First Post might as well be a job summary...

I was hired in mid October as a part time Historical Interpreter. I was really cautious about whether I was going to get it or not. But thanks to Dr. Crimm, sponsor of the Walter P. Webb Historical Society on the campus of Sam Houston State University, and all the work I did for Webb and my substituting I was able to get the job.

The first few days were trying. Memorizing the spiels to give at each of the houses, learning to make cornbread using hearth cooking, stuff like that. Basically I dress up in pioneer costume from the 1850s and give a 3rd person spiel about the houses, how to make cornbread. Haven't done the Exhibit Hall or popcorn yet, but that will come with time. I have also done the toy demonstartion.

There is an option for the schools who come here for the tour and they can do a work and play option or a standard tour with a variety of demonstations. Each option gets a chance to watch the 15 minute video about Sam Houston and then after that it varies.

Work and Play: The students grades 2nd, 4th or 7th. Even though the 2nd graders almost don't have a long enough attention span and are small for some of the chores. 4th graders are ideal. And 7th graders can sometimes think that they are 'da bomb' and don't have to do the chores or they lose their attention as well. The children are given a tour of both the houses. At the Woodland Home they are separated boys from girls and given clothes so they don't their street clothes dirty; boys vests and girls aprons. Boy's chores consist of gathering kindling, chopping wood, moving wood, stacking wook, planting seeds, harvesting crops, watering gardens/ crops, things like that depending on the grade level and what needs to be done. Girl's chores is more smiple and structured: they prepare and bake some cornbread, grind some corn, churn butter in a balls jar and wash and hang some laundry. Then the boys and girls get together at the end of the rotation and they all get a chance to try the cornbread with the home churned butter that the girls made. Normally this is done with no more than 60 students because with more it could just become to hard and time consuming to get it all done. After they are done with their chores they go to hear the spiel about the Steamboat House and then they go to the New Army Cabin of the Republic of Texas. There they learn about the toys children their age at that time would have played with. Learn how there was only one present given to them on their Birthday and they would have to take care of it year around. Toys would have been made from wood, string, leather, fabric, cornhusks and what ever else was handy to them on a farm. The toys consisted of: climbing teddy, sliding sarry, ball n cup, chickens on a platter, pamowangas, jacob's ladder, tops, buzz saw, bull roar, dolls, cornhusk dolls, hoop and stick, yo yo's and graces.