Photo courtesy of the DNR, Michigan History Center A costumed interpreter shows a youngster how water was carried at Fort Wilkins in the 1870s. The park has openings for costumed interpreters for this summer.

COPPER HARBOR — Three positions are available for seasonal employment this summer at Fort Wilkins State Park and Copper Harbor Lighthouse in Copper Harbor. These positions are not the run-of-the-mill summer jobs, however. “The positions are for costumed interpreters role playing as if it is the summer of 1870 – the last year the fort was garrisoned,” DNR Michigan History Center Historian Barry James said.

Fort Wilkins State Park has maintained a living history program featuring costumed interpreters for several decades, offering benefits to both the visitors to the park, and the interpreters themselves. The majority of interpreters who have participated in the program over the years have been college history majors.

James, who is the historian overseeing the history program at the park is a former costumed interpreter, having participated in the program while he was enrolled at Northern Michigan University.

He said in the past, most of the interpreters have been students from Northern.

“NMU hasn’t administered the program since 2010,” James said. “I’ve posted the positions at MTU and NMU on HandShake.”

Handshake is the leading career network and job board for college students and recent graduates.

The Living History Program immerses visitors in 1870s life through the costumed interpretation, along with reenactments, and hands-on activities like hauling water and grinding coffee.

Running for more than 40 years, the program features interpreters, including the “Future Historians” youth group, who portray actual soldiers and residents to bring the mid-19th-century northern frontier to life.

These positions are for the Living History Program, costumed interpreter positions, from June 1 through Aug. 21, at 40-hours per week, with a wage of $15 per hour.

Traditionally, the interpreters have portrayed a married enlisted man, a laundress, an officer’s wife, and a lighthouse keeper.