Tuesday, December 21, 2010

A Frontier Christmas

The kids had the privilege to attend the Ft. Davis National Historic Site's Frontier Christmas last week with the local home school association.  We are so lucky to live in an area where we have an amazing historical treasure like Fort Davis and their living history presentations are a true gift to our children.  It was completely authentic, interesting and interactive.  Their volunteers and experts were engaging and friendly and the reconstruction of the fort and the day to day operations of the fort and the culture of the frontier is awe inspiring.  It's hard to put in to words how wonderful it really was so I'll let the kids tell you.

We met our friends at the Fort


We learned old fashioned games like pushing a hoop and the ring toss. 


It wasn't as easy as it looked.

Then we went in to the barracks and the soldiers showed us the uniforms they have to wear.  They are mostly made out of wool.

I like wearing the soldiers hat.  Later on, they showed us how to stand at attention and hold our weapons.

The ladies of the fort showed the girls what kind of clothes women had to wear in the 1880's.  There were bloomers and slips and bustles, corsets, capes and bonnets.


Some of the girls got to try on clothes that little girls would've worn back then.




There were many nice people who told us about what it was like to live here back then.



 There was only a few stops between San Antonio and El Paso and the road was very dangerous.  It was hard to get supplies


All of their supplies had to be transported by wagons from very long distances away.


All of the supplies were kept in the commissary, which was like the grocery store at the fort.

 


 
We then went to a house where soldiers wives showed us the wood burning stove and let us make cookies using an old recipe.
The wood burning stove was very hot.
Because the wood burning stove is really hot, the cookies had to be very small.

I really like the cookies



We made old fashioned Christmas cards to send to our soldiers



Our friend, Mary, gave us a tour of the Officer's house


It was beautifully decorated for Christmas.



Mary also showed us the beautiful hand made ornaments on the Christmas tree



We hiked up a trail to see some old photos posted along the trail.


We had a great view of the entire fort




As an added bonus, we got to meet Santa Claus for the first time.
 I guess he stopped to deliver goods to the commisary.



We had a great time at Fort Davis.  I hope we get to come back next year.



Merry Christmas!













6 comments:

Rachel said...

How fun! I want to go sometime, I bet that was about the best time to get a tour, looked like lots of fun was had!

Hope you guys have a Merry Christmas!! :)

Anonymous said...

Fun! We have been to Ft.Davis once, but didn't have time to go to the fort. Maybe one day!

Unknown said...

Went to the Fort w Shane's class last year and we loved it! i would love to see it at Christmas!

Unknown said...

May I have your permission to feature your Frontier Christmas entry on our Texas Mountain Trail Daily Photo blog and our Facebook page for the Texas Mountain Trail? I've wanted others to know about the Fort's Frontier Christmas, and I like your entry. You can email me at info@texasmountaintrail.org THANKS either way, Beth Nobles, Texas Mountain Trail Executive Director

Danae Farias said...

Hi from Homeschool Lounge! I love your blog-I'm your newest follower. God has put such a heart for having a homestead on my heart, it almost hurts=) I love Texas too (was born in Beeville) but I'm currently in So. CA.

Sincerely,
Danae@Believing Unbeliever
http://www.danaefarias.com

West Texas Momma said...

Thanks for stopping by I love all your pics!