Chloe in her Civil War best!

Last weekend[Aug.27-29] turned out to be a great weekend at Olde Bedford Village,Bedford,PA…it all started Friday morning when I went to pick up Chloe[Sue’s granddaughter; Pap-pap’s little buddy!]…she was so excited to be going with us,as she remembered her “camping” trip with us last year…we spent

some “priceless” time together waiting for Sue to finish working…then we picked up Sue and Beth and headed for Bedford…the Lord blessed us with beautiful weather for the whole weekend, and what a blessing to be able to live in a centuries-old log cabin for a couple of days…once the 62nd tents were set up in a Company street, I returned to the cabin and got a fire going in the stone fireplace[always makes me think of my Grandpa Brumbaugh, who was a master of heating with wood]…Chloe got a little homesick around bedtime, so I read her a new story book, and she went fast asleep…Saturday morning began with Sgt. Barrett’s[Jim Butler] much anticipated breakfast over the fire, cleaned up the dishes, and a busy day of drilling, firing, guard duty and living history was underway…we were pleasantly surprised by being visited in camp by our former Corps Commander, General George G. Meade, who offered very kind words about our regiment…at 11AM we marched down to the end of the village near Headquarters and put on a loading/firing demonstration…shortly before 1PM, Sgt. Truit[Den Butler] formed up the troops to march down for guard duty for the “Meet the Generals” presentation…from what I could see and hear while being on duty, there was a good crowd, and the questions asked of the Generals’ were first-rate…Saturday concluded with our Company meal, being joined by some of the COUG officers/ladies as well…the stew was excellant, only surpassed by the biscuits & berries for dessert!…we sang “Happy Birthday” to Beth around the fire that evening, and turned in for the night…after a long day on our feet, it didn’t take long for the crackling wood fire to put us to sleep…Sunday’s schedule was similar to the previous days’,and the sun seemed a bit hotter, especially while we were “striking the tents”…just before we were finished for the event, a gentleman came into camp, not knowing what unit we represented, and told us his ancestor was was in Company I, 62nd PVI![the same as our Pvt. Absalom Stoner-Jim Johnson]…we were happy to talk to him, and look forward to possibly adding a new recruit…we were also joined by friends Ray and Linda this weekend, who had a great time and became members of the Company…as I said before, Olde Bedford Village is a “living historians dream”, and this weekend was a dream that I hated to wake up from…I know for a fact that we touched the lives of many visitors during our stay-and that’s what living history is all about…we already have the dates set for 2011, which will be August 27-28…hope to see you there!

[photo credit: Chloe photo by Pat Fairbairn,General Rufus Ingalls]