The Living History Park: News

Our First Annual Scarecrow Contest will be held starting Oct 18th–21st. Judging will take place on the 22nd. All scarecrows will remain on display until the 31st of October. Contact Pam
803 441-8956
pam@colonialtimes.us

Download an application form:

Scarecrow contest application (Word)
Scarecrow contest application (pdf)

Last Saturday—August 28

The public is welcome to come and learn Colonial Dance in the Barn (which is air conditioned). Dance Master Dana Cheney will provide the instruction.

In colonial times, dancing was one of the favorite pastimes for all types of people, from those who had been working hard in the fields to the wealthy class who used dances as an opportunity to socialize. Dancing provided an outlet to release stress, socialize and develop new skills. It is fun for all ages. Come join us!

UPDATE: A Second Chair Class is being offered!
The class will run from October 29 through October 31.
Contact Chris for details at 678-637-7882

Chair Class a Success!

Dates of class: April 23-25, 2010
Instructor: Chris Schleier, Colonial Chair Company

The chair making class, taught by Chris Schleier of the Colonial Chair Company, was a great success. The class was held the weekend of April 23–25 in the barn. Students learned how to build a Continuous Arm Windsor Chair using the same techniques employed over 250 years ago. The history of chairmaking was discussed along with the benefits of green wood joinery. Students were taught how to use an adz, gouge, file and spokeshave to shape the seat and spindles. Chris also discussed steam bending. These chairs were literally built by eye and can easily be distinguished from the machine perfection of a factory reproduction. After completion of the chairs, finishing techniques were discussed.

Everything above and beyond the cost of materials for the class was donated directly to the park by Chris! It was a win/win for the students—who got to take home a handcrafted, heirloom piece of furniture that their grandchildren will fight over—and a big win for the park!

Kudos to our photographer!

Larry Gleason takes most of the photographs you see on our site and in our printed media and he does it all for the love of the park. Larry recently won Photo of the Day at Digital Image Cafe. Way to go Larry!

The barn is finished!

Completed Barn

We have another new building: The Mercantile is a place for our artisans to showcase their wares. This shop was built by the students at the American College of the Building Arts in Charleston, SC. Plans are underway for an open air market next to the Mercantile Shop in the spring. Plants, fresh vegetables, and natural herb wreaths are just a few of the offerings you will find at the market.

Stop by for a visit the next time you are at the park.

Mercantile

A Looming Loan

In support of the work of OTPA, the Aiken County Historical Museum has loaned a late eighteenth-century counter balance loom. On Saturday, February 6th, Jan and Tom Turner from Tennessee, Pam Schmidt, and Walt Thompson dismantled and moved the loom to the Thompson Academy.

The cleaning and oiling of this loom is part of the process to preserve it for future lessons in the Academy. Jan and Tom returned in early March to prepare the loom to be warped.

St. Nicholas visits ornament makers

Marcia Perron of North Augusta Today stopped by on Saturday, December 5th to observe the annual Christmas for the Birds event. Here is a bit of what she reported:

This year the Christmas for the Birds event had a special visitor for the participants. St. Nicholas stopped by and explained how Christmas traditions have evolved.

"In the fourth century I was the Bishop of Myra in what is now known as Turkey," he said to the crowd of children. Being a generous man he secretly helped many people in need. His secret gifting was revealed when he gave three bags of gold to the three daughters of a farmer for their dowry to be married. The farmer saw him and was sworn to secrecy.

It became known that the Bishop was the kind, caring person who had helped so many people. St. Nicholas is most commonly known as the patron of all children.

The article is online here.

Award for the park

Colonial Times: A Day to Remember is an award winner!

The park's annual event in October was chosen to receive an award of merit from the South Carolina Confederation of Local Historical Societies! The awards were given out at the 2009 Landmark & Preservation Conference in Columbia. The Conference ran March 26 and 27. Congratulations to everyone!