The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Earned Media Coverage

November 21, 2013

“5 Destinations Celebrating the History of Thanksgiving”

By: Stephanie Citron

11/14/2013

From waitstaff dressed in colonial clothing to 18th-century dishes for dinner, these five resorts take you

back to the roots of Thanskgiving.

This year, why not skip the grueling prep of Thanksgiving dinner and travel to a historic destination where you can experience the remarkable events and original foods that inspired the holiday?

At Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Mass., actors re-enact day-to-day life in the Pilgrim settlement and neighboring Wampanoag Indian village. Their epic 1621 Thanksgiving feast included "native-bird bounty," deer, blood pudding from the birds’ and deer’s innards, corn, root vegetables, and berries. Nowadays, Plimoth Planation offers America’s Thanksgiving Dinner, a Thanksgiving Day feast served by period-costumed waitstaff. The menu, devised by the plantation’s colonial culinarian and head chef, features original indigenous recipes for native turkey, fall-harvest fruits, and butternut squash.

Owned and operated by the Gila River Indian Community, the luxurious Sheraton Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, Ariz., hosts a Thanksgiving weekend package filled with Native American cultural activities and foods, lead by its Pima and Maricopa tribe members. Have an authentic Native American Thanksgiving dinner at the Heard Museum in nearby Phoenix; Navajo chef Freddie Bitsoie serves traditional American-Indian dishes including bison roast, local turkey, and pumpkin soup.

http://www.thedailymeal.com/5-destinations-celebrating-history-thanksgiving/111413

The Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum in Wethersfield, Conn., stages an 18th-century Thanksgiving dinner, featuring hosts in historic attire and colonial-style entertainment. The menu, created by (late) renowned culinary historian Paul Courchaine, includes venison pie, roasted goose, and local harvest.

Thanksgiving weekend in Virginia’s Jamestown Settlement features interactive reenactments of the circa-1607 settlers and Powhatan Indians procuring and preparing their foodstuff. Have Thanksgiving dinner at the 18th-century King's Arms Tavern in Colonial Williamsburg, whose historically correct menu features the fare of our forefathers: chop of shoat and bacon lardoons.

And Tamayame Indians teach ancient Native American customs, including adobe-making, clay-sculpting, beading, and cooking, throughout Thanksgiving weekend at New Mexico’s Hyatt Tamaya resort. Tamaya’s classic Thanksgiving Day spread includes tribal delicacies like antelope stew and native breads.

Click through our slideshow to see five places to spend a historic Thanksgiving.

Historic Thanksgiving in Plymouth, Mass. The Destination: Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Mass. A 100-acre living history museum with costumed interpreters performing the activities of the English settlers and the Wampanoag tribe. Plimoth Plantation doesn’t offer overnight accommodations, so consider the family-friendly Pilgrim Sands nearby. Unique Activities: The property features a 17th-century settlement where the Pilgrims chat with visitors and render demonstrations and food samples as they perform daily activities inside timber framed houses. Wampanoag tribe members provide historic and present-day accounts of their people and culture. Artisans construct historically accurate cookware, clothing, and building materials in the Craft Center. Thanksgiving Dinner: The American Thanksgiving Dinner, served by staff in period attire, is a modern-day translation of original the feast, including roast native turkey with giblet gravy, wood-pressed apple cider, pumpkin pie, and Indian pudding.

http://www.thedailymeal.com/5-destinations-celebrating-history-thanksgiving/111413

