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Teacher note: A number of students contributed to these pages on Colonial times. Each contributed diffferent information or a different perspective. You may find that each article adds to your understanding and research base.
Billy O.
12-20-02
Tavern keepers run a tavern, which is where people can come and either eat or sleep. The tavern keepers make room and board available for the guests. To make room and board available, the tavern keepers make sure that there are more than enough beds in the upper part of the tavern and that there is enough food to feed the whole town.
Tavern keepers have many tools. Such as, beer mugs, taps, plates, utensils,
bed accessories, mops and brooms, barrels, and the brain that keeps all the
employees in order. The beer mugs and taps were used for serving and drinking
beverages like beer and cider. Plates, knives, forks, spoons, bowls, platters,
and trays were used for serving food. The bed accessories were used to make
the bed comfortable. The mops and brooms were used for cleaning up the tavern.
The barrels were used for storing things like beer and wine. And the brain was
to know who the employees are and what they were doing.
You would normally find a tavern in a city or a town. It was it's own building
with two separate floors. The upper floor was where the beds were for sleeping
and the lower floor was where the bar and table were for eating, sleeping, and
other things. There was a lot of taverns back then for travelers that needed
to spend the night somewhere like people now use hotels.
A tavern keeper would have to know how to use the taps, how much water to put
in the beer, how much everything should cost, and how to manage money. He would
also have to know to keep the floor clean, how to keep the beds clean, and how
to tighten the ropes. Parents say to their children " sleep tight"
a lot and they get that from when people would pull the ropes on the bed to
make the bed straight and not sag down. Plus, how to hire people and how to
act to customers. Yes, you would have to know more than just the craft because
you would have to know how to calculate math, which keys unlock which doors,
how to treat special customers, and other things. A person would get these skills
from training with the previous tavern keeper. The previous tavern keeper would
teach the new one the " tricks of the trade."
The society depended on the tavern because the tavern provides food and shelter
for the people of the town and the wandering travelers. The tavern provided
more of a luxury than a necessary need because it was only useful for the people
could pay the tavern back for it's services. This business was necessary in
a way because if someone could not meet in their home, they would normally meet
in the tavern. The tavern owner might even hire an entertainer like a singer
for an evening.
Almost everything about this business is satisfying except for cleaning up after
everyone else. I would like doing this work because if you are a tavern keeper,
you are the leader and you get to make all the decisions and tell other people
what to do. I think the "Bed and Breakfast" and hotel industry would
do this work today because they feed and provide shelter for people. Now, a
tavern would not be as useful because more people normally go to hotels. And
if a tavern was built, I don't think a lot of people would stay because when
people hear the word "tavern," they think old, smelly, and filled
with drunks. Those are some facts on the taverns and the tavern keepers.
This site is created and maintained by Holly
Geddes.
Last updated on
March 12, 2003