the Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums
ALHFAM defines itself as "An Organization of People Who Bring History to Life." But whose history are we bringing to life? Our organization is overwhelming white. Can we truly bring history to life, all of it not just the pretty parts, when our membership and the living history field is a mass of shinny white faces?
On October 2, 1911, readers of the Annapolis Evening Capital opened their papers to find the following announcement: “Jew Stores Closed. Today all the Jew stores in town were closed, this being the Day of Atonement, one of the most solemn days in the Jewish calendar.[1]” It is doubtful that most non-Jewish residents of Annapolis… Continue reading It’s Not the Jewish Christmas: An Introduction to Jewish Holidays and Their Observance in North America, Part I
Piecing is Period...A Gown Revision We’ve all had that gown that we love but made before we knew better. Sometimes with a little ingenuity and a handy needle, it is possible to correct those earlier mistakes.
As the United States celebrates the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage and prepares for a national election, you can test your knowledge of the long fought battle to secure the right to vote.
Hidden in the stories of African American involvement in agriculture are the truths that African Americans struggled, sometimes at the cost of their lives, to obtain land and to become productive citizens by cultivating it. In addition, African Americans were involved in the creation of educational institutions and business organizations dedicated to the self-help and economic and spiritual improvement of Black farmers and their families in the South.
When I wrote the first draft of this blog entry back in February, it was supposed to be a look back at my first six months as the new director of the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center. It was supposed to be me reflecting on how my role in the industry had changed. It was… Continue reading Moving Forward
The Future of the Past Last year the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation conducted a survey of over 40 living history organizations. Read the results in this blog written by director of education Mark Howell.
In many ways the 1830s is a distant mirror of today. A time of promise but also unsettling social, political and technological changes, it, too, faced and survived its own pandemic: the Asiatic cholera, which appeared in the United States in 1832.
As the COVID pandemic created food insecurity in their community, Howell Living History Farm in Titusville, New Jersey, changed their operations from educational demonstrations to growing food for their community.
The enslavement of Africans in the Western Hemisphere was the most brutal form of slavery known to mankind. It dehumanized victims; it classified them as less than human beings. The victims had no claim to their families, their culture tradition or humanity. They were considered chattel property. Basically, they had "no rights that whites were… Continue reading Resources for Interpreting Slavery
I led a guest researcher into my collections storage building and found myself doing something that I hate seeing others do: I apologized to him for the condition of the building. It was a retrofitted ranch house, a mediocre place to store collections. He responded exactly as I do whenever I’m in the position I… Continue reading Stop Apologizing
Excerpt of an article written in 2006 by Martha B. Katz-Hyman, Independent Scholar ALHFAM members can access the full text of this article and thousands more though the A.S.K. database. Not a member? Join today! For many historic sites and living history museums, making collections more relevant to cultures and peoples not usually associated with… Continue reading Who Knew? Finding Multicultural Stories in Your Own Attic