Native American Thanksgiving The Destination: Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort, Chandler, Ariz. A luxury resort on the ancient tribal lands of the Gila River Indian Community. Pima and Maricopa tribal culture pervades throughout the resort, in its design, architecture, activities, and cuisine. Unique Activities: Wander the 2.5-mile Interpretive Trail through the Sonoran Desert to view native wildlife, including 1,500 protected wild horses. The ancient indigenous foliage is cultivated into recipes for the resort’s restaurants and as ingredients for the spa’s organic treatment line. In the evening, Phoenix Planetarium scientists and Native Americans combine science with legend during telescopic tours of the night sky, and Native Americans tell stories and sing songs. Aji Spa boasts the only Native American spa treatment menu in existence, with homemade products. Award-winning restaurant Kai serves modern translations of tribal Indian dishes, like grilled tenderloin of tribal buffalo. Thanksgiving Dinner: The Thanksgiving Harvest Feast at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, world-renowned for American Indian arts and culture, includes traditional Native American dishes like bison roast and posole, prepared with indigenous ingredients.

18th Century Thanksgiving

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The Destination: Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum, Wethersfield, Conn. This town has more than 300 historic homes, many dating to before the Revolutionary War. There is no lodging on the property; many families opt for the nearby Sheraton Hartford South. Unique Activities: Historians lead lively tours through the museum’s four magnificentlyrestored, authentically furnished 18th-century homes, sharing captivating stories and performing reenactments of Thanksgiving rituals in the 18th and 19th century. Thanksgiving Dinner: Stories of a molasses shortage that delayed Thanksgiving are but one tidbit of tasty table talk at the 18th-century Thanksgiving dinner here (served on Nov. 17), which also includes fascinating facts about the foods, recipes, and table manners of the day. Waitstaff and food historians dressed in colonial attire serve holiday dishes like venison pie, roasted goose and turkey, puddings, pottages and Puritan desserts. Dinner is followed by Colonial music and guided tours of the property.

Foods and Feasts of Jamestown The Destination: Jamestown Settlement. In 1607, Jamestown Settlement was established as America’s first permanent English colony. Today it is a living history replicating daily life in the colony, in the midst of Virginia’s Powhatan chiefdom. Unique Activities: Food and Feasts, a three-day interactive event beginning Thanksgiving Day, demonstrates how food was gathered on land and sea, then preserved and prepared by the English colonists and Powhatan Indians. In the Powhatan Indian Village, venison and turkey roast over an open fire, while side dishes of corn, beans, and squash cook in clay pots. In the fort, costumed interpreters bake bread, demonstrate open-hearth cooking of puddings and pies, and process a pig into bacon and ham. Craftsmen demonstrate making utensils. Nearby at Yorktown Victory Center are demonstrations of the Continental Army’s daily meal rations, homemade remedies for indigestion, and heirloom vegetation and meat procured by farmers and prepared on the 1780s farm. Thanksgiving Dinner: King's Arms Tavern, a recreation of Mrs. Vobe’s (18th-century) Tavern, has waitstaff dressed in colonial garb, serving original recipes like game pie with venison, rabbit, duck, and bacon Lardoons.

http://www.thedailymeal.com/5-destinations-celebrating-history-thanksgiving/111413

An Adobe Thanksgiving The Destination: Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort, Bernalillo, N.M. An adobe-style deluxe resort on the Pueblo of Santa Ana in Rio Grande Valley. Owned by the residents of the pueblo, Tamaya’s décor, food, and entertainment reflect the culture of the Tamayame people. Unique Activities: Tamaya’s Pueblo-Style Thanksgiving immerses guests into the historic and present-day culture of the native Indians, who have lived on the Pueblo for 800 years. Tamayame teach guests tribal music, dancing, baking Pueblo Oven Bread in the outdoor Huruna (ovens), adobe brickmaking, Pueblo pottery and other art classes, and guide horseback rides through their ancient lands. Thanksgiving Dinner: Tamaya’s traditional American Thanksgiving buffet, featured throughout the day and hosted in the resort’s Corn Maiden restaurant, includes Native American breads, local antelope stew, and modern translations of indigenous dishes.

http://www.thedailymeal.com/5-destinations-celebrating-history-thanksgiving/111413

“Historic vacation a reminder to remember the forgotten”

By: Jacob Demree Lenape High School

11/15/13

Jacob and his sister Ruth take a break from learning about history in Williamsburg for the requisite

stockade photo.

