It’s cold in the Town Hall and the light offered by the flickering candles in the windows is weak, but it’s easy to see that Rick Huff of Churchville is having a wonderful time. After all, he is King of the Twelfth Night Ball. Over at the Mackay House, Harold Markham of Spencerport welcomes visitors to the St. Andrew’s Day Dinner with his bagpipes. Harold’s wife Judy, a Shaker lady named Sister Hannah, smiles gently at one of the orphans in her care. In the Altay General Store, Maureen Spindler of Hilton banters with her "husband" over the quality of the Yuletide decorations he has for sale. Throughout the Genesee Country Village and Museum, vignettes like these offer a glimpse into the holiday traditions of the past. They’re all part of the museum’s Yuletide in the Country tours, which are offered Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through December 22. Bringing these performances to life – the scripts, costumes, decorations, and actors – is an enormous undertaking of which westsiders are proud to be a part. "It’s a combination of so many things that I enjoy," Huff said. "The dances of the time period, the history, and a bit of acting. All of this helps me relate my love of the history to the people who visit." Visitors can choose from two walking tours throughout the museum grounds with stops at six homes or other buildings, all accurately historically decorated for the season (or not, as decorations where uncommon in some settings). New scripts have been developed this year, scenes added and others revised. A tour guide leads visitors down candle-lit paths, explaining the customs and celebrations that the actors in each of the vignettes, many of them volunteers, are portraying. The research that goes into the scripts is meticulous, said Beth Pessin, the museum’s director of publications. "Every detail that’s presented is authentic to the time period and the setting." New this year is Cool Yule for Kids, a supervised activity center for 3- to 8-year-olds. While moms and dads or grandparents are on the tour, kids can stay warm while enjoying crafts, holiday stories, and snacks. The tours leave every fifteen minutes and cost $11 for members and $13 for non-members for adults, $8 for members and $9 for non-members for children. Cool Yule for Kids is $5 per child. Be sure to dress appropriately as very few of the historic homes are equipped with furnaces. The museum anticipates more than 6,000 visitors so the fact that there are literally hundreds of people involved in the production both behind the scenes and "on stage" is not surprising. Maureen Spindler, owner of Village Photographer in Hilton, and her two daughters, Rebecca and Sarah, have been volunteer actors at Yuletide in the Country for several years. The family has been visiting the museum since the 1970s, and the girls attended the Summer Sampler program, a summer camp, when they were in grade school. Many of the children who attend Summer Sampler become involved with the museum as volunteers, and sure enough, this happened with the Spindlers. "It occurred to me as I was driving them out there for Yuletide rehearsals several years ago that I might as well get involved, too," Spindler said, noting that both Rebecca and Sarah are pursuing theater-related careers. "Being able to share anything with your teenagers is a great thing. Plus I just love the history. I am always learning something more about the way people used to live." Both Judy and Harold Markham work at the museum year-round; Judy as the technology services coordinator and Harold as an interpreter in the Mackay House. Working there is like being part of a family, Judy said, so when it’s time to start planning the Yuletide program -- "a huge undertaking," she said -- it’s pretty common for most of the employees to be involved in some way, even if it’s out of their normal range of responsibilities. Although "working in the village isn’t a routine part of my job," Judy said, playing Sister Hannah in the Shaker House is her role during this year’s seasonal show. "Virtually everyone gets tapped to do something," she said. The Shaker House is one of the simpler vignettes in the program. Visitors there are questioned as to whether or not they have brought some clothing for the poor. The orphan children are quilting and they explain how Christmas is celebrated in the Shaker community. Along the way, some of them remember the Christmases they once had with their families. The Shaker House scene, along with the pioneer cabin scene, are stirring reminders that life was once more physically demanding than it is today, that diseases and harsh living conditions shortened lifespans dramatically. Nevertheless, the Shaker House is alive with the children’s holiday excitement. Visitors are offered a heartfelt "Godspeed" as they exit. In contrast, Harold Markham’s Mackay House vignette is a rather lavish re-enactment of a St. Andrew’s Day Dinner celebration hosted by the prosperous owner of several wheat and saw mills in Caledonia and Mumford. The tables in the Mackay house are covered with foods and beautiful china; the scene is introduced and capped off with bagpipe music provided by Harold. "We’re celebrating the birthday of the patron saint of Scotland," Harold said. "There’s traditional Scottish music, foods, and several toasts. It’s quite possible that John Mackay (the mill owner who built the house in 1814) hosted more than one St. Andrew’s Day dinner. There are references to his love of entertaining in the records." And then there’s the Twelfth Night Ball in the Town Hall. The ball was an Advent tradition found in American history as early as the late 1700s, said Huff. Communities gathered for quadrille dancing and the dramatic cutting of the Twelfth Night cake, which contained a dried pea and bean. The lady receiving the pea and the gentleman receiving the bean were designated the king and queen of the ball. "The king and queen had the ‘honor’ of hosting and doing all of the cooking for the next year’s ball," Huff laughed. This is the museum’s tenth year offering Yuletide in the Country and they’re proud of the program’s excellence, Pessin said. "We definitely couldn’t do it without our great staff and the dedicated volunteers," she added. From the 11-foot Victorian Christmas tree in the Hamilton House to the simple carols being sung in the Brooks Grove Church, from the smell of boxwood wreaths to that of cinnamon and fruit tarts, visitors to the Genesee Country Museum’s Yuletide in the Country program are sure to see, hear, smell, and feel the historic holiday spirit. Note: For more information or to register for a tour, contact the museum at 538-6822. |
