In October we had the opportunity to go to the largest Civil War Re-enactment west of the Mississippi, right in our home-town. We had been several times before, but this time was better for several reasons. Jordan was one of the blacksmiths, showing the visitors old-fashioned skills. While he made fire-pokers and nails, we wandered around visiting the other stations. We talked to the ladies that took care of the soldiers by doing the washing and mending, and Sarah, Erin and Audra got to wash socks with washboards and home-made soap. 
We also talked to the Navy men, and discovered that not much has changed since the days of the first iron-clad. Then the Navy had good food, no marching, and it deafened the sailors by degrees. Daddy having been in the Navy, he can attest that all that still happens.
One of the other high-lights for our musical family was a concert by the 97th Regimental String Band. The violin above is an actual, playable violin made by one of the members of the band. He told us that soldiers often took their instruments with them into the army, and since violins are fragile, it was not uncommon for them to be broken. If just the body of the violin was crushed, a cigar box made a convenient replacement.
Kendra playing the violin.
Shauna played "Twinkle, Twinkle," and one of the band members accompanied her on the mandolin.
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