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Health & Fitness

Research Matters

Volunteers delve into the lives of actual 1830's villagers.

About a month ago one of our volunteers, Kathy McCarthy, came up to the office and surprised me with a four page list of actual citizens of the Howell Iron Works. The Works, which is now known as the museum Allaire Village, housed about 400 citizens during the height of its production (1820's to the 1840's). As the largest industrial center in the area, workers and their families would have been involved with iron production, working in the on-site screw factory, practicing their trades, and running the General Store and Stage Coach Depot. 

Kathy is one of our Auxiliary members and has been a volunteer for over ten years. She was last year's Auxiliary President and devotes hundreds of hours per year to the Village. Without any of us knowing, Kathy devoted extensive time and energy into compiling such an important piece of research. I am always surprised at the dedication of our volunteers, and this is one of the many examples of people going above and beyond "the call of duty".

With our new list, management is compiling a Character Development Program, in which volunteers of all ages will be able to choose an actual citizen of the Howell Iron Works, do research into their lives, and portray that character on event days. This allows historic interpretation to reach a new level of relevance. In addition to what the volunteer is doing (i.e. laundry 1830's style, blacksmithing, mending, etc.), the character portrayal will allow historic and social elements to be tied in as well. Topics such as immigration, hygiene, free time, love and marriage, and others would have been relevant to the actual persona, and thus is relevant to the character. This allows a visitor to place Allaire Village into the "big picture" of 19th century history. 

Several of our Guild Masters have already developed their characters and done research on their own. There is a mix of approaches. Katherine, our Blacksmith Guild Master has developed a character that is fictional, but based on actual historical accounts of several real-life individuals. Lauren, our Fashion Guild Master on the other hand, has taken a real-life person (Maria Allaire, daughter of James Allaire) and is in the midst of doing research into her life, and personality. 

This first person narration is not necessarily for everyone. Many people (myself included) find third person interpretation to be more comfortable; it allows for more ad-libbing, and modern tie-ins. Sometimes, depending on the person, visitors can also find first person interpretation to be a little intense. With our new program we are trying to combine both. Those portraying a character will be able to "step out" and talk to the visitors from a modern standpoint when needed. And our volunteers and staff are amazing, so I know they will do a great job!

So next time you stop by, you might just meet some actual 1836 Howell Works villagers!

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