When the staff at Howell Living History Farm were approached to host the 2024 ALHFAM Annual Meeting and Conference, the initial response was a resounding “NO WAY!” Not because we don’t value the amazing ways this conference connects the ALHFAMily, or shares knowledge otherwise inaccessible due to geographical distance, or even promotes a healthy level of competition for annual events like the Plowing Match or Fashion Show. It’s more that we know what it takes to organize a conference for 200 people…trust us, we did it in 2003! But then we got to thinking, and what was initially a hard “NO!” became a “Well, maybe…”, which then became a “We could probably make it work…”, to finally a “Yes, absolutely.” What got us to this point? The conference theme, “Curating Living History: Preserving Skills and Intangible Culture”.
Pete Watson, director of Howell Living History Farm and longtime ALHFAM member, began to notice a recurring dilemma at his site: skills are being lost as experienced knowledge-holders, who mentally and kinetically store these skills, leave the profession. As living history professionals, much of the nature of what we present to the public is intangible culture. Think skills, customs, beliefs, language, literature, art, songs, dance, drama, ritual, pageantry, handicrafts, and ways of life: these are all part of a wide-ranging list of elements that make up the intangible culture we interpret at our specific sites. But, as the name suggests, much of this culture can’t be physically held. It’s stored in memory and often passed down to staff through learning experiences like apprenticeships, internships and on-the-job training. While tangible objects (spinning wheels, plows, scythes, etc.) can be preserved with proper care and curation methods, it’s much harder to preserve the skill involved in using that object. Thus the conference theme, “Curating Living History: Preserving Skills and Intangible Culture”, was born.
We realized at the outset that we were not reinventing the wheel. In New Jersey alone, five centers dedicated to preserving regional intangible culture exist! Our keynote panel features voices from both inside and outside of ALHFAM that have done real work in preserving skills and other forms of intangible culture. Included are Megan Nicholas, Folklife Specialist at the Library of Congress’ American Folklife Center; Alisa Crawford, who through her role on the US Committee to Preserve the Craft of the Miller internationally, contributed to the successful inscription of the “Craft of the Miller” to UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage; and Justin Chapman, manager of Colonial Williamsburg’s exemplary apprenticeship program. Dr. R. Isabela Morales, award-winning author and historian on the Princeton and Slavery Project, will moderate. Through the efforts of this conference, ALHFAM will be stepping into a much larger movement of individuals looking to preserve the intangible culture of peoples and regions in danger of being lost with the passage of time.
So how does the field of living history survive time? We recognize that different barriers may exist for different sites. Perhaps passing along skills through training just takes a backseat when you need to run your site. Or maybe it’s an issue of accessibility: you have all the pictures and videos necessary to pass skills along, but they’re not stored in a format that is accessible to staff. Our vision is that this conference will be a space to share tools, methods, ideas, and experiences that can strengthen the preservation of intangible culture within the field of living history.
The conference will also be chock-full of the same intensive workshop experiences we know and love that underscore the importance of direct skill transfer: from Blade Sheep Shearing to Hewing Timbers…to Oyster Shucking! Not to mention ALHFAM conference classics like the annual Plowing Match, the ALHFAM Business Meeting, the famous Salted, Smoked, & Pickled Gathering, and the Fashion Show & Presidential Address. We invite you to take a look at the ALHFAM website and download the full conference program for more information.
And all of this activity in June is only the first part of the 2024 Annual Meeting and Conference! For those who have registered or are planning to register for the in-person forum in June, included in your registration cost is the virtual–forum of the conference, conducted via Zoom on September 9th & 10th. Join us this fall for a recap of the in-person sessions, as well as new perspectives from national and international speakers. The virtual forum’s program will be released in the next few months, along with a separate virtual forum registration for those who are unable to attend the live gathering but would still like to attend the conference in some way, so keep an eye on the ALHFAM website for details.
We look forward to seeing you at both the in-person and virtual forums of the 2024 Annual Meeting and Conference!
About the author: Alessandra Thomas likes to think she fell into the field of living history after she started her role as an intern at Howell Living History Farm. She became fascinated with learning the ins and outs of a working farm, and later transitioned into her role as an office manager. While her days are now spent in the office, breaks are filled with booping horse muzzles and sheep cuddles up in the barnyard.
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