LARNED — Kristin Keith is a talented volunteer who normally portrays living history at Ft. Larned National Historic Site. Last Thursday, at the Santa Fe Trail Center and Museum, she portrayed Susan Shelby Magoffin, a famous diarist of the Santa Fe Trail. 

The activity is part of a June series organized by SFTC volunteer Kathleen Foster. Each week, the center hosts two sessions to learn about the history of the Santa Fe Trail. Kids, ages 3-6, meet on Wednesdays, and kids, ages 7-10, meet on Thursdays for these free activities.

The wife of a trader who traveled the Santa Fe Trail in the late 1840’s, Magoffin wrote about her experiences from 1846-1847. Her writings have been used extensively as a source by historians, and have also been included in the book “Down the Santa Fe Trail and into Mexico.” 

Keith told Magoffin’s story to a group of 7-10 year olds at the Santa Fe Trail Center and Museum on Thursday, June 11. Her journey, she explained, included travel by covered wagon. They slept in tents at night, and along the way, they encountered buffalo, rabbits, coyotes and snakes. Most bothersome, though, were the mosquitoes, “Magoffin” said. 

Today and tomorrow, June 17 and 18, a re-enactment of a classroom on the plains is planned as the SFTC educational program.