Since the preservation of historic skills is central to our mission, ALHFAM created a Skills Award to recognized members who have demonstrated notable service and leadership in the preservation of historic skills, especially those who serve as mentors and role models for others in the history field. Thus, the Skills Award was born. but it needed a name. There was little debate about who it should be the first recipient and the award would be named for so the Pete Watson Skills Award was created and presented to Pete Watson at the 2022 ALHFAM Annual Meeting & Conference in Tacoma, Washington. So why Pete Watson? As ALHFAM member Barbara Corson said, “Pete is ‘all about’ historic skills.”
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ALHFAM President’s Message
What is it to be “woke” and why would someone be tired of it? According to the dictionary, it is the past tense of “wake”—to cease to sleep; to be brought into a state of awareness. My American Heritage Dictionary was published in 1982, so it was long before the current informal definition of “to be alert to injustice in society.” I, for one, am in no way tired of being woke. Why would you not want to be in a state of awareness? There is a moral imperative to call out injustice. All people have a right to dignity, and by claiming their dignity and their story, they do not lessen mine. They expand it.
The Old Timers within Us All
by: Jake Krumwiede The last eighteen months have been a challenge for all of us. Yeah, yeah, I know. Everyone knows that. As I typed it, even my own eyes rolled a little bit. We know that everyone has faced professional challenges in the last two years. We have adapted to remarkable circumstances. We have… Continue reading The Old Timers within Us All
Heritage Turkeys Defined
Love, Loss, and Annoying Coworkers
People from the past really weren’t that different at heart. Yes, they lived in another environment and therefore made choices that we find strange today. But when it comes to the things that really matter in life – love, loss, and how to deal with really obnoxious people – we can look across the gulf of time and think, “Yes, I completely understand.”
Le Grand Derangement: 250 Years of Acadian History in Louisiana
In September of 1755, England, a political world power began one of history’s largest mass movements of people united by their Catholic faith. Acadians of Nova Scotia were dispersed throughout English lands without benefit of property, family ties or compassion. Their holdings were torched, as they were loaded on to barely seaworthy ships, on which… Continue reading Le Grand Derangement: 250 Years of Acadian History in Louisiana
Museum Advocacy Day
On the Program Relevance of Slavery
African culture was a particularly major component in the development of southern U.S. culture as well as American culture as a whole. In interpreting American and largely southern history, it is so easy to slip into saying how certain great and wealthy men built this and grew that, when in reality much of what is spoken of was not only done by the labor of enslaved African Americans, but were also accomplished through the skill and knowledge of these people. These skills were passed from generation to generation and have often carried forward to today.
It’s Not the Jewish Christmas: An Introduction to Jewish Holidays and Their Observance in North America, Part II
It’s Not the Jewish Christmas: An Introduction to Jewish Holidays and Their Observance in North America, Part I
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
Moving Forward
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
The Asiatic Cholera Pandemic of 1832
Sauder Village to Host 2023 ALHFAM Conference
Nestled in the fields of rural Northwest Ohio is Sauder Village, Ohio’s largest living history museum. Since opening in 1976, Sauder Village has grown to a 235-acre complex with more than 350 employees and 200 adult and youth volunteers. The Historic Village preserves more than 75 historic structures and over 50,000 artifacts, which allow us… Continue reading Sauder Village to Host 2023 ALHFAM Conference
Advocacy in Museums: Selecting a Powerful Object
The Rosa Parks Bus From the Collections of The Henry Ford Photo by Wayne Hsieh [Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0)] In 1993 Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village (now The Henry Ford) adopted a new mission statement: “The Henry Ford provides unique educational experiences based on authentic objects, stories and lives from America’s traditions… Continue reading Advocacy in Museums: Selecting a Powerful Object
Membership Dues Increasing in 2023
A note to members from the ALHFAM Board. Thank you for your ongoing support of ALHFAM. Like all organizations, ALHFAM has had to adapt to changes in our world to stay relevant and sustainable. 2020 marked the year we were to commemorate the 50th anniversary of ALHFAM and celebrate the work it does to bring… Continue reading Membership Dues Increasing in 2023
An ALHFAM President’s Message from the Past
This message, from ALHFAM’s then-president Lynne Belluscio, is revived here to remind us of the continuing challenges faced by museum professionals and how the continuing support of the Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums, ALHFAM, provides a variety of professional resources along with active involvement, creative problem-solving and humor to its members. To… Continue reading An ALHFAM President’s Message from the Past
Baked on the Tree: A Flavorful Look into the Past of Southern Apples
Excerpt of an article written by Creighton Lee Calhoun, Jr., 1992, Pittsboro, NC. To read the entirety of this paper, join ALHFAM to enjoy the bountiful knowledge contained in the A.S.K. database, carefully stored information harvested and preserved for our members. Join today! “Apple Index,” North Carolina Historic SitesThe Buckingham apple is the quintessential southern… Continue reading Baked on the Tree: A Flavorful Look into the Past of Southern Apples
From Recreating the Past to Creating the Future
By Elizabeth Rudrud The Hudson’s Bay Company Fort Nisqually, originally established in what is now Dupont, Washington in 1833, has existed as a recreated and interpreted Fort in Tacoma’s Point Defiance Park since the 1930s. Since that time, Fort Nisqually Living History Museum has grown into a premier living history museum, has been accredited by… Continue reading From Recreating the Past to Creating the Future
Living History for Virtual Audiences
By Daniel Cockrell Has the Virtual World of Programming in a Pandemic Changed the Way We View Our Audiences? Today’s audiences have vastly more content options available to them at this moment than even a few minutes ago. With the ability to call up almost anything, how do we hold the attention of such an… Continue reading Living History for Virtual Audiences
The Future of The Past ALHFAM 2022
By Peggy Barchi Fort Nisqually Living History Museum invites you to join the fun at The Future of the Past, ALHFAM’s annual meeting and conference June 23-28, 2022! For those not familiar with the history of the site and its influence on Washington State, read on… Fort Nisqually, the first globally connected settlement on Puget… Continue reading The Future of The Past ALHFAM 2022