ANDERSONVILLE:  Andersonville is an awe-inspiring tranquil site, much different from the scene of misery it was during the imprisonment of thousands of men during the war.  Danny and Brenda Branch, Anne Burgamy, and I felt honored to participate in the annual living history held March ll-l3th.  We spoke with visitors about life on the home front, helped a little bit in organizing groups for the candle light tours, and enjoyed ourselves immensely.  We had a very informative tour on Sunday before leaving the park where we learned much of the history of the site, and saw various historical highlights of the cemetery at Andersonville. 

 

The men who participated in the candle light tours are to be commended for their realism and dedication to detail.  The tour guides were friendly and informative, and the rangers were pleasant and easy to work with.  We were invited back for next year and look forward to it very much.

 

PORT COLUMBUS:  Brenda, Anne, and I attended the annual living history at Port Columbus.  We were disappointed in the attention to detail on the part of some of the participants but as always we manage to have a wonderful time given any circumstances.  The wind was horrible on Saturday and our thanks go to a young man who offered assistance holding poles while we tied up our humble shebang which we called home for the weekend.  It took effort to keep it up in the wind, but we were successful when others failed.  Saturday night one man asked us how we kept it up to which we replied we really weren't sure, to which he replied, "Its usually the shoddiest looking things that stay up."  We took that as a complement since our home consisted of three floor cloths tied to two uprights and a ridge pole.  He may not have realized it but a great deal of research went into the construction of the floor cloths, and the manner in which the shebang was put up.  This and much more will be outlined in my next book on period camping, hunting, fishing, canoeing, hiking, nature excursions, cave explorations, etc. during the 19th century - scheduled to be released in the spring of 2006.  Brenda and Anne cooked food from Victoria's Home Companion; Or, The Whole Art of Cooking throughout the weekend and we were joined by several friends who stopped by for a meal and a bit of camaraderie.  I was extremely proud of these ladies who prepared historically accurate food made with authentic cooking techniques - unlike some we saw, no cooking with purchased charcoal briquettes for these ladies.  Excellent job ladies, and apparently the Columbus Ledger thought so too since a very complementary piece and photo appeared in their paper that Sunday.  Our appreciation to the staff of Pt. Columbus for inviting us and for your support.

Until then, 

Vickie