Frequently Asked Questions "Is that a real fire?" or, "Are you going to eat what you are cooking?" People may ask if the fire or food is real but more likely their intent is to ask what are we doing. It's like asking if you have a watch when you really want to know the time. Ours is a working fire. Without fire the early settlers could not survive, so we also need a fire. And, we do get hungry, just like the early settlers. "Are you always in character?" Yes and no. Many times keeping strict 'first person' only confuses people and detracts from our main goal of education. Even Williamsburg & Jamestowne have discontinued pretending not to understand modern references. We prefer 'Your time, My time' -- even though we live in the 1830s, we have learned a few things about modern America, and so can talk about a recent televised history program without a fruitless bewilderment which would not further a serious discussion. Basically, even if you never visited Paris, you would still be able to talk about the Eiffel Tower. "Do you talk like they did back then?" We use our normal everyday voice and accent, only occasionally lapsing into old time speech patterns when it might be useful or enlightening. We try to avoid using arcane language or words that might be considered offensive by modern standards. No one can know how anyone's speech sounded prior to the invention of the phonograph. Some authors such as Mark Twain and James Fenimore Cooper tried in print to imitate distinctive speech sounds by using some creative spelling but those efforts are subject to a lot of interpretation. Any attempt to improvise some perceived speech pattern usually ends up sounding phony and silly, and most importantly hinders our main goal to tell a story or communicate some information. "Do you do everything authentically?" We try. Hopefully we are not arrogant enough to think that everything we do is perfect. We are amateurs in the old sense, those who devote their lives to serious study for love of the subject. We research and interpret what we learn. "How can someone join the Settlers?" If you are interested in the early pioneer history of the American Midwest, please visit us at any of our events. "Are the Settlers available for hire?" We appear at many events, schools, and museums either individually or as a group. We can offer specialty programs or general demonstrations & talks. E-mail your request to us < 2EarlySettlers@sbcglobal.net >