the Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums
by Del Taylor Putting together an ALHFAM annual meeting and conference begins long before the members show up. I recalled how great it was to be at my first ALHFAM conference in 2000. One of the many memories I have was being in contact with conference chair Edward Baker. I’d never been to a conference… Continue reading Rendezvous in Time ALHFAM 2019 Sainte Marie among the Hurons
by Jessica Michonski Monticello Gardens, photo by the author To visit the home of a historical figure is always an experience to be partaken…especially for a historian. In July 2019, I had the privilege to visit Monticello – Jefferson’s estate in the mountains of Virginia – while on vacation with my family. I was enthralled… Continue reading Farmer Tom…Forgotten?
by Mike Smola Moses Goods portraying Henry ʻŌpūkahaʻiaPhoto Credit: Gina Maeda Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives has spent the last eight years developing a very successful History Theater program through our Oʻahu Cemetery Pupu Theatre program. These are first-person, scripted portrayals of actual historical figures from Hawaiian history. The last several years of… Continue reading Have Actors, Will Travel!: Reconnecting Hawaiʻi and New England through the Humanities
Excerpt of an article written by Clarissa F. Dillon, 2003, Past Masters in Early American Domestic Arts, Haverford, Pennsylvania. ALHFAM members can access the full text of this article and thousands more though the A.S.K. database. Not a member? Join today! There are many reasons why some colonial cooks are faced with sites that won't… Continue reading Colonial Cooking: When THEY Won’t Let You Use the Hearth
Written by Jamie Rigsby, Farmers Branch Historical Park, 2010. ALHFAM members can access the full text of this article and thousands more though the A.S.K. database. Not a member? Join today! Few museums or living history sites have conservators on staff. Therefore, the first line of defense to prevent or suspend damage to artifacts are… Continue reading The Safe Handling of Objects
The Jesuit priests could be found at various villages of the Wendat on any given day, conducting services, and teaching and preaching Catholicism with the help of various Donnes who signed contracts with the Jesuit order for work in exchange for food shelter and clothing. In the later years of Sainte Marie, an increasing threat… Continue reading Sainte Marie among the Hurons, Part 2
Submitted by Joel Johnson When I moved to the Pacific Northwest and began work as an agricultural interpreter at Fort Nisqually, about eighteen months ago, I was eager to learn about the region’s history of indigenous agriculture. I grew up in Tucson, AZ, where recent excavations have uncovered 4,100 years of continuous agriculture near the… Continue reading The Honorable Harvest
By Kimberly Costa, Independent Historian The main goal of any first- or third-person interpreter is to engage the visitor on a level meaningful to that visitor. To engage can mean a myriad of things: to capture their attention, teach a lesson, give a point of view, to shock the senses or simply to make the… Continue reading Dealing with the Disconnected Visitor
This is a challenge that every interpreter faces. The terror of being ‘out there’ has fallen off; we know our duties, our route, and the information. We’ve learned to story-tell, guide and demonstrate. We can handle the crowds and that one guest with all the tricky questions. But what we can’t know is coming is…repetition.… Continue reading Going Stale – It happens to the best of us
By David Makowsky, Ukranian Cultural Heritage Village Journalists have a tremendous influence in shaping a visitor’s decisions on what to include on their “must do” list. In today’s digital age, a photo or article conveying a museum’s story can raise the public awareness of the institution. The return on investment can be tremendous. For example,… Continue reading To Arms, To Arms… the Media are Coming!
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