Don Wood Colonial House FAQ

COLONIAL HOUSE FAQ

After the show aired all the participants were bombarded by questions. After a while I
thought it would be easier to start a Yahoo Group where I could answer them in a public
forum and maybe not have to answer the same ones over and over. It did fix the repetition
problem, but it also opened up the floor to hundreds of people, which was an overwhelming
surprise! As the show goes into reruns and airs in the UK, I figure some of these questions
may come up again, so here they are: (It may take a while to get them all up, there are over
2,300 posts on that forum. Also, please remember that the answers I gave were my feelings
at the time, based on the information I had at the time. I have a better understanding now of
certain incidents and the motivations of the folks involved, but thats not as fun to read...)

THANK YOU SO MUCH, ALL WHO POSTED THESE QUESTIONS!

Q: My ...question is…has there been hard
feelings among participants since you have all now
heard what others were saying during the project and
in interviews since then? I can't help but feel sorry
for a few that obviously didn't endear themselves to
the majority of the group

A: I don't know for sure, Dan. If there is anything along those lines,
I think it would be between Jonathan and the Heinz's, as they didn't
seem to play very straight with each other. On the other hand, I
think they each expected as much from the other. With everyone
jammed together in such a small space for such a long time, any
problems you had with people generally came out in the open pretty
darn quick. I think Dom was a bit taken aback by something I say in
tonight’s episode on diary cam. But it was nothing I had not said to
him in person. In fact we are still very good friends despite having
so many points on which we are exactly opposite. He is in NYC to
watch the series and we've been hanging out, getting into some of the
same arguments! It's much funnier now though.
It would be hard to hide anything about yourself in that environment
for that length of time, so I don't think anyone on the Colony is too
surprised by the revelations others have made. I think some of the
people MAKING the revelations might be a bit surprised by how they
are being perceived by the audience (as evidenced by their
vilification on message boards, etc.)

Q: You said during one of the shows that you'd basically signed up
as a joke – is that really true? Why'd you decide to go through
with it?

A: Like probably anyone at any given point in time, leaving certain
parts of my life behind certainly seemed attractive, though I knew
they would all be there when I got back. Unfortunately, we weren't
allowed to choose which things to leave and which to keep. Also,
most people in NYC are desperate to do anything to get the heck out
of here for the summer!

I did indeed sign up as a joke, and actually turned the show down at
one point. Lucky for me, Sallie Clement met with me and talked me
into it. She made it sound much harder than anyone else had, and for
some reason that made get all competitive about it, like "Oh yeah?
Well I'll show you. Sign me up for that!"

Q:I wondered how your experience changed your work and personal life
– did it change your perspective on any of it? Perhaps it led to some
changes in your career or personal life?

A: I definitely feel like it has changed my perspective on life and
work. One of the things that is hard is to keep those lessons alive
in my behavior and attitude. When I first got off the colony I was
astonished at how much trash it was possible for one man to produce
in a day and was really good about refilling things..., the whole
recycling trip. Trying to keep from falling completely back in to
buy-use-toss mode is hard. Same with attitudes about people and ways
of dealing with them. Trying to stay in a kind of "High Forgiveness"
mode is pretty damn hard while you're commuting through a big city.
Or anywhere, I suppose. It is so easy just to avoid people and
issues that are difficult, leaving you walking around with all these
unresolved petty conflicts. (begin lighting incense and listening to
wind chimes...now...)

Q:I'm interested to know about the behind the scenes stuff. For
instance, was there someone there with the colonists (on a 24/7 basis)
(besides the producers/crew) who was a yes/no person. Like, "yes you
can do this" or "no this isn't part of the period?" Almost like a
baby-sitter (for lack of a better word). Or, did you guys have just
an intense cram session before going to the colony and then have to
wing it on your own?

