The Acadians

     I always like going to living museums where they have people dressed in period costumes and playing the roles of the individuals who would have lived during that time period. The people stay in their roles so well and can discuss the time period, the family and the houses/buildings.

     This Acadian Village in the northern part of New Brunswick shows how life was lived during three different eras between 1773 up to 1944

The 1700s:

A typical one room house in the 1770s.

Communal oven used to bake bread.

Mode of transportation for goods and people.

Refrigeration was not available but the food was fresh
from the cows, hens, fields and rivers.

Items were made from nature such as this soap dish made of birch bark.

The whole family sleeps together.

Shoes or moccasins on display. 

Story telling was a favourite pastime.

No plumbing here. Water had to be collected from rain barrels,
wells and the river.

Every family had their own clutch of hens...

....with a rooster to service them. Is he going to eat that spider?

The 1800s:

In the 1800s, the furniture was sturdier and everyone in the family
had a bed. Maybe it was one they had to share.
At least they did not have to sleep on the floor.

Simple machines were now being used like this sewing machine.

A fancy clock. A prized possession.

I remember my Mother had one of these irons
from her childhood home. We used it as a doorstop.

Washing station after a long day of work.

Fish drying

Fishing nets drying or waiting for repairs.

Fish drying out in the sun. 

The community women would meet together and share the duties
of  carding, spinning and dyeing the wool. Then the yarn was woven
into material for clothing and the making of blankets.

A rainbow of colours!

Showcasing some of the items made from the yarn

Wool is being spun into yarn.

Yarn is woven into blankets or material for clothing, bedding, etc.

Many households would have had a variety of animals to care for.

Friendly goat.

Are you looking at me?

Cold storage.

Farm garden.

The Late 1800s:

Houses are now stronger.

Rug hooking: They still made a lot of their own things for
the home and family.

More bedrooms in house meant less sharing of beds.

Kitchen ware

More chickens

Shingles used for siding. Different building methods are used
during this era.

Wooden floors, not dirt.

The general store offered almost anything you needed.

Sewing supplies

Cookware

Dishes and food items

Shop keeper showing off a quilt for sale.

Geese resting at the river.

School children walking with their teacher. Notice the wooden shoes.  Other cultures besides the Dutch utilized them for working in wet areas.

Above and below: photos of a horse-drawn wagon going through
a typical New Brunswick covered bridge.

The covered bridge.

The 1900s: This is probably my favourite era. Life is simple with some inconveniences but it is quiet and busy and families are busy doing hands-on things.

Now we are at the Acadian Village where they are showcasing
the 1900s. Bev and Al are sitting in the town shelter.
The covered bridge is in the back ground.

Beds are now made of metal.

More comfortable furniture in a formal living room.

Sewing machines are now more sophisticated.

The modern stove and oven of the day, but still wood-fired.

The local gas station

Above and below: Photos of the Chateau Albert. Today you can
still get a room here at this boutique hotel. 

Al standing beside the model car from that era.

The sitting room

The dining room

Working in the kitchen

The ice box and potato bin

Lively music keeps the work in the kitchen pleasant. Maybe
she is practising for when she entertains the guests.

A neighbourhood house. Note the angled window in the staircase
to the second floor.

The workshop behind the house. People had lots of property.

The barn

The kitchen is the hub of the house. Everyone gathers there, partly because that is where the main source of heat is.

The freshly baked bread is cooling. You can purchase a loaf at the gift shop.

A Singer. Fancy!

Here is an inconvenience for sure. Outdoor plumbing... an outhouse
in the back and a chamber pot under the bed for night time.

The metal shop

The shoe maker and his equipment...

A lonely sheep eating in the field.

Nature is everywhere within the community.

     To learn more about Acadian Village click here and then click here. It was a beautiful day and nice to see how simple life was during those decades. I am glad that we have such living museums to remind us how far we have come ... maybe too far. Sometimes, I think, today we miss out on a lot of pleasurable things in our busy, electronic days. Have we lost a lot of the old heritage skills? I hope not.....