Brome County Museum brings history alive for St-jean Baptiste Day
The Brome County Museum had some special promoters last Thursday with one British privateer and two French officers from the 1750 French and Indian War, one representing the French Marines and one representing the Bearne Regiment, dressed up in hand-stitched regimental dresses from the period, handing out two-for-one tickets to the museum, for St-jean de Baptiste.
“It was sort of a mustering of a few officers and what is was like (back then),” said Raphael Swan, who served as the British privateer and has been a professional reenactor for two decades.
Dressed in what Swan referred to as regimental dresses, he and two friends wanted to bring history to life for the community in a new way and to encourgae them to explore the region’s unique past. “You see a sign for the museum, and it doesn’t really help, but when you have people on the ground in front of you, now people are interested. It’s a tactile physical thing.”
Swan emphasized that we all need physical presence and it’s something that we are lacking. “It’s fun for everybody. We make it alive; it’s brining the spirit alive. Who walked here 300 years ago? And it’s kind of cool. The whole family loves it.”
It was a fun educational experience for those who had the chance to interact with the officers. “It’s the story of men and women, boys and girls, it’s the story of life. People are curious to know, oh is that what went on here in 1750? And people love it and it’s something that people can relate to. People want an experience; it’s everybody’s history. It’s a place to share and have fun and experience history, we bring history to life. People think they know exactly how it was, but they don’t.”
What made their presence that much more special were the regimental dresses that they were wearing. “They are hand-stitched by professionals and made the same way they looked in 1750. Reenactors spend a lot of money on these to have them handmade. It’s a dedication to be a reenactor. I’ve been doing it for 35 years, it’s a way of life. It’s not something you just do, it’s a big investment. People study how to sew and dye the wool and everything.”
Swan hopes that he can continue to collaborate with people to hopefully do something similar in the future. “We can have a presence and it’s great you know. We do this and we are known for it. People love that stuff so we are slowly getting our ducks in a row.”