October 23, 4004
According to Bishop James Ussher, God created the universe on October 23, 4004 BC (at 9 a.m. GMT, to be precise).

Happy Birthday World!! 

 

This Saturday our family went to the Millbrook Village which is a small historically (1875-1900) preserved town located at a north-western part of NJ, in a National Park.   On the first weekend of October the park gets 150 volunteers which display various crafts and trades of that time period.  The town consists of 25 buildings; which includes an old one room school house, with a wood burning stove in the middle.  They have people in costume which explain and demonstrate how schools were in that day – including manners, respect for adults, and disciple.  In addition they had an old style 19th century country band, a black smith, word crafts, candle making, wool spinning, needlepoint, town store (with candy that’s 10 cents a piece).  It was a lot of fun for the kids and hard to believe there was no cost.    Here’s a few pictures I took;

The girls are in the town shop getting some candy.

The School House

The teacher is doing a spelling bee and a student is called on to answer.

The teacher demonstrates another form of disciple (besides using a small
stick to spank the troublemakers).   The teacher places a dot on the blackboard and tells the student to place their nose on the dot until they say to stop.

These are some rules for the school in 1870.   Here they are re-written for y’all;

1. Teachers each day will fill lamps, clean chimneys.
2. Each teacher will bring a bucket of water and a scuttle of coal for the day’s session.
3. Make your pens carefully. You may whittle nibs to the individual taste of the pupils.
4. Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting purposes, or two evenings a week if they go to church regularly.
5. After ten hours in school, the teachers may spend the remaining time reading the Bible or other good books.
6. Women teachers who marry or engage in unseemly conduct will be dismissed.
7. Every teacher should lay aside from each pay a goodly sum of his earnings for his benefit during his declining years so that he will not become a burden on society.
8. Any teacher who smokes, uses liquor in any form, frequents pool or public halls, or gets shaved in a barber shop will give good reason to suspect his worth, intention, integrity and honesty.
9. The teacher who performs his labor faithfully and without fault for five years will be given an increase of twenty-five cents per week in his pay, providing the Board of Education approves.
—————————–
Note: In the county schools of the 1800′s discipline was enforced by the teachers with an iron hand.  Students were subjected to trashings by the teacher for any infraction of schoolroom etiquette.  Some of the teachers in the country schools were tough-minded disciplinarians and brooked no tomfoolery or horseplay in their classes.  But the teacher also had rules applied on him or herself by the school board and parents.  Most of these rules concerned deportment or social etiquette.  The teacher was expected to be a model of deportment in front of his pupils and social peers in the community. 

 

A couple ladies cooking in the kitchen (hey where did they get the Styrofoam cups?)

A young girl is making candles.

Gentlemen enjoys the morning (a little too much) as he makes coleslaw.

My daughters pose for a picture (say cheese!).

The band playing some old songs like “Cluck Old Hen”.

The wood craft gent get some help from the kids.

Getting ready to dye some cloth.

Nope it’s not a out-house.  This hut is for drying fruit.  Inside the hut is a stove with shelves to layout fruit slices.