Christmas back on the farm

Residents got a taste of what Christmas was like on a Sussex County farm during four different periods of history last month.

The Chinkchewunska Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) hosted its first Christmas on the Glen Farm on Nov. 17 at the DAR Van Bunschooten Museum in Wantage.

About 70 people toured the home of the Rev. Elias Van Bunschooten where four rooms were decorated for the holiday, each in a different era.

In each room, guests watched a skit featuring members of the DAR and CAR (Children of the American Revolution) dressed in period costumes performing as if they lived in the house at that time.

The first room represented the Revolutionary War period, and Barry Young, portraying Van Bunschooten, spoke about Christmas Day in 1779. Allyn Perry portrayed Mrs. Coykendall and spoke about Van Bunschooten’s life.

In the next room, Jennifer Brylinski played Sarah Dodge Cooper, wife of Elias Cooper, on Christmas Eve 1864. She explained the process of making a dutch cookie called speculaas with butter, flour, spices, and milk or water but no eggs.

Celebrating Christmas had become more secular by the Civil War, and she mentioned some popular Christmas books and songs from that time, including “A Christmas Carol” (1843), “Twas the Night Before Christmas” (1823), “Jingle Bells” (1857) and “Deck the Halls” (1862). Brig. Gen. Kilpatrick, played by Michael Foster, stopped in for a visit during the skit.

Gail Shawger played Grandma Britta Cooper, the great-grandniece-in-law of Van Bunschooten, at Christmas in 1916. Seated in a circle around her were her five “grandchildren”: Elizabeth Brown played by Madeline Kinney, Marion Brown played by Isabel Fernandes, Bill Cooper played by Miles Swansson, Charles Eesles played by Heath Ziccardi and Thomas Borland played by Eric Fernandes. The girls were stringing popcorn to be used as garlands for the tree.

Britta Cooper lived with her daughter in Oil City, Pa., and was visiting the farm for Christmas. She asked her grandchildren about their interests and mentioned the “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” a poem that was not set to music until 1968. It was a secret code for Christians and a game.

This was the first room where there was a full-sized Christmas tree. The first room had no tree, and the second had a small tabletop tree.

In the last room, the setting was Christmas Eve 1944. Wally Fielden, played by Pastor Katherine Scott-Kirschner, was there with her two children, Ruth and Jack, played by Harmony Swansson and August Ziccardi. The children wrapped Christmas presents with newspaper to place under the tree before saying their bedtime prayers.

The Fileldens rented the house from the Coopers and moved into the home in 1930. In 1932, the Coopers sold the house to the Dumont family, but the Coopers continued to live there until 1970.

New project

In the past, the DAR held a Ghost Walk at the museum in the fall.

Kathy Cook, the Chinkchewunska Chapter Regent, said DAR and CAR members spent a lot of time putting together the Christmas on Glen Farm event. Curator Ashley Ziccardi and Brylinski wrote scripts for the skits.

“We have been working on it for many months. We started at the time of the Christmas in July event,” Cook said.

All proceeds from the tours and the craft and bake sale went toward upkeep of the museum.

The house was built in 1787 for Van Bunschooten, who served as a minister at the Dutch Reformed Church. At that time, the house was part of a 1,000-acre plantation.

The reverend, who had no children of his own, asked his nephew, Elias Cooper and his wife to come and manage the plantation and mills and to care for him. The Coopers had 10 children while living at the plantation, which was deeded to Cooper after Van Bunschooten’s death in 1815.

Almost 200 years after the old white farmhouse was built, the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Ramsey, presented the house, outbuildings and 6.5 acres of the land to the Chinkchewunska Chapter as a gift in 1968.

It was to be used as museum for historical and education purposes. In 1974, the house and outbuildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Members of the Cooper family learned about the new use for the house, and in 1977, a moving van arrived filled with furniture and treasures that were used there by the family. One of the treasures, which is in the museum today, is the Cooper family Bible.

The only changes made to the house were the addition of plumbing, electricity and heat.