The Acadian Village - 1700

A dusty road covered by overgrown trees forests the sunshine walking into the 1700 century. Shingled homes reveal the customs of the time. An elderly women large in stature becomes part of the tale of the house that she resides in. I follow her out to the barn where were are accosted by a 700 lbs. pig. This beast had more teats that women had children, even back then, I stop counting at 18. Unable to truly focus on her dialogue, I leave. Not without noticing the sheep, geese, hens, and goats all penned in tiny plots with tall thin wooden poles as barriers.

Next the general store with two elderly men posing in period white shirts and blue pants held by suspenders, vests as there was a chill in the air, and woolen caps. Actually all the men are dressed pretty similarly. I think Mao should have visited here to attain a more stylish outfit for his country. They are disappointed I didn’t want to buy their horse, as it was for sale, but their humor is appreciated.

Interlocking log fences leads me to another home. The flies have taken over the kitchen and I thank God for the women who invented screens. This large elderly women, getting the theme, has just baked bread and it is covered in tea towels. As it is noon, each home has prepared a lunch as they would have done from vegetables and meat grown and harvested on their land. I find this rather iniquitous, as I did pay to enter the park and I thought it included lunch. I digress. Each home has been redone to keep the authenticity of the family that owned it, including China from England, and the linen and wool made on site.

At the covered bridge I am overtaken by a large group of students from Guinea, Africa. They couldn’t believe this park, they were intrigued, listened attentively at each site, and especially the boys when we were at the lumber and garage that were fully functioning. Chatting amongst themselves about how happy they were living in the present, I did hear one girl say, “Incredible how small the homes were for so many kids, 16 – 17, why didn’t the women want larger homes.” I almost laughed out loud, and said, because the more ‘STUFF’ you kids have the more we have to clean, including our homes. That was for every parent that has had to ask our kids to clean up….

What caught my eye and ear were two men up on a stage in front of a crowd of 500 strong. Laurel and Hardy had taken on the village. They were selling off the animals that they keep in this village for the season. A large man…..waved a hen around in the air, caged of course, and began the bidding. If you even flinched you were part of the bid, he had the swarms in stiches. He held a turkey up. “You know you need this turkey, Thanksgiving is coming up. You haven’t got any friends, so this is a sure way to get some, feed people.”

A sheep in a plastic bag is hung for all to swoon over, I think I am going to spew, but you carnivores might have been salivating. It was huge, everything in this imaginary village is huge, the humans, the food, and animals. People start jumping to be seen and the number rises rapidly far above the market price, I guess they love this place….it was magical and you did feel blessed to be living now and thank them for ploughing the fields to our ease.