This is an annual series documenting my volunteer shifts and outfits for the Salem Haunted Happenings Visitor Information Booth. Every October over 150 local volunteers, coordinated by Salem Main Streets, sign-up for 2-hour shifts on the weekends and holidays to assist visitors from all over the world by handing out guides, maps, and directions, and answering any questions the visitors may have. We had three locations fully staffed this year: the Information Booth on Washington Street (4 people at a time), a shipping container on Salem Common (2 people at a time), and 3-4 ‘floaters’ that (as the name suggests) floated around town finding the most congested areas (Old Town Hall, MBTA train station, etc.). The crowds this year were historic (1,040,600 visitors in October, an 8.6 percent increase over last October, and 87,351 people on October 31, compared to 63,856 in 2023 — a 37 percent increase), but my numbers were pretty low, comparatively. We had so many volunteers this year, that I was limited in my official sign-up shifts, but I stepped-in to cover a few shifts that were understaffed.
Date (Location) – Visitors helped per shift – outfit worn (reason why): 9/26 (Info Booth) – 248 – no costume (because it was a last-minute shift during Mayor’s Night Out* and it wasn’t October yet!) 10/4 (Floater – 2 shifts**) – 463 – Ambassador Witch (because it’s my traditional first outfit) 10/5 (Floater & Common – 2 shifts**) – 279 – Ambassador Witch on Vacation (because it was unseasonably warm out!)360 video here 10/12 (Floater) – 243 – The Gorton’s Fisherman (because we were expecting a Nor’easter and flooding) 10/18 (Floater) – 690 – Orange Ambassador Witch (cozy flannel for dropping temperatures) 10/19 (Common) – 55 – International Trader (it was an old Ren Faire costume that still fit) 10/25 (Info Booth) – 759 – Stanley Roper from Three’s Company (the Boston chapter of the International Order of Mrs. Ropers were visiting that day) 11/1 (Info Booth) – 82 – no costume (because Hallowe’en was over)
I helped 2,819 people out of the 37,432 visitors counted over the month! This doesn’t count the dozens I helped each day while walking to or from my shifts. I always made sure I had a bag full of maps and brochures, just in case. Last year I had only 1100 during my 5 shifts. You can see the variance in numbers over the weekends, especially depending on where I was standing. On the 18th and 24th, I was standing on the corner of Washington and Essex streets, at the intersection of all of the congestion. The train lets off at one end of Washington and the free parking shuttles let off at the other end. Essex street is the hub of activity for buskers and (as the only year-round pedestrian street) is always the most congested. It’s as if people arrive and then stop within those few blocks without exploring the rest of the city. They come to the booths and complain about lines or crowds, but when we show them the map and explain everything else they could be doing, they seemed genuinely surprised that it wasn’t just that one street and the Common…
In addition to the booth, I also helped-out at the Howl-o-ween Pet Parade, which had over 140 entries again this year! I registered pets and helped the announcer identify each contestant by name and number so the judges could take note. We had groups of Guinea pigs, a few cats, a chicken, and tons of dogs. Our master of ceremonies was Gigi, the newly elected Dog Mayor of Salem and her Deputy Mayor, Bruce! As usual, I wish I had had time to take pictures of all of the costumes, but I was too busy. There are some videos and photos online.
Here are some photos:
*Mayor’s Night Out was typically held on the Friday after the Haunted Happenings Parade (the first Thursday of October). This year, the Mayor wanted to return to a resident-focused event, so it was moved to the last Friday of September. It was still VERY crowded with visitors, but it was wonderful to see all the local families dressed in costume trick-or-treating downtown. I felt guilty as I stood on the street that I was not in costume. Maybe next year.
** That was a very interesting weekend! One of three people that handles volunteer shift changes and opens/closes the booths got COVID, so I had to step-in and take over those duties. I was scheduled to be a floater near the MBTA station that weekend, but because the Government shut down, the National Parks Service’s Visitor Center in the heart of town was closed. This is a go-to for so many visitors because they have the cleanest, maintained, accessible, indoor bathrooms, as well as a free movie and other information. We were stationed outside the closed center handing out maps and helping answer questions. You would not believe how many people had no idea the National Parks and their employees were part of the government. The most asked question was: “Well, when are they going to re-open?” Ma’am, if I knew that, I’d be on an island somewhere relaxing instead of standing here talking to you…
Did I help you this year?!? Let me know in the comments!
This is my 8th season volunteering at the Salem Haunted Happenings Information Booth (see past stories here). The first outfit I wore on my very first shift has evolved into my traditional, signature first outfit each year, now known as “Ambassador Witch.”
My very first shift, October 2016, and the birth of “Ambassador Witch.”
Does anyone still wear a hat?! It all started with the idea of wanting a pointed witch hat, but one that had a more stylized, ‘masculine’ feel than the commercially available ones. I definitely wanted it to be part of an “outfit” rather than a “costume,” as if it were part of an everyday uniform. I also wanted to challenge myself, as I had no pattern, and had never made a hat before. What began with just the hat expanded to a matching hatband and bowtie (plus matching pocket square on days cool enough for the corduroy sport coat), then I found striped socks and realized I could slide my pants up to my knees to look like knicker and show-off the socks. Voila! Having been worn every year for multiple shifts, the jacket and hat are starting to fade and show some sign of wear-and-tear, and none of the blacks match, but it still feels like putting on an old friend or stepping back into a service uniform after retirement.
