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?
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.
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
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
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.
With the concerns today over Covid 19 what can we learn about past epidemics? Read excerpts from a past proceedings over yellow fever epidemics. What will the future think of this pandemic?
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.
The pfut-pfut-pfut of the tractor engine, the slapping belt, the clacks and rattles of the thresher did draw some people to the fence of the show ring at the fairgrounds. The public, ready for the sensory appeal of carnival rides, food trucks and other vendors, found instead an active agricultural display. Threshing day at the… Continue reading I was told if you want to attract a crowd, make some noise.
Hopefully by now word of ALHFAM’s Skill Training and Preservation initiative (STP) has permeated the living history community, arousing interest. For some it may also have raised questions. What is being preserved and why? What infrastructure is needed at our living history sites to nurture the ongoing acquisition of historic skills and their preservation? Are… Continue reading It Takes A Village