It’s not just the big names who made a lasting impact. This is also true in our everyday lives.

Being the child of two teachers, I have long had a fascination with all things history. Because of this, my family often visits places like the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and the battlefields in Gettysburg.

Recently, we went to Colonial Williamsburg, Va., with my aunt (also a teacher) and her son.

While there, I was given the awesome opportunity to walk in the footsteps of those who made this country great and see what amazing lives they led.

But after a tour chronicling the lives of African-Americans and their impacts on society, I discovered my notion of a nation built mostly by influential figures such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams was incorrect.

What I learned on this tour was our great country is a land of heroes and these heroes are not just those whose names are etched in the alabaster pages of history textbooks, but rather those who printed them.

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Williamsburg, though often remembered for the streets walked by those many great men, the beautiful architecture that frames them and the ideas that were born on them, is a city that was home to countless and often-nameless individuals who were never to receive credit for their actions.

African-Americans, free and enslaved, built buildings, finished pottery and, through much hard work, built their masters’ names into legacies we remember today.

It is with this in mind I began to ruminate on the scores of people who go without recognition.

Think about your average day. How many people have worked hard to make sure you have three meals a day, seven days a week? How many people have worked hard to make sure you get a quality education? How many people have worked hard to make sure you can wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night knowing your possessions will not be stolen, your house will not burn down and you will be safe?

As Americans who are taking our first uncertain steps toward adulthood, we need to start to think about what, or rather who, makes it possible for us to advance toward a brighter future.

Is it the celebrity who sits on top of a mountain of cash and has his own clothing line that helps us more, or the quiet, unknown and often-unappreciated man who cleans up the spilled applesauce under your lunch table every day?

In English class, we were discussing art and came across Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous building Fallingwater. Though it is definitely a piece of art, who actually is the artist? It’s easy to say Wright is because he designed it; however, countless others moved and put together the stone and wood that make it up. How many people, how many nameless people, worked together and risked life and limb to put together this masterpiece?

It’s a shame the real people who lent their backs to the foundations of buildings such as Fallingwater and cities such as Williamsburg, as well as to the entire society we live in today, are not recognized for their enormous contributions to mankind.

It’s too easy to forget their sacrifices and their influences, even though we’re looking right at them.

Today, as we prepare to live another day, let us also remember the many others who prepare just as we do and contribute so much anonymously. Today, let us take up the challenge to thank the janitors, teachers, trash collectors and mail carriers, since they are truly the people who make differences in our world.

In this season of Thanksgiving, we must remember daily to be thankful for, and not just take for granted, the many people who tirelessly work and expect no thanks in return.

http://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/life-style/reality/historic-vacation-a-reminder-to-remember-the-forgotten/article_332a2f42-8cd1-5c29-8885-db61f3fcb530.html

“Reviving a Revolutionary War landmark”

11/15/13

Public Armoury and Blacksmith Shop (Joe Fudge, Daily Press / March 27, 2012)

After the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, the most important sound in Williamsburg was no longer the urgent voices in the Capitol debating Virginia's future.

Instead it was the ringing of hammers and rattling of tin at the newly constructed Public Armoury, where hordes of blacksmiths, wheelwrights, tinsmiths and armorers toiled to give the rebellious ideals of Jefferson, Henry and Madison some badly needed military muscle.

Not until the opening of a $5 million recreation in 2012, however, was Colonial Williamsburg able to present this Revolutionary War landmark in a way that matched its 18th-century importance.

And not until the recent completion of a bustling new tinshop located next to the historic forge could it tell the full story of Virginia's industrial-sized effort to arm and equip itself against British threats to its independence.

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"Tinware was everywhere in people's lives. It was the Tupperware of the period," says journeyman tinsmith Steve Delisle, describing some of the reasons behind Saturday's grand opening of the Historic Area's first new trade shop in nearly a generation.

