[Josh Maxwell]

Hello all,

I'm the main educator for the Port Huron Museum, and one of the things we do here is, "Pioneer Days," where we take school groups to our 1855 cabin built by Conrad Kammer, a German immigrant, and we do various activities with them. Feather quill writing, making candles, tin punch crafts, etc.

Part of what we do with Pioneer Days is we try to dress in traditional garb, however I am the first male educator here in probably close to 20 years. While they have quite the stock of women's clothing, they have nothing for a male of the time.

So, what would a german immigrant settling in Michigan in 1855 typically wear? Our cabin represents some of the poorer side of the Port Huron population.

If this is not the place to ask, I apologize. If so, are there any sites or resources I should be looking into?

Thank you.

[Mark Griffin]

I would suggest looking at re-enactment groups who specialize in the Crimean war, their civillian arms will have the right stuff.

We have some excellent Victorian street life people over here who would also be very helpful:


http://www.sevendialsrapscallions.co.uk/

http://www.raggedvictorians.co.uk/

both do superb vignettes of the era and are very nice people.

[Ryan S.]

I think what you want to look into specifically is what farmers wore in that time period. There is an working 19th century farm in Michigan, called the Homeplace. You may wish to check it out.

[Jonathan Hopkins]

Another place to contact would be the Wisconsin Historical Society. They operate a site called Old World Wisconsin which has a number of reenactors who represent the state's diverse European settlers, including Germans. Perhaps they can point you to resources.

[Josh Maxwell]

Thank you for the suggestions gentlemen, I will be sure to look into them.