Events & Messages
~Oldtown Summer Fest~
COMING EVENT!
Be sure to catch
the production of-
“Go West, Young George,”
presented by New Embassy Theatre
at the Cumberland
Maryland Town Centre
49 Baltimore Street, Cumberland, Maryland 21502
Thursday, July 7
through Saturday, July 10 2005
Thurs. through
Saturday, 7:30 PM Sunday, 2:30 PM
Follow George
Washington’s early career, including his mission to the Frontier on
behalf of Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia, his command of troops in
opening months of the French & Indian Wars, and his part in General
Braddock’s ill-fated campaign to take the forks of the Ohio River.
Reservations
suggested 301-722-4692
Tickets
$15.oo Seniors and Students $ 13.00
Press Release
SHAWNEE NATION TO JOIN
OLDTOWN FESTIVAL
June 18 & 19
Oldtown Summer Fest will welcome the return
of the The Shawnee United Remnant Band on June 18 & 19. The visiting
tribe is a division of the great Shawnee nation recognized by the Ohio
legislature and the Bureau of Indian affairs. The Shawnee were Oldtown’s first residents, and Shawnee Old Town’s chief King Opessa
was the great grandfather of Tecumseh, the brilliant chief who refused
to sign treaties with the United States. The visiting Shawnee are the
remnant tribes of Tecumseh’s people. Dark Rain Thom, the water panther
clan mother of the tribe, and her husband James Alexander Thom will
give a talk about the importance of Oldtown to their Shawnee history,
and will be signing their collaborative book, “Warrior Woman,” a
fictional account of Nonhelema (meaning “not a man”) the famous Grendier
Squaw who was born in Oldtown. James Alexander Thom is also the author
of “Follow the River,” and “Sign Talker,” and several other works of
historical fiction. Other Shawnee members joining the Thom's are Cedar
Heart, Blue Corn, Three Bears and his wife Cheikees, and Penasche who
makes wampum belts the original way for museums and ceremonial
presentations. The Shawnee will share their heritage and oral histories,
and provide demonstrations. The festival will be commemorating the
French & Indian War which started 250 years ago, and many of the events
will have an historical focus. Thomas Cresap will be portrayed by David
Kuder, and the Cresap Society who will be in town for their reunion will
present a panel on their society and their legacy. Tours of the Thomas Cresap grave site will be a schedule event this year and tours of the
Michael Cresap Museum will be scheduled as well. For current details
about the schedule and the festival go to
www.oldtownmdsummerfest.org. Crafters, artisans, living historians
and sponsors who would like to participate should call 301-777-0293
Dark Rain Thom, Jilla Smith, and
James Alexander Thom at the
Michael Cresap Museum
___________
May 28, 2005
Press Release
Cresap’s Company to Provide
Living History
at the Michael Cresap Museum
The Cresap’s Company, who interpret Indian
Traders, rangers, frontier militia and riflemen will join the Michael
Cresap Museum on June 18 and 19 for the annual Oldtown Summer Fest. Members of the company develop characters and bring to life a full range
of activities relevant to the 1750s. This is not a traditional
re-enactment group. Their interpretive core is the fur trade operation
conducted by Thomas Cresap and his sons in western Maryland. The group
engages in “first person” interpretations, becoming the people they
interpret.
Thomas Cresap was an officer of the Ohio Company, a deputy
Indian agent to Sir William Johnson, commissary to the Braddock
expedition, and served as a captain in the Frederick County militia. Teams of Thomas Cresap’s operatives conducted trading expeditions into the Indian
country and one of his sons operated a store at Ft. Frederick. Another
son, Thomas Cresap the younger, led a ranger company during Pontiac’s
rebellion and ambushed a group of Indian raiders. Michael, another son
whose house still stands as the Michael Cresap Museum, led a company of
riflemen during Dunmore’s War in Virginia (1774) and also led a rifle
company to Boston at the outset of the Revolution (1775). The
interpretations for this window of history by the Cresap’s Co includes
Indian traders, rangers, frontier militia and riflemen.
