People engage with ‘living history’ at McConnells Mill Heritage Festival
SLIPPERY ROCK TWP, Lawrence County — Dressed in Civil War military dress from the 19th Ohio Independent Light Artillery Battery, Tina Dazey of Louisville, Ohio, said she is often asked why a woman is wearing a “man’s uniform.”
She and her husband, Chuck, have been participating in historical reenactments for as long as they have been married and were among the reenactors at the 30th annual McConnells Mill Heritage Festival on Saturday, Sept. 23, that saw vendors, musicians, historians, park educators and artisans step back in time to the 19th and 20th centuries.
Among other things, the couple seeks to educate the public about local history and clarify some misconceptions.
Walking over to a 1862 cannon made in Philadelphia, Dazey explained that 650 women were documented as having fought in the Civil War in disguise, some of them following their husbands and brothers into the conflict. They shore their hair and changed their names, and those who remained undiscovered even received pensions, Dazey said.
“A lot of them weren’t found out until after (the Civil War ended),” Dazey said.
The Civil War encampment in the park included canvas tents, artillery and a table displaying cannon shells. The Dazeys warmed themselves by a fire that burned in front one of the tents.
A love of history is what drives them to participate in reenactments, they said.
Scott Snow, of Butler, whose ancestors fought in the Civil War, reenacted a soldier with the 10th Pennsylvania Reserve Volunteer Corps, and was joined by his wife Sherie, who educates the public about civilian life during the time period.
Reenactors are living monuments to people of a bygone era, Snow said.
“It is our history,” Snow said. “Something we should never forget. We should never forget what happened in our country.”
Jen Merwick, a Butler educator who home-schools her sons, Sky and Trey, said she attended the festival to come face-to-face with bits of history about Western Pennsylvania.
Educating young people about the historical legacy of the region in which they live is paramount, she said.
“It’s so important that youth understand our nation’s history, music, food,” Merwick said.
An appreciation for history was also on display by artisans.
Ryan Stauffer, blacksmith and owner of Crazy Bagpiper Iron Works, and Josh Hassan, potter and owner of Piper’s Pottery, said they are inspired by historical designs and elements.
As a teenager, Stauffer apprenticed as a blacksmith, later pursuing a master’s degree in history at Slippery Rock University.
Having explored McConnells Mill since he was a child, Stauffer watched the Heritage Festival grow from an audience of a handful of people when he was 14 years old to now drawing large crowds.
“(McConnells Mill State Park) is this combination of natural history, geology, and human history with the mill,” he said. “A festival like this is celebrating the natural heritage, but also the human history of what happened here. I think that’s one of the biggest (attractions).”
He calls himself one of the longest-running vendors at the festival, selling hand-forged wares that are shaped by years of craftsmanship and a background in history. He forges knives, tools and steel fire starters as well as other artisan goods.
“A lot of this stuff I’ll see in a museum or something and think, ‘Oh, I want to see how they made that,’” Stauffer said. “I’m literally retracing the mental processes of people long dead to let them live again.”
Both Stauffer and Hassan, who play the bagpipes together, participate in historical reenactments.
“It can be fun to escape the modern world for a bit,” Stauffer said.
