Historical Tidbits — Treaty of Versailles

When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. September 3, 1783           Peace proclaimed – Treaty of Versailles Following the disastrous defeat at Yorktown and subsequent sequestering of British Forces in New York City, the British peace commissioner …

Historical Tidbits — Switching to the Gregorian Calendar

When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. September 2, 1752 (sort of) – The British Empire ended their use of the Julian Calendar, switching to the Gregorian resulting in a 12-day shift.  The next day on …

US Treasury Department Founded: September 2, 1789

During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress had no power to levy and collect taxes, nor was there a tangible basis for securing funds from foreign investors or governments. Left with no real money, the delegates resolved to issue paper money in the form of bills of credit, promising redemption once the war was won. …

UPCOMING EVENT

Saturday, September 910am – 4pmHistoric Rittenhouse Town6034 Wissahickon AvenuePhiladelphia, PA 19144 In order to finance some of his scientific projects, David Rittenhouse made topographic surveys for roads, rivers, and various properties as City Surveyor of Philadelphia in 1774. The most significant and widely known of his field work dealt with laying out boundaries and jurisdictional …

John Chapman Worked to Make the World a Little Better

John Chapman was born in Massachusetts in 1774 and was a student of Emanuel Swedenborg, who espoused a secular humanist creed. This is similar to the Jewish concept of tikkun olam (תִּיקּוּן עוֹלָם). Secular humanism teaches that the world is innately good but that there is always room for us to improve it.  Ethics are, …

Historical Tidbits — SHAY’S REBELLION

When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. August 31, 1786 – SHAY’S REBELLION:  Enraged by high debts and Massachusetts increased efforts to collect taxes, Captain Daniel Shay (Continental Army) led an armed mob to disrupt the …

Beer Recipe: Kartoffelferienbier

Potatoes are native to the Americas and were first brought to Europe by the Spanish Conquistadors during the mid-16th century.  The English buccaneer, Sir Walter Raleigh, is known to have gifted them to Queen Elizabeth as an American delicacy. Since then, potatoes have become a staple food source for many people all over the world.  We …

Basic Colonial Brewing #16 — Making Sense of the Beer Menu

I am going to deviate from my normal focus on the 18th Century to discuss some brewing terminology that seems to be confusing people in craft brew pubs.  The other day, my wife and I visited a brewery and her questions about the beer menu prompted me to clarify some jargon that are too often …