By Elizabeth King
This year marks my seventh year at Lang Pioneer Village
Museum, eight if you count the summer I worked here as an Interpreter when I
was in University. That’s a pretty significant
chunk of time for me, a person who has moved 13 times in my life, and lived in
11 different cities/towns. To commemorate
the beginning of another year here, I’ve decided to make my first Village
Vignettes blog of 2016 a love letter to Lang, a place that has garnered
commitment and stay-puttedness, from a tried and true commitment-a-phobe.
"Time passes swiftly, but is it not joyous to see how great and growing is the treasure we have gathered together..." ~ Winston Churchill
My dearest Lang,
“How do I love
thee? Let me count the ways.” I’ve started this letter with a quote from
another Elizabeth, one who attempted to define her feelings through the use of written
word. It’s a good way to start, as I try
to put into verse, and quantify, the feelings that I have for you, my home away
from home. I spend hours upon hours with
you, and you are always in my thoughts (Read: “Langziety!” or “how to
wake up at 4 am worried you haven’t sent Mrs. Smith a Get Well Card for Fluffy”).
As in most love affairs, we’ve had our moments. You’ve made me want to pull out my hair,
scream at the top of my lungs, throw things and walk away. You’ve caused me grief and anger and yes,
heartbreak (a story for another time- and a box of cookies). But then I realize that without ALL of the
emotions, the good AND the bad, I’m not really all in. And there have been many, many instances of
the good. You’ve taught me so much,
helped me to grow, and have offered me experiences and friendships that have
made me who I am today.
So do let me count the ways you have made me smile, and the
things that I think of fondly. The
things that get me out of bed in the morning to come to work each day.
Here they are, in no particular order, some of the things
we’ve shared that I wouldn’t trade for anything:
·
The "Thank You for Being a Friend" dance and skit at the Volunteer Appreciation event
in 2012. Even the guys were dancing – I
think, you’d call that dancing, right?
·
Learning
to drive a tractor, in a dress! And this
year, learning to drive the NEW plow/tractor in the snow (which is even
better!)
·
The
way the costume portable smells – when I started here again in 2009, I had been
gone since 2002 – the smell of the costume portable took me right back.
·
Making
pies with Ruth, to use up leftover Applefest apples. And can I say that girl does not make
slapdash pies, these were pieces of art! Ask her for a lesson – you won’t
regret it!
·
The
shopping trip to Irocrafts for the Aabnaabin camp. It was a loooooooong drive, but I spent it in
great company.
·
The
feeling of complete and utter satisfaction when all the paper files in the Museum were finally compliant with the TOMRMS system (that’s the Ontario
Municipal Records Management System). That’s a lot of files, yo!
·
Volunteering
on the County’s United Way Committee and helping to organize the County Jail
tour fundraiser. A major highlight,
hands down.
·
The
excitement leading up to event days (in the morning) and the sense of
satisfaction – and exhaustion! – following an event (in the evening).
·
The
cake obsession, while I myself don’t eat cake, and sometimes it can be
downright annoying, I DO love the joke that has become OLCD (Obsessive Lang
Cake Disorder). For those of you who
don’t know, we joke that we bring staff and volunteers in based solely on when
their birthday lies, so that we can have cake, as often as possible. This is a love hate. But isn’t most work related humour…
·
Sharpie
Problems! Again, love/hate. While the inability for us to keep Sharpies
can be extremely aggravating, it’s become something we can all laugh about. My new mantra when handing out Sharpies is
“Treat this like your babysitting my child, I want it back.”
·
Staff
Development Trips – where we talk about playing with tanks, sing Neil Diamond
songs and learn about all the things other museums might judge us on (Oatmeal
Cookie anyone?).
·
Temperature
Control Wars – a very serious matter (Jill likes it cold, I like it hot) that
makes office life at Lang, what it is.
·
Legitimately
talking about underwear at work – because its important foundation garments
like corsets and petticoats that make or break our historical look. See what I did there…lol…
·
The
seasonal staff coming and the seasonal staff going. I mean this both in terms of the number of
amazing people I have gotten to meet, and also just in terms of being lonely
all winter, and then overwhelmed all summer, and enjoying some peace of pace in
the autumn.
·
Walking
through the Village in the Fall, the colours and the crunch of the leaves on
the ground. Priceless!
·
Yoga
outside on the Village Green after work - a staff Health and Wellness
initiative – was bliss! Period.
·
Everything
coming to life in the Spring.
·
Hearing
Volunteer stories. This is definitely a
perk. Might be the BEST perk. I collect these stories like buttons and I cherish them all.
·
Audrey's
lost keys – terrifying sometimes, but funny all the same.
·
Laughing
until my guts (heehee) hurt.
·
Crying
because someone from here is sad or hurt, and I can’t help but feel it too.
And this list wouldn’t
be complete without…
·
The
stray dogs (and cats), like Grace and Binx, who come right into the kitchen and
love us, unconditionally. And who come
back…even though we kick them out. All.
Of. The. Time.
With Love,
Elizabeth
xoxox
Elizabeth King is currently filling the role of Interim Assistant Manager at Lang Pioneer Village Museum. She has been working at the Village since May of 2009. Elizabeth is passionate about history, costuming, reading, vegan culinary crusades and environmental pursuits. When she isn’t in the middle of a project at Lang, she is often found with her head in the clouds.