LEESVILLE — Storytelling is an integral part of Native American culture, key to educating younger generations about the traditions, customs, and religion of the various tribes.
Visitors to Living History Days this weekend at Lowe-Volk Park will have the chance to hear from and interact with Native American storytellers and learn about early American history. The encampment opens at 8 p.m. Friday and will operate from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Lowe-Volk Park is located at 2401 Ohio 598.
Bucyrus resident Julie Rossington, one of the event organizers and a member of the Colonel Crawford’s Company reenactment group, said giving the public the chance to hear stories from both the Native American and early American settler points of view is invaluable to learning more about that period and understanding its significance.
“You’ve got people here who are living historians,” Rossington said. “They don’t just dress up on the weekend and play with black powder muskets. You will learn not just about the history of this area, but the history of our country in first person from people who have researched it and they know it and they live it. Things are being lost, things are not being taught, especially the Native American side of the story, it’s just totally forgotten.
“A lot of people don’t realize one of the last pitched battles between the British and the American forces was fought in Crawford County. That’s just one of those things you don’t learn in school.”
Reenactors Russell “Shequonur” Morris from southwestern Ohio and Roger Moore from Mansfield will both conduct storytelling sessions during Living History Days.
Rossington said the Lantern Tour — from 8-10 p.m. Saturday — showcases members of the Native American camp.
“What we usually do is turn that over to our Native American camp and say, ‘What stories do you want to tell during this two-hour time period?’” she said. “This was Native American land first and the European incursions into the Ohio Country really changed their lives forever. We’ll go through the woods and stop at different stations and listen to what they have to say about how their lives changed during this period of time.”
Rossington said she usually portrays a “camp follower,” a wife of a soldier or militia who basically packed up her home and family to follow her husband into battle.
“I talk about the women’s role in the Revolutionary War, which is also kind of a lost piece of history,” she said.
Living History Days event schedule
Friday, June 4
• Patriot Alliance Council, 8 p.m.
Saturday, June 5
• Opening Ceremony, 9 a.m.
• Shequonur, Native Storyteller, 10 a.m.
• Capture of Col. Crawford, 11 a.m.
• Lunch with Hannah and William Crawford, 12 p.m. (Front of the Nature Center)
• 18th Century Weapons of War, 1 p.m.
• Roger Moore, Native Storyteller, 2 p.m.
• Capture of Col. Crawford, 3 p.m.
• Event closes, 4 p.m.
• Lantern Tour (weather permitting), 8-10 p.m.
Sunday, June 6
• Event opens, 10 a.m.
• Schedule same as Saturday
• Event closes, 4 p.m.
For information about events and programming offered by the Crawford Park District, go to its website www.crawfordpd.org or call 419-683-9000. Information is also available on the Crawford Park District Facebook page.
