All Day, Both Days

M. LeFarceur de Villeverte, Marchand de Dentelle
Windsor Chair making by J.L. Treharn and Company
8th Pennsylvania Regiment Re-enactors
Live Music from Denniss Kempthorne & John Whitacre
18th Century Food and Entertainment
The Best of Ohio Craftsmen

The Professor Thompson S. Gunn

     The Professor Thompson S. Gunn, recently returned from his travels through the middle and far east having previously spent time among the savage natives of the new lands being explored in the Americas, is bringing the amazing sights and skills he has learned among these foreign peoples to YOU so that you might better understand the world around you and the amazing abilities of the human body and that, in turn, put that knowledge forthwith into pushing exploration and settling of the new territories in the West.
     Professor Gunn, who readily admits that he is NOT a real professor, but claims that it is an honorary title bestowed upon him by people he has helped over the years, will show you how to properly handle a bullwhip, which he himself spent years learning while serving in the British Navy.  He’ll astound you with his ability to resist injury while lying on the bed of nails or consuming fire, skills he learned studying with Sadhus and Dervishes while on the Indian Subcontinent.  He will share the divine knowledge of the Fakirs with you, evoking the feeling of the mysterious East and the Savage Wilderness, while keeping you safe and secure in his good company.

     Thomas Nealeigh has been performing since the age of 5, with his parents' theatrical show. He has lived all over the country, including Hollywood, CA, working as an actor in  film, television and commercial work and, always, theater. He holds an undergraduate in English, and before finishing his graduate degree in Theater, he was hired by the Ohio Historical Society to help create a Museum Theater. Thomas also worked at the outdoor drama Blue Jacket in Xenia, OH, first as an actor, then later as administrator, encouraging the show to provide accurate portrayals of the lives of the Shawnee, settlers and soldiers involved in the show through the costumes, props and set.  Currently, Thomas is performing at historical fairs & festivals, including the Hartford City Civil War Reenactment in Hartford City, IN, and a theatrical presentation at the Fair at New Boston in Springfield, OH.

The 8th Pennsylvania Regiment

     The 8th Pennsylvania Regiment, which encamps at Pine Tree for the weekend, offers historical and educational living history presentations.  They set up their tents on Pine Tree "common" and cook, sleep and work as the orginal unit would have over 200 years ago.  The recreated 8th Pennsylvania was formed in 1974 and is a member unit of The Brigade of the American Revolution. The unit has performed throughout the Midwest, Eastern and Southern United States, Canada, and England. The members portray the unit as it appeared in the Fall of 1779. Tile unit owns its own tentage and camp equipment, and supplies cartridges to its members for all unit sanctioned events. Authenticity is stressed, as is constant research. The 8th Pennsylvania welcomes new recruits that are anxious to accurately portray soldiers, musicians and distaff of the American Revolution.
      The original 8th Pennsylvania Regiment was formed in July 1776 of men from Westmoreland and Bedford counties in western Pennsylvania. They marched from Hannastown, Pa., to New Jersey in the winter of 1776-77, and the following campaign season took part in a number of battles, including Paoli, Brandywine, White Marsh, Boundbrook, and Germantown as part of Gen. Anthony Wayne's division. During this period 135 men and officers were detached to Daniel Morgan and participated in the Saratoga campaign as part of his rifle corps.
      After wintering at Valley Forge the regiment was assigned to the Western Department, headquartered at Fort Pitt. In the Western Department, the unit helped construct and garrison Fort McIntosh on the Beaver River, and Fort Laurens on the Tuscarawas. They took part in campaigns against the Indian towns in northwest Pennsylvania in concert with the Sullivan/Clinton campaign, and again against the hostile Indians in southeast Ohio. They also helped garrison Fort Pitt, Fort Henry, and a number of smaller posts.

Following the reduction of the Pennsylvania Line in the winter of 1780-81 the unit was redesignated "the detachment of the Pennsylvania Line", and consisted of two companies. It remained in the Western Department till the end of the war.
Bob Cairns, Commander

"DR. BALTHASAR'S MARVELOUS MIRACLE MEDICINE SHOW"

