Realistic

Yesterday I served again as a tour guide in the little museum at the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society. Things are marked so people can take a self-guided tour of the museum but we do provide guided tours upon request. Guided tours are divided into three sections with one man portraying the farmer, another man as schoolmaster, and I show the domestic section. The tour group is broken down into small groups of no more than ten so that we usually repeat our presentations four times. A bell is rung at a set time to tell the little groups when to move on to the next section.

To do my little show, I wear a black dress and apron with a shawl and an old fashioned head covering with black strings that tie under the chin. I always begin at a spot in front of the log cabin and end across the room at an old quilt. Yesterday when the bell rang I went back to my spot in front of the log cabin and waited for the next group to assemble. As one of the ladies in the group walked up she looked at me and said, "She looks very realistic." Then I moved and she threw up her hands and said, "She IS real!"

That was the first time I was taken for a wax figure! I guess I never stood still long enough before for that to happen.