Minooka, Illinois Reenactment Report Oct 2013

    Our last reenactment of the 2013 season was an enjoyable opportunity to spend time with our reenactor friends while educating the spectators about the U.S. Christian Commission.  The 17th Illinois Medical Unit saved us a choice spot for setup right across from their tents.  Joshua helped Vicki bake before hand, as well as serving at the tent throughout the day.  Shelia, Heidi, and Hanna Phillips also diligently helped at the tent throughout the day.  This year the Confederates were downhill encamped near us, but we still had a good flow of Union troops coming down from the hill to stop in for a bite to eat.

    Saturday was a cool fall day.  When the sun occasionally came out it even got "warm" . . . almost.  We actually did much better on passing out the "ice cold" lemonade, mint tea and sarsaparilla tea than I thought we would.  Of coarse the goodies Vicki baked went well too.  Vicki was in a "pumpkin mood" for this event.  She tried out a pumpkin pan pie -- basically pumpkin pie baked in one of our cookie sheets, a bit thinner than a regular pie but with all the flavor.  It went well.  She also did a pumpkin cookie with chocolate chips.  And for the biscuits she did pumpkin butter, which had really good flavor.  Of coarse these supplemented the usual items like the molasses cookies, snicker doodles, brownies, mixed nuts squares etc.

Tom George found enough to eat at our tent
and we still had some left for others who came after him.

    I want to share one incident that illustrates the kindness of the reenactors toward us.  During the day we put out biscuits with the pumpkin butter and honey in jars for topping options.  One young woman reenctor was helping herself to the biscuits, adding a dab of honey and part of the biscuit crumbled off and fell into the honey jar.  She was apologetic and told me about it.  I assured her that it was not a big deal, and forgot about it.  Later in the day Heidi said a woman reenactor had stopped by and brought us jar of honey she had bought from the gift shop on site to replace the one she had dropped the biscuit in earlier in the day. Heidi assured her it was no problem, but she insisted on sharing it with us to help out.  My point?  Yes, we give away what we bring -- "God's love is free, so is this food, come on in".  But we get 'thank you's along the way which remind us encouragement goes both ways.

    The gift table was classed up for this event.  Vicki had bought a new collapsible table that would be a bit bigger and higher in order to better display the Civil War pattern quilt made for us years ago.  The better display seems to have worked because a few quilters stopped by to investigate  the quilt and educate me about its details I only know in general.  I always enjoy interacting with the reenactors who come to look through what we've put out as gifts on the table, from the matches & mail kits to the cough medicine boxes and salt & sugar packs.  One lady said the cough medicine box (a match box covered with a 1800s medicine label) would be helpful for her to hide the aspirin she needs to keep with her.  She gave me the gift of satisfaction that my time and energy were well spent.  The mail kits went well as usual.  I did get some feedback about how the guys use them. Typically either for living history display or to write a note to some who is not at the reenactment with them. This year Vicki had sewn some pocket handkerchiefs.  The reaction to the challenge note to pass along the encouragement was positive (cf. August 2013 post for details about the challenge note).  Vicki and I will never see the way each person says 'thank you' for the pocket handkerchief, but God will see and be pleased, and isn't that what the USCC is really all about?
    So another season ends, and we say "so long" to friends til next year. . . Lord willing and the creeks don't rise.