Labor Day Weekend Potluck

Friday September 31st marked the occasion of the first Pioneer Village/History Alive! staff potluck.
 Administrators, directors, historical interpreters and their families and friends all gathered for an evening of period food, drink and music. There were several 17th-century Puritan delicacies to be enjoyed including a cucumber sallet, sweet chicken stew, beans and sausages, pumpkin pie, and roasted pork.

Village blacksmith Mr. Snitch (Kevin Sternweiss) and Director of Museum Studies and Scholar-in-Residence with the Institute for Public History, David Goss, provided period sea-chantys on the guitar.

The event was organized by Pioneer Village site director, Marc Ewart. Hopefully this will become an annual tradition!

“Village Blacksmith" image wins first place!

This photo of our own village blacksmith, "Mr. Snitch" (Kevin Stirnweis) taken by yours truly during the regular October season at Pioneer Village, won first prize in the "People and Places" category of the 2011 Essex National Heritage Photo Contest. Starting next May you can come and see him in person! The link to the contest site is here:
http://www.essexheritage.org/photocontest/index.shtml

Blacksmithing at Pioneer Village

Pioneer Village has a working blacksmith shop with a coal-fired forge. If you didn't know, a blacksmith is a person who makes and repairs things in iron by heating, hammering, and forging by hand. If you visit Pioneer Village on Sundays or Fridays you may be treated to a demonstration of the blacksmith's trade by "Mr. Snitch", one of two part-time resident blacksmiths. Mr. Snitch has been smithing for many years and enjoys regaling visitors with stories from the trade and perhaps a sea chantey or two. Stop by and say hello!