living history

Some of my fond memories from my school days in Indiana involve field trips, and one of my favorites was to the Conner Prairie Farm.  It’s a living history museum where docents dress in period clothes and adopt a persona of someone from another era of American life.  When we would visit during the fall of a school year, we would drive way out into the country.  I loved the smells of fires in the fireplaces and hot apple cider, the color of autumn leaves that rustled and crunched under our feet as we moved from house to house to one room schoolhouse to general store.

I looked forward to taking Charlotte there on our trip to Indy.  But with the migration of Indianapolis suburbs north, Conner Prairie Farm isn’t that far out in the country anymore.  The weather wasn’t crisp like a fall day, but it was breezy and bright as we pulled into the grounds.

The first stop on our walking tour was the Lenape Indian village.  William Conner, whose home is the centerpiece of the grounds, lived and traded among the Delaware native Americans, even marrying one of the women and having six children with her.  Unfortunately, when the indigenous people were forcibly removed, Mekinges chose to go with her children and family.  Conner never saw them again.  He remarried, built his farm and continued to be a translator and arbitrator between other settlers and the natives.

Visiting with Charlotte I learned as much about her as I did about history.  She loves to try on clothes and hats.   She was like Goldilocks testing the beds in each house.  She couldn’t pass a checkerboard without challenging her Poppy-Do to a game, and there were several.  She loves kitchens and cooking and rattled the pots and pans in each kitchen.  And if the hot air balloon had been going up, she would have jumped on board that as well! 

History really did come alive at Conner Prairie Farm!  And so did Lottie! 

Love, Liz