Five Medals offers glimpse into area's past

Oct. 15—LIGONIER — Five Medals is returning to Michiana for another year of large-scale historical reenactment Oct. 22-23

Five Medals at The Trace is a living history experience, spanning the middle 1600s up through the War of 1812. It relives the lives of the pioneers entering the area and their Native counterparts following Treaty of Greenville, which was designed to end the Northwest Indian War. Among those present for the signing was a chief of the Elkhart River Band of Potawatomi named Wonongaseah, who is the namesake for the weekend-long historical reenactment,

Wonongaseah, roughly translated as "Five Coins" or "Five Medals" signed at least six treaties of either peace or land cession during his lifetime. His village was located on the Elkhart River, northwest of present-day Ligonier. In 1796, he traveled with a delegation alongside Little Turtle to Philadelphia to meet with then-President George Washington and in 1801, led a delegation with Topinabee to ask President Thomas Jefferson to arrange for help teaching the Great Lakes tribes agricultural practices of the new Americans in a landscape that continued to change as Americans took possession of more and more land, making hunting more difficult.

Throughout his life, he's known for continuing to work tirelessly to create peace among the natives and the westward expanding colonials and pioneers. The Battle of Tippecanoe would eventually drove Wonongaseah and his people to Detroit following the Siege of Fort Wayne in September 1812, when American troops led raids on area villages, destroying Wonongaseah's twice in under a year's time.

Still, founders wanted to present a way to remember the peaceful times and what daily life would have looked like for those living in the area together.

Founder and president of the nonprofit organization, Michael Judson, and the former director of the Elkhart County Historical Museum, Nick Hoffman, worked together to implement the Five Medals reenactment festival. It initially took at Cummins Park, behind the historical museum. It quickly outgrew the space and when searching for new locations for the event in 2009, the duo decided they wanted a more rustic location, more representative of the (vibe) they hoped to create.

They ended up at the River Preserve in Benton, with help from the Elkhart County Parks Department. Coincidentally in 2019 just before the pandemic, the parks department discontinued the program.

"A few folks that had been participants, all living historians, in those early days, got our heads together and said, 'Hey, let's resurrect this.' I was invited to work with the site at Stone's Trace in Ligonier."

The new leadership would go on to form a 501©3 for the Five Medals program, returning to the platform, this time held at Stone's Trace, last year.

"It's really been a good experience," Judson said. "The spirit of the event has not changed. It's the idea of preserving history through demonstration and education."

To do that, Five Medals brings in historical reenactors with a variety of skill sets including blacksmiths, tinsmiths, weavers, beekeepers, gunsmiths, and even a chocolatier.

"This may sound like minor things but it's really not, because they demonstrate life during that time during the 18th and early 19th century."

Judson said there are more demonstrators now than ever before. Particular reenactors of note are culinary demonstrators Laura Supinger of Covington, Ohio, who specializes in 18th-century historical cooking; and Elkhart native Michael Dragoo who specializes in colonial cooking.

"These folks are very well known in the reenacting circles and do a fabulous job over the open fire or brick oven or whatever period device they're using," Judson said.

Dragoo's newly published cookbook, by James Townsend & Son Inc. of Pierceton, features not only recipes from the 18th century but utensils, containers and explanations. The book will be available for purchase at the event. Through the Townsend's YouTube channel, which has more than 900 videos since 2009 and 1.96 million subscribers, Dragoo and his cooking are featured and have over 9 million hits.

"It's no small feat," Judson said.

Registration as of press time suggested 200 registered reenactors, amounting to 108 camps. Some are general campers but many will have demonstrations.

"There's camps spread out all over the place," Judson said of Stone's Trace. "You could put a thousand people on those grounds and not really feel it."

Food concessions and a coffee house will also be on site.

Admission is $8 for adults. Those 11 and younger will be admitted free.

The festival takes place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 22, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 23. School day at Five Medals is Oct. 21.

Stone's Trace is located at 5111 Lincolnway South, Ligonier. Parking will be at West Noble High School.

Dani Messick is the education and entertainment reporter for The Goshen News. She can be reached at dani.messick@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2065.