A: We were filmed, at the beginning, 12 hours a day, 4 days a week.
That went up to 5 or 6 days toward the end. The production team was our babysitter
and they were in constant contact with experts in Plimoth Plantation as well as
around the country and even the UK. We trained for two weeks at Plimoth Plantation
in Plymouth, MA. It was definitely intense.
The women made most of the meals. We freemen made breakfast for
ourselves as well as the other meals one or two days a week. It
changed a lot during the show, as you can probably tell. When Claire
showed up, she and Bethany volunteered to cook for us (and get out of
the crowded kitchen at the Governors House). That was heaven. It
really made a difference being out at work and knowing that there was
someone in your house looking out for you and your stomach. It was
very humbling and motivating, knowing they were working so hard on
our behalf in a house with no hearth. It was basically like living
inside a Weber Grill. It's too bad they never showed that.
Everyone bathed according to their own schedule. I jumped in the
ocean about once a week. Dominick went every day. We would wipe
ourselves down with wet cloths for the day-to-day stuff.
We originally used licorice branches to brush our teeth, which worked
pretty well. Soot or something started to collect in the tiny cracks
in our teeth,however, slowly turning our teeth black. When the
production team couldn't be sure-after talking to dentists-if it
would be permanent, we were given toothbrushes.
The ubiquity of advertising was one of the biggest shocks upon
returning.

Q: ...and where did those axe heads come from, did someone forge them or were
they supplied? No hunting allowed (?) - were the bows for show, or were you just not
allowed to have guns in case you missed and took out a fellow colonist?

A: The axe heads were forged in England. Not just for us, they were
bought by production. We didn't have a blacksmith, which was a
bummer. After we got talking to each other, we realized that almost
every man on the project had asked to be the blacksmith when they
were cast. We did have a bunch of stuff made for us by the
blacksmiths at Plimoth.
We did hunt with the bows, without much luck. Insurance was an issue
with guns, but they brought a guy in and we did get to do a couple of
hunting days with muskets. Not everyone went, and I was not in on
those trips. I was afraid I'd get a good opportunity, in which case
you either screw up and miss, or kill something, neither of which
sounded too appealing. The gun expert told us our bows were much
more accurate than a musket anyway.
John Vorhees did shoot a porcupine with a bow and we ate that, but
there was very little meat on it, in the end.

Q: My question/comment is about those in the colony who didn't really
work. Forgive my wording here - I am trying to keep an open mind and
not sound contemptuous about the situation. When Jeff Wyers was
governor he was frequently seen doing hard labor (along with his
other duties) with you, Dominic, Danny, etc. When the Wyer family
left and Donald Heinz was named governor, he basically stood around
in his red gnome pants, drank wine and waxed philosophical. But it
just wasn't while he was governor. The entire series only showed him
trying to chop firewood once. Why did he have immunity from any of
the daily duties of keeping the colony running? (If age was an issue,
I am certain there were many other smaller tasks he could have
occupied.) Was this an accurate portrayal of Heinz? Did he do
things that eventually were put on the cutting room floor or was he
just mainly fluffing about his house? I really don't mean to sound
critical about it, it just kind of bugs me to see everyone working so
hard and he's just standing around watching. If you have a free
moment, I would really love to hear the truth from someone who saw it
firsthand.

A: In fairness to Don Heinz, he had a bypass operation a year or two ago
and lets face it, was probably never a lumberjack wannabe. I will
say that once he was Governor and his name was on the line, he
suddenly found a few more ways to pitch in with light duty
(collecting wood chips, stacking wood, etc.) Wink.
Ya gotta love the Heinz's....

Q: Also, is it true that PBS provides a stipend to cover rent (basic
expenses?) during the months of the project?

A: We did receive a small stipend for the show. One of the reasons I
originally turned the show down was the fact that I was walking away
from some good carpentry jobs that summer. I think too the young
ones (Paul, Dom, Julia, Jonathan, etc.) the money thing was probably
not such a big deal, but the older folks (cough, cough) all took a
little hit, financially. It's the kind of experience you can't buy
for almost any amount of money, though.

Q: ...at the end of the project, was anything said about the Wyers'
participation that wasn't shown? I mean, did the final report to
the "Company" make any mention of Jeff's work as Governor and getting
the colony established and were any toasts made in his honor? I may
not like some of the man's political and/or religious views, but he
seemed like a really good leader for the group. Do you feel that the
colony got more accomplished under his leadership as compared to
Heinz? How about the others in the group, what were their feelings
about this?

