Greetings and Happy New Year!
While reading a recent call for workshop proposals, I was struck with a thought I decided to contemplate for a few days. This thought is how much things have changed, but also how much they have remained the same. Prior to the pandemic, the Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums was set to celebrate our 50th anniversary as an organization. The theme for that anniversary conference was “2020 Vision.” The call for proposals stated, “If history is any guide, it will continue to change, and our field must change along with it. What visions do WE have as Living History faces both new and old challenges and opportunities? What are OUR dreams and goals for the future of Living History, and how can we best achieve them?” We invited historical interpreters, farmers, craftspeople, curators, researchers, educators, administrators and everyone interested in living history to come be a part of determining our vision for the future of the past. Little did we know about how our dreams and goals would be influenced by the future. Only a few short months later, our world was affected by health and social events, the impacts of which were felt by all our members.
Since then, our society has found a way to rebuild and start anew. Many of us have opened our eyes to social injustices that were there all along but are no longer tolerated. Through these efforts, we have found that change is hard, and some will resist change. As an organization, we are committed to being better and doing more. As individuals, many of us decided to look at the world differently than we did just a short time ago, and we try to see things from a new perspective. In this fresh approach, so many things have changed, yet so much has remained the same.
ALHFAM is still an organization of people who bring history to life. We still serve those involved in living historical farms, agricultural museums and outdoor museums of history and folklife. Our members still desire to be at the forefront of the growth and professionalization in the use of living history techniques in museum programs. Finally, we continue to expand beyond the United States and Canada, with members in Australia, France, Iceland, Germany, Denmark, Romania, Great Britain, and Spain.
Time and time again, our membership has shown we have the skills to not only demonstrate historic and heritage practices, but we also have the ability to teach those skills to future generations. Teaching those skills through workshops and conferences remains one of the more important aspects of our organization. As I prepare for the future, I am reminded that we must go where our passion leads us. Whether you are interested in historic cooking, trades, farming, interpretation, collections, textiles, or machinery, you have a passion. Harness the power of your passion and allow it to propel you forward into helping ALHFAM excel as an organization and achieve our mission. At the end of the day, we are in this together, and I look forward to working with you all in 2024.
Best regards,
Jim Lauderdale
ALHFAM President
ALHFAM 