    "Dr. Balthasar" is a character based on research conducted on the medicine shows performed in America from the late 1700’s to the 1800’s.  The medicine show is performed by Interpretive Specialist Michael Follin, at the Ohio Village in Columbus, Ohio and throughout the United States, in order to provide education and information about the life and times of everyday citizens in the early years of our country.
   The character "Dr. Balthasar" was named after the fictitious "Dr. Balthasar Beckar," who was created by the editor of the Portsmouth Journal, in New Hampshire in the 1820's.  The article, intended to portray the absurdity of traveling medicine men appeared in the Journal in December of 1820 and found its way to the Cincinnati paper the following January.  The medicine was said to cure everything.  Unfortunately, no one questioned it and the article failed miserably.
   During Mr. Follin's 20-30 minute show, he attempts to sell a "magical miracle medicine that cures everything from a common cold to death of two weeks' standing."  Material for the improvisational script is taken from documented literature on 19th century medicine shows.  Ailments and afflictions such as consumption, baldness, the "summer complaint," dropsy, drunkenness and extreme nervousness were just a few of the maladies that magical potions would supposedly cure. The interactive performance is preceded by a short lecture and a question and answer session.  The session informs and helps the audience to put into context the time period of the show.  It also provides profile of the medicine showman, the life and times of the people, and the ailments mentioned during the performance.
   Mike has a master's degree in American history research and performance from The Ohio State University and a bachelor's degree in speech and theater from Capital University.  A native of Chesterville, Ohio, he entertains regularly at the Ohio Village and by request at various functions in and out of state.  Mike has performed the show in England, Ireland and Japan, and also performs regularly with the Ohio Village Singers.

     My name is Roger Moore. I am a person of mixed blood. My mother is white and of European decent. My father is of Native American decent. The tribe that my father's people are from were referred to as Melungeon (Mel-un-Juhn). This was part of a much larger group of Indians east of the Mississippi River called Eastern Woodland Indians. The word "Melungeon" is of French origin meaning "mixed". The Melungeon people of that time were a mixture of Native Americans, some whites, and some runaway slaves. The first reference in history about the Melungeon people came in the early 1700's when the first white land prospectors pushed west into what is now southwest Virginia. They found steep mountains and narrow winding valleys. They found Cherokee Indians and further west the Chicamauga and Chickasaw tribes. And clustered in the river valleys they found the Melungeons.
     In the mid 1700's, for reasons that are lost to history, the Melungeon people split apart. The biggest part moved into what is now Newman's Ridge, Tennessee. The other fragment of Melungeon people moved into Pennsylvania and then into the Ohio country around the time of the American Revolution. They intermarried with various tribes that lived in Ohio at the time (Miami, Shawnee, Delaware, Mingo). In 1842 the United States Government made it illegal for anyone with Indian heritage to live in the State of Ohio. The government provided land in the form of reservations for the Indians to live on in Kansas and Oklahoma. A great number of Indians remained in the state after the 1842 removal. They set up small communities on the ridges overlooking the Ohio River. One of these communities was called Carmel. Carmel was a small settlement in Meigs County. It was never plotted as a town. Here this mixture of Indians known as Melungeons stayed largely to themselves for almost 70 years. Isolated by their racial differences as well as their lack of formal education, this community of Carmel is where two generations of my father's people are from.
     When talking to the public about my heritage, I try to explain the truth about Eastern Woodland Indians...how we lived...how we dressed...and what food and crops we grew. But most of all I try to dispel some of the myths that have been created by Hollywood about American Indians.

M. LeFarceur de Villeverte, Marchand de Dentelle, is a lace merchant who has had to flee his native France with his wife and few belongings because of the Revolution. His purpose in this savage land in which he finds himself is twofold:

1. He wishes to aid the poor of the area with monetary gain to ward off hunger, or worse, if they will agree to become his laceworkers. He provides instruction in the proper means of bobbin lacemaking and willingly shows the awe-struck peasants how easy is the task. Without lacemakers he is, of course, without income from the sale of lace. He would most happily sell his lace to the elite of the area, but he has not of yet made the acquaintance of any of these gentlefolk. And prospects are not appreciably better in your environs, either.

2. He attempts to bring a bit of culture to this savage new land, but alas, he has had little success. All he is able to elicit from the unwashed multitudes that crowd about him are gaping stares at the unattainable finery which he finds basic to the lifestyle of his social position.

M. LeFarceur's presentations continue throughout the extent of his stay. When he is not in his elegant surroundings, he can be found escorting some charming lady visitor about the fairgrounds and warding off the advances of ruffians intent upon the fair lady's attention and honor. He is not easily thwarted but can, like Orpheus of Greek fame, "charm the savage breast." Learn more at http://www.arrogantfrenchman.com

*Schedule and Guests subject to change. Check back often!