A: Be assured that the Wyers were never forgotten and that many a toast
of appreciation was raised in Jeff's honor. He did a great job of
getting us through those first months and the fact he was so beloved
as a man after making such hated decisions shows you what kind of man
he is.
He and Hienz were both different, obviously, but both brought
strengths to bear on a very difficult job. Jeff was better with
people, Don was better at fighting the production company on our
behalf. In the end, it was the colony itself as a sort of organic
entity, that decided to turn things arouind and get moving. This
largely came from the new colonists, like Jeff and Craig, who are
sadly underrepresented in the finished product. Not to take anything
away from Jack, he worked like a trooper and brought a great attitude
to the colony, but the show kind of makes it seem like he came in and
kicked some tails and got things moving, which is a bit misleading.
If the colony hadn't decided to move in that direction prior to his
coming, he would have been doomed, because at that point we had been
there so long, and were so hardened, no boot in the world would have
been big enough to kick us into gear. Jack was/is a consumate
dealmaker, and was able to pull off a very difficult job, trying to
redirect Don Heinz and keep peace on the Council and Colony.

Q: ...did any of the cameramen become friends with the colonists during or after the
show?

A: We did indeed become very good friends with the camera crew. There
was just one crew (the same that did Frontier House), which was key.
Because of that, they did become just like "another colonist" which
made us really comfortable. Also, they learned all of our routines
and how we worked , which allowed them to be right next to or behind
us and know just when to move to get out of our way as we turned or
got up. They were amazing and man, the place looks gorgeous. It's
kind of funny to see it and say to yourself "Man, our house didn't
look that nice when we were sitting in it."

Q: ...wouldn't the women have been used much more violently during that
period of time? I found some of the women as outspoken as though
they were on Oprah's tv show in 2004.

A: There are a lot of things you can't do on a show like this, and
asking people to leave their personalities at the door is one of
them. In fact they want the opposite. All I can say is that the
producers were well aware of who the women on the show were and how
they would act and react on the show. I am sure they could have
found families with overbearing men and quiet women, but really,
where's the fun in that?

Q: You were lucky enough to be able to bring him with you, were you able
or expected to 'provide' for him, bring dog food, flea & tick
protection, etc? I imagine the ticks and Lyme disease would have
been outrageous up there. I would have thought that dogs in colonial
times would have had to fend for themselves, or eat scraps, but food
was too precious and would have been reserved for the people. What
did Henry eat?

A: Henry had his heartworm and tick stuff with him. The policy for all
of the animals was that they were not there out of their own choice,
so they got the most modern care and feeding available. The dogs
were provided dog food, but ate almost none of it, as all the meat in
the colony came "off the bone", which left four and later five
household's worth of bones lying around every day. They were in
heaven.

Q: What ship was it that transported the group to the colony? How long
were you all on board? The shallop had mast and leeboards, yet she always was
rowed while on camera. Did she have the ability to sail?
The colony was next to the Atlantic. Wasn't the water cold?

A: The ship we sailed there on is a replica of the Nina, which is, of
course, part of an earlier period in our history. I guess you can't
exactly shop for the exact historically accurate sailing ship...
The men were on the boat for about 20 hours, I guess and the women,
36 or so.
The water was 48 degrees. And yes, that is bone-chilling cold. You
can kind of see it in the reactions of people jumping in, though you
did get tougher about it as the summer went on. Especially when the
cameras are on, haha.
The shallop was indeed rigged for sail a few times, unfortunately,
the wind came straight down the very narrow inlet we were on and
tacking up and out was impossible, at least for a crew with our
experience: zero. As they became more and more desperate to get a
shot of us catching a fish, they loosened some of the insurance-
driven limits on where we could take the shallop, and we did get her
out into some more open water and sail her a couple of times. That
was alot of fun. I think they do show us breaking out the forsail to
help us row back. Usually, we were just rowing from one "maybe here"
fishing spot to the next. Not so fun.

Q: How did cooking work when it came to you, Danny and Dominic? Did you eat with
a different family each day or for each meal? Did the men
help out with the cooking and it just wasn't shown? Or did they not
really have the time?

