CONNER PRAIRIE INTERPRETERS PUT ASIDE MODERN DEVELOPMENTS TO ASSUME ROLES

We probably all know about it, either from visits with family or with school or Scout groups. It is a living-history museum where every day is an adventure and visitors can step back in time and immerse themselves in the lifestyle of 1836.

It is Conner Prairie, a large farm in Fishers that re-creates life in 1836.

There are three re-creations: Prairietown Village, the William Conner Estate and the Pioneer Adventure Area. Each area allows visitors to learn more about life in the 1800s. But what is the experience like for people who help bring this history to life?

Y-Press interviewed five youth interpreters about their volunteer work. Stephen Christopherson , 15, Carl Payne, 14, Bethany Nine , 16, Lauren Peterson, 11, and Lauren Esping, 14, told why they choose to work at Conner Prairie.

Bethany, whose sister also volunteers there, said she chose Conner Prairie because "my mom is a history teacher, so it seemed like a natural thing for us to be doing."

Some chose to volunteer because of newspaper articles or other sources that introduced them to the opportunity. All of them are grateful to have found out about Conner Prairie.

Carl, who became involved after his parents did, added: "I've worked here for four years, and I've learned so much."

Although these volunteers have been working for a while, they say it does not take long to understand how Conner Prairie works. Conner Prairie provides each volunteer with a pattern for the style of clothing he or she must wear, then the volunteer buys the fabric and has the outfit made. While glasses are appropriate, because many people wore glasses in the 1800s, nail polish and other signs of contemporary life are not. Also, girls must have their hair pulled back, which is not always easy.

"My hair's shorter than they would've had then. So when I pull it back, these hairs fall down, and that's not something that would've happened," said Bethany. "I need gel to get it back 'cause hairspray doesn't work."

Every day, each volunteer receives a description of the character he or she is to portray that day, and they make up lines based on the descriptions. Everyone plays a variety of characters.

"I think the best part is probably dressing up in costume and going outside in the village and playing a character, learning new characters all the time and getting to learn new things every day," said Lauren Peterson. "I think Conner Prairie is almost a play in itself. . . . It is set up almost like a play to the visitors, at least,'' said Lauren Esping.

It is not only a play to the visitors, but also to the volunteers. The program provides them with the opportunity to act out the past, but volunteers must react quickly when answering visitors' questions in order to stay true to the time period.

One thing the volunteers must watch is their language.

"You have to modify your language a little bit. You don't say 'yeah,' or you try not to put 'like' into your phrases as much as you do now," Bethany said.

Stephen demonstrated how one of his characters talks: "Usually we say, 'How do,' as hello, (as in) 'How do, I'm Abraham Andrews and I live a couple of miles out of town. I'm just in here working off a debt for my pa 'cause he got hurt and the doc came to fix him up.' "

Sometimes visitors try to make the volunteers step out of character. "They really talk a lot about TVs, microwaves and cars and buses, and they keep doing it no matter how many times you say you don't know what they're talking about," said Lauren Esping.

Some volunteers have more challenges than others do. Lauren Peterson explained what she does when someone asks her about her braces.

"You can only say, 'Boys wear braces' (meaning suspenders) or 'It's not polite to judge people by their appearances,' " she said.

Staying in character requires more than just quick thinking. It also requires the volunteers to use many long-forgotten skills in order to maintain a household.

"It's a constant battle just to keep the fire in the stove going," Bethany said. "You don't think about that kind of thing now because now we have a heater and air conditioning to control things in your house. So much is done for you that you really do take all that for granted."

Lauren Esping added, "I think (people from 1836) would be amazed by how easy life is now compared to back then. Every day was so much work, and now it's pop some food in the microwave and watch some TV and do really whatever you want."

As for how people back then would react to modern society, Bethany said, "I think they would be a little disappointed, because they took pride in all the work that they did, and it was important that they put a lot of effort into their job or whatever they were doing."

Life was harder back then. You had to raise most of your own food. People died younger, and many babies did not survive.

"I think hardships, they weren't seen as hardships, they were just seen as part of everyday life," said Bethany.

Family life was different as well. "A lot more was expected of kids back then. If a parent told a child to go churn butter, the child better go churn butter," said Lauren Esping. "I think the children really respected their parents a lot more than kids do now."

Society also had different expectations of children. "I'm very verbal, and back then I would've gotten in trouble for being so outspoken as a girl," explained Bethany. "It was just a different environment that they lived in, and so they were used to it and didn't think any differently."

Conner Prairie has allowed these volunteers to learn about history and to respect the differences between the time periods. In the process, the youths have gained a unique insight into the past.

"It's always really interesting, because when a lot of people think about history, they don't remember that there were kids there, too, and that they had jobs and responsibilities, things that they had to do on their own," said Bethany.

REPORTER: Raeann Potasnik, 12.