I did stabilize the t-shirts. I bought a bolt of iron-on interfacing at Wal-Mart. There is some waste but a lot of that got used when I did the smaller sections. None of the blocks have pieced interfacing (it is not recommended). He called me the day his mom gave it to him. I'm not sure who has fonder memories, him or his mom!!
My picture was taken at St. Charles, MO at the 2004 signature event for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. So it is a much earlier time period than New Salem. Our family did volunteer quite regularly at New Salem during the 1990s - that's where our re-enactment activities started. We were always known as "Karen's mom and dad" never by our real names. We let the girls (3 of them) wander the village.As long as they stayed in the village other volunteers kinda kept an eye on them. Our youngest had one of her senior high school pictures taken there! That's how much she loved it, and still does.