A: How the Freemen were going to eat and where we did eat was a
constantly changing and controversial situation. There were endless
discussions on it. Eventually, when Claire showed up, she and Bethany
offered to cook for us full time, and that was amazing.
We did feed ourselves probably an average of twice a week, and every
breakfast. In general the men did not help cook. Cooking is a full,
and I mean FULL time job. Whoever is making the meal is not doing
anything else, so when all the work is physical, it makes sense to
break the labor down along gender lines, I guess. It was a real
partnership, I think.

Q: What and where did the camera crew eat? I always wondered how
the producers handled the fact that you have all these people around
with 21st century equipment, clothes, etc. Were they required to
keep their snacks and soda off the "set"? I could imagine it would
be hard to watch people eating their roast beef sandwiches while
you're eating salted fish that's had the maggots removed as best as
possible...

A: The camera crew ate regular food in a kind crude trailer-home/shed that served
as their headquarters, about 1/2 mile from the colony. They were required to keep all
that out of our vision, though ever once in a while when they were at a remote
location, you would see a PA bringing them plastic bags containing precious
Styrofoam food containers! Jealousy.

Q: It was an incredibly emotional scene when Bethany was reunited
with her father. Was it for everyone there as well? They seem like
an incredibly tight-knit, nice family. How is Bethany doing now? I
was very impressed with her. That was a hell of a thing for a 20
year old to have to deal with. How is Amy (the sister) doing with
her medical problem?

A: It was emotional seeing them reunited. And they are an incredible,
very tightly knit family. They all came up to visit me in my apartment a few months ago
and it was CH all over again, people spread out all over the floor. Bethany is doing
really well, going to school and all that young person stuff. Amy Wyers is doing really
well too, and her medical problems are pretty much behind her.

Q: Were people allowed to bring any necessary medication with them?
Or were people on necessary medication excluded from participation?

A: If you needed medication you could bring it, I guess. Anyone who was on any kept
it so quiet I wouldn't know. I seem to remember an asthma inhaler somewhere.

Q: Did you actually have fun on the show?

A: We had a great time a lot of the time, Kim. Once the sun went down
and we had to stop working, we just sat and talked, which was a great time. I think all
of us from the city were really glad to have an opportunity to live a more rural
existence for a while.

Q: You're a carpenter by trade, right, in the 21st century? What kind of carpentry work
do you do in your job, and how similar is it to what you did in the Colony? How
dissimilar?

A: I do high-end renovation work in New York. Mostly coops and apartments on the
Upper East Side. I do finish work, some site supervision I guess, a little of everything,
depending on which contractor I'm working for and what they need. I think that just
having practice in the "building something" mindset was helpful, but the techniques
were very different in 1628, so I'm not sure that I had such a huge leg up on anyone
else as far as that's concerned. One of the big advantages I had was that my hands
were already calloused. After about a week, many of the guys had hands that were
like hamburger.

Q: ...during the celebration at the end of the corn planting, two guys did cartwheels
over the bonfire. Was that you and Dom, or who were they?

A: Yes, that is me doing the very BAD cartwheel and Dom doing the
graceful one,(though I did have to hold him from falling back in the
fire).

Q: Please tell, what's the real poop on the Heinz family??

A: You probably get a pretty good look at what they were really like on the show, but
Don does have a certain self-deprecating humor that rears its head every once in a
while. He's a very funny guy, actually. Also, when you are right there with them, its
hard to get upset, because it's so outrageous, sometimes. Your ja just drops and
you laugh and walk away shaking your head. At least I do. I'm sure they felt the same
about some of the dreck that came out of my mouth.

Q: What's up with the horror movies? Any more in the making? And, is that really
you? Just curious......

A: Yes, that is really me. My friend Jim makes those movies and I help
him if he asks. They are really fun to do, even though I am not a horror movie fan. I
used to be in an underground theatre company in Boston with him way back in the
late 80's-early 90's and he gets us all back together to work on these. I know some
people have looked at that site and thought "Oh yeah, here's another guy trying to
jump start his acting career with a reality show" which I find hilarious when you
consider that this is PBS, and that it lasted 5 months in all, and that the most famous
reality TV star in my memory was Puck from Real World and he was able to parlay
that into what? "Rollerboys"? Or was it "Hackers 2"? No, I am actually a
carpenter who does like doing creative stuff as well. I guess that might be rare other
places, but you can't swing a cat at a job site here without hitting some guy with a
band or a few published poems or a stand up routine.
Those movies should be distributed, straight to video (woohoo!)
later this year.