New year, new outfit Each year, I try to add at least one new outfit to the roster, so I have options. Sometimes it is unseasonably warm, or rainy, so outfits were made out of necessity or comfort. Each time I create a new one, I try to push myself and learn a new technique or how to improve on what I have already done. I have three pointed witch hats now – the black one, a green tweed, and an orange flannel. Each one is nearly identical in shape and size, but more refined than the last. In 2021, I decided to finally make a “costume” by recreating Mickey Mouse’s Brave Little Tailor, which wound-up in the 2022 brochure!! Hundreds of thousands of people were walking around with my face in their hands. It was wild.
This year was a tough one, for many reasons you will soon hear about, and designing a new outfit was on the back burner. All of my planned sewing projects for this year were focused on the travel we had planned for the year (our first cruise, a trip to a mid-century-modern themed resort, and a Christmas cruise with my Mother-in-law). I made multiple shirt styles, fitted shorts, bathing suits, and bags for the cruise (cancelled – see below), cabana outfits and bowling shirts (that trip happened and was wonderful), and I began a tropical holiday sport coat that is now on hold, as that cruise was moved to next year. It wasn’t until I had time to breathe in late August that I realized I didn’t have anything new for the booth, and a very full schedule between then and October!
Anticipation and Loss My husband’s coping mechanism for getting through the 2022-2023 school year was to plan our first cruise for June 2023. He spent hours and hours on research: blogs, message boards, websites, travel agents, booking and rebooking for deals, buying supplies, and planning our outfits. It would be a gross understatement to say this cruise was highly anticipated. As I said, I had made us multiple shirts, shorts, bathing suits, and bags in my free time. We thought we were going until 48 hours before our flight to Texas to meet the ship. That is when my brother, who had been battling cancer, moved to hospice care. We made the decision to cancel the trip (praying our trip insurance would reimburse us some of the cost) and go to Florida to say goodbye to him. We rearranged our luggage, booked new flights, and went directly from the airport to the house to see him, then to a fundraiser for him that was being held at his local bar. We stopped in again to see him the next day where I had a chance to tell him about the wonderful community that had rallied around his family at the bar, and that they would be taken care of – he could stop suffering and let go.
Our flight home was delayed and then cancelled, which would have stranded us in the Fort Myers airport for 3 more days. We were able to find flights out of Orlando for the next day, so we rented the second car of the trip to drive 3+ hours to Orlando to stay overnight. That night, my brother passed. Some other time I can tell you more details of how our 3 day trip turned into being stuck in Florida for 18 days (4 flight cancellations, checked baggage retrieval, 5 rental cars, 6 hotels, a wake, a funeral…. it was a lot).
Losing my brother, only 4 years older than me, was (and is) extremely painful for all of us.
Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign… After my Father passed, his way of letting me know he was around was to play a song that had special meaning to us. I remember one really rough commute that made me ornery and angry. I walked into my go-to coffee spot and as I was steaming next to the bakery case trying to decide which muffin to get, Country Roads by John Denver came on. This was a popular spot with students near MIT and usually played more (shall we say) modern music. I immediately stopped fuming, took a breath and whispered “Thanks Dad.” Other out-of-place songs happen whenever I need him, and I know he’s with me.
My brother also had many songs that I immediately equate with him any time I heard them, most of them Neil Diamond classics. This became common knowledge for anyone that met him for more than 10 minutes. At the wake, there were only 3 songs played on repeat: 2 Neil Diamond songs and one that you can probably guess if you noticed the title. Cut to August: I’m frantically trying to think of something I can whip-up for the booth with no success, and out of the blue, this song starts playing in my head:
At first, I thought it was because we had been listening to it at the wake and singing it at the top of our lungs at the bar after the funeral, but it was increasingly insistent and immediately present whenever I thought about October. So thank you, Brother. I hear you loud and clear.
But First, Some History The song Rhinestone Cowboy (and the movies Rhinestone and The Electric Horseman) would not exist if not for Nudie Cohn. This Ukrainian Jewish refugee is the unlikely father of the Western suits covered in embroidery and rhinestones that are still known as “Nudie Suits.” You can see some examples of his work in the Country Music Hall of Fame, or visit Nudie’s Honky Tonk bar in Nashville, where they have many of his suits on display, along with one of his custom cars!
photo of Nudie Cohen by Raeanne Rubenstein borrowed from here.
My Dad was in a country-western band while I was growing up, and while he didn’t wear Nudie suits, he did have fancy Western shirts, ties, and white Chelsea boots that I loved (and wish I still had). We also watched Hee Haw growing up, and I was always drawn to those guest stars with the rhinestones and fringe. These days, I’m obsessed with both Dolly Parton and Brandi Carlile, two female Nudie Suit lovers. In fact, I have thought for a long time about recreating one of Dolly’s iconic outfits translated for a man… maybe next year? I am really looking forward to Dolly’s new book Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones! Anyway…now we have our inspiration.
Getting a Base Color I didn’t have enough time to construct and tailor a suit from scratch, and I wasn’t going to use one of my suits, so I went to the internet to find a (relatively) cheap suit in a deep, saturated color. While orange would have been an obvious choice for a Halloween-themed Nudie suit (again, maybe next year?), and my research had shown Nudie suits in mustard yellow, white, hot pink, gold, and black, I was drawn to a deep Royal Blue for my base suit.
King of Shreds and Patches While I have some very basic embroidery stiches on my sewing machine I’ve used to embellish some of my other booth outfits, and my good friend has a proper embroidery machine, I knew that there wasn’t enough time to make sure it was done properly, so I decided that I would use off-the-shelf iron-on embroidered patches to achieve the right look. The only problem was: what theme?!? Vintage Nudie Suites had cohesive themes – music notes, cowboys, wagons, fire, gambling, even marijuana. I scrolled for hours through hundreds of patches online looking for inspiration. When the suit arrived, I tried it on and envisioned myself covered in patches and rhinestones. I already felt like a peacock.
