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Museums10

Congratulations to Nancy McNabb!  

June 4-5, 11-12, 18-19, 25-26 * Family Activities

A Stitch in Time Saves Nine

12-4:30 p.m., drop in anytime

Thrifty New Englanders kept their clothing in good repair and extended its longevity by patching and mending.  Women kept supplies of patches and sewing thread readily available.  Sailors on long sea voyages and soldiers on military campaigns learned to sew in order to repair clothing, sails and tents. Even though mending may have fallen out of favor in today's busy world, you can join us to learn about the satisfying feeling of using a needle and thread to repair something that might otherwise have been discarded. To help you with your mending, you can make a small personal sewing kit, called "A Housewife" to take with you.  Included with general admission.

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June 4, 11, 18 and 25 * Demonstrations

Open Hearth Cooking

10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Hall Tavern Kitchen

Join our open hearth cooks who¾like the "locavores" of today¾will cook with ingredients that are in season, using them in recipes for immediate use, or preserving them for eating during the winter.  Included with general admission.

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June 19  *  Father's Day

Free Admission for Fathers & Grandfathers

 Let us help you say "Thank You" to all the great fathers, grandfathers (even great grandfathers!) out there who deserve a special treat on Father's Day.  Consider starting your visit with a delicious brunch at Champney's Restaurant & Tavern at the  Deerfield Inn, too!

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June 24-26 * Dublin Seminar

Beyond the Battlefield: New England and the Civil War

The Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife, in conjunction with the Society of Civil War Historians and Historic Deerfield, will present its annual symposium at the Eaglebrook School in Deerfield. For more information, please call (978) 369-7382, or visit www.dublinseminar.org.

Join Historic Deerfield for the 2011 Summer Lecture Series titled "Legends of the Civil War." The presentations will take place on July 21, 28, and August 4 at 7:30 p.m. in the Small Auditorium at Deerfield Academy.

John Stauffer,Chair of the History of American Civilization and Professor of English and African and African American Studies at Harvard University, will give the first of the three lectures on July 21, titled "GIANTS:  The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln."

The second lecture will feature William N. Hosley, SFP '76, independent historian and museum consultant with Terra Firma Northeast, speaking about "John Brown: The Connecticut Roots of an American Legend" on July 28.

Finally, James L. Swanson, SFP '80, author of Bloody Crimes: The Chase for Jefferson Davis and the Death Pageant for Lincoln's Corpse and Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, will deliver a lecture titled "Lincoln, Booth and Davis: In Myth and Memory" on August 4.  Sponsored by Bank of America.

All lectures during the Summer Lecture Series are free and open to the public. Please note that the Small Auditorium is located in Kendall Hall, directly behind the Brick Church.

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July 1-August 14 * Family Activities

Silk: Moth to Cloth

12-4:30 p.m., drop in anytime

Silk is often called the most beautiful of all textile fibers. It is so beautiful in fact, that it is hard to believe that all silk comes from a cocoon that is part of the life cycle of a moth! Thought to be delicate, silk is actually one of the strongest fibers known.  A single strand of silk can support many time its own weight and once it is reeled from a cocoon, silk can be spun and woven into cloth. Silk can be dyed and painted, and its elegant sheen has always suggested sophistication and affluence.  In 18th-century Deerfield, imported Chinese silk clothing was worn by wealthy men and women, and young girls chose silken thread to embroider their finest samplers.  This summer we will be raising live silkworms in the education room of the History Workshop. Visitors can see the silk worms, learn about the process of making cloth from cocoons, and make a beautiful painted silk bookmark to take home.  Included with general admission.

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