DEERFIELD — As 8-year-old Marissa Bucs stepped through the doors of Historic Deerfield’s Hall Tavern, it was almost as if she was transported hundreds of years back in time.
The colonial building with wavy window panes and wooden board floors was filled with members of the Society of the 17th Century, who dressed in period-appropriate garb like Pilgrim hats and bonnets. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, the men and women demonstrated what life in the 1600s would have looked like, from basket weaving and open hearth cooking, to spoon carving and lace weaving.
“I feel like I’m back then,” Marissa, of Southampton, said as she mashed parsley with her friend Lucy Thompson, 10, of Northampton. After mashing the parsley, Society of the 17th Century member Gail Usher showed the girls how the parsley could be used to make a poultice for wounds.
Members of the Society of the 17th Century return to Historic Deerfield annually, always on the Saturday following Thanksgiving, for the daylong demonstrations. The goal, the members said, was to give attendees a better appreciation for and knowledge of 17th century life, outside of the arrival of the Pilgrims.
“What we try to do is show things that were commonly done that are done nowadays as crafts, but were a necessity a long time ago,” said Lynne White, secretary of the Society of the 17th Century. “They were someone’s occupations.”
Today, White said, many people have no idea how goods like lace or baskets were produced because so many items are mass-produced in factories, only to reach the consumer in a store. Even electricity, White said, gesturing toward Mary Muckenhoupt’s 17th century lighting display, is often taken for granted.
“You don’t give it a thought that it was not so easy long ago,” she said.
Historic Deerfield’s guests enjoyed the opportunity for a fun, educational experience. Hillary Bucs, Marissa’s mother, said activities like making clay ornaments helped her to get into the holiday spirit.
“It feels like connecting to the holiday before consumerism,” she said. “It’s also an activity I can do with my child and we both have a good time.”