Aha!
I immediately narrowed my search and grabbed as many different sizes and styles of peacock and peacock feather patches. I also grabbed some elaborate phoenix embroidery pieces and patches of other colorful birds. I bought anything that was a showy, colorful flying creature. I went to Joann’s Fabrics and Crafts and scoured the shelves for more, picking-up some flowered vines and some beautiful moths and butterflies in different colors and sizes. I even picked-up some patches that would be hidden from view. There is a small patch that says “a lil’ bougie” that I put on the left butt cheek of the pants (cheeky!) and “IT IS WHAT IT IS” on the inside of the jacket. During my brother’s time in hospice, his passing, and while we were dealing with travel issues, this last phrase was my go-to response when someone asked how I was doing or how I was coping. I know it’s there against my heart and it reminds me of the inspiration for the suit when I see it.
When I felt like I had more than enough patches, I laid the suit out and started playing with the placement until I was happy with it. When I asked a few friends for advice, I was told “More is always better,” so I got to work ironing and gluing all of the patches on.
One Can Never Have Too Many Shoes or Hats While the suit was coming together, I knew there was one hurdle that still loomed ahead. Here in Massachusetts, there are not a lot of call for Western clothiers. I have a large head and pretty wide feet, so ordering a cowboy hat or boots online frightened me, especially with the limited time. I didn’t want to have multiple rounds of purchase -> ship -> try on -> return -> repeat. Thankfully, I found a Boot Barn about 75 minutes away just over the border in New Hampshire, and I had one day that I enough free time to drive up and try things on.
I bought the first pair of boots I tried on. They were the ones I was looking for, they came in wide, and they were so comfortable! The same with the hat. Both are a silvery gray color. White hats and boots aren’t truly stark white and would clash with the bright white of some of the patch edges, and I thought black was too somber or had too many bad connotations. I was done shopping in less than 15 minutes, but that 2.5 hour round trip was well worth my peace-of-mind. On the drive up, I had the thought that I should probably look for a flashy belt buckle while I was in the store, as it was something I hadn’t yet planned for. When we walked in the door, my husband turned to me and said “Why don’t you already own that?” walking over to a rack of women’s belts hanging just opposite and pointing to a belt that was ENTIRELY crusted in rhinestones. I obviously bought it and it is the perfect addition to the suit, as was the fancy white Western shirt with pearl buttons I picked-up.
It’s Hard to be a Diamond in a Rhinestone World As I mentioned before, I’m always trying to learn new techniques, so I look for those opportunities when picking a project. My foray into adding rhinestones to anything was very limited. I quickly learned how to apply hotfix rhinestones a few years ago when my friend asked me to decorate her chemo bag with a purple tiara, and I do own a Bedazzler, though I don’t think I’ve every really used it. Hotfix rhinestones come with a glue already applied to their flat side. You use a special tool, like a wood burning or soldering iron, to press and heat the stone, melting the glue into the weave of the fabric to adhere it. Real Nudie Suits had hand-sewn stones or were typically fastened onto the garment by a pronged setting from the back side of the fabric, like the Bedazzler does. Since all of my patches were affixed with an iron, and because I was putting the stones on an already-constructed garment, I went with hotfix. They may not last forever, but that is OK.
Finishing Touches Once the patches and rhinestones were set, something was missing. I went back to the source material to try to find what I had missed. In many Nudie Suits, the pockets, lapels, and cuffs are usually trimmed in a contrasting color. With such a richly colored suit, it helps to make these elements pop, rather than blend in, especially on stage, where they were meant to be seen. I found some white satin piping and edged the lapel and the two flap pockets on the jacket. With the white shirt underneath in the front and the white edging on some of the patches on the back, this really brought everything together better than I could have hoped.
I had a hard time choosing whether to have the shirt open at the neck or wear a cravat or a bolo tie. In doing my rhinestone accessory shopping, I came across this rhinestone rope meant to be a hoodie string replacement, and decided to make my own ridiculous rhinestone bolo tie. I grabbed a brooch that looked thematic, glued it to a bolo slide blank, and voila!
For the hat, I found a trim at Joann’s that I stuck on top of the existing band, and secured it with a phoenix brooch from my collection, bringing a little bit of color and theme up to the hat.
For flair (too late!), I sprayed my “Ask Me I’m a Local” button with glitter and glued some extra rhinestones around the edge and added the most important accessory: the rhinestone blue ribbon brooch in remembrance of my brother and his battle with Colon Cancer.
The Reveal Do you feel like you’re on a baking site scrolling forever through someone’s ramblings and ads when all you wanted was a recipe?!? Sorry. If you’ve made it this far (or just scrolled through pictures), here is the payoff:
I am so happy with how this turned out. I had a vague idea of what it should be, but not a clear design. This is the first time I felt like I was winging-it and designing as I was going. It was freeing, in a way, but also frightening. I second-guessed a lot of my gut reactions and that delayed the process. I was having trouble committing to designs and layouts because I was afraid of messing it up. If I had sat down and drawn-out a fully-fleshed-out design before getting started (as I usually do), it would have been less stressful, and I wouldn’t have bought so many extra patches and stones!
I now have a custom Nudie-style suit and an itch in my soul to bedazzle everything I own…
In junior high school, I had typing class. There was a special classroom fitted with desks holding electric typewriters. Not word processors (my college essays were written on), but electric typewriters, with ink, paper, and satisfyingly clunky keyboards. On holidays, we made typography ‘artwork’ by following instructions (55 “X”, Return, 30 spaces, 57 “m”, etc) that, when finished, created a picture made of letters and symbols. I ended-up Valedictorian of my graduating class (#humblebrag), but typing and gym were my worse subjects by far. The typing teacher would put a piece of paper covering my hands so I couldn’t see what I was typing. I had to rely on the hand placement around ASDF JKL: and ‘feel’ my way to the other letters without peeking. I cheated more than I should have, and regretted it later in life. Today (34 years later), I’m more proficient and can type quite quickly without looking. I wonder what my speed is (remember Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing)? Maybe I could be a stenog!
