I was born and raised in Sturbridge, MA. My grandfather used to work in the gunshop at Old Sturbridge Village after he retired.
I used to love going to work with him on Saturday mornings in the 1950's and 1960's. In those days, the interpreters were retired local people, and they were all very dear to me. My grandfather used to let me tell people about the guns, and show them how to open the safe with the secret compartment.
In the back part of the gun shop, there used to be a pewter shop, and the man in there used to let me help him make spoons.
I also knew where the false walls were in the wrought iron display, and liked opening a wall and popping out unexpectedly when there were visitors in there!
Mrs Ball worked in the Freeman farm, and in the winter, we used to eat big pieces of gingerbread with lots of whipped cream. If a visitor came, we had to run and hide our gingerbread in the kitchen, because they only gave little tiny pieces to the visitors.
When it was time for my grandfather to have lunch, we ate in the tavern, then went over to the General Store to play a game of checkers, using a checkerboard on an old stump for a table top, with corn cobs for the checkers.
I also would go to the print shop and help set type and print pages, and visit my uncle, who worked in the bank, and sometimes the law office, as well as visit lots of other old friends there.
The village was much more relaxed and friendly then, and a lot of the older people were born before 1900, so they were closer to the period of the village. Now it's so business like and yuppyish.