Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Civil War Reenactment at Red Oak Old West Town

Back at the beginning of May we attended a small, local Civil War event held at the property of one of our group members. Howard has built all the structures himself and furnished and decorated each one with a lot of attention to detail. The kids had a lot of fun exploring the town, running all over and watching the skirmishes both days. 

We haven't had any more Civil War events since this one and now several fall events have been precautionarily cancelled as covid variants have increased illnesses and hospitalizations lately. We may possibly attend a small Civil War living history event later next month, if it seems safe to do so.

Much love,

Sarah 

Malachi and Judah only came out for a little while on Saturday
morning. I remade an 18th century style shirt into a mid-19th century one
for Malachi by adding a button placket and a new
white collar. This hybrid style shirt
was seen in the mid-19th century and it was much less work to alter
his shirt than make an entirely new one.

This was Benjamin's birthday weekend and he had so much fun!
I made him new linen trousers and a loose, belted tunic. However, he 
insisted on wearing a sack coat and kepi. This wouldn't have been worn by little boys
in the 1860's (except on rare occasions when someone may have had a mini uniform 
purposely made for their son) but Benjamin was happy and I don't feel super strict
about authenticity for these events anymore.

Rose wore one of Anne's old dresses - this was Sunday! One of the
buildings is a small general store and the kids loved buying candy there! Rose was very
proud of her blue tongue. 😂


Anne had to visit the horse! She loves all animals and this was the highlight of the event for her!


David purchased a vintage bugle from a sutler at the event.
Oh boy. I didn't know it then but it was the start of a summer-long
obsession for David. He discovered he has a natural knack
at bugle playing and almost immediately decided he wanted a trombone, too.
Now, in late August, he has accumulated 3 trombones (a Bach, a Bundy and a Yamaha)
and is saving up for a euphonium. His eventual goal is a tuba!

The girls brought blank books to write in and had fun drawing pictures and writing little stories.

I made Anne's dress in a day so it doesn't have the detail and trimmings I'd like, but
she didn't hate wearing it. The fabric is a really pretty purple, pink, white and blue cotton
I found at an antique shop earlier in the spring. It was $5 for 3 yards and we barely had enough fabric but we made it!

























I was actually going to cut this dress down into a dress for Anne
but decided to keep it as it is and I'm glad I did. I always get a lot of positive comments
on this dress when I wear it, even though it is not my favorite. The hat was a $1 blank from Goodwill
made of a lacey open weave straw and I shaped it and added trim from an old hat that was squished beyond repair.