“Speed Test” from the original Broadway cast of Thoroughly Modern Millie
When we moved up to the high school, there was a “computer lab” full of Apple IIe desktops with files and files of floppy disks (the actually floppy 8 inch ones – do you know how you keep them from being written over? you cut a notch in the side of them…). These machines were relatively new, but just at the end of their lifecycle. The screens were black and green, and the MS-DOS game of Math Rabbit required several floppy disks to be inserted to play. I remember a full screen of ‘code’ just for the machine to draw a square (<run>). By the time I was a senior, I was writing essays and term papers on a Brother Word Processor that looked a lot like the electronic typewriters of years before, but I could type and edit an entire page on a one-line green and black screen before it typed on the paper. It saved on ink and white-out, but today’s kids would have had a very hard time with it.
The World Wide Web went public in 1993, while I was graduating. My small town library didn’t have internet, and neither did the school. When I went to college, there was a more sophisticated computer lab, but you had to sign-up for time to use the computers attached to the World Wide Web, and you had to pay per minute of usage. By junior year (1995-1996), we had email, and all of the machines in the lab were connected to the internet. I remember printing out (on a dot-matrix printer) email from my college boyfriend. Personal computers were extremely expensive. I didn’t have my own until the 2000s.
If you followed-along on my post about my job experiences, the internet didn’t really change my life until I worked at the touring theatre production company. Out of college, I ran a dinner theatre. We didn’t have internet, we had tap dancing! I wasn’t even able to use the internet to find the touring production job. I saw it in the newspaper (in print!) and mailed (by post!) my application for the job. Then they called me on a landline (!!!) to set-up an interview. This all seems SO CRAZY when I’m writing it, but that’s how it was. I didn’t have my first cell phone until 1998!
Anyway, the next job was for a touring theatrical production company based in downtown Boston. There was a Cellular One store two doors down (later CingularOne, then AT&T), and on a lunch break I went an purchased my first Nokia phone (indestructible!) with the number I still have 25 years later. I still didn’t have internet. The phone made and received calls, and could keep my calendar. While we had computers at our desks, they ran DOS in a closed system that tracked reservations and ticket sales. After a year of being in the office, I discovered there was one computer in the corner of the office connected to the internet (dial-up). The owner had set it up because someone told her it was important, but no one used it. One day, she asked if I knew how to use this “web” thing. I went in every chance I got to look for discounted show tickets, travel deals, and venue research for her. A year later, they gave us email and connected all of our CPUs to the internet. They gave us a day to ‘get used to’ to internet and to play around. Our office manager, a longtime user of newspaper personal ads, found the online ads and loudly proclaimed; “They have ones for you!” As a gay single man in an office of young straight females, I was suddenly the center of attention as they all crowded around my computer to see what the gay ones looked like. I don’t know if you’ve experienced Yahoo personals in 1999, but they were…specific… and graphic. After 2 or 3 “Daddy looking for a pig bottom” and “CD for a…” they all ran away. I looked at a few more and one popped-out at me:
Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death
Auntie Mame
A quote from Auntie Mame? My favorite movie of ALL TIME?! Then it went on to say that they were looking for gay friends, wanting to explore the city, etc. I was living, at the time, in South Boston with three straight single women. Every night it was Will & Grace & Grace & Grace. If we went to a club or a party, they got free drinks from sleazy guys wanting to get with them, then I was the ‘boyfriend’ at the end of the night if they didn’t want to take them home. Sometimes they would all come home with someone, but I was always alone. Though the ad said “looking for 25 and older,” and I was technically months away from 25, I wrote to him, which started a months-long correspondence.
SPOILER ALERT: That man and I are celebrating the 24th anniversary of our first date later this year, and just celebrated 9 years of marriage.
There have been dark times brought about in my life because of the internet, but since I would not have the life I have now without it, I can forgive those moments. I use it almost constantly for work and for personal use, and you are using it right now to read this story. How insane is that?
I helped 1,692 people out of the 30,619 reported in the booth. That’s 5.5%, though we had over 100 volunteers all season. Personally, I was disappointed in these totals compared to past years, but I guess it’s still a healthy amount.
One highlight of the season was that I was featured in one of the brochures! Right on the foldout map! Of COURSE I had to make sure that the Brave Little Tailor made it into rotation. Every time someone grabbed one of the small brochures, I would point out where the map was and hold the page up to the side of my face. I signed more than one autograph! Hahahaha.
This year, we were split across town. We had the Info Booth at the Salem Common with shifts of 2 inside and 2 outside, and a tent in Lappin Park (by the Bewitched Statue) with shifts of 2 people.
By the numbers – here are the visitors I helped per 2 hour shift: 10/2 – 186 10/2 – 164 10/9 – 218 10/15 – 165 10/16 – 189 10/17 – 446 10/22 – 116 10/23 – 268 10/29 – 213 10/30- 154 10/30 – 46 (Flooding rain!)
