William Guthrie poses in his bear skin costume, complete with mask and turtle shell rattle, in the living room of his Pennington home. Guthrie dresses as M’sing Hawlikin, a figure in the Lenape religious tradition. (File photo.)
The Ewing Township Historic Preservation Society will host an interactive presentation about “The Lenape People in Ewing Long Ago” by Dr. William Guthrie on Sunday, March 3 at 2 p.m. at the Benjamin Temple House at 27 Federal City Road in Ewing.
Using the traditional Lenape way of presenting historical accounts and practical ideas, stories will be the framework for considering how the Lenape people lived in this area before the “European invasion.” Guthrie will use original artifacts, materials, and other historically accurate examples of tools to enable participants to glimpse at and experience Lenape ways, including food gathering and preparation, tool construction and use, clothing and shelter as protection against the weather, musical instrument construction and performance, and games and story-telling.
Guthrie is a professor emeritus of Rider University, where for 46 years he instructed students studying to be teachers, and served as professor and associate dean in the School of Education, receiving a number of awards and professional citations for his work as a “teacher’s teacher.” He now continues work within his “other” profession and life-long passion as a noted Lenape authority. He is the author of four instructional videos on the Lenapes, as well as a consultant to nature and science centers and museums, and a frequent speaker for schools, folklore groups, scout organizations, and historical societies.
The program is free and open to the public. Seating however is somewhat limited, and thus accommodations will be limited to the first fifty people to arrive. Light refreshments will be served after the presentation.
The Ewing Township Historic Preservation Society is a member-supported organization celebrating its 40th year, dedicated to preserving the significant structures, artifacts and stories which tell of Ewing’s past, and sharing those stories with its members and the public through its newsletters, programming and exhibits. More information about this program and other Society events can be found at ethps.org.
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