That being said, I suppose one can't help but be a bit melancholy, wouldn't you say?
This week's post reflects this mindset. It's not a downer...rather, more contemplative. And, yes, there is history in it as well.
I hope you like it.
I also hope you don't think I'm way out there...
There's a room in my father's house
Full of old heirlooms
Grandma's Bible, Grandpa's trunk
To a total stranger no more than junk
The closest ties I ever knew...
Full of old heirlooms
Grandma's Bible, Grandpa's trunk
To a total stranger no more than junk
The closest ties I ever knew...
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| The Sixberry House at Historic Charlton Park in Hastings, Michigan from 1858. The front parlor... |
I'll try to explain what I mean by this...
The house that I have lived in for (so far) 21 years is filled with, well, 21 years worth of memories. This is where three of our four children were born, where we had birthday parties, graduation parties, baptismal parties, Christmas and Easter celebrations, a Thanksgiving dinner with my family that had everyone wearing cardboard Pilgrim hats. The wonderful fragrance of baked goods - 21 years worth of my wife's wonderful cooking and baking - are still in the air (and she's still cooking, doncha know!). This is where Simply Dickens rehearses period and old world music every Wednesday evening, and has for 11 years. We've had years of period dress gatherings with our Civil War unit here. We even had a 1950's themed party, complete with an actual diner booth!
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| Easter time at my house always finds my extended family gathered together to celebrate with food, joy, and laughter |
Movie nights where we all settle down on cold Saturday evenings in the fall, winter, and spring to watch a movie, whether it is The Wizard of Oz, Angels With Dirty Faces, American Graffiti, The Lion King, Pirates of the Caribbean, Gods and Generals, or countless others.
The sounds of laughter and good times echo through these halls and walls, and I can still hear the voices of special people who are no longer with us reverberate within.
In my 50 years I've spent more time in this house than in any other structure that I have lived in. As much as I dream (and sometimes wish) I could live in an old historic house, it would be very hard for me to leave here because of my own personal history to this 1944 bungalow.
And we haven't even touched upon those who lived here the 50 years before we did and what it was like through those decades of the '40's through the '80's.
When stepping into any historic home in Greenfield Village or Crossroads Village or any other place that may house old structures, there is a particular...um...consciousness (is that the word I'm looking for?) that I get; the feeling is a different sort of awareness of the everyday activities and living that took place in these structures years before they became historical museums.
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| Before it was a museum relocated inside Greenfield Village, the home of George Adams was alive with visitors of family and friends |
I can even sometimes feel the sorrow and sadness of the not so happy times. Yes, certain houses or antique objects seemingly speak to me in that very real sense.
This is what reading - engulfing - social history books can do to you, you know. When one gains knowledge beyond the school text books that are normally filled with war and politics of a certain time and place, you can gain an ethereal feeling that can overwhelm and bring alive those of the past. The social history books can make you much more aware when visiting something historical than the average visitor or, ahem, history buff. They put the meat on the bones, the flesh on the meat, and puts the ghosts of the past in their proper perspective.
Living history without the living...
To add to those wonderful social history books I recommend searching out diaries and journals that are also readily available in book form. To me, when reading the actual letters of someone describing home life of another time, it literally brings that home alive for me.
For instance, Noah Webster, in the early part of the 19th century, spent much of his time away from his family. He greatly encouraged his wife and children to write him letters and to include instances of their daily activities. Mr. Webster knew of the importance of describing everyday life in these letters. Noah especially treasured hearing of the minute details of domestic life that he missed while on far-away business travels.
His wife, Rebecca, willingly obliged and wrote about their lives as requested to her husband. On July 30, 1824 she wrote: "I wish you could take a peep at us in the present moment," and proceeded to describe, for example, her granddaughter, Mary "sitting on the carpet by my side studying her sabbath lessons for the next week...Harriet is drilling at her music. She plays 6 tunes very comfortably...and (grandson) William driving around with his stick." Rebecca, described herself as "enfeebled" but able to "engage in quilting bed quilts with only two or three to finish." Lucy Griffin, the free black servant had taken ill as family members "sit with her" until she can walk downstairs.
Rebecca also sent a letter to married daughter Eliza: "Papa longs to see you all. I heard someone conversing in the drawing room the other day and found him standing before your portraits. We often talk together of our singular happiness in our sons-in-law and daughters and such a promising bunch of grandchildren."
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| The paintings of daughter Eliza and her husband that Mr. Webster was found speaking to. |
Talk about spirits within walls!
But it doesn't have to be the home of someone famous, you see. Because I am in a constant state of historical reading, nearly every historic home tends to come to life when I step inside, or even when I see photographs.
I read at least a snippet from one or more of these books virtually on a daily basis, and the words just swirl around my brain throughout the day, especially while I'm at work (I'm a high school custodian with lots of time to think while I sweep). And it's these continuous daily bits of information that, after a while of building and swirling in my head, begin to form a cohesive picture of the past.
Of course, I incorporate this 'wisdom' into my living history presentations while at reenactments.
But it's more than that, which is what I was getting at earlier; using what I've learned (and continue to learn) from my social history books I have found myself looking at historical items, whether it's houses, pictures, antiques, objects in a museum, or even background items in historical movies, in a much different way.
I don't just look at them with only my eyes anymore...but with the knowledge of what life was like back then.
More than just imagining what life was like back then.
And sometimes even getting a feel for what it was actually like...to an extent.
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| Our parlor: filled with antiques from the 1830's through the 1890's. Yes, we use them. |
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| Probably my favorite piece of furniture: my secretary desk from 1860 and chair from 1887. I've wanted a desk like this since I was a tiny tot! |
A friend of mine who happens to work at Greenfield Village mentioned recently that when he enters this room he feels like he's in one of the Village's historic homes, only here he can touch or even sit upon the furniture whereas at the Village it's a hands-off policy.
Please understand, I am not bragging about all of my antiques, and I hope it doesn't come off that way. But because I use to ache - literally ache - whenever I would return home to my ultra-modern house after visiting a historic village or museum, I decided to take action on what many only talk about, which is how I got the parlor you see in the photos. And it's literally taken me years - my entire life, in fact - to 'build' this place of contentment. We often light our candles and oil lamps in the evening just to mind travel to another time. Patty will spin on her wheel, I'll write with pen and ink or read from a Harper's Weekly for fun or a modern newspaper. I might also read one of my history books - sometimes we'll even just sit and talk. It doesn't always have to be an 'event' in period clothing.
Because my home was built in the mid-20th century with all of the modern conveniences, and because it's been updated numerous times since, (and because we do live in the 21st century whether we want to or not) it would be nearly impossible to "live like they did back then." But that doesn't matter to me, because this room brings me solace. Some people find their get-a-way in books, in movies, gambling, or even in vacations. Well, this is my get-a-way right in my own home. It's my "happy place."
It speaks to me.
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| A journey to the past right in my own home... |
I'm sure sometime in the distant future, other owners may also hear the ghosts of the past...my past...
The following links are what I consider to be some of the best books on every day life of late 18th and 19th centuries. They have helped me to look at houses, antiques, and people from the past quite differently than I did before.
There are more books, of course, than what's listed here, but I tend to open these more often than any others...
Our Own Snug Fireside
At Home
American Thought & Culture 1860-1880
The Cormany Diaries
Affectionately Yours
Village Life in America: 1852-1872
Notes on the Life of Noah Webster Vol. 2
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