All total, I helped 2,165 people. That 446 on 10/17 was because I was alone at Lappin Park. The last shift of only 46 was due to a MONSOON of rain that flooded the common. Thankfully, I had planned ahead a few years before. In a reverse Murphy’s Law, the idea was that if I planned for a costume that could handle the rain, it would never rain! So I put together the Gorton’s Fisherman outfit in 2019 (I had a Gorton’s nametag and a fake fish finger box in my brochure bag). Finally, on the 30th, I wore it during the day shift (light rain) and then switched to the kid from the movie IT for the evening shift (flooding). I had a ton of people recognize the Gorton’s Fisherman and ask for photos, many of whom had family that worked there (they are based up in Gloucester, MA, a 20-minute drive north).
A big challenge this year was the weather. It seemed it was unseasonable warm every weekend. I pulled-out a lot of kilt-based costumes and lighter things like the Beetlejuice suit and the pirate for those shifts. And, of course, there was the issue of matching masks for each look:
The orange kilt outfit was new, based around a glow-in-the-dark Disney Halloween jacket. I found the bright orange kilt online, and added a few light-up slap bracelets (meant for nighttime runners) to add to my ankles, wrists, and bowler hat. That was a fund one for a night shift! A few of the old standbys (Herbology Professor and Salem Ambassador) made it into rotation, only because I had SO MANY shifts. Here, at the downswing in the pandemic, people were still wary of working with the public and putting themselves at risk. I was careful, and never got sick.
You will notice the COVID weight gain pushing the limits on some of these costumes… Let’s hope by the time next year comes around that that will have been fixed.
PLEASE NOTE: At this time, there is an Emergency Order in Salem where masks must be worn Downtown or in City Parks. Pioneer Village is located in Forest River Park, one of the mask required zones.
Constructed in 1930 to mark the tercentennial (300 year anniversary) of the arrival of the Winthrop Fleet in June of 1630 (Salem was founded in 1626), Pioneer Village is America’s first living history museum, predating the nearby House of the Seven Gables, and inspiring the much larger Old Sturbridge Village and Plimouth Plantation museums.
“The village sits on three acres of land and contains various examples of colonial architecture: dugouts, wigwams, thatched roof cottages, and the Governor’s Faire House. Culinary and medicinal gardens and a blacksmith shop further interpret early 17th-century colonial life. “
The construction, while not using historic tools, did rely on local materials and historic design elements. It is also not a recreation of an actual village, but an approximation of how one from that time may have been laid-out. There is definitely the feeling of a movie set about the place, and there is very good reason for that: It was built specifically for a live performance to coincide with the celebrations being held across the city for the anniversary. A man-made pond was added for verisimilitude and so the actor’s voices would carry across to the park beyond.
Speaking of movie sets – Pioneer Village has famously been featured in Hocus Pocus (1993) and Mass Hysteria (2019), as well as numerous television productions, most recently in season 2 of Hulu’s Castle Rock (2019). A full list of productions filmed in Salem (not just Pioneer Village) can be found here.
Back to the performance: Audience members sat in the park and watched the re-creation of what Salem may have looked like in June 1630 when the Winthrop Fleet arrived. A replica of the Arbella (long since disintegrated and sunk) sat nearby in the harbor (or maybe actually sailed as part of the pageant?). When the scheduled performances were finished, the public was so enamored with the village that the City of Salem decided to save the site from redevelopment and has committed to preserve it in perpetuity.
Not much else is known about the pageant content, as far as I could find. One could guess that it included Winthrop repeating passages from A Model of Christian Charity (a sermon he gave before departing England), interactions with the Naumkeag, and the daily life, professions, and struggles of the villagers. The village’s creator, historian George Francis Dow, must have written the script, having written extensively on daily life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Pioneer Village has had many iterations and stewards over the years, including historic reenactment troupes, a local college’s drama department, local Preservation Societies, and the city government. Today, it is run by The Witch House (we could spend a whole post just on that building and its name), where, in non-pandemic times, you could purchase a dual attraction ticket that includes admission and guided tours for both. While the two attractions are 1.6 miles apart from each other, they are easily accessible via the Salem Trolley.
Today, the pond is now almost entirely hidden by reeds – the quacking of ducks the only indication there is water there – and the reeds hide most of the village from view. From the parking lot (currently free of charge), there is a newly-constructed (2019) walkway and bridge brings you through the reeds up to to a gate that reads “PIONEER VILLAGE: Salem in 1630” (see top photo). During this pandemic, the attraction is open limited hours for self-guided tours only. Entrance admission is a suggested donation of $5. I was happy to see that the cauldron was full of cash.
Using the free printed Self Guided Tour (one double-sided sheet of paper), you could wander around at your leisure, but since there were other groups in the village on this day, we had to follow a specific path, so our first stop is the Gift Shop (typically the last stop on any tour):
The Gift Shop is a small one-room building with a reed-thatched roof, holding envelopes of herbs, books, calendars, guides, and other items for sale.
Heading up the small rise behind the gift shop, we come to The Wigwam:
English additions to the Naumkeag wetus include wooden doors, English-style furniture and stone hearths. The wetus would have had the fire in the center. This example is “incomplete” so you can see the inside by looking through the walls.
The early English settlers certainly interacted with, and learned a lot from, the Naumkeag, the indigenous people of the area associated with the Pawtucket, Wompanoag, and Massachusett. This is evidenced by their survival in the harsh wilderness and their use of native plants and crops that were unfamiliar to them. The Naumkeag were a semi-nomadic tribe, creating seasonal structures called wetus (wigwam is the word for “house” in the Abenaki tribe, another Algonquin-speaking tribe from northern New England/Canada) that could easily be built in new locations with the abundant materials at hand. The English settlers took these seemingly “abandoned” structures and added doors, wooden furniture, and stone hearths. These structures served as their dwellings until their wooden structures could be built.
Here, up in the woods, there are also some remnants of former dwellings. There is a fire pit just off the path, as well as a clearing that used to hold the dugout houses for the animals and some of the settlers.
