Camp

 Yesterday our campers had the chance to experience some Civil War activities through the museum's annual day camp. Every year the amount of work our education director puts into these day camps insures the kids leave with a hands on grasp of the time chosen.  This year it was the Civil War.  

Thanks to our local chronicler of Lowell's life, Bruce Doll graciously let me share some of his photos to complement mine.  Thanks, Bruce!

Being as we live in the north, a couple of the campers came dressed and ready. 

There was open cooking on tin can stoves. Bacon and eggy bread going on these two stoves. 

There was a group learning how to march in formation.  Bless his heart, I heard one of these guys ask

 " what if it's your birthday? "  Another camper said, "well, you just have to hope one of your fellow soldiers says something nice to you."

There was stretcher bearing and realizing carrying wasn't as easy as the movies show.

There was making hardtack.  Sometimes called ship's biscuits.  They are harder than saltines, hard enough to break teeth that were already falling out one by one.  In order for them to be edible the soldiers would soak them in water. Ugh.  Tasteless flour and water hard.

They learned how to pitch a tent.  Not much like the tents these kids are used to now.  One camper told me "there were technical difficulties during the Civil War."  Indeed. 

There was wood printing.  Maybe not much of that done during the war but certainly was done during those years and that was the focus of this camp - Civil War time activities. 

And lunch.  This was my task for the day.  We had tin plates, bandanas for napkins, wooden forks, and the menu, all packaged for the kids to just take: cheese, bologna, baked beans, bread and butter, crackers (to simulate hard tack,) cookies, corn nuts, and slices of watermelon.  Corn nuts? I don't know why that was a menu item but they taste just like Fritos "before they were stepped on and make flat," I told the skeptical.  

One adult missing, this was our group for the day.  I think we wore them out.