Back In 1750…

Living History Awaits Matthew Curtiss House Guests

By Kendra Bobowick

Emma Hungaski bunched her skirt’s fabric in her fist. Lifting the flowing cotton layers she ran toward her friend Jenna Friedrich, who also tugged her hem out from beneath her feet.

The two played at tossing hoops wrapped in ribbon or rolling a larger hoop across the grass. Behind them the fieldstone back stoop led to a small enclosed porch. Indoors, cast iron pots crowded the floor-to-ceiling fireplace where a beehive cooking oven sat waiting in the back wall.

Matthew Curtiss House junior and senior docents led guests past the front entryway where a narrow staircase led to upper bedrooms Sunday, May 16, during the Newtown Historical Society’s open house and living history demonstration.

While Don Wolinsik whisked off his straw hat and welcomed visitors inside, through a dining room and into the kitchen, the girls took up a decades-old question: “I want a brownie,” Emma declared. Skirts in hand again, the two rushed inside. On the handmade kitchen table was a plate of fresh brownies.

Soon the two were back outside and peering at brooms assembled by Bob Aborn, who used a woodworker’s hand tools to carve strips of wood, or thread the brushy end of a broom to its handle. Learn more about the broomsquire at RobtAborn.Homestead.com.

The circa 1750 Matthew Curtiss House at 44 Main Street sits opposite the Edmond Town Hall and General Store. Visit NewtownHistory.org for more information.