Alice spends her summer vacations walking back into history. Alice is 15 and she is a guide who shows visitors around the Fort(城堡)Delaware Museum in New York. “This year, I spun wool(纺毛线)on a spinning wheel. Last year, I was a candle maker. My first year, I cared for the garden and looked after the animals. All the jobs I've had at the fort have been really fun.”
Fort Delaware is a living-history museum that shows how life was in frontier(边远地区)America in the mid-1700s. “Reading about history can't compare to experiencing it for yourself,” says Alice.
The experience begins as soon as visitors enter the fort. The smell of wood smoke fills the air. Women in petticoats (long skirts) and men in knee breeches(knee-length shorts) are busy with their chores. The guides show visitors how the settles(移民)would have carried out everyday work. “Kids are surprised when I tell them that one of their jobs would have been to make candles,” says another guide, 16-year-old Jane. “They don't realize that kids back then had to work hard.” She also shows visitors how to play with toys and games.
They are playing historical parts, so the guides can't wear shorts or T-shirts when the weather is hot. But the clothes of the past can easily change modern kids into people from 18th century. “The clothing felt strange at first, but it does make it easier to get into characters,” says Jane.
Working at the fort has helped Jane to appreciate her life even more. Alice agrees, “The fort has taught me how hard life was and how much work there was every day. We are so lucky with everything we have now. Life wasn't always this easy.”
