History's heart and "sole" at Fort Ligonier
LIGONIER, PA (KDKA) - Matthew Schlicksup is a historical interpreter, and though his home is in upstate New York, his posting on this particular weekend is in western Pennsylvania at Fort Ligonier, one of the nation's best-recreated French and Indian War historic sites.
For Schlicksup, his days are all about time, from the time he wakes up, to the time he gets to work to the time he is portraying while he's on the clock.
The fort strives to keep its past ever-present for its visitors and one way it does this is through its History Alive program, a program that Schlicksup is a part of. Like every historical interpreter who is featured at Fort Ligonier during their outdoor educational season, he makes history come alive for guests by getting hands-on with shoes.
"I just think colonial shoes are fascinating because they are old because they aren't made the same way as modern shoes," Schlicksup said.
"The historic constructions they were doing in the 18th century can only be done by hand. They can't be done by machines. There are certain unique tools that you need. There are certain techniques you have to learn that aren't easy. You have to practice them to kind of get good. It is a real art form and I just find it fascinating."
How Matthew Schlicksup is involved at Fort Ligonier
Schlicksup practices early American cobbling for a living and on weekends like this, he teaches his trade at the fort by portraying a camp follower who specialized in fixing shoes for British soldiers and common folk alike.
He is also the archaeologist and historian of colonial footwear. It just so happens that back in the 1960s, Fort Ligonier unearthed the largest collection of colonial shoes in the world when they were laying the foundation for their museum. It's a collection Schlicksup comes here to study frequently.
One of the fascinating things he finds in the collection is just how many women's shoes there are, which is not necessarily an artifact you would associate with a British military installation.
"There were women here and children actually," said Schlicksup. "There were families along with the soldiers and it is neat to see that represented, especially in a complete shoe that has all of its little pieces, the bits of leather that go into making it and even the wooden heel. To think, that heeled shoe marched hundreds of miles and crossed the Alleghenies out here to the wilderness."
For Schlicksup, whether he is studying the patterns and designs of the past in a museum archive or fully immersed in character, demonstrating a trade of our founders' fathers, for him and for all that come to see him, history is alive, and he keeps it alive, one sole at a time.