Passion for the Past

And Here They Are...The BEATLES!!!

2012-02-02T14:38:00.003-05:00

Anyone who knows me knows I am a major fan of The Beatles. They know I have every album, CD, 45, and DVD released. They know I listen to, study, enjoy, and, in all honesty, generally musically worship the group. I have not written much about them on this blog because I mainly keep my postings centered on 18th and 19th century American social history as well as reenacting/living history. Yet, every-so-often I deviate from this formula and jump a hundred years or so into the future to speak about some of the music of the earlier rock and roll era that I love.

I've started many a post about the Beatles but have never been able to say what I wanted. In all honesty, I still cannot write a good posting for them because there's little left to say after one sees just how much about the group is out there.

I did not write what you are about to read; I took it from another site. But it is such an interesting take on the Beatles music in America - and it's written much more eloquently than I could ever have done. Also, why mess with perfection? I mean, how can I re-write an article this good?
It pertains to the Americanized versions of the first four (and a bit beyond) Beatles album releases on Capitol Records and explains in a very interesting way why Capitol released these albums, from "Meet the Beatles" through "Revolver" in the manner in which they did.

I hope you enjoy it. And I hope you learn Something New (ha! get it?) from it.

Capitol records recently announced the Nov.16, 2004, release of its first four Beatles albums on compact disc in a limited edition box set. “The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1” includes the four Beatles albums issued by the company in 1964: “Meet The Beatles!”, “The Beatles' Second Album,” “Something New” and “Beatles '65.” These were the albums that Americans grew up with not only in the sixties, but also in the seventies and eighties when these landmark albums continued to sell as catalog items introducing the Beatles to second and third generation fans. Although these albums exposed millions of Americans to the Beatles, they are sometimes criticized for not being what the Beatles intended. Beatles historians and fans have passionate feelings about these albums. Recent commentaries and postings on the internet by Beatles fans and scholars not only demonstrate the strong opinions held regarding these albums, but also show that these albums are misunderstood.

Those condemning the Capitol albums often claim that the company remixed the songs, added echo and issued everything in Duophonic fake stereo. That is simply not true. While some songs were altered, most were not. As detailed below, 38 of the 45 songs appearing on the first four Capitol albums are true stereo mixes prepared by George Martin. While the eight stereo songs appearing on “The Beatles' Second Album” have added echo, the others do not.

The important thing to know is that “The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1” marks the stereo debut on CD of 32 Beatles songs. Hearing George Martin's stereo mixes of songs such as “And I Love Her,” “If I Fell,” “Things We Said Today,” “No Reply”and “I'll Follow The Sun” on CD will certainly be a treat.

Some people have unfairly accused Capitol of greed when discussing the box set. Each of the four albums is presented in both mono and stereo, a decision that was made to please fans even though it increased the royalties and cut significantly into Capitol's profits. That doesn't sound like greed to me. It sounds more like the Beatles practice of giving fans good value for their money. (As of this date, none of the Beatles British albums have been released in both mono and stereo versions on CD.)

Most of the negative comments regarding the Capitol albums are general statements criticizing the running order of the songs and the horrendous mixes. When each album is carefully examined, it becomes clear that these albums are neither travesties nor sonic disasters.

”Meet The Beatles!” features the same striking Robert Freeman cover photo as the British LP “With The Beatles.” However, for financial and marketing reasons, Capitol made alterations to disc's lineup. In order to save on song publishing royalties, the company limited its LP to the American standard of 12 songs rather than the British standard of 14. (In the U.K., publishing royalties are calculated on a per disc basis where each publisher shares pro-rata in the royalties paid on album sales. Thus, there is no additional cost to the record company for having extra songs. In the U.S., royalties are calculated on a per song basis. Each extra song costs the record company money. That is why the U.S. standard was a lesser number of songs.)

While Brian Epstein and producer George Martin believed that singles should not be placed on albums because it forced consumers to buy the same songs twice, Capitol believed that hit singles made hit albums. Thus, Capitol opened its first Beatles album with both sides of its Beatles single, “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and “I Saw Her Standing There,” followed by the British B-side “This Boy.” The remaining tracks selected by Capitol were the British album's seven Lennon-McCartney originals, George Harrison's “Don't Bother Me” and the Broadway show tune “‘Till There Was You,” a song even mom and dad could appreciate. By choosing original compositions and dropping five cover versions of songs originally recorded by American artists, Capitol could exploit the song writing talents of the group. In sequencing the songs from ”With The Beatles,” Capitol followed the running order chosen by George Martin, except, of course, for the tracks dropped from the lineup.

”Meet The Beatles!” was the perfect album to introduce the group to America. Capitol's marketing strategy of placing the hit single I Want To Hold Your Hand on the album paid off. In two months time, “Meet The Beatles!” sold over 3.6 million copies--ten times more than even Capitol's most optimistic sales forecasts. The album went on to sell over 5 million copies.

