the Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums
“Now the meadows and pastures were velvety with thick grass, and the weather was warm. It was time to shear sheep.” – Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder As we draw nearer to summer, the sheep at Rock Ledge Ranch are looking more and more ready to be sheared. Like Almanzo and his family in… Continue reading Sheep, Shearing and Summer at Rock Ledge Ranch
Real Work for a Real Purpose: ALHFAM FARM Professional Interest Group Launches New Workshops in 2026 The ALHFAM FARM Professional Interest Group (PIG) is launching a multi-year initiative to fulfill the operative phrase of the ALHFAM mission statement: Sharing practical knowledge and skills. Besides a lineup of workshops and sessions for the annual conferences, we… Continue reading ALHFAM FARM PIG Launches New Workshops in 2026
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.
Since I began working for the Oklahoma Historical Society, Tillers International has been on my bucket list of places to visit. When ALHFAM announced the first STP (Skills, Training, and Preservation) plowing workshop was going to be held at Tillers I was excited.
By Kathy Dickson "Poland is a country which has popped up on the map of Europe from time to time never quite in the same place twice." Olga Tokarcuk, Polish writer, activist and Nobel recipient In August I had the opportunity to travel to Poland to represent ALHFAM at the biannual conference of the Association… Continue reading Association of European Open Air Museums
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?
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
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
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 Tom Kelleher, Old Sturbridge Village & Past President, ALHFAM “I am setting hooks to capture your interest and imagination!” I have been a costumed historical interpreter for a long time now, and have enjoyed visiting living history museums since I was a child. For many decades the best sites strove for ever-greater historical authenticity.… Continue reading What are you doing?
