Retirement Misadventures: Travels in Time

I have finally finished cleaning, reorganizing and packing away my living history gear from my recent event. I was happy to get back to one of my favorite pastimes. Last year almost all events were cancelled and I was only able to attend one public event. So when the opportunity to travel to Indiana for the Bridgeton Rendezvous presented itself I quickly talked some friends into going and we were not disappointed.

When we arrived in Bridgeton I realized I had visited this charming place before. My husband and I had explored many of the covered bridges in this area several years ago. Bridgeton is a very small historical town in Indiana southwest of Indianapolis. Indiana boasts many covered bridges and the Bridgeton covered bridge is famous for the only bridge over a waterfall which makes for very scenic photos. The current bridge was rebuilt in 2006 following a fire that destroyed the bridge.

At the foot of the waterfall is another notable historic building, the Bridgeton Mill. This is the oldest continually-operating mill in the midwest and has been family owned since 1823. The current owner continues the ongoing restoration while milling corn and wheat with 200 year old French Buhr stones. Samples of his milled products are available for purchase as well as other small items in the Mill store.

The sleepy town of Bridgeton was placed on the National Register Historic District in 1992 and boasts shops, homes, an original 1822 log cabin, post office and other buildings. Many shops are only open on weekends during the summer or during festivals. The Bridgeton Covered Bridge Festival which begins the second Friday in October and lasts 10 days is the biggest event of the year with approximately 2 million people reportedly visiting the area.

The event that drew our attention was the Bridgeton Rendezvous, a re-enactment of the 1750s to 1840s time period. The event is hosted by the Case family and centered around the original Case 1822 Log Cabin. In addition to vendors selling period appropriate items there were also activities for the reenactors to participate in such as a black powder shoot, bow shoot, skillet throw, Friendship fire and a shared meal.

We arrived on Thursday afternoon to set up our tents and unload our supplies. The weather forecast predicted near freezing temps that night and some rain over the weekend but I was prepared. It was a little chilly that night but I slept well underneath multiple layers of wool blankets. When I awoke one of my fellow campers had already started the fire and made the coffee. Thank you Scottie!!!

Most events such as this host a "schooldays" on the Friday before the event with local school children attending. Unfortunately it was cancelled this year so we dressed in our 18th century finest and walked the historic streets to scope out the town and mill. We talked with the owner of Bridgeton Mill and learned the history of the building and what work is taking place in the restoration, purchased buckwheat flour, muffin mix and blueberry syrup. The owner gifted us a sample of the buckwheat pancake mix. This made for a very tasty breakfast the following day.

We also talked with Celia Case who had been the one to invite us to this event when we met her last year. Her family owns the 1822 log cabin which is original to the county but has been moved to the current site. The cabin was built by her great grandfather and has been in the family ever since. During the event she informed visitors about the history of the cabin and town, cooked on the hearth and directed the events.

The other reenactors were all well known to each other but a friendlier group of people you could not imagine. We must have interacted with each and every one as they stopped by our camp to say hi and share stories or information.

Also present at this event was a couple that I have seen at previous events. They are always entertaining and provide portrayals of several different personas. This weekend they were present as Parson John and Maggie Delaney, his indentured servant. She gave a presentation in which she told her story as an Irish immigrant that arrived in the colonies as an indentured servant with her family and all the hardships she had endured. It is a very moving story and based on historical accounts. Parson John delivered a religious service on Sunday morning with a good message. A few years ago I encountered this couple portraying body snatchers. They do such a fantastic job portraying first person characters that I follow them on Facebook and watch their videos on YouTube. You can find them on Facebook by searching "Parson John & Maggie" and a search on YouTube of "Maggie Delaney" will provide several videos of Maggie's impersonations.

As always some of the best times during these events is sitting around a campfire late at night talking with friends, eating food cooked over the campfire and spending time with like-minded people who enjoy history and realize the importance of it. We learned that onions roasted in the coals make a tasty treat and you can't always count on weather reports as, thankfully, the rain held off all weekend.

Too soon, Sunday afternoon arrived and we had to take down our tents, pack our gear and start the long drive home. As I usually do following the fun I try to reorganize and reassemble my gear in a more efficient manner for the next event knowing full well that there is no perfect way to pack for these events. This took me a few days and then I have to rest up and begin thinking about the next Reenactment!

You may have events similar to this in your area. I encourage you not only to attend but interact with those that are portraying historical characters. We love to tell our story or give you information that you may not have learned in school. And although we can never know exactly what it was like to live in another time we can gain some perspective of what they experienced in day to day life.