Chicone Village Day at Handsell - April 2016


The day was grayish and slightly chilly with a spot of warm sun here and there; quite an improvement over the previous week of rain and drizzle. We took the back way, turning off at Brookview and heading down Indian Town road. The boys enjoyed seeing the cows and pigs and other various critters while I enjoyed watching the breeze-blown wheat flowing in swirls across the fields. Local farms were in full swing and doing what they do in spring, and it was beautiful.

When Handsell has an event, you know I will be there. There is so much history embedded in our area, to see it come alive and to participate in the experimental archaeology is a truly wonderful experience. Experimental archaeology is putting theory and passed-down knowledge of the old ways to use. When you actually physically DO the things, you can learn so much more about how they were actually done than you might get from just reading about it.

My oldest son, 11, spent most of our time there enthralled by Daniel "Firehawk" Abbott and his presentation. The history and culture from thousands of years past up to colonial introduction seems to come alive in the way Daniel explains things and lets you use hand made examples of working period tools and housing all made with the techniques and materials that would have been used in their time.

My youngest, 7, was all over the place, as most 7 year olds would be. Playing the various games and talking to the people, and then he found something that really seemed to engage him. Mr. Norris Howard Jr. of the Pocomoke Indian Nation was using water and sand to shape soapstone into decorative pieces, the resulting byproduct being, basically, mud! Well this was just too good to be true for a 7yo boy. Not only did he get to help shape stone into something beautiful, but was encouraged to make mud in the process!

As usual, I took a few shots to remember the experience better, to enlighten the community and to pass on to my children a little more documentation of how they grew up. I hope everyone enjoys them.

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