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The Other Half
Visitors to George Washington Birthplace get look at how 18th-century slaves made plantation work
By PAMELA GOULD
Date published: 9/7/2004
Roberta Samuel spent Labor Day in period dress, toiling before an open fire to re-create the life of an 18th-century slave at George Washington's birthplace.
It was an experience not lost on visitors to the historic site in Westmoreland County.
They immediately noticed the intense heat and the risk of burning Samuel and LaToya Lyburn faced as they cooked over the wood-stoked fire in their long loose skirts and as they placed piles of embers on the hearth to fix several dishes simultaneously.
"It's certainly a lot of hard work," said Mary Sawers, who was visiting the area from Northfield, Ill., with her husband, Peter. "We just don't appreciate what we have have now."
Yesterday was the first time local volunteers and employees at George Washington Birthplace National Monument handled the living-history demonstrations that are part of each summer's African-American heritage day.
This year, budget constraints prevented hiring the Colonial Williamsburg interpreters used in the past. But employees were eager for the task.
"It's something we've gotten pretty excited about," said Samuel, who is a park ranger.
Workers at the national monument plan to use the information offered yesterday for a program that will travel to schools or be provided to visiting school groups. They will share details on slave cooking, music and storytelling, and how slaves and their masters interacted.
When George Washington lived at or visited Popes Creek Plantation--between 1730 and 1750--18 slaves and four indentured servants worked there, Samuel said.
"They were a little community of themselves--the slaves and the family," she said. "Everybody had to work together to get things done."
But that didn't mean it was a communal environment.
Slaves ate whatever their masters didn't want--such as the liver, kidneys, intestines and feet of the animals they consumed, and the bonier fish caught off the plantation's shores.
House slaves found sleeping space wherever they could--in an attic, a storage space or under a stairwell, Supervisory Park Ranger John Frye said. And field slaves slept in log quarters built around the plantation as different acreage was worked for tobacco.
Re-creating an accurate slave quarters is another project Frye said is under way.
Hague residents William and Vernice Gilkey provided yesterday's visitors a chance to experience the spiritual songs slaves sang in worship. Samuel spoke of other songs used to inspire slaves as they worked.
Lyburn let children try out two musical instruments Africans introduced to Colonial America--the Djembe and the Shekere.
The Djembe is a drum that Lyburn said dates to A.D. 500 and originated in Mali or Guinea. It was used both for entertainment and communication.
Its sound carried not only across the plantation, but could reach neighboring properties. The drum was eventually banned by overseers, who feared it could be used to signal a revolt.
The Shekere is a hollowed gourd to which slaves attached small shells or wood chips to create a percussion sound.
The crowd yesterday was a lot smaller than usual on a Labor Day, Samuel said. Rainy weather likely contributed to the low turnout.
After listening to the presentations yesterday, Ann Dutton was struck by the gratitude white Americans owe to the men and women brought here as slaves.
"We were asking ourselves, 'Could this country have gotten off the ground without slaves?'" said Dutton who visited from Richmond with her husband, Bob.
"I think there should really be a great thanksgiving for them."
To reach PAMELA GOULD: 540/657-9101 pgould@freelancestar.com
Date published: 9/7/2004
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