If you were playing along this week, you probably noticed that I was not my typically verbose self. I was at the Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Maryland, helping to revise a public information officer class. It was important work, as the class becomes a standard which many of my colleagues must meet at their jurisdictions. So, I was one of four public information officers flown in from around the country to offer my services.

It was a real honor to be there, and it was a blast.

While I was up there, however, it didn’t stop me from paying a visit or two to some popular museums. I had to visit the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. to check out the awesome items there…

And, I had to pay my respects at the World War II Memorial. It was a sobering experience, especially this close to Veterans Day.

But, by far, one of the most impressive exhibits was at the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History. Called Within these walls, the exhibit is a  home that was relocated to the museum from Massachusetts. The building was built more than 200 years ago, and the story of the building is how the families that called it home lived there through changing periods in American history.

For a woodworker, the exhibit was just breathtaking…

 

There were tools there, such as this molding plane, and a hand’s on exhibit showing the difference between simple and more ornate moldings. Of course, they had to have period furniture that decorated the home. This table and chairs from the front parlor were beautifully crafted and showed some stunning workmanship.

 

And, the structure of the building was art in itself, giving the viewer a chance to look back in time to see how buildings were made more than two centuries ago.

If you get a chance to visit the Museum of American History, I would strongly recommend you take the opportunity. There is a lot there for a woodworker to see.