"We make very basic utilitarian forms — but they were absolutely necessary for the logistics of an 18th-century army — and the Armoury produced large quantities of it for use by the militia during the Revolution."

Commissioned directly by the governor and executive council of the newly independent commonwealth, the sprawling manufacturing complex that housed Williamsburg blacksmith James Anderson's busy forges and tinshop stretched from Duke of Gloucester Street to Francis Street, then overflowed into both of the adjacent lots.

Dozens of workmen labored in a half-dozen buildings, making and rebuilding firearms by the hundreds for deliveries of as many as 1,000 muskets at a time. They also fabricated such essential military accouterments as camp plates, cups and cooking kettles, producing the tin-plated steel utensils needed to outfit the 75 regiments that formed Virginia's new militia army.

That made Williamsburg a leading arsenal of the Revolution. It also demonstrated the rebellious new government's resolve to back up the celebrated patriotic rhetoric heard in the coffee houses, taverns and Capitol with the industry and sweat needed to found a new nation.

"What impresses me most about the site is the extent to which it tells you a completely different story about Williamsburg," Colonial Williamsburg Vice President James Horn says.

"We've always been big on telling our visitors about what happened at the Capitol and the Raleigh Tavern to give birth to the ideas underpinning the Revolution. But what went on at the Armoury afterward was absolutely vital to the winning of the war — and that's going to be a real eye-opener for a lot of people."

Not until the rediscovery of Anderson's lost account books in the mid-1990s, however, did master blacksmith Ken Schwarz begin to recognize the scope and scale of the work that had once taken place at a site long interpreted as a much smaller and far less ambitious provincial blacksmith shop.

And not until the introduction of the Historic Area's interactive street drama "Revolutionary City" a decade later did Colonial Williamsburg decide to build upon that forgotten landmark and its rich interpretive potential.

Funded by a gift from foundation trustee Forrest E. Mars Jr., the $4.5 million project expanded by $500,000 in mid-2012 after archaeologists tracked the site of the original tinshop to an adjacent lot.

Reconstructed by a team led by master carpenter Garland Wood, the building is now part of a busy compound that also includes the 68-foot-long forge as well as a large kitchen, two allied workshops and storage buildings and a newly erected outhouse.

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"Seventy-five regiments were coming to Williamsburg, and they needed an armory to take care of them," Wood says, describing the government's mix of brand new and hastily converted older structures.

"So we're trying to reflect that sense of urgency as the existing buildings here were being repurposed and new ones like the armory were being built."

Unlike the expanded blacksmith forge — where one of Colonial Williamsburg's longest-established trades is being reinterpreted in a larger yet still familiar setting — the introduction of the entirely new tinshop required considerable preparatory work even before the structure was ready.

Among the many puzzles that Schwarz and metals curator Erik Goldstein faced as they began piecing together a plan for the shop was the fact that so many traditional 18th-century practices had been lost during the 1820s because of a landmark shift in tools and production techniques.

Nearly two dozen antique tools donated by Judith and William McMillen of Glenmont, N.Y. have helped unlock some of those mysteries — and provided Schwarz with the patterns needed to make authentic replicas for use in the tinshop.

Anderson's account books have revealed additional details about the types of products the Williamsburg tinsmiths made, while exact measurements have come from archaeological finds and museum collections.

Still, it's taken Delisle many months since he was hired in July to design and fabricate the first models for the shop's preliminary collection of objects.

"A lot of records from the Armoury have survived, so I was able to put together a list of what they were producing for the military," he says.

"But then I had to start putting faces on all the names."

Working like a tailor, Delisle will need even more time to create and prove all the patterns, then use them to fabricate examples of the 20-odd objects on his list.

But before he can devote himself full time to the business of making coffee pots, tinder boxes, camp kettles and even speaking trumpets, he has to complete the tin-coated exhaust pipe for the small charcoal stove where he heats his soldering irons.