As we descend the path from the wigwam back down to the main path, we next come to The Governors Faire House and Garden:
The garden represents one created for survival, containing many herbs used for medicinal and culinary purposes (this one is a parsley shy of being a Simon & Garfunkel song), as well as a few native crops (not shown). In addition to growing crops, they would have had sheep for wool, cows for milk and meat, a beast of burden for ploughing, as well as the fish of the ocean and game of the land.
The house is historically unique. It is based on the original plans of the first two-story house to be built in New England. It was originally built in what is now Gloucester, MA sometime between 1620-1625. In 1628, John Endicott (sometimes Endecott), the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ordered the house to be dismantled, moved, and rebuilt in Salem to become the Governor’s House. It was extensively remodeled and expanded over the years, but this replica was created through the research of the Pioneer Village creator George Francis Dow. Sadly, the actual Governor’s House was lost in the Great Salem Fire of 1914, but I found these photos of the interior c. late 1800s. The name “The Governors Faire House” comes from an account by Rev. Francis Higginson, who arrived in Salem with his Puritan settlers in 1629 found in the annals of Salem: “we found a faire house newly built for the Governor.” No doubt, Dow included this house in the center of the village because it was in this house that Winthrop and his party ate their first meal after arriving. They dined on venison, beer, and fresh strawberries, according to his diaries. Let’s take a look inside:
The house is divided into 2 rooms on the ground floor. In the current iteration of the museum, the second floor is used by the staff and is not accessible to visitors. On the left side room, they have highlighted the role of women in colonial America by showcasing the cooking hearth (central chimney), food stores, textiles, a Bible, the many herbs and spices used for medicines, and the bed because… well… birth, life and death all happen there.
The self-guided tour sheet, rather than explaining the items in the room, uses this opportunity to explain how very difficult life was for women at this time. Beyond their overall oppression and inability to own anything, their lives and health were constantly at risk as they were encouraged to “birth the new world.” In contrast, a native woman owned her own property, her own home, her own crops, and took part in tribal discussions (voting) – all the things denied to the colonial woman. Ironically, the colonial women still saw them as savage or living under lesser circumstances than themselves.
The right side room (also with a fireplace in the central chimney, not shown) highlights the Puritan authority and the world of men. In this room, we have classroom (every person was taught to read the Bible), some hunting spoils, and a place for prayer. Outside the house is a pillory for criminals and those who act against God.
The Puritan way was one of intolerance towards others, whether divided by gender, race, or creed. They even disapproved of other Christian sects. They thought the natives were, by default, worshiping the devil because they were not able to read or understand the Bible.
“Their intolerance and draconian punishments extended even to their own kind. Adulterers could be put to death, thieves could be branded and scolding women could be put in the stocks or pillory and publicly made a spectacle of.”
Pioneer Village Self-Guided Tour handout
Next to the garden is a fire pit, likely for creating medicines from the garden or communal cooking. With the stools and benches, and the collection of cauldrons, it looks like a communal space:
Close by is a small one-room dwelling with it’s own meager garden that is set-up with examples of daily chores and children’s things:
Here we find a butter churn, wool being carded, woodworking benches, a saw, a vice, what looks like a hat block, and various toys: dolls, paddles, beanbags, bowling, and hoops.
Across from this dwelling is the Blacksmith:
Tools were important to building a settlement: shovels, hoes, pitchforks, hammers, saws, axes, nails, hinges, cooking pots, etc. all served their purpose, and the Blacksmith could repair items that the settlers brought with them. This smithy is located with its back to where they original audience would have been, and I am not sure when it would have been added or moved. It is in a perfect spot, away from the other buildings and directly next to the pond, but it’s situation in the original tableau would block several buildings.
Next to the blacksmith is a fire pit with a cauldron hanging from a tall wooden tripod. Like the larger pit next to the garden, nothing is mentioned of this in the brief guide, though there is a line attached to a nearby tree, perhaps for drying dyed wool, or animal skins:
Similarly, there is no mention of what this small building could be:
Though this vintage postcard says it was once known as “Lady Arbella’s House.” Note the placement of the tripod fire pit. Maybe it used to be hers.
There is also no explanation for this final building:
Is this a stable? A dairy house? Grain storage? With the shingled roof, multiple windows, and hobnail door, I also thought it could be the meeting house. I do know that at one time it was used for the staff to get into costume and to eat their lunches out of sight of the guests.
Having reached the end of the “road” in the village (the fence you see in the background leads out to the harbor and a boat launch – not very period), we head back towards the entrance, passing the houses and gardens and leaving via the small bridge that once was the entrance to the village (note that the pillory and stocks have moved around a lot over the years).
As we pass the gift shop and the administration cottage, and pass under the archway out of the gate, we leave 1630 and enter back into 2020, a time of disease, gender oppression, racism, religious intolerance, and inequality. Have we learned nothing in 390 years?
I hope that you will take the time to make a day trip to Pioneer Village. It is definitely one of the best Hocus Pocus filming locations for photos in Salem (the others are exterior residences or buildings) if you are making that pilgrimage.
That’s what my button says. We volunteers wear them during our shifts at the Salem Visitor Information Booth in October during Haunted Happenings in Salem, MA. I “freelance” when not in the booth by wearing my pin all month long and helping any lost-looking tourists to find their way around town.
For 2019, we had SO MANY volunteers (a blessing, to be sure) that I was only able to book two initial shifts at the booth – and the earliest was October 13th! Once everyone had a chance to choose their initial shifts, the schedule was opened-up again and I took three additional later in the month (including Halloween!!).
