Co-founder of the Lincoln Hearth Cooks, based at the Reinhardt Cabin at the site of the Battle of Ramsour’s Mill in Lincolnton, NC. Like most 18th Century Re-enactors, Docents, and Hearth Cooks we portray our ancestor’s life experiences when preparing meals through period appropriate re-enactment, using early receipts (recipes), cooking equipment, and techniques. Taking classes in Scottish Hearth Cooking, Open Hearth Cooking, and Historic Foodways at John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC, my love of the craft has continued to be fueled. In 2016, along with the Lincoln County Historical Association, we formed the Lincoln Hearth Cooks and began teaching Open Hearth Cooking, both at Ramsour’s Mill and Historic Rural Hill.

My hometown of Winston-Salem afforded me many wonderful days in the restored Moravian Village of Old Salem, and my love of American History, and open hearth cooking has taken me to many of the local historic sites in the North Carolina Piedmont area. Kings Mountain Historical Museum in Kings Mountain, NC, Old Stone House in Salisbury, NC, Fort Defiance in Lenoir, NC, James K. Polk Birthplace in Pineville, NC, Hugh Torrence House and Store in Huntersville, NC, and now, Beautiful Hart Square.