We have visited several historic villages on this trip. The Northeast is rich in history and enjoys sharing it. The village at the fairgrounds in Old Bethpage, Long Island, is one of our now favorites. The buildings were moved to the fairgrounds from various towns on the island. The homes included the hatter’s (not mad due to bad ventilation), the minister (he had lots of closets, pantries and storage space), and the bayman (a catcher of clams, lobster, and crabs). There was also the hatter’s store, which will still custom-make a hat, a schoolhouse, a country store, and an inn/tavern, with great sarsparilla, and a sustainable farm selling produce. Most of the buildings had a very knowledgeable docent who did an excellent job of telling about the building and what was known of the original owners. The docent ranged in age from teens to our age and were age appropriate to their roles.
The Long Island Fair was also going on and we saw some excellent produce as well as outstanding handwork, crewel, counted crossstitch, quilting, etc. In honor of the fair, re-enactors from the War of 1812, the Civil War and the Spanish American War were encamped and living on the grounds. We had an opportunity to listen to Theodore Roosevelt give a bully speech on living hard and playing hard.
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