The Kitchen at Sandpit Gate (detail). Watercolor on paper by Paul Sandby 1754. Royal Collection Trust, RCIN 914331
The best times are always those when we are the least self-conscious– not that we can necessarily choose those times. Often they simply happen to us, but if we are lucky enough, we will notice, or someone else will record those moments for us. Last weekend, without even meaning to, we came as close as I may ever hope to get to recreating Sandby images of the Sandpit Gate kitchen.
Mistress F commanded the kitchen: I served as her reasonably able scullion, and, with assistance from Drunk Tailor and the company of the B’s, we managed to produce enough food for several dozen people.
(I baked the pound cake at home, but the egg and onion pies were made on site. I lack historically correct baking apparatus aside from one pie plate.) Cooking in the cabin at Hancock House reminded me of good times long ago— and not so long ago–and how much I enjoyed throwing refuse out a window, and using a soapstone sink. The weekend also brought to mind “show, don’t tell” as it applies to interpretation, and made me think again about how to create more immersive educational experiences for visitors, without becoming ritualistic.
There’s not much time to think those esoteric, grad-school-seminar thoughts when you’re in the midst of cooking, and that can actually be a relief. Instead, better to think of the light, and the landscape, and the time remaining until a pie is cooked through.
The landscape and the light: redemptive, all that space, the blue sky and the grasses. I thought of The Witch of Blackbird Pond, which I haven’t read in decades, for in some ways, the coast of New Jersey resembles the coast of Connecticut. It’s one of the first historical novels I remember reading– it is probably one reason I have ended up doing the work I do, and spending as much time as I did in New England. (You can read it here.) It’s not brilliant literature, and it was nearly two decades old when I read it, but it was certainly memorable.
Photos courtesy of HM 17th Regiment, Al Pochek, and Cape May Wren Photography.
Kitty Calash 
Beautifully atmospheric photos, what a wonderful post. I can almost smell the baking…
Speaking as a visitor who was there, the pea soup on Sunday smelled even more amazingly delicious than the onion pies on Saturday! 😉 And the entire event was oozing atmosphere; it was wonderfully done.
Fantastic! Thank you for the photos. I’m curious about how you met your goal of making the experience more immersive for visitors and how you practiced “show, don’t tell.” If you have a previous post on that, could you provide a link in reply to my comment or could you write a post on that? Thank you so much for all your work to bring history alive, especially the female perspective and experience.
No, I thought we did NOT meet the goal this time. There was an interpreter talking about the forage wars, but it was a wasted opportunity. Queen’s Rangers were present, and there could have been actual foraging and resisting happening.
But, I was a participant, not an organizer this time. For an example of how I think this can work, there’s Princeton https://kittycalash.com/2017/01/10/occupy-princeton/ and any of the What Cheer Day entries.
Thank you! I love the posts of What Cheer Day. They are some of my favorite.
It was my favorite, too.
Still, Princeton is the most direct example I can think of in which we used the more novelistic “show don’t tell” idea. Plimoth’s general approach is also imbued with “show don’t tell,” but I think that first person isn’t entirely necessary. It’s the vignettes that really do the work.
Having been on both sides of the kitchen table (in skirts and a corset hearth cooking at my local living history museum and as a visitor), I think I can safely say that different events, situations and audiences require and are more accepting of different presentation methods. (I personally am more of a storyteller and tend towards lots of exposition with my demonstrations, more show *and* tell. 😉 ) I thought everyone did a fabulous job! You all were definitely relaxed and enjoying yourselves as well as engaging the audience, which made for a fun experience on the visitor side of it. Visitors were present and participating, which is always a win. Thank you!
Thanks for your thoughts! Glad you enjoyed the event.
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