He has to fine-tune and polish his new collection of anvil-like tin-forming stakes as well as his snips, shears, pliers and other wrought-iron tools, then rig up protective leather sleeves for those most prone to rust in Tidewater's humid climate.

"I haven't had a weekend off in four months," he says, describing all the jobs that remain to be done.

"It took a whole week just to adjust these shears."

Erickson can be reached at 757-247-4783.

http://www.vagazette.com/news/dp-nws-new-historic-area-landmark-20131115-1,0,4981887.story?page=2

Want to go?

Grand Opening of the Public Armoury and Tinshop Complex

Where: Behind the James Anderson House, Duke of Gloucester Street near Botetourt Street in the Colonial Williamsburg Historic Area

When: Dedication at 3 p.m. Saturday, with special events scheduled throughout the day in the Armoury complex and nearby parts of the Historic Area, plus additional events on Sunday.

Cost: Free admission to the dedication and Armoury complex on Saturday, with a Colonial Williamsburg ticket required for some off-site events and for all events on Sunday.

Info: 757-229-1000; http://www.history.org

http://www.vagazette.com/news/dp-nws-new-historic-area-landmark-20131115-1,0,4981887.story?page=2

“Golden Horseshoe to host finals of Hurricane Junior Golf Tour”

11/18/13

The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour is excited to announce the formal partnership with the First Citizens Junior Golf Tour (FCJGT) that will promote high quality tournament competition in Virginia and on a national level. This partnership will benefit both parties tremendously as well as offering junior golfers throughout Virginia a great opportunity to play exclusive events on one of the southeast’s premier tours. The first event that will be held under this new partnership deal will be the Northern Virginia Junior Open being held at Laurel Hill Golf Club in Lorton, Virginia on March 15-16, 2014.

2014 Schedule of events:

• Northern Virginia Junior Open – Lorton, March 15-16

• Hurricane Tour Shop Series – Glen Allen, April 26-27

• College Prep Series at UVA – Charlottesville, May 31 – June 1

• Major Championship at Horseshoe – Williamsburg, June 30 – July 1

• Second half of 2014 schedule to be released

• View the first half of the 2014 schedule here!

Through this partnership members of the FCJGT will receive a 2014 HJGT membership that is included in their membership costs. Players will also have the opportunity to represent their state in the Hurricane Cup, being held at Sea Island, Georgia. The HJGT and FCJGT will work together to promote the events in order to maximize the competitiveness of each event’s field.

This HJGT has produced over 2,500 collegiate golfers who have signed letters of intent at over 200 universities and plays a vital role in promoting junior golf throughout the country. Playing on the

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nationally accredited tour will give all juniors an opportunity to gain nationwide exposure through multiple ranking systems including the National Junior Golf Scoreboard (NJGS), the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA), and the Golfweek/Titleist Performance Index, among others.

The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour (HJGT), through the hard work of Executive Director Mario Conte, has developed into a national-elite opportunity for junior golfers at a competitive level at only the top venues in the United States. The HJGT has a golden reputation as one of the most prestigious golf tours in the country because of its superior competition, high quality venues, state of the art technology, highly-trained staff, exclusive social media & public relations, developed pace-of-play policy, attentive customer service, and quality course set up and course markings.

The First Citizens Junior Golf Tour provides a well run, fun and competitive golf tournament for junior golfers ages 6-18 in Central Virginia. They foster and encourage positive friendships and community camaraderie while developing character, respect and sportsmanship. For more information on the First Citizens Junior Golf Tour visit their website at www.fcjgt.net.

http://www.vagazette.com/sports/va-vg-golden-horseshoe-to-host-finals-of-hurricane-junior-golf-tour-20131118,0,2860840.story

“Celebrate the Wine Region of Rioja with Colonial Williamsburg”

By: Emily Ridjaneck

11/13/2013

Join Ana Fabiano, celebrated wine expert and author of The Wine Region of Rioja, as she shares her passion for one of the most celebrated wine regions of the world. You’ll taste the depth, terroir, and history of Spain in the food-friendly wines of Rioja. Enjoy one, two or all three of these unique and tasteful wine-and-dine events, culminating in a traditional Riojan holiday dinner hosted by Ana and Chef Anthony Frank. And don’t miss the Warehouse Wine Sale starting at 10 a.m. on November 30, where you can stock up for your upcoming holiday events. Salud!

