Leonard’s Mills offers history of hard work

BRADLEY – Veronika Peterson hopped up onto a crosscut section of a tree trunk. The 5-year-old stretched both arms high above her head and grasped the giant handle with both hands.

Blacksmith Paul Carlson, his large hand wrapped around the top of handle, continued to help open and close the giant bellows to pump air into his glowing fire. Suddenly, he let go.

Veronika furrowed her brow and pulled with all her might. The bellows opened about one-fifth as wide as it had with Carlson’s help.

“This is very hard to do,” she declared, just before jumping down to rejoin her parents and watch the blacksmith transform a glowing square length of iron into a round hook with a pointed end.

Hundreds of families over the weekend found out just how much hard work it took to survive 200 years ago during Living History Days at Leonard’s Mills in Bradley. Located at the Maine Forest and Logging Museum off Route 178 in Bradley, the two-day event is designed to re-create village life in the 1790s in a Maine logging community.

The museum was named after Oliver Leonard, a Massachusetts man who came to Maine in the late 1700s and built a lumber mill on the site. He also was the first lawyer to practice in Penobscot County.

Each year in July and October at Leonard’s Mills, a large group of volunteers offers visitors a chance to experience life two centuries ago. Volunteers, most of them in period dress, demonstrate survival skills such as spinning wool, weaving, cedar shake and shingle making, pottery making and candle making.

A favorite each year is the Colonial-style cooking, especially the authentically prepared bean-hole beans, according to Veronika’s mother, Kristin Sobolik, 42, of Orono.

A history buff who seeks out re-creations of bygone eras, Sobolik noted that the Living History Days program at Leonard’s Mills is one of the few opportunities in the state for people to see how Maine residents lived in the 18th century.

“We like history,” Sobolik said, as her children rushed off to visit the oxen, “but we come back for the beans.”

While Carlson began work on another tool and the education of a new crowd, a quartet of women a few yards away put the finishing touches on a midday meal for themselves and their menfolk.

Tina Davis’ pale blue eyes teared up as the wind shifted and blew smoke from the fire into her face. It wasn’t a new experience for the 18-year-old Deer Isle resident. She’s been volunteering at the event for about four years.

This year, Elise Pusey, 19, of Brooklin and Destiny Winters, 19, of Orono helped her prepare lunch – a task that took about four hours – about 20 times longer than it would have taken them at home in a kitchen equipped with modern conveniences.

“I love it,” Pusey said. “It feels more natural than everyday life in the 21st century.”

In addition to setting up the outdoor kitchen, including starting the fire, the women hauled water from the nearby stream. They also peeled and chopped about five pounds of onions for the soup, placed chickens on rotisserie spits on either side of the fire, cut up peaches for a cake and baked cheese biscuits in a reflector oven. As curious visitors wandered by, the women continued their work while explaining what they were doing and why.

“It feels so satisfying to present this past to people,” Davis said. “People today have no idea how hard we had to work for things we take for granted today.”

That is why Leonard’s Mill will hold its next Living History Days on Oct. 7 and 8.

For information, visit www.leonardsmills.com.