Troy museum's Pioneer Days share history through crafts, music

Corn husks became dolls and strands of fiber became rope, as demonstrators shared traditional crafts at the Pioneer Museum of Alabama during its annual Pioneer Day celebrations.

The museum closed out the month of October with activities that included candle dipping, corn husk doll making, twining, rope making, live music and military reenactments.

Inside one log building, a musician played guitar for visitors seated on wooden pews. Elsewhere on the grounds, demonstrators in period clothing worked with fibers and wooden tools.

Live music also included flute and dulcimer performances.

Pamela Leverett, a Troy resident, demonstrated how to make dolls from corn husks. She said the activity illustrated how dolls could be made before stores such as Walmart were available.

Leverett said she visited the museum each year while in school and began volunteering this year. Her gardening group maintains the museum’s flowerbeds and helps with other projects.

“I’ve learned a lot, and I have a lot more to learn about it, though,” Leverett said.

She said she enjoyed seeing participants dressed in period clothing and watching the reenactments.

Noelle Downing, a senior history major from Jacksonville, Alabama, volunteers at the museum two days a week. During Pioneer Days, she worked in the main building’s gift shop, showed visitors around and helped clean up.

“Being the only student volunteer is fun because I never knew what I was going to do,” Downing said.

Museum director Barbara Tatom said demonstrations help visitors appreciate the work involved in traditional trades.

In an interview before this year’s event, Tatom recalled watching a blacksmith at an earlier Pioneer Days and considering how many hours workers once spent standing over a fire and shaping metal.

“It puts it all in perspective and really gives you a greater appreciation,” Tatom said.

Museum assistant Jasmine Parris also spoke before the event about the knowledge and preparation involved in demonstrations. Working at the museum allowed her to get to know the demonstrators and see the effort behind their presentations.

“As a kid, you don’t realize how much knowledge and how much discipline goes into it,” Parris said.

Parris said museum events can require weeks of preparation. She described learning about work visitors might never see, including building and repairing equipment used for craft demonstrations.

She also said traditional skills can help people understand the steps behind everyday items, from turning plants into clothing to making furniture from wood.

For Parris, passing that knowledge on is part of preserving the history represented at the museum.

“These are things that are the basic foundations of what built our society,” Parris said.

Downing said the museum deserves more attention from Troy University students.

“The Pioneer Museum of Alabama is a very special place so close to the University that students are not taking full advantage of,” Downing said.

Those interested can still pay a visit to the Pioneer Museum located at 248 US-231.