Ranch Day

Today was the annual Ranch Day at the Texas Tech National Heritage Ranching Center http://www.depts.ttu.edu/ranchhc/.  I know someone who participates, and years ago, those people dressed in period costumes were told not to talk.  Now, the day has become very interactive, with docents sharing wonderful stories about the buildings, activities, people and life style.  There were lots of activities for the kids, and they could earn points, "get paid" and shop  at the commissary.  I saw some adults participating, too. There were so many activities: carding wool, branding cattle (cutouts and paint) horse riding, rope making, washing clothes on a washboard, churning butter, making a corn husk doll, roping cattle (on a mechanical roping rig), to name just a few.  To earn money, the participant had to engage in 5 activities. I am not sure what they could buy.

I overheard one of the docents talking about the fact that people do not come out to see buildings, they come out to see how people live, and the activities the activities in which they engaged, and to hear stories about that lifestyle.  He is correct.

That is why places like Colonial Williamsburg http://www.history.org/ and Old Sturbridge Village http://www.osv.org/ are so popular.

I have been to Old Sturbridge Village twice.  I have been to Plimouth Plantation http://www.plimoth.org/ once.  It was fairly new when I was there, but they had some activities and docents in period clothing. The plan was to make it a working village like Colonial Williamsburg and Old Sturbridge Village.

I love living history.  I am so convinced that one of the tasks of humans is to learn history, and learn from history. Living history museums are a wonderful way to teach us.