Tuck Field festivities include Viking re-enactments, Goody Cole and birthday cake
By Lisa Tetrault-Zhe
Hampton Union, July 21, 2015
[The following article is courtesy of the Hampton Union and Seacoast Online.]
Betty Moore, Tuck Museum executive director, cuts the 90th anniversary cake
as the crowd watches on Saturday at the Hampton Historical Society's 90th
Birthday Party on the grounds of the Tuck Museum. [Matt Parker photo]
HAMPTON – Vikings with swords and shields, wooden ducks and an antique car were all on hand at Tuck Field on Saturday afternoon, part of the Hampton Historical Society’s 90th birthday celebration.
Nine Vikings clad in full authentic regalia put on demonstrations of battles with swords and shields, as well as traditional board games for children to try.
“I really enjoy sharing my passion for history,” said Jarl Ingvar Schildknacker, founding member of the Exeter-based Draugar-Vinlands. “It warms my heart to see children enjoying our presentation. To find people as passionate about history as we are is extremely rewarding.”
Schildknacker, whose real name is Mark Svirtunas, founded the group four years ago after spending a decade doing World War II reenactments.
“I decided I needed a hobby that was more demanding,” Schildknacker said. “When you’re sparring with real steel, you have to stay in shape. Most of us are in the gym five days a week.”
The Draugar-Vinlands were just one of several groups on hand to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Hampton Historical Society. Despite the overcast day, about 200 people stopped by to check out the festivities.
The Hampton Academy and Winnacunnet High School Alumni Association offered tours of a one-room schoolhouse set on the grounds of Tuck Field.
Hampton Teacher Lori Cotter takes her place in front of the model school room-house at the
Hampton Historical Society's 90th Birthday Party on Saturday. [Matt Parker photo]
Vice president of the association Lori Cotter, who is also a teacher at Hampton Academy, donned an outfit similar to what a teacher would have worn in 1920. Desks with names popular during the period were displayed, arranged smallest to largest. The one-room schoolhouse, circa 1855, was for students in grades one through eight.
“I really liked the schoolhouse,” said eight-year-old Annabelle Holmes of Hampton. “It’s so different from my school. I liked seeing all the individual chalkboards and the games they used to play.”
Participants could also check out the duck decoy carvings by resident Dave Weber, a fire museum, Leavitt Barn and beach cottage, as well as a table with works by the local artisans sponsored by Hampton Arts Network.
Resident Pat Triggs strolled throughout in full dress as Goody Cole. The Hampton Recreation Department and Lane Library collaborated to offer face painting. Local musician Robert McClung was on-hand selling his CD, “Telergy – the Legend of Goody Cole.” A former curator of the Tuck Museum during the 1970s, John Holman, stopped by to partake of the festivities, according to the executive director of Tuck Museum, Betty Moore.
“I love working with little kids; I think they’re cute,” said seventh-grade Hampton Academy student Danielle Tomaras, who’d signed on as a face painter. “My mom is a nanny, so I have a lot of experience with younger kids.”
“I like watching the kids grow up,” said Ashley Fratto, a camp counselor at Tuck Camp (Hampton Recreation summer camp). “I started working with these kids when they were Crickets, so I’ve known some of them for years.”
Across the street from Tuck Field is Founders Park – every family that was in Hampton between 1638 and 1700 is considered a founding family and has a stone on display. A stone was set to be added for the Nay family following nearly a decade of research.
Betty Moore, Tuck Museum executive director, and Bill Nay, relative of the original founding
fathers of the Nay family, pull the covering off the Nay Founder's Stone revealing it for the
first time in Founders Park during the Hampton Historical Society's 90th Birthday Party.
[Matt Parker photo]
“Having the stone here now shows the connectedness of the world,” said Bill Nay, a descendent of John Nay, the original Hampton Nay resident who resides in California. “It took 10 years of research to get this done. Betty (Moore) didn’t just tell me what needed to be done, she helped me to do it. This stone wouldn’t be here if not for her.”
Moore coordinated the day’s events. She said she was thrilled that the day was a success.
“With all these groups pitching in and participating, the event was so much richer than the society could have pulled off by itself,” Moore said. “That is what these community-based events are all about. As the groups packed up they said that they had a great time, too. The museum grounds are perfect for events and we are ecstatic when we can share it with others. Between all the groups there were about 50 people volunteering throughout the day.”
As the afternoon wrapped up, she and her husband, Ben Moore, were given a basket of wines as a token of thanks for their efforts.
In addition, the society was recognized by state Sen. Nancy Stiles, R-Hampton.
“Thank you for everything you do to keep the history of Hampton alive,” Stiles said. She gave Moore a plaque from the Senate with a resolution acknowledging the work of the historical society for the past 90 years. Following the proclamation, Experience Hampton served a birthday cake in honor of the 90th birthday.