Reenactments a big draw at Whiskey Rebellion Festival
Tax collector Archibald Geary Moulin, played by Jason Dille, was drenched in “tar,” which was actually chocolate syrup, and coated in feathers during Saturday's Whiskey Rebellion Festival.
Tax collector Archibald Geary Moulin, played by Jason Dille, was drenched in “tar,” which was actually chocolate syrup, and coated in feathers during Saturday’s Whiskey Rebellion Festival.
Jason Dille, playing the role of a tax collector of French descent, was chosen by the crowd at the Whiskey Rebellion Festival to be tarred and feathered for his crimes against the people of Bassettown, which was later renamed Washington.
Jason Dille, playing the role of a tax collector of French descent, was chosen by the crowd at the Whiskey Rebellion Festival to be tarred and feathered for his crimes against the people of Bassettown, which was later renamed Washington.
A second tax collector, played by Pete Fernbaugh, was also “tarred” and feathered during Saturday’s events at the Whiskey Rebellion Festival.
From left, Carol Simmons, Dale Main and Martie Main, all volunteers at the Oliver Miller Homestead in South Park, participated in the Whiskey Rebellion parade on Saturday and dressed up in homemade clothes made to resemble those worn in the late 18th century.
From left, Carol Simmons, Dale Main and Martie Main, all volunteers at the Oliver Miller Homestead in South Park, participated in the Whiskey Rebellion parade on Saturday and dressed up in homemade clothes made to resemble those worn in the late 18th century.
Bob Spisak of Ross Township juggles during the festival Saturday. Spisak performed up and down the street along with other performers like bagpipers.
Reenactors show a group of children different military commands for marching and loading their wooden weapons during the Whiskey Rebellion Festival Saturday. The festival runs through Sunday.
The Whiskey Rebellion Festival drew a large crowd on Saturday, July 11. The festival started on Thursday, July 9 and runs through Sunday.
The Mon Valley Cloggers perform during the Whiskey Rebellion Festival Saturday in Washington. The festival includes live music and performances, re-enactments, vendors, food and children activities.
Reenactors set off a canon during the Whiskey Rebellion Festival along South Main Street in Washington. The reenactors performed throughout the day Saturday and interacted with the crowd.
Reenactors perform on South Main Street in Washington on Saturday, July 11. The group acted out a scene trying to encourage the audience to join the Whiskey Rebellion.
WASHINGTON – A Bassettown rebel got the last word at the Whiskey Rebellion Festival Saturday: “There will be no tax, but there will be tar!”
As the crowd cheered, two tax collectors wiped thick, goopy “tar” and feathers from their eyes. Fortunately for the volunteers participating in the dramatic reenactment, it was only chocolate syrup.
“It’s very sticky,” said Jason Dille, who played the role of tax collector and womanizer Archibald Geary Moulin during the skits that took place throughout the day on Main Street.
Historical reenactments tend to be the biggest draw at the festival, which commemorates the 1794 revolt in which several hundred people from southwestern Pennsylvania protested the federal government’s tax on whiskey. While the rebellion was ultimately quashed, its spirit lives on during the four-day festival, which ends at 4 p.m. today.
“What we’ve been trying to do is take different aspects of the Whiskey Rebellion and just give (spectators) a quick snapshot on the street,” said Brant Garda, who wrote some of the reenactment skits along with his wife, Jessica.
Garda said last year’s reenactments focused primarily on the struggles of David Bradford, a lawyer who led the Whiskey Rebellion and built a house on Main Street, which is now a museum.
“This year, we decided to focus a little more on what was happening to the farmers at the hands of the tax collectors,” he said.
In one skit, a funeral service for a farmer who was shot dead by a tax collector was interrupted when the preacher’s daughter was whisked away by Dille’s character, tax collector Archibald Geary Moulin, whom Garda described as a “ladies’ man.” Clayton Alden, a second tax collector played by Pete Fernbaugh, pointed a gun at the preacher as the two men and the preacher’s daughter left and headed toward the battle grounds.
The tax collector characters were fictional, but they were based on historical figures. As a new twist this year, the crowd chose which tax collector would be tarred and feathered. Archibald was chosen first, but the crowd got double the fun when the rebels announced they wouldn’t let the second one get away with a clean face.
Dale and Martie Main, volunteers at the historical Oliver Miller Homestead in South Park, marched in the Whiskey Rebellion parade for the fifth year in a row.
“We like the reenactments, of course,” said Martie Main, who made most of the clothing that she and her husband wore on Saturday.
Dale donned a pair of fall front knee breeches, similar to what George Washington wore, “but nicer,” he added. The breeches were complemented by a hunting shirt, neck scarf and a silver fox tail dangling from his hip. Martie wore a linen gown and apron, which she noted was always tied in the front in the late 18th century to prevent the strings from dangling into the fire.
“The leading cause of death for women (in that era) was getting caught on fire and childbirth,” Dale said.
And for the Stefansky family, of Washington, the Whiskey Rebellion Festival is a family affair.
Pete and his wife Marion, along with their two children, Alan, 8, and Abigail, 6, got dressed up for the funeral procession skit. Pete played the role of the preacher who confronted the two tax collectors.
Pete said the reenactments allow local residents to learn about the history of the rebellion and why it was so important to farmers in Washington County. For one, whiskey was more than just a beverage – it was also used to trade and barter.
“Whiskey was being used as money, and so a couple things were happening,” he said. “One, the tax was a burden on them because they were taxing something that they were paying with. But they also taxed on production.”
He said many locals resisted changing the town’s name from Bassettown to Washington because they did not approve of the whiskey tax and President George Washington’s actions to end the uprising by deploying 13,000 troops to southwestern Pennsylvania.
The festival continues today in conjunction with the Classics on Main Street Car Show from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Other events will take place at the Washington Park Fort site from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. including a frontier church service, Native American encampment and military demonstrations, and a confrontation between farmers and the Federals.