George Washington's Fredericksburg Foundation

Children enjoy hands-on history at Kenmore work & play the 18th-century way

Kids get to experience 18th-century chores and games.

By LUCIA ANDERSON
Published in the Free Lance-Star: July 25, 2006

Children study ceiling in Kenmore "Here, smell this!"

"Does it smell good?"

Small hands shoved calico bundles under friends' noses as the children from the Fredericksburg Boys & Girls Club assembled sachets.

Kenmore guide Diane Buser told the children that people needed to carry sweet-smelling sachets with them during Colonial days. There were a lot of bad smells--with people taking baths only a couple of times a year and horses leaving manure all over the streets.

She laid out dried lavender leaves, star anise, rose petals, rosemary leaves, ground nutmeg, cardamom and cloves for the children to pile into their brightly colored fabric squares. Then Kristin Vinagro, another guide, put a drop of rose water in the center of each and helped the children tie the corners so nothing would fall out.

The sachet-making exercise is part of the Summer Discovery Workshop series organized by George Washington's Fredericksburg Foundation. This one, called "Play and Work in the 18th Century," takes place at historic Kenmore.

Diorama at Kenmore Kenmore was the mansion of Fielding and Betty Washington Lewis. Betty was George Washington's sister.

This group of visitors, who ranged in age from 5 to 11, also took turns grinding corn kernels to make cornmeal. After pushing and twisting as hard as they could, the kids came up with just a quarter-cup of meal.

"How many corn cakes do you think that would make?" Buser asked the children, showing them the meager pile in the bottom of the bowl.

Maybe one, they guessed.

Buser reminded them that there would have been over 100 people to feed at Kenmore plantation. And since most were engaged in hard, physical labor, they would need to eat hearty meals.

"It could take all day to grind enough cornmeal for them," she said.

No running to the grocery store to get a box of corn bread mix.

The children seemed to pick up fairly quickly on the challenges of living in the 18th century--no refrigerators or freezers, so leftovers had to be consumed quickly. No television or video games, so people had to talk to each other (gasp!), play board games or cards, or make their own music if they knew how to play an instrument.

"How did they make the playing cards?" asked 8-year-old Caterah Mayfield.

"Take a pair of scissors and cut them out of stiff paper," Buser answered. "You don't need a machine to make playing cards."

Buser also brought out a variety of 18th-century games.

"There weren't any Toys 'R' Us," she explained. Colonial children had to be content with simple toys that could be whittled from wood, like the cup and ball game and Jacob's ladders.

A favorite with the children was a wooden ratchet that makes a lot of noise.

Diane Buser talks to children in the workshop The tour of Kenmore and the workshop activities are similar to programs the foundation runs during the school year, Buser said.

"We have a few more games and activities during the summer," she said.

Other activities include threading green beans on a string to dry, as the Colonial cooks did to preserve them, and trying to write with a quill pen.

Once the children had tried their hands at all the games, it was time for them to go. They streamed out the kitchen door amid a chorus of thank-yous. The aromatic sachets were clutched in their hands, an 18th-century souvenir to scent 21st-century lives.

To reach LUCIA ANDERSON: 540/374-5405
Email: landerson@freelancestar.com

Photos by Scott Neville / The Free Lance-Star