Celebrating 30 years of the African American program, Colonial Williamsburg provided yet another incredible weekend with many new programs that were new to us.  Arriving around 11am, our first stop was to pick up the weekly schedule and hopefully successfully book reservations for 3 weekend programs.  Yea, there was still room for us!  (However we are still trying to get reservations for the always full Bits and Bridles Tour.) Since it was close to lunch, we went to our favorite lunch spot, Botetourt Street where we get to see all the horses pass by under the quiet shade of the trees.  Meanwhile I marked up our schedule, trying to plan the events we'd want to see. I was focusing on as many African American events as we could possibly do. Any extra time we'd feel free to leisurely fill with whatever we wanted. Finally we were refreshed and ready to go!

     Our first official stop on the African American tour was the Peyton Randolph House. 

 I have toured this house on different vacations, and always from different perspectives. This time primary source documents were used to show us the lives of the slaves who served this genteel family.  

We were also given tags of various slaves in the household. As their story was told, we identified them with our tags, making it seem more real.  If nothing else, we at least remembered the life of the slave our tag represented. 

 For those who do not know Peyton Randolph, we were told that had he lived, he would have been a household name.  He was president of the Second Continental Congress, but died of a stroke in early 1776.  John Hancock became the new president of the Continental Congress, noticeably signing his name to the Declaration of Independence.

     It is thought that if Peyton Randolph had lived, he would have become the first president of the United States.  He wielded that much influence in Virginia and later the other colonies/states.

   We also looked at the inventory, to see the value of the slaves.

   In the dining room, we talked about how the politics of the day were discussed between Peyton Randolph and other important men.  Who overheard all of this? The slaves who tended the dinner. Many of them received a terrific education from working in this household. They were often more informed of the politics of the day than slaves of other households. The personal attendant to Peyton Randolph worked so closely to him, going into town with him on business, that he received an education in Latin and Greek. He later ran away to Philadelphia. Because he was mulatto, with red hair and fair skin, it is thought that he successfully passed as a white man, using the education he had received merely by being around Peyton Randolph.     

      Outdoors there were many activities for the kids to experience the work the slaves had to do.  Could they haul water without any spillins?

This practice was to prove valuable later.

They polished buckles...

hung up clothes...

and swept oyster shells off the path.

Then we followed the junior fife and drum corps from the capital to the palace. How could we resist? We thought they played exceptionally well that day, surprising us with a different ending from what we were used to.

Then we went to one of the tours we had reserved tickets for. "In Their Own Words," is a walking tour through the historic area, where primary source documents are used to help us understand the attempts and struggles some of the slaves went through in attempting freedom.  This tour continues to be offered, so be sure to check it out! In fact, you can listen to a podcast about it from May 18, 2009.

 After this we went to Raleigh Tavern, 

for the "Politics and the Punchbowl" tour. Once again, this tour was different from one I had done in 2004.  This tour  used primary source documents, to see how far a day's wages would go in the tavern. 

 After touring many of the rooms, we entered the Apollo Room.  On a previous tour in 2004, which I'll blog about later, I failed my history. This time I redeemed myself, thanks to Revolutionary City! The guide asked us about the RC scene where Lord Dunmore got upset and did something to the politicians.  What was it? I was able to answer that he disbanded the House of Burgesses for protesting the blockade in Boston. No longer able to meet in the Capital, they met here, in the Apollo Room. Imagine the history that took place in this very room with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry.  I was especially pleased when the guide asked if anyone was a Latin scholar and my kids tentatively raised their hands.  The guide asked if any of them could read the saying over the fireplace. I said my daughter could...and she did!  Thankfully he did the translating for us. I only recognized a few words.  Perhaps my daughter recognized more.

Then we had dinner at the King's Arms Tavern.

After dinner, we went to our first evening program. This was part of the African American programming, called "Jumping the Broom."  This is a bit mature for children. Some of the content was emotionally difficult and I was torn apart. We were asked not to take pictures of the program. I wish I could have taken a picture of the couple jumping the broom. Here is a group picture afterwards.

