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COLONIAL DAY AT HEBRON by Max H. Peters
For one Saturday every September for the past six years, the headquarters of Country Carpenters in Hebron are transformed into a 1750’s village, complete with a Mohegan campsite, a blacksmith shop, an old-time schoolhouse, woodworking and chandler shop, and a Colonial textile works. Local historians, also dressed in traditional costume, preside at the schoolhouse, where they tell visitors tales of the Hebron of days long past. |
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| listened to the historians, and marveled at the men in Revolutionary era uniforms performing maneuvers and firing their muskets and longrifles. Manning the blacksmith forge was Country Carpenter Operations Manager Fred Brehant, along with his father, also Fred Brehant. The underlying emphasis of this event is presenting the Colonial heritage as a living inheritance, as opposed to a merely entertaining history. One feels the dedication of these people to making sure that not just the traditional crafts of their forefathers live on, but also the ingenious and rugged mindset behind the crafts, the old Yankee stubbornness and courage that, to this day, manages to rise to every challenge, no matter how tough. |
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 Two Fred Brehants, Junior and Senior, man the anvils. |
 David Stankoski, 12, from Salem, did a great job explaining Native American crafts to visitors. |
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Left: Senior Fred Brehant, a master blacksmith who has handed on the flame.
Below: Junior Fred Brehant shows 2 generations how it was done. |
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