Project aims to bring history to life

By Rachel Beck, Lebanon Express writer

Have you ever dreamed about donning a corset and bloomers like a wealthy woman of the Victorian Era? Or driving a Roman chariot across the desert?

Carrie Franzwa has. The Lebanon artist has a passion for history that has led her to come up with a way to help people bring their fantasies of living in the past come to life.

Franzwa, 43, has founded Let's Play History (LPH), an organization that will act as a clearinghouse for all information and resources pertaining to historical reenactments. LPH currently operates online at letsplay

history.org. Franzwa wants it to be a nationally-accessible site that will include calendars of reenactments across the county, information on antique sellers and &#8220anybody who makes the reenactment possible."

&#8220I would like for this to be a centralized hub for the reenactment arts," she said.

She hasn't been able to gauge response yet because the project is so new. The website launched on June 12, and many features will not be operational until the end of July.

&#8220I'm just getting started with it," she noted. &#8220We're still in the dream and the infancy stage."

Franzwa describes LPH as &#8220a cohesive service, to all participants, to the reenactment arts." In her ideal LPH project, people from New York could look up events happening near their town - or they could plan a vacation around an event in another part of the country. They also could find local information on antique stores, museums, clubs and other related information.

&#8220It's both local and national for wherever you happen to be," Franzwa said.

Ultimately, LPH would be a one-stop service for anyone interested in historical reenactment. But first, Franzwa needs to establish it as a non-profit. That's a process that takes money. One way Franzwa is trying to raise the funds is by selling some of her artwork on eBay.

She's also working on getting the word out about LPH. Currently Franzwa and her husband, David, comprise the only &#8220staff."

Franzwa's interests span a variety of disciplines. Let's Play History encompasses all of them.

&#8220Putting my love for history, my love for horses and my love for art all together is how the birth of it all came about," she said.

Though she hasn't ever participated in a reenactment, she's diving right in by organizing a project called Horses Through History, a reenactment of the Pony Express.

&#8220I'm living what I'm preaching here," she said.

She's also created an e-book about sewing period clothing.

&#8220It allows people to authentically create costumes," she said. In addition to sewing instruction, the Sewing Greenhorn's Guide to Period Clothing and Costumes includes information on basic sewing skills and resources for finding historically accurate fabrics.

&#8220As far as I know, there isn't another book out there like that," she said.

Education is a big part of LPH. Franzwa plans to offer online classes on topics ranging from churning butter to making shoes. She is seeking contributions for the educational component of the project, and is trying to find people who could design guides on candlemaking, wool spinning, woodcarving and more.

The goal is for all parts of Let's Play History to come together to help people experience, enjoy and perhaps preserve history.

&#8220It's both for reenactors and it's for the public," Franzwa said. &#8220It's just for anyone who has an enthusiasm for history."