Court Days

This weekend was Court Days at Historic Hanna’s Town.  Westmoreland County Historical Society – with a huge array of volunteers – present life as it was in the late 1700’s, right down the road.  And I loved it!  To give you an idea of the venue, several antique dealers set up tents in the field across from Hanna’s Tavern.  There was also a food tent with basic sandwiches, snacks, and a bake sale.  Those cinnamon rolls were absolutely YUM! 

But that’s just the beginning.  There were kids’ craft activities, Colonial Dance (courtesy of Miss Joanna), needlework demonstrations, crafters, Frontier garden interpretation by Miss Debbie, Proctor’s Militia (and a few other reenactors), several native Americans, tours on the tavern and outbuildings, and of course, court case re-enacting. 

I spent a good part of the day as a docent in the tavern, talking about the Hanna family, 18th century taverns, money exchanges, and even sweeping floors!  The court cases were acted out for a very lively audience, and were based on actual court cases in the 1770’s and 1780’s.  There was a paternity suit, a drunken thief, a rogue who was dating two sisters at the same time, and a young horse thief. They were all delightfully entertaining! 

The day ended with a skirmish between the town’s citizens and the combined British/Native Americans.  In the actual attack, the British won and burnt the town; in our version, however, the citizens triumphed and the Redcoats were scattered dead across the battle field.   Yea!  I was particularly interested in the teepee- type structure and the animal pets in the ‘Indian’ Village.   It was so nice to see my friends again – it’s been a while! – and to hear Augie’s recitation of ‘himself’ as a 10-year-old, watching his home burn.  He did a marvelous job. 

A huge thanks to Augie, Lisa, Joanna, and all of those that volunteer and made this day amazing!