Q: Dom, (Don) Heinz and Jonathon all seemed to have decided they were close
enough to the end that they didn't really have to do anything else. But even the ones
"sweating their balls off" were only trying to look good for the final evaluation. How
necessary was it really to build up this huge stack of fire wood a week before they
left?

A: We would have needed a woodpile FAR larger to survive the winter.
There are etchings of villages in that time with a three story stack of wood in the
center of town that dwarfs all the buildings around it. We were trying to do what we
could to show that we at leastappreciated that fact.

Q: I'm sure during all those months there were highs and lows of the
project. Which were the best and worst? Would there be any that didn't make it in the
final cut?

A: There were many highs and lows, as you say. When I heard that Jeff Wyers and
Don Heinz actually did think that I was trying to "rip the colony apart" by not attending
the religious part of the sabbath, and that the "D" for dissembler was given to me
quite seriously by "The Colony" and not just because they had to for the show and
Production, I suddenly felt very, very isolated up there in Maine with no way to talk to
friends and family. If you are out of the Colony up there, as a single person, you are
ALONE!
SO that was a low point. I think many of the high points were just the talks and
goofing around we did, laying in our beds, cold and wet and giggling like schoolgirls
at a slumber party because it was just so ridiculous...

Q: What happened to the Governor's daughter that forced them to "return" so
quickly? I do realize that this may be private information, so if you cannot answer it, I
shall understand.

A: I don't think they have said what it was, publicly, so I won't be the first, but I can tell
you that it is behind her and she is doing really well.

Q: I thought it was so strange to see the tables and foods and people
covered with flies and to not see any prevention- did no one try some kind of screen
or window covers at meal times? Was it too hot?

A: Actually, you get used to the flies, (kind of). The flies were so omnipresent that a
"mealtime" solution would 't have worked. The ceilings (or rather loft floors) in the
huts that had them were just black with flies in the morning.

Q: Did you guys try native plants and old remedies for simple problems like muscle
aches and headaches?

A: We did use native plants as a diarrhea cure which worked well and also for
aches, which worked okay, but thats something thats hard to
distinguish; how much is psychosomatic, etc.

Q: When did the production wrap? Last year? How long did it take you to get
adjusted to your life in NY after you left the colony? What are you doing now in your
life? What did your parents/family think about your participation in the show?

A: The production ended the first week of October, last year. I have still not really
adjusted to life back here, i don't think. Then again, I wasn't too darn adjusted too it
before I left! I am still doing carpentry in Manhattan and as far as my family and
friends, they have seen me do enough crazy projects to react with resigned humor to
just about anything.

Q: Why wasn't a privy of some kind built? Do you think the lack of and the close
tossing of night pots might have contributed to the fly problem?

A: Well, actually privies were not built for a long time after the period we were in.
Bizarre, huh? They just never felt the need. I think it worked in our favor, fly-wise,
because Heinzy was the only one depositing his offal nearby, everyone else had a
"spot" far from the village. (Often so far that you had to have an 'emergency' spot a
little closer if the peas didn't sit right.) There, got to use the word "offal", my work here
is done...

Q: How did everyone deal with the tedium? That lifestyle had to be quite an
adjustment coming from a world where there is a lot more mental involvement in
how most folks spend their time. Do you just get used to it after awhile?

A: In fact, I found the life anything but tedious. Boredom really seems to be a product
of modern life. In my not-so-humble opinion, those very, very few who occasionally
complained of boredom weren't pulling their weight at the time. A colony that size,
more of an encampment than a colony, would have been heel-bent-for survival dawn-
to-dusk. Those who craved a life of the mind would never have made the journey,
and having made it, certainly wouldn't have survived to ponder wistfully the next
summer's flowers.

Q: ...did you get many splinters whilst woodworking on the colony. If so, were there
tweezers or a first aid kit around.

A: You know what? I actually got far less splinters than I do in my regular job. I have
no idea why. We did have tweezers in the emergency first aid kit.

Q: Were there any injuries?

A: Yes, there were a few injuries. Giaccomo put a hatchet into his hand and needed
a few stitches.

