Submitted by Fort Scott National Historic Site
President Theodore Roosevelt said “It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things.” Another author stated that the “privilege to work is a gift, the power to work is a blessing, and that the love of work is success.” While the soldiers at Fort Scott in the 1840s might not have necessarily loved their work, they did labor to build a fort that its architect considered “the Crack Post of the Frontier.”
From September 2 through 4, 2017, Fort Scott NHS will commemorate Labor Day weekend with artillery, horses, music, living history demonstrations and a variety of interpretive programs. The thunder of artillery will sound each day that weekend at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. A short program explaining how the gun is fired accompanies each artillery demonstration. Other programs offered throughout the weekend are guided tours at 1 p.m. and a flag retreat ceremony at 4 p.m. each day.
Programs offered just on Saturday include a musical program at 2 p.m. by 9 Mile March, a local group that performs folk music using instruments such as the banjo and mandolin. At noon, a park ranger examines the weapons of the soldiers at Fort Scott, which will be followed by a horseback demonstration at 12:30 p.m.
Additionally on Saturday, living history interpreters will be cooking in the mess hall and baking bread in the bakehouse. An interpretive program about the bakehouse will be offered at 10 a.m. At one living history station, a volunteer will be teaching people about women’s clothing worn during the time. Different pieces like a chemise, corset and dresses will be laid out, so that people can see them up close and can learn how they were used. You might even have the opportunity to try on a corset. This station will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day.
On Sunday, September 3, in the program “A Stain That Will Never Bleach Out in the Sun,” Park Rangers Robert Thomas and Gary Herrmann will square off against each other as they take on the roles of two protagonists involved in the Marais des Cygnes Massacre, each with an opposing viewpoint. Also on Sunday, Park Guide Roger Behrend looks at the medical practices of the 1840s in the program “To Bleed or Not to Bleed.”
On Monday, there will be a special Labor Day tour, “From the Crack Post of the Frontier.” This tour will focus on the labor force, building materials, architectural styles and construction techniques used in the building of Fort Scott. There will also be a demonstration of 1840s drumming and a program about the letters of Thomas and Charlotte Swords. Captain Swords was the architect of Fort Scott and oversaw its construction.
Fort Scott National Historic Site is one of 417 units of the National Park Service. It is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Following is the schedule of activities for the weekend.
Saturday, September 2nd
10:00 a.m. “Flour, Sweat, and Tears”: 1840s Bakehouse Program
11:00 a.m. Thunder Wagon: 1840s Artillery Demo
12:00 p.m. “Tools of War: The Weapons of the Soldiers at Fort Scott”
12:30 p.m. “Spurs and Saddles”-Mounted Demonstration
1:00 p.m. Guided Tour
2:00 p.m. “9 Mile March” Musical Performance by Don Parsons and Randy Glessner
3:00 p.m. Thunder Wagon: 1840s Artillery Demo
4:00 p.m. Flag Retreat
Sunday, September 3rd
11:00 a.m. Thunder Wagon: 1840s Artillery Demo
11:30 a.m. “Spurs and Saddles”-Mounted Demonstration
12:00 p.m. “To Bleed or Not to Bleed” – Frontier Medicine of the 1840s
1:00 p.m. Guided Tour
2:00 p.m. “A Stain That Will Never Bleach Out in the Sun” – Two Stories of the Marais des Cygnes Massacre: Hairgrove vs. Hamilton
3:00 p.m. Thunder Wagon: 1840s Artillery Demo
4:00 p.m. Flag Retreat
Monday, September 4th
11:00 a.m. Thunder Wagon: 1840s Artillery Demo
12:00 p.m. “The Tongue is More Useful than the Arrow” – Letters of Thomas and Charlotte Swords
1:00 p.m. “Crack Post of the Frontier” -Guided Tour-Construction History of Fort Scott
2:00 p.m. 1840s Drummer Boy: Military Drumming Demonstration
3:00 p.m. Thunder Wagon: 1840s Artillery Demo
4:00 p.m. Flag Retreat