Wine, Wit & Wisdom - Tapas and Rioja

Friday, November 29 – 6:30 pm – Williamsburg Lodge

Wine, Wit and Wisdom presents Riojas Spanish style! Enjoy an interactive tasting of the Temperanillo grape while sampling small plates and delicious bites. $55.50 per person including tax and gratuity. For reservations call 757-229-1000 and ask for Dining Reservations.

Wine, Wit & Wisdom – Holiday Treats & Traditions from Rioja

Saturday, November 30 – 2:00 pm – Williamsburg Lodge

Taste the depth, terroir, and history of Spain as it is expressed in these incredibly food-friendly wines. $45.50 per person including tax and gratuity. For reservations call 757-229-1000 and ask for Dining Reservations.

http://wydaily.com/2013/11/13/celebrate-the-wine-region-of-rioja/

Rioja Holiday Traditions Dinner

Saturday, November 30 – 6:35 pm – Traditions at the Williamsburg Lodge

Experience the modern Colonial Williamsburg culinary revolution and the ongoing search for unknown or unusual wines and traditions. Discover the unique spirit and timeless wines of the Rioja region of Spain as Chef Anthony Frank and Ana Fabiano host a traditional Riojan dinner. Reservations required. $80 per person including tax and gratuity. For reservations call 757-229-1000 and ask for Dining Reservations.

Holiday Warehouse Sale

Saturday, November 30 – 10 am to 1 pm – Williamsburg Lodge

Stock up for the holidays with wines from the Wine, Wit & Wisdom cellars. Choose from a selection of wines from around the world. More than 60 labels are available, but this sale is limited to the stock on hand. Come early for the best selection! Limited to in-stock merchandise only. You must be 21 or older to purchase wine.

http://wydaily.com/2013/11/13/celebrate-the-wine-region-of-rioja/

“Colonial Williamsburg to Celebrate James Anderson Armoury Grand Opening”

By: Brittany Voll

11/15/2013

The reconstructed James Anderson Armoury site includes a blacksmith shop, tin shop and several other

buildings used for work, storage and cooking. (Photo by Brittany Voll/WYDaily)

The efforts of Colonial Williamsburg staff and donors on the James Anderson Armoury project for more than 30 years are culminating this weekend in a grand opening celebration for the armoury campus and the first new trade added to the historic area in 15 years.

Today through Sunday,Colonial Williamsburg is celebrating the grand opening of the armoury. The official opening ceremonies are scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday; Forest Mars Jr., director emeritus of Mars Inc.,will participate in the event. Mars gave $5 million for the amoury project, which brought together Colonial Williamsburg’s carpenters, joiners, brickmakers, brickmasons and blacksmiths.

Around noon today more than 150 Revolutionary War re-enactors will descend on Revolutionary City and they will remain in tents on the public green for activities through Sunday. The re-enactors will demonstrate military life’s various aspects during the American Revolution.

Colonial Williamsburg will erect the completed replica of Gen. George Washington’s marquee for the first time during the event. The first “oval office” was reconstructed for the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, planned to open in 2017.

Master Blacksmith Ken Schwarz began working for Colonial Williamsburg about 31 years ago; when he started, the a building on the armoury site was being reconstructed. Since then, the project has been somewhat fluid. Additional research Schwarz conducted with Master Carpenter Garland Wood,

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beginning about 13 years ago, painted a clearer picture of what the site looked like in the 18th century. A 1781 Frenchman’s map — likely a billeting map used to mark places where soldiers could stay — aided in developing the site, Schwarz said.