After the couple jumped the broom, we celebrated with dancing! The men played the drums while the guests split into men and women. We faced each other. The men were led by the groom and the women were led by the bride. The women danced in unison towards the men, then just as we got close, we danced back to our original positions. Then the men did the same, dancing in unison towards the women with their special moves, and then danced back.  We took turns doing this, each time with different moves. It was a contest to see who was best.  My husband was dancing across from me. At the end, the men and women danced at the same time, up to each other and then around each other. So I joined the women in dancing our unique moves, towards the men, and then I danced around my husband. Then we had to dance back to our original positions, without touching each other. Well my husband was enjoying this so much he wanted to touch me and dance back with me! A few of the men did this with their wives too!  We were all laughing and the women won! We had the best moves, no instruction was needed, we merely followed the bride (she was really good), and we followed the rules. The men, on the other hand, needed word pictures from the groom to do their dances, and didn't follow the rules!  It was a blast!

     The next morning we strolled leisurely on Nicholson Street, towards the African American program at the Powell House. We were so early, my son suggested we go into the Cabinet makers shop. We hadn't toured that since 2008.  When we walked in, someone was tuning the harpsichord.

My husband started talking to the cabinet maker about this piece of furniture. In the discussion, my husband asked if there were any secret compartments. "Well," the cabinet maker said, "they were fond of such things back then. Look for yourself." So my husband and son searched all the drawers and compartments...

...and what do you know?  They each found secret compartments!

While they continued talking, I took the opportunity to play the harpsichord. I saw a doo-dad that I thought would hold music, but I couldn't figure out how it worked. So I just held music sheets I found in the pile in my left hand, while I played the melody with my right hand. Later, the cabinet maker set up the doo-dad so I could play with both hands!  Then my daughter took a turn to play. However, she is learning to play and all of the provided music was too difficult.  Therefore, I took the opportunity to show her how to play the C major chord.

After my husband went in to the actual wood working area, the cabinet maker and I started talking about the harpsichord. I told him it had a very different feel from our piano.  He showed me how it works.  I knew that a piano strikes the strings whereas the harpsichord plucks the strings. He showed me exactly how this works. He had models of the apparatus at his desk. The plucking part comes from the quill, as in the end  of the feather you can write with. Part of the mechanism is made with boar bristle, like hair from a type of pig. It works extremely well and endures well. It's amazing what they thought of back then.  The cabinet maker shop actually makes these harpsichords to sell to the general public.   

As we were getting ready to leave, I noticed the cabinet maker working on these renderings.

He showed us some of the work...

 He said that they had been to Mount Vernon to study the scroll work on the mantel.

     I told him we'd be back to check the progress.  It is exciting that we can actually come back more often than once every several years to see projects in development.

      We arrived for "Storytelling and the African American Oral Tradition" to find a big surprise.  The CWF was videotaping! My husband talked to one of the directors and we don't know when this will be available for viewing, but it will be on the CW website.  I'll let you know when it is available. This program was great!   The speakers alternated between a 21st century lady who told stories that had been passed down through her family...

...and an 18th century man who told of stories of the era. One of the stories he told was of "The Combustible Woman."  I looked at the kids and we started laughing. Two weeks ago we were in the apothecary and I was asking about treatment for my sore leg muscle.  When camphor was recommended, my daughter burst out laughing and said, "Oh no, Mom!  Remember "The Combustible Woman?"  You can hear him tell this story on a podcast dated September 15, 2008.  In fact, you can hear stories in one of the evening programs,  "Listen My Children." 

     We were encouraged to record our own family histories at the museum.  "Story Keepers" was a special program throughout the day for kids to interview family members and record memories on a CD to take home. There were even questions provided for prompts. We ran out of time to do this. There are so many wonderful things to do.  After the program we took tons of pictures of the gorgeous horses in the nearby field.  This one was a tease, coming close to us, then going somewhere else.

Then we did some children's activities at the Powell House. My son colored a cannon print.  He was never one to enjoy coloring books, preferring open ended play. But for some reason CW draws him in to coloring their prints.

Meanwhile my daughter and I played with a game of lettered dice.  The dice were tumbled onto the table, and the letters that were showing were for us to try to make words with. We each got a slate and slate pencil to list as many words as we could possibly form from the dice. This is my slate...

There was a puzzle to put together...

 While my son played jackstraw (like pick up sticks) and tops...

...my daughter and I played checkers.  Finally my daughter said she felt cornered like Cornwallis at Yorktown!  That must make me George Washington!

   Next we went to our favorite lunch spot, under the trees, on Botetourt Street.   That weekend we made friends with one of the coachmen and the horses he drives, Brigadier and General.

Then General Washington came by...

