Last week Peyton did the neatest thing- she went to an American Girl Reading Club camp. In keeping with the theme of the 4th, they discussed Felicity who was based in the colonial era.
All week, they took trips to places in/near Greensboro to learn about the history here. (Side note: I was very excited about this camp because it was from 9-3 every day and I had a whole list of things that I was going to do around the house while Peyton was away. But, they needed a mom to drive everyday to the different places and I volunteered. I'm so glad that I did! I think I enjoyed this week more than the girls did!)
***Greensboro was named for Major General Nathanael Greene, commander of the American forces at the Battle of Guilford Court House on March 15, 1781. Although the Americans lost the battle, Greene's forces inflicted such heavy casualties on the British Army of Lord Cornwallis, that Cornwallis chose to pull his battered army out of North Carolina and into Virginia. This decision allowed a combined force of American and French troops to trap Cornwallis at Yorktown, VA where the British were forced to surrender on October 19, 1781, after a 20-day siege, thus ending the American Revolution. As such, Greene's successful efforts at weakening the British Army played a key role in securing America's victory over the British.***
On Tuesday, we went to the Military Park and Tannenbaum Park which was right where the Battle of Guilford Courthouse took place. The girls had decorated straw hats to wear on their excursion.
Here are Peyton and Virginia looking at the battle lines in the little museum at Tannenbaum Park.
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The following day we visited the McNairy House in downtown Greensboro. This house was built in the 1700's and according to tradition, was used as a field hospital after the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. When this house was relocated downtown, a scalpel and a British button were found in the foundation.
Beds from back then were pretty interesting... they used ropes that they would have to pull and tighten up every few days or so. That's where the saying "sleep tight" comes from. I never knew that! I've been using that term since I can remember and never knew what it meant. Every single night, Jody and I used to say this to my mom in unison: "Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite! Sweet dreams, tell Daddy, bring juice up!"
Here's Peyton trying to lift the heavy pots women used back then.
Interesting fact: The #1 cause of death for women back then was childbirth. The #2 was burning to death in kitchen fires! How awful would that have been?!
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On Thursday we took a trip to Old Salem. This was my favorite day!
Here is the C. Winkler Bakery where we learned all about how they made things in the huge brick ovens. These buildings are all air conditioned now, and were still hot because of the oven. I cannot imagine how hot people used to get working in these kitchens all day!
I don't think that I would've enjoyed sewing back then! Before they could even start doing anything, they had to shear the sheep and make their own thread and yarn out on this big spinning wheel.
Here are some men "mowing" the field.
We had a VERY yummy lunch at the Salem Tavern. I LOVED the Moravian chicken pie!!
This is the Tavern where George Washington once stayed.
We were told that private rooms were expensive to rent so most people just rented beds for the night and had to share rooms with total strangers. And people who couldn't afford to rent their own bed had to rent bed space which meant that they would be sharing a bed with strangers! Creepy!!
This is the Tavern's kitchen which was pretty huge, but, again, super hot!
This is the slaughter area in the basement. Hogs were slaughtered on the coldest of days in the winter. The meat was rubbed with salt and laid in a trough for several days before being smoked or packed in barrels of brine.
Next week Peyton is going to another AG Reading Club camp. This time she'll be learning about Molly and the World War II era.
3 comments:
Only you would put your kid in camp and then get sucked into volunteering. You are a good mom. It did look very interesting and fun though and I still think that lady is a genious for coming up with the idea.
I was disturbed to hear about the #1 cause of death being childbirth. Thank goodness for modern medicine! Give me an epidural or better yet a C section! and sharing a room with strangers??? you are right CREEPY. Again, I am thankful for the time and era I was born into!
Cant wait to see a post about the Molly camp. Are you driving for that one too or are you taking it easy?
what a cool camp! That all sounds like fun to me. I love colonial history. When you were in Old Salem, did you eat any Moravian sugar cookies? Those are our favorites!!! I think the Molly camp sounds fun, too!
I bet the girls were so glad that you were one of the chaperones! I bet you were a fun mom to be around:)
We did get to sample cookies while at the bakery- I had something that tasted like ginger snaps. They were very yummy. Also, Peyton bought some vanilla pound cake and it was SOOOOO good!
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