It should be noted that in the early sixties, teen albums rarely sold in excess of a few hundred thousand copies. Capitol's success with its reconfigured Beatles albums containing hit singles changed that. Record companies soon realized that well-crafted rock albums could be big sellers.
A few years later, thanks to the Beatles and Capitol, the album replaced the single as the dominant pop and rock music format.

”The Beatles' Second Album” is admittedly a pieces-parts album, containing the five leftover songs from “With The Beatles” (“Roll Over Beethoven,” “You Really Got A Hold On Me,” “Devil In Her Heart,” “Money” and “Please Mister Postman”), three B-sides (“Thank You Girl,” “You Can't Do That” and “I'll Get You”), two freshly recorded songs that would later end up on the British “Long Tall Sally” EP (“Long Tall Sally” and “I Call Your Name”) and the hit single “She Loves You.” That said, it is an amazingly effective album full of great rock 'n' roll songs such as “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Long Tall Sally,” “Money” and “Please Mister Postman” anchored by the hit single “She Loves You.” It was number one on the Billboard Top LP's chart for five weeks and had certified sales of over two million units.

”Something New” is arguably the weakest album of the bunch. Capitol was faced with a dilemma brought on by United Artists' film contract with The Beatles that covered A Hard Day's Night. UA had the exclusive right to issue a soundtrack album in America, so Capitol had to come up with something new to compete with the soundtrack LP. Capitol's album mixed songs appearing on the UA disc (“I'll Cry Instead,” “Tell Me Why,” “And I Love Her,” “I'm Happy Just To Dance With You” and “If I Fell”) with a few songs from The Beatles latest British album (“Things We Said Today,” “Any Time At All” and “When I Get Home”), the two remaining rockers from the “Long Tall Sally” EP (“Slow Down” and ”Matchbox”) and a version of “I Want To Hold Your Hand” sung in German titled ”Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand.” Although “Something New” was unable to knock the UA soundtrack album from the number one position, the Capitol album stayed at number two for nine weeks and sold over two million copies.

”Beatles '65” featured eight songs from the group's latest British LP, “Beatles For Sale” (namely “No Reply,” “I'm A Loser,” “Baby's In Black,” “Rock And Roll Music,” “I'll Follow The Sun,” “Mr. Moonlight,” “Honey Don't” and “Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby”), and both sides of their latest single, “I Feel Fine” and “She's A Woman,” plus “I'll Be Back,” which was on the British “A Hard Day's Night” LP but had yet to appear in America. Capitol did not completely deviate from the running order of the songs on “Beatles For Sale,” with side one bearing a strong resemblance to the British disc. So much so that the album can be described as “Beatles For Sale, Part 1.” The disc held down the number one spot on the Billboard Top LP's chart for nine straight weeks and sold over three million units.

As for Capitol's alleged remixing of the songs, here are the facts. EMI did not send Capitol original two-track or four-track master tapes, so Capitol could not have "horrifically remixed" the stereo songs even if Capitol had wanted to. Capitol used the same stereo mixes for its albums as those sent to Capitol by George Martin. In a few instances, the U.S. mixes sent by Martin differed from those that ended up on the Parlophone albums. Sometimes this was intentional on Martin's part. Other times it was a case of Capitol getting an earlier mix that was later improved upon.

On the first two albums, the stereo mixes have the instruments on one channel and the vocals on the other. This was not done by Capitol. This is a result of how the songs were recorded. George Martin recorded those songs on a two-track recorder. To ensure he could get a proper mono mix that had the vocals at the proper level, he recorded the instruments on one track and the vocals on the other. So if you don't like the stereo mixes on the first two albums, don't blame Capitol. The company used what it was sent. The stereo mixes on “Meet The Beatles!” are exactly the same as those appearing on the stereo version of “With The Beatles.”

For the stereo version of “The Beatles' Second Album,” Capitol did add echo to the stereo masters. The box to the stereo master tape for the Capitol album indicates that the songs were dubbed with E/Q and limiter plus echo. This explains why the songs on the stereo album have significantly more echo than those on the mono album or the British version of the songs. This is
particularly noticeable on the cover songs, such as “Roll Over Beethoven” and ”Please Mister Postman.”

The stereo mixes found on the Capitol albums “Something New” and “Beatles '65” use stereo mixes sent by George Martin. With a few exceptions, they are the same as the stereo mixes on the British LPs “A Hard Day's Night” and “Beatles For Sale.” Except for the songs “I Feel Fine” and “She's A Woman,” Capitol did not add echo to the masters tapes of those U.S. albums.

Three of the Capitol stereo albums contain a few duophonic fake stