10/10/2026
It's time for another look Behind the Shutters!
Today we meet Bethany Kendall, who is from Lexington, and has worked at Old Salem for nearly 5 years.
Bethany majored in History with a minor in African Studies at NC State. After spending some time looking for a job in the history field, she started working at Winkler Bakery before moving to the Domestic Skills team in the Education Department. A talented historical cook, she is currently researching indigenous food ways and has also conducted extensive research into the influence of African foodways, along with learning more about the daily lives of people of African descent living in Salem historically.
Remarking about when she first started at Salem, Bethany says, "What intrigued me about the place was the possibility of educating people outside of a standard classroom setting. Starting post-COVID, I experienced a transition period of Old Salem's re-opening as I got my first taste of working in a living history museum."
Bethany says her two favorite things she gets to do here are cooking and splitting wood, which can be very cathartic. "I'd like to shout out our Horticulture team that work to nurture the crops we need with food science and history in mind. Without their hard work, our cooking demonstrations wouldn't be able to happen."