Q: How was the beer/alcohol they gave you all to drink. And was it real to the period,
or something they just kegged up from a modern brewery? Or could you tell?

A: That beer could have been "Red White and Blue" (Anyone remember
that brand?) and we would have loved it. The first batch was pretty accurate,
historically, specially arranged from a microbrewer, but after that I believe it was
Honey Brown.

Q: What was it like living in (the Freeman House)? Since there was no chimney, did
the smoke really get to you? Or do you just get used to it?

A: The smoke in our house was probably one of the single most important aspects
of our life there, and it is a shame they never decided to
show it. You never get used to it, but you do get resigned to it. We spent a LOT of time
standing outside while smoke poured out our windows and door. Dave Verdecia the
fireman couldn't believe it. He said that at his work they would have to fill out medical
forms if they were forced to be in there even a few minutes. Funny, in a coughing sort
of way.

Q: What modern day luxury did you miss most while in the colony? Was it difficult
going back to the 21st century, especially after being away from it for all for so long?

A: The thing I missed most was the ability to share things or get support from friends
and family. I have found that since I've been back, a lot of things just are not as critical
to get to, TV shows and new XBox games being at the top of that list. I go out a lot
more though, now.

Q: Do let me begin by stating that you hold the honor of being the
only colonist that didn't irritate me to the point of nausea at anytime
during the show. Thank you for that.
On that score, at some point on Frontier House the Clune women
were found to be hiding make-up and shampoo, and other such modern
conveniences. Was there anyone on CH who had smuggled in similar
items? For example, the women's maintenance of fine and separate eyebrows and
Paul's lack of facial hair by the end of the project, while most other men had full
beards, suggests some colonists were operating under the influence of razors or
depilatories...Sorry to resort to asking something so teen magazine-ish, but all the
profound and interesting questions were posed already.

A: We were supplied with straight razors and some training in how to
use them. It is really just about my only regret of the project. I
decided to see how far my beard would grow, but I really wanted to
learn how to shave with one of those. As it was, Julia and Amy K did
all the shaving, it was just too hard and dangerous to do to
yourself. By the way, Paul cried when he was shaved, haha!

Q: What did you guys feed the pigs? You ended up with 13, right? We
raise pigs and they eat A LOT. Of course we go to the local feed store and pick up
their food, so what did the colonial piggies eat?

A: The pigs, as well as all the other animals, were fed up-to-the-minute diets, as
they didn't choose to be there. So, they got a Pig Mash thing, as well as all the sour
goats milk and what little table scraps were left.

Q: Where did you guys get fresh water? I'm assuming the inlet was a fresh water
source, or was there a creek nearby?

A: The production company could not find a place both remote and near a
fresh water source, so they dug us a well about 200 yards or so from the colony. The
water was great. Ice cold. We used to call it the "Coffee pump" because even without
any coffee, a few seconds under the ice cold water would wake you right up.

Q: Knowing what you do now, would you repeat the experience? Any other time
periods you'd like to travel back to?

A: Yes I would repeat it. I was a little bummed out when the show aired, but thats
behind me now and I can just look at it as an experience that was fantastic. I had no
control over the finished product, so I can't worry about it.

Q: What did the porcupine taste like? Oh, wait, let me guess...chicken.

A: The porcupine ended up in a stew, there was so little of it, but I
would say it tasted a lot beefier than chicken.

Q: In clips after one of the episodes they showed the women making sausages. Did
you butcher one of the pigs or was that left over lamb?

A: I think when they were making sausages, it was with the meat and
rice pudding that the Plimoth people brought when they came for the
big feast at the end.

Q: As I was watching, I found myself increasingly obsessed with the colonists' hair
growth. I know everyone's hair grows at different rates but did you all have access to
razors/scissors? It looked like Dom jumped b/w clean shaven and scruffy through
the whole experience. Or was that just the editing? And it didn't seem like John
Voorhees' hair grew at all.

A: We did have scissors as well as the razors as I described above, so
people did have different hair lengths. I think I am the only guy who just let it go the
whole time. I did trim my moustache to keep it out of my food, though i now hate
myself for not trying to grow a mini handlebar moustache.

Don Wood Online
For the love of Pete, who's in charge here?

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