At one point, his horse came towards us. Well, we couldn't resist that! My son and I put our lunches down and went to meet his horse. You know that General Washington really did have a white horse, right?  Do you know the horse's name?  Do you know who gave him the horse?

 Our next African American program to attend, "Freedom to Slavery," was at the Milliner Shop.  Alexander Purdie, owner of the gazette, came to prepare us for the unusual story.

In short, Royal Governor Lord Dunmore had told the Shawnee Indians to return all the property they had stolen over the years.  An African American had been freely living with the Shawnee, married a man of the tribe, and together they had two children. In hopes that her children would remain free by her choice, she decided to return willingly to slavery.  The scene opens with the milliner...

...when a genteel lady walks in with her slave, who is dressed like a Shawnee.  The lady wants the milliner...

...to help her outfit her slave in "decent" clothing.

 When the milliner and the lady go to the back of the store, the milliner's slave talks to the Shawnee woman.  The milliner's slave is shocked to see the Indian woman, who is actually an African American.  Not understanding the woman's story at first, her heart finally softens.

 The next African American program was at the Courthouse, where once again, video taping was taking place! This is the first time I saw a "real" 18th century trial in the Courthouse. I've attended other programming where some of us (never me) qualify to be on the jury. My husband is the only one in our family who ever qualifies. Do you know why? (I could not take any pictures inside.)  The scene was highly dramatic and not suitable for young children. My kids were old enough to handle the material, which once again generated some good discussion. I was in tears by the end of the trial. At the end, one of the men, who prosecuted the slave for killing her master, stepped outside with us to answer any of our questions. During the trial I had heard that his name was Benjamin Waller. Once outdoors, I asked him if Waller Street (behind the Capital) was named after him. Yes! I also asked what the slave's daughter's involvement was in this crime. (The slave's daughter otherwise figured prominently in the trial.)  He said they don't know.  This scene was developed from primary source documents from an actual 18th century trial. They stick as much as possible to the primary source document in the scene, and anything they need to add, they do so out of what would logically fit in the era.  I told him that made sense to us, because we are homeschoolers who participate in the Electronic Field Trips and we had learned all about that in "Making History Live."   After he went back inside for the scene to be redone for other guests, the director (I think he is a director), whom we had met at the morning taping, came out to ask our opinion about the scene. While talking, I told him we were homeschoolers who do the EFTs and he got excited, because he works on those too. I thanked him for the wonderful job, since we greatly enjoy the EFTs. He told us how the EFTs opened to homeschoolers, for which I am extremely thankful.  He said he had no idea how we got wind of it and as I tried to tell him, he had to run in for more taping. I know I've been chomping at the bit to participate in the EFTs for years.  When they came available last year, I signed on without a second thought and we are looking forward to the new season!  Homeschool Buyer's Co-op will open registration for them soon. I'll certainly announce here when the registration is open!

     That was the end of our opportunity to see African American programming for the weekend. I wanted to enjoy some of the gardens, so we went to some off the Duke of Gloucester Street.  We found the experimental garden that I had been looking for for the last couple of months.  Now I don't remember why I knew about it, but I read about it somewhere! While here we met some chefs from one of the CW restaurants, gathering produce. We talked about how they were going to prepare the food.  I was glad to know the produce would not go to waste.

      Then we went to the Colonial Garden and Nursery, because I wanted to see if they had a little plant I might want to stick in my little garden back home. I saw lots of terrific herbs (much better than I've seen in the local nurseries) and I've been hungry to cook with fresh herbs.  I have a terrific sunny window in the kitchen near the sink.  The herbs were on sale and hopefully I can keep them growing throughout the winter. While there, one of the gardeners put my kids, and other kids, to work.  He asked them how they water their garden at home. With a hose. A hose???? What's that?  He took them to the well.

My son got to draw water...

...and then he used a yoke to carry the water to the garden. The gardener hooked a bucket to one side of the yoke while my daughter  hooked a bucket to the other side of the yoke.

My daughter hauled water up, then reached over to grab the bucket to pour water into another bucket to carry to the garden.  Whew! She was tired!

Then another gardener showed us something interesting about cotton. Do you know where cotton comes from?

It comes from this flower. I was surprised.  I told this gardener that it looked like a hibiscus. She said cotton is in the hibiscus family.  (Right now they are buds waiting to open.)

(sigh) It was the end of another wonderful weekend at CW. We made lots of new friends.  We got to do special things. I want to live there.  I want to work there.  Perhaps...someday. (sigh)