Is there “ . . . awkwardness in the pretense of the pretend . . . ?”

“How many of us have cringed, if ever so slightly, when we encountered a costumed, overzealous re-enactor performing a historic narrative . . .” –The Anarchist’s Guide to Historic House Museums. Two weeks ago I shared some impressions on the book quoted above. In that blog I said, “Living history, with the exception of a… Continue reading Is there “ . . . awkwardness in the pretense of the pretend . . . ?”

An Anarchist’s Guide to Historic House Museums

I just finished reading An Anarchist's Guide to Historic House Museums. This is not a review. Whether or not you agree with many of the ideas espoused, it is thought-provoking. I do unabashedly love the idea of the Anarchist tags. They are brilliant and should be carried around by anyone who cares about and visits… Continue reading An Anarchist’s Guide to Historic House Museums

Interpreting & Plowing & Bookbinding & More

Many great opportunities to learn new skills, meet new people, and see new places are available in the next few months thanks to ALHFAM regional and Professional Interest Group gatherings. Take advantage if you can: The Mid-Atlantic region has put together a fabulous program for their meeting being held April 1-2 at Historic St. Mary's… Continue reading Interpreting & Plowing & Bookbinding & More

Farm-Based Education Network

ALHFAM member Blake Hayes brought this wonderful resource to our attention on the ALHFAM-L a few weeks back. I've checked out their website and it's chock full of great stuff including jobs, event calendars, resources, newsletters, social media and in-person networking opportunities, and even a map of farm-based education programs. It's administered by Shelburne Farms… Continue reading Farm-Based Education Network

The Forums are Open

An interesting feature on the improved ALHFAM website are the forums. Forums are set up for all of the Professional Interest Groups (PIGs), for the membership at large, and for the MidAtlantic region (regional forums need to be initiated by your regional rep--if your region doesn't have one yet, contact your rep and tell them… Continue reading The Forums are Open

What is an ALHFAM PIG?

Good question. Logic would dictate that it is a heritage breed being carefully preserved at one of the ALHFAM member historic sites. Not the case. In ALHFAM, PIG = Professional Interest Group. There are many and they do important work. ALHFAM Professional Interest Groups give members the opportunity to explore and share information on specific… Continue reading What is an ALHFAM PIG?

Poultry to Period Clothing: The Bulletin

Poultry flock inspection, blade sheep shearing, English formal gardens in America, heritage potatoes, preservation of period clothing, spinning and weaving, behaviorism applications for tourists . . . What a wonderfully eclectic mix of topics; articles about which are found in just two issues of the Bulletin, ALHFAM's quarterly journal. Every issue I receive has something… Continue reading Poultry to Period Clothing: The Bulletin

New Website Coming

ALHFAM will be unveiling a new and greatly improved website soon. One of the advantages of the new site includes a Membership Management System (MMS). Our Communications team has been hard at work on this project and wants to make every member comfortable with the new site and system. To this end they've created very… Continue reading New Website Coming

ALHFAM Historic Agriculture Resources Map

The ALHFAM Historic Agriculture Resources Map is now live on the ALHFAM website. The map features information about ALHFAM members that have and/or use historic agricultural collections and techniques. This tool was created to help us share our historic agricultural assets with each other and the general public. The map is keyword searchable so if… Continue reading ALHFAM Historic Agriculture Resources Map