Ask Sally Rothemich how her husband’s doing, and you’ll usually get the same reply: “My real husband or my fake husband?”

Her real husband is Don Rothemich, a teacher from Massachusetts who wears sweaters and loafers.

Her fake husband is an American immigrant, originally from England, named Francis Eaton, who wears cassocks and sailed on the Mayflower.

Ms. Rothemich and her fake husband are re-enactors at Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Mass. The job makes for a mighty juggle – between work and life, and between past and present....