Beaumont Heritage Society once again hosted our annual Camp Lookinback at the John Jay French Museum! Every year, Camp Lookinback aims to educate kids about the French family through activities and practices that the French family might have used. From July 9th-12th and July 16th-19th, the kids stepped into the past one day at a time! By the end of each week, the kids were immersed into what life was like for the French family.
On the first day, Stable-Spirit taught the kids about horse care with horses on property. They were taught about horses throughout history, horse care, and also learned how to lead a horse before getting to do it themselves! This was definitely a fan favorite of the kids! They also learned about cattle branding from Deputy Don Metts with Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office along with a special roping demonstration.
Day two had the kids learning about what Christmas would have been like for the French family! They made wreaths and “buckskin” ornaments just like the French family might have made their own Christmas decorations! They also tried their hand at gift making by making yarn dolls! Kids were so excited about their yarn dolls that they all asked to bring them home early!
Day three was made possible by the Big Thicket Park Rangers. They captured the kids’ attention with their Skins and Skulls program, and also taught them all about the Food Web and how it would have been important to the French family! Cooking on an open flame with Elizabeth Schreck had the attendees enjoying pancakes cooked outside on a cast iron skillet!
The last day culminated with a tour the oldest fully restored home in Beaumont, the John Jay French Museum. Mary Nash and Becky Tabor with The Golden Triangle Quilt Guild taught the kids about how quilting was done, which turned out harder than they expected. Carol Weishampel was on hand to talk about leather! The kids practiced stamping leather and learned more about John Jay French’s leather practices.
Camp was chock full of fun, games, AND history. We had the best two weeks with our Camp Lookinback kiddos, and we can’t wait to do it again next year!
Eagle Scout candidate and Boy Scout Troop 65 member, Victor Thornton, went to work with his crew to build new wooden benches for use on the John Jay French Museum grounds. They will be put to good use during our events, tours, and demonstrations of 1800s related activities. Victor is a high-honors student at Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School where he serves as the Junior Class President. He is a member of the Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society and the Kelly track and soccer teams. We appreciate this impressive young man choosing the Beaumont Heritage Society’s historic John Jay French Museum as the beneficiary of his Eagle Scout project. Great job, Victor! 
