Newspaper Article

THANKSGIVING TRIP / A Sweet Day in Historic Deerfield

Michael Schuman. Michael Schuman is a freelance writer

2001

Overview

That impromptu taste test was part of the annual \"17th Century Celebration\" held the Saturday after Thanksgiving at Historic Deerfield in western Massachusetts. The 14 museum houses which comprise the complex known as Historic Deerfield date from the early 1700s to the mid 1800s. An herbs expert, known in her day as a simpler, (\"simples\" were home remedies) passed around small glass containers of sage mixed with oil, to bring out the essence of the sage. The potent fragrance cleared out our sinuses, and we learned that was its purpose. This was no basic potpourri mixed purely for aesthetics. \"It would be rubbed on your temples to get rid of headaches,\" we were told. Cook then offered us a sample of sugar-coated ginger, explaining that even in the 17th century ginger was regarded as an antidote for uneasy stomachs. Contemporary folklore also dictated that a horse chestnut in one's hand cured arthritis and three juniper berries in one's pocket allowed \"the wind to be at your backs and you to be safe when you walked in the woods.\" There is more here than herbs. Upstairs a basket maker graciously noted, \"If I didn't have your help I'd need six hands,\" as he thanked the kids who held down strips of ash wood as he did his craft. He described his methods as those used by early New Englanders-a combined art of traditional English basket-making skills and Indian fish-basket-making techniques.

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