FBEL – A Week at the Fort
The fourth week of May is always a pleasant one for me. I abandon the modern world, pack up all my 18th century clothes, and head up to the Fort at No. 4 for a full week of immersion in pre-Revolutionary War British America. My first task upon arriving is always to start a fire, unless someone’s been kind enough to do so for me. Arriving on a Friday morning, as I did, I started my own fire as soon as I was able. The picture is from Friday evening, after the light failed and I was alone and finally finding a moment of peace.
That’s essentially why I like going up to the Fort. The peace just fills the place. Even when it’s busy, as it is during this time, the evenings are quiet. There’s no television, no internet (or very little), nor even any late night chores. Once the light is gone, you’re rather limited in what you can do. While I do have access to a single electric light for emergencies, I rarely use it (it’s over bright and harsh, and I have the fire, and some candles). I do read on my phone while I’m there, but I avoid the majority of social media, the news, etc. The whole idea is to envelop myself in the essence of the 18th century. It takes about 72 hours to purge myself of my modern habits, and then my 18th century self comes out of her shell.
During the time between Friday (May 22) and Wednesday (May 26), there’s a thing going on in our lower field called The Original Rendezvous. It attracts about 150 or so people, all depicting folks from the 1720s through the 1820s. They have contests for the most historically accurate set-up, cribbage tournaments, bragging contests, an amazing potluck, and so much more. I baked 18 loaves of bread on the Saturday afternoon, which was a ton of work but fairly amazing. I went and sold those loaves for $4 a loaf, and the Rendezvous folks came running to buy. Some remembered me from last year, and were ripping into their loaves the second they got them! Such an amazing feeling, feeding so many people and celebrating the trade that would have happened between travelers stopped at the Fort.
About half way through the event, I have to do laundry. This isn’t an option; I don’t have enough appropriate clothing to last a full seven days. I dress the part the entire week, even though the Fort is closed to the public on several of those days, because the Rendezvousers all stay in historically accurate clothes. So on Wednesday, I was out bright and early with soap, a bucket of hot water, and my dirty things. There was much hand scrubbing, washing, rinsing, wringing, and then hanging, but I managed to get enough things clean to make it to the end of my trip.
Of course, now that I’m home, there’s even more laundry to do. Not only am I washing all the things I wore, but also my bed things, my covers (for draping over historically inaccurate Rubbermaid tubs, for instance), and the modern clothing I’d had with me for my dinner out with a friend, and for sleeping in. Yes, in the 18th century, people slept in their shifts. No, I generally don’t, because 18th century people also dealt with a lot of bodily fluids, smells, and other stuff that my modern feelings can’t deal with. That and the idea of a spider getting into my kit while I’m asleep just skeeves me out. LOL! So I have modern sleeping things. I also use underwear, which they did not (at least nothing like we have today), and I’m thankful for that modern underthing which makes my life so much better.
My only other modernity that I always wear is my glasses. While they did have some glasses in period, I don’t have any at the moment (soon, hopefully), and so I just wear my modern ones. Not cutting one’s fingers off while cooking, and not slicing one’s foot off while using an axe are much more important to the Fort and myself than the historically accurate blind bumbling I’d do without my glasses. Still, I plan on getting some more accurate glasses made in the next year or so. While I won’t be purchasing from Townsend, they do have a good image of them here.
Chris also joined me at the fort, which was fun. He now has more accurate pants and a good hat, and I’m working on his vest and shirt. After that, it’ll be moccasins for his feet. Yes, I’m standing on a high step and I’m still shorter than him in the photo. I’m short. He spent his time in the joinery, working on a bench for use at the Fort. We have some slabs with raw sides, leftovers from his work with the chainsaw sawmill, and those are being flattened and smoothed, and will get four legs put into them. Rough benches, indeed, but definitely historically accurate. He seems to be enjoying working with the hand tools, and it was fun watching him interact with the school kids who came through.
I had long talks with a variety of people while I was at the Fort, all enjoyable. I’ll be going up there to teach bread baking classes again, something I really enjoy doing at the Fort. I’ll also be attending the French and Indian War this coming weekend (June 6/7), if anyone’s local and wants to come find me. I’ll be with the Pequawket Alliance outside the palisade, being a citizen of New France that weekend. After that, it’ll be a while before I’m staying overnight there again. I have a lot of work to do with library presentations and ren faires through the rest of the summer. I’m truly hoping to get some writing time in for my new 18th century cookbook, because I haven’t been able to make the time yet this year. It’s been crazy busy!
The end of my week at the Fort was on Friday the 29th. I was sad to go, but mightily glad to get back to modern showers. I can live with no electricity for most things, and it doesn’t bother me at all. There’s just something about showers, though, that make everything else better. While the Fort does have an emergency shower behind the blacksmith forge, it’s cold water only, and quite… bracing. I did use it once, when the day got up to 86*F, and it was nice to be clean but I think the neighborhood was aware of my shenanigans because I squealed when that icy cold waterfall hit my tender flesh. LOL!
Being at the Fort let me shut down a lot of my inner squirrels. I was able to focus better, breathe deeper, and sleep well. My only issue was that the rope bed I use was badly in need of tightening. Chris and I did get it done on the Friday right before I went home, and we took in over a foot of slack in the ropes! The entire bed is much more solid, and I can’t wait until I get the chance to sleep in it again.
Even loose, the rope bed with feather ticks (two!!) on top is ridiculously comfortable. I just got tired of swaying when getting in and out (the ropes hold the bed together, so it’s important to keep it tight), and the dip in the center. Now, it’s much more pretty to look at, without the swayback feel to it.
I’ve been home long enough to have recovered from the pack and unpack of the event. I’m missing the quiet of the Fort, but quite enjoying the television and social media. Well, some of it. I think what I miss most, though, is being able to step out of my front door and see the Milky Way, and all the stars and planets hanging above me. My home has too much ambient light to see much in the sky beyond the moon and brightest of the stars. But up at the Fort? You can see SO many stars. It’s gorgeous. I had a great view of not just the moon, but also Mars, Venus, and Jupiter bright in the sky. It was absolutely impressive.