Cresap’s Co. characters also include a full
range of people in the Indian trade: camp tenders, hunters, scouts,
hostlers, clerks, interpreters and Original Americans.
“With the commemoration of the F&I War, the
portrayal of this era is an added bonus to our historical program and we
are thrilled to welcome the Cresap’s Co,” said Jilla Smith of the
Michael Cresap Museum.
Cresap’s Company, an offspring of the
Living History Foundation, will be recruiting members to interpret in our region with the Michael
Creap Museum as their central location. “Common clothes are all you
need,” said Peter Ryan, program trainer. “For men, a shirt, breeches or
a breech clout, leggings and moccasins. Women just need a shift,
petticoat, bed jacket, kerchief and cap. Weapons are not necessary.”
For parties interested in the Cresap’s Co., call 301-478-5848
Ted Borek, Living Historian of The
Cresap Company.
__________
May 28, 2005
Press Release
Columbia Gas of Maryland and Maryland Humanities
Council
Support Oldtown Summer Fest Event
For music lovers and scholars as well as historians and
sociologists. Dr. David Hildebrand will present a solo discussion and
mini-concert at the Oldtown Summer Fest on June 19 at 2:30 pm The
event will be presented by the Michael Cresap Museum made possible by
the the Maryland Humanities Council with financial support from Columbia
Gas of Maryland, a NiSource Company. “This kind of generosity from
the
MHC and from Columbia Gas of Maryland provides the kind of programs and
resources for Oldtown and western Maryland that we would not ordinarily
enjoy,” said Jilla Smith of the Michael Cresap Museum.
Dr. Hildebrand’s concert highlights 18th Century
musical life in Maryland. Various themes, including gender roles, church
history, and social class are related to music-making. David
Hildebrand’s music has been featured in several productions, such as the
PBS series “Liberty” and C-Span’s “American Presidents.” He and his
wife, Ginger, appear frequently at Colonial Williamsburg and Mt.Vernon.
Doug Smallwood,
Maryland Operations Center Manager
of Columbia Gas of Maryland, a
NiSource Company,
and Jilla Smith of
the Michael Cresap Museum.
__________
Oldtown Summer Fest
The Oldtown
Summer Fest committee is finalizing their schedule this season for June
18 and 19 which is highly focused on historical programs. This is the
commemorative year for the F&I War and many programs will be designed
around presentations of authors and living historians who portray and
interpret the 18th Century frontier. Alan Powell, author
of “Forgotten Heroes of the Maryland Frontier,” will speak and sign
books. Dark Rain Thom, author and Shawnee clan mother and her husband,
James Alexander Thom, the author of many historical fictions about the
frontier including “Follow the River,” “Red Heart” and “Long Knife” will
also be presenting a program . David Hildebrand, well known musician and
scholar will also return this summer to present a mini-concert and a
lecture on the colonial music of Maryland.
Living historians will be
portraying and interpreting Thomas Cresap, General Braddock, Indian
Traders, frontier militia, surveyors, and riflemen. Tours of the Thomas
Cresap gravesite, Lock 70, and the Michael Cresap Museum will be ongoing
both days.
In addition
to the rich program of historical presentations, the Cresap Society will
have a booth at the festival and will present a program. Thomas Cresap,
the father of the Cresaps, was the founder of Oldtown in 1741 and the
celebrated frontier agent, patriot and path finder whose own life reads
like a novel. As part of the program for their bi-annual reunion, the
Cresaps will hold a panel at the festival and talk about their
organization and the remarkably rich history of Thomas Cresap’s long
line of descendents, including Michael Cresap, revolutionary soldier,
whose house is now the Michael Cresap Museum in Oldtown.
Events will
also include a 5K run, crafters, food vendors, children’s activities,
Fireman’s parade and a classic car show. Contemporary entertainment
will include the well-known Queen City Funk & Soul, the Chinese Bandits,
Potomac Concert Band, Galla and Dan, and Tonologway Creek Bluegrass from
Hancock.
Crafters,
artisans and sutlers who are interested in participating in the festival
should contact Harriet Dixon at 301 759 4373.
For additional
information and a complete schedule, go to
www.oldtownmdsummerfest.org
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