If you haven’t read about 2018’s booth experiences, you can find those here, and I share some further thoughts on the booth in this post.
Sunday, October 13th: 12-2pm (actually 12-2:15pm)
I was so excited to start my first shift. Though I had been walking around town wearing my button and helping people up until this point, it’s not the same as standing at the booth and having people from around the world come to you. It seems to be tradition now that I always begin my season in the Ambassador Witch costume (above and left). I have had return visitors recognize me in that outfit, and the local vendors and street performers have been starting to recognize it as well.
During this shift, I met visitors from Canada, Washington, DC, Connecticut, New Jersey, Ireland, and Israel and helped 453individuals in my 2h 15m shift (the woman replacing me was late, so I stayed to help until she showed-up).
Sunday, October 20th: 4-6pm
My first evening shift (I prefer the 10-12 or 12-2), I only had 186people on my clicker at the end of it. I think by that time of day – especially on a Sunday – people don’t need directions or help in finding things to do. I don’t think I’ll take another late shift, unless it’s Halloween night (I am scheduled 2-4!). Today’ I was the Herbology Professor (right), which was my ‘new; costume for 2018.
In addition to the booth shift, a friend that runs Creative Collective asked me if I could help them out loading street vendors for the weekend markets on 19, 20, 26 and 27th. Of course I said I would – then he told me I had to be there at 7:15am… It was COLD and early, but all of the vendors were very sweet and happy to have a friendly face helping them load-in. It did make for long days, though. I have a feeling he’s going to ask again during the next markets.
Saturday, October 26th: 12-2pm
A wonderfully sunny and beautiful day in Salem!
I am trying, every year, to have a new costume in rotation (see above). For 2019 , I had created Mickey Mouse’s Brave Little Tailor. What do you think? It was a big hit and has to be one of the most photographed costumes I’ve worn.
There were a few people calling me Peter Pan and Robin Hood, which bummed me out, until one guy came walking across the cross walk and yelled to me “Seven in one blow!” I must have grinned from (mouse) ear to (mouse) ear!
Because it was a beautiful day, it was peak time, and it was the last Saturday before Halloween, it was CROWDED. I helped 428people during my shift.
Sunday, October 27th: 12-2pm
Sunday was a miserable as Saturday was beautiful. It was pouring rain, cold, and windy. Because of the weather, most of the street vendors had cancelled, so I didn’t have to stand in the cold rain at 7:15am, but I did keep my shift at the booth. I struggled to find an outfit that was fun, but also weatherproof. I settled on a polyester “Beetlejuice” suit I had in the closet from a Night Circus-themed masquerade ball we attended, complete with top hat and umbrella (necessary in that weather). I only clicked 138 people on my counter, and I came home chilled and soaked to the bone, with awful blisters from the tux shoes (bad idea).
Thursday, October 31st (HALLOWEEN!): 2-4pm – Cancelled
The weather was so awful, that they cancelled anyone scheduled to be outside. We decided to keep the booth open for the next weekend, so they moved my shift to:
Saturday, November 2nd: 12-2pm
While it was technically past Halloween, the crowds still came on Saturday, perhaps because of the weather that week. It was clear, but chilly. I wore the Ambassador Witch hat and socks, but with long johns and a thick wool pea coat.
The calendars and brochures that we usually give out were now out-of-date, but I pointed people to the map and descriptions, telling them what was still running and open. All-in-all, I helped 183people during this shift, plus a dozen more on my way home.
Total people helped (at the booth): 1388
That’s a far cry from the 1967 of 2018, but I blame the weather and my shift selections for that.
In 2020, Halloween will fall on a Saturday, and the Haunted Happenings kick-off parade will be on Thursday October 1st. That means we will have one full month of Haunted Happenings! And did I mention that both October 1st and 31st are full moons? Yeah. It’s going to be crazy.
Holiday displays before Thanksgiving, 4th of July Peeps, and Halloween in August?
We Americans tend to overdo anything we find special or unique, especially if it is inherently limited, or seasonal. It is in our marketing/consumer nature to push it passed the saturation point, bringing it as far away from the reason we first fell in love with it as possible, either by extending the season, or making the limited unlimited.
I mean… really? Pumpkin Spice Spam sold out in 7 hours. What have we come to? Is this irony, nostalgia, kitsch, or will certain people buy anything that remotely references something they once loved? Maybe they are doing it for the ‘gram. Starbucks released their PSL’s on August 27th this year. I don’t know what the weather was like where you live, but it was NOT a day I wanted to put on some flannel and sit by the fire sipping my latte. Even my beloved Walt Disney World decorated for Halloween and started Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Parties on August 16th. Full disclosure: we went to this party when we were there on August 27th. It was ridiculously hot and humid.
Because of this trend, I start to worry when tourists and tour buses start jamming our streets in early September, and think that maybe we are pushing the festivities too early. I understand that making the season longer helps to grab as much of that tourist revenue as possible, but thankfully we have enough going on in the summer that we don’t start October in August. We have an estimated 1 million tourists each year for maritime and literary history, museums, cultural festivals, and a bustling food and drink scene, but the word on the street is that most small businesses can make 50-80% of their annual income during the month of October alone.
What’s in a season?
We typically have 4 weekends of heavy activity each October, starting with the Haunted Happenings Parade (typically the first Thursday) to kick-off the official festivities, and ending with the fireworks on Halloween night. This year, the PEM opens it’s new wing to the public on September 28th. In celebration, they are offering free admission to all and hosting parties throughout the weekend. We also happen to have a Food Truck and Craft Beer Festival that weekend nearby on the common. For this reason, the Salem Visitor Information Booth is opening a week early to assist with the expected crowds.
