). Participants should take advantage of this when they have free time or want to take a break from organized activities.
Movie: In the Orientation Blockhouse
If you have not seen the 30 minute movie on the settling of early Kentucky, or if it’s been a while since you’ve seen it, spend 30 minutes and take a load off. It’s well worth the time.
WEATHER UPDATE: We know the weather may be a challenge at times. If we have to cancel an activity or move an activity, we will let participants know. We have some indoor things we can do if we need to.
(Bring some sewing just in case….)
Bill Farmer – Fort Boonesborough ftboone@bellsouth.net (859) 527-3131
Kristi Heasley (859) 797-6572 – cell kheasley@bloodhorse.com or on Facebook (Kristi Mattingly Heasley)
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