The armoury was a government-constructed operation in the 18th century, so Schwarz figured there would be a paper trail from the armoury’s projects. He found receipts and letters, allowing Schwarz and Wood to discern what the site likely looked like.

“The story that was becoming clear was the government was really putting a lot of resource into developing the arms industry,” Schwarz said.

Today, the reconstructed armoury site sits behind a home with a newly added detached kitchen building. Also, the blacksmith’s shop was rebuilt and a tin shop, workshop and two storage buildings were added to the site.

In the 18th century, the house and kitchen would have been constructed pre-war, using private funds. More money would have been put into building the armoury as a government installation than would have been spent were it a private venture.

“The idea with the government building is to project a sense of strength and permanence,” Schwarz said. The armoury at Williamsburg was the largest practicing armoury in the 18th century.

While the site bears new buildings, it is not yet complete. There are plans to construct two wagon sheds with gabled roofs to store wagons under, which Schwarz hopes to have completed by January. The reconstruction project began in 2010.

Tin Man Steve Delisle oversees his apprentice at work in the tin shop. (Photo by Brittany Voll/WYDaily)

With the newly-completed armoury came a new trade and tradesman. Steve Delisle joined Colonial Williamsburg’s staff in July as a tin man, which is an18th century term for a tinsmith. Delisle said tinsmiths are actually tin plate workers rather than forgers.

“We’re really tailors in metal,” he said, explaining working with tin is like sewing: he makes a pattern, cuts it out and seams it.

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Delisle’s trade is the first new trade added to Colonial Williamsburg in 15 years. Because he is the first tinsmith, he did not have the ability to do an apprenticeship like the other trades — instead he taught himself. Delisle said he was always interested in metal working and history; after formerly working as a tool and die maker, Delisle was able to combine his interests into his tinsmith career at Colonial Williamsburg.

Before working at Colonial Williamsburg, Delisle volunteered in the blacksmith shop for one year and then became interested in tin work.

“Nobody really speaks for tin,” Delisle said, explaining it was a common metal people threw away.

Constructing a tin shop and creating a trade from scratch was not done without help.

Aside from Mars’ donation to reconstruct the buildings, it took a donation last year of 23 antique tinsmithing tools from New York residents Judith and William McMillen to really get the tin shop up and running. Colonial Williamsburg’s blacksmiths have examined the tools and re-created them for Delisle’s modern-day use.

“When we heard that Colonial Williamsburg was going to reconstruct a Revolutionary War-era tinsmithing shop, we knew where the tools would be most appreciated,” William McMillen said in a 2012 press release.

Because the tin shop was not open until recently, Delisle spent his time since joining Colonial Williamsburg’s staff in July preparing for his work. He had tools and a small stove used for soldering made for him. He’s spent time making patterns and began making some tin objects, including tumblers, oil cans and coffee pots.

From research done about the tin shop, Schwarz and Delisle learned the shop primarily made items used for eating or preparing food, which Delisle calls the camping gear of the 18th century.

“It makes sense … in the logistics of the army, feeding the men was very important,” Delisle said.

Schwarz added, “Tin is light and strong and cheap.”

Visitors to the armoury site today can observe Delisle and his apprentice working in the tin shop, along with six workers in the blacksmith shop, two or three people in the kitchen and one armorer. Periodically, two wheelwrights and several basket weavers can be observed on the site. In the 18th century, the armoury likely had 40 workers on site.

“I think for Colonial Williamsburg one of the positive aspects of this site is you can come on the site and spend an hour here … I think we need to develop more sites like this,” Schwarz said.

http://wydaily.com/2013/11/15/colonial-williamsburg-to-celebrate-james-anderson-armoury-grand-opening/