The booth is delivered to its home for the next few weeks. It will be surrounded by flowers, decorations, and a rack for free maps and guides by the time you come visit. Photo Credit: Salem Main Streets
The booth is staffed by volunteers every weekend, plus some weekdays during special events (the parade, Farmers’ markets, Halloween, etc). If you look at the Haunted Happenings guide, you will see that there are special events every day in October, including new night markets on select Friday nights, and weekly specialty nights at most of the bars and restaurants, but there is a higher concentration of special things to do on the weekends, as the majority of tourists come in as day trips or overnights then.
But what are the crowds really like?
Have you ever been to a Disney Park during school vacation? Our city’s historic and cultural district spans just over 1 mile in length, and half a mile wide when looking at the map, yet, we can reach half a million people in that area just on Halloween night. On one of my Saturday shifts at the booth last year, I helped 474 people in 2 hours! I am, what I like to call, “Aggressively Helpful” when working the booth. I will walk up to people looking at GPS on their phones, or trying to read the giant map nearby (for some reason, it’s posted backwards, which isn’t obvious when you look at it). If those people wave me away and say they know where they are going, 90% of the time they come back to me saying they got lost and needed help. I will compliment costumes, give a smile and a warm “Welcome to my city!” or “Happy Halloween!” to every person walking by. If it’s cold, I will tap a time step. I have had people come back to thank me for my suggestions and ask me for more, and I’ve had people recognize me from helping them the previous year – it’s like they have a friend that lives in Salem! We only count people that we actually talk to, but can include whole groups, even if we only talk to one person from that party. That’s probably how I got 474, although a 3.5 people-per-minute average is not hard to do with families or groups, especially if they have a specific question. I also hand out maps to even more people that I don’t count. The final Saturday before Halloween last year, we had a bad nor’easter come through. There were many intrepid travelers out on the streets that day, undaunted by the weather (and they had already paid for their trip, so why not?), and I still ended up helping 108 people in my 2 hours. The very next day, the storm had passed, and I was back up to 450. All totaled, I personally helped 1967 people (officially – I don’t count the ones I help when just walking around town). The entire booth staff of 75+ volunteers helped over 22,000 tourists that season.
True story: I have yet to meet an angry or mean tourist at the booth.
People may be tired, frustrated, or hungry. They may have been sitting in traffic, or waiting in line for an hour for a haunted house that was a minute in length. They may be overwhelmed with how much is going on, but they are here to have fun, and they are choosing to chat with me, rather than relying on their smart phones. That’s not to say there aren’t tons of a-holes wandering around, getting drunk, and heckling performers. My friends in the service industry have nightmare stories about awful customers, or disrespectful tourists that treat our historic cemeteries like they were fake movie sets.
Tell me again why you love it? It sounds…awful.
I can see someone reading those numbers, or hearing complaints about waiting in line, or trying to drive through the city, could think that it’s too crowded or too frenetic, but I absolutely adore my city: its history, culture, and charm – it’s my little European Walking City right here on the North Shore of Massachusetts. When I first moved her almost 20 years ago, I griped about the traffic and ‘those tourists’ clogging my city, taking my seat in the restaurant, and crowding the sidewalks. My friends and I commiserated, and sighed heavily waiting for November to arrive, but as I got to know the city, and became friends with many of the business owners, I realized how much the city depends on the tourist industry – not only the shops and restaurants, but I’ve met many people that moved to Salem after having visited as a tourist.
What I didn’t explain above is that those 75+ volunteers are all Salem residents, like me, that volunteer our time. We do it because we love our city and we want to help other people to love it, too. We are an expanding family of dedicated, passionate, slightly kooky, people with a need to help others. This year, there are over 100 of us! This is wonderful, of course, but (selfishly) all these new people are taking my spots! I was only able to book 5 shifts this year, and the first one isn’t until October 13th. I’ll have to wait weeks! Oh well… I guess I’ll have to go rogue and walk around town with my “Ask Me, I’m a Local” button and a bag full of brochures…
I’ll create another post with this year’s booth highlights and running tally (like last year). Look out for at least one new outfit, too!
Make your plans now!
In 2020, there will be 5 weekends in October. Halloween 2020 will be on a Saturday… during a Full Moon… Book your hotels now, it’s going to be crazy!
*and kids at heart
**I know, the word “Christmases” appears in the chorus, but other than that, the song is a secular piece about the season of peace and good will to all.
Details of the 31st Salem Maritime Festival (August 3-4, 2019) can be found here. Salem Heritage Days is a multi-day day event (August 3-11, 2019) held annually, typically overlapping the Maritime Festival, and includes classes, concerts, demonstrations, the Ice Scream Bowl, a Fairy Trail, and many more activities celebrating the diversity of our city and its rich history.
Salem Willows is a 35 acre waterfront park in Salem, MA. In addition to the beautiful scenery, there are 2 arcades, mini golf, kiddie rides, and lots of places to eat (including the famous Chop Suey Sandwich and Hobbs Popcorn. The Midway and Arcade still have working 5 cent games, Zoltar, wooden ball Skee Ball, and a musical mechanical monkey show. Here are some shots of its fantastic mid-century kitschy glory:
It was pouring rain, cold, and windy. Because of the weather, most of the street vendors had cancelled, so I didn’t have to stand in the cold rain at 7:15am, but I did keep my shift at the booth. I struggled to find an outfit that was fun, but also weatherproof. I settled on a polyester “Beetlejuice” suit I had in the closet from a 
While it was technically past Halloween, the crowds still came on Saturday, perhaps because of the weather that week. It was clear, but chilly. I wore the Ambassador Witch hat and socks, but with long johns and a thick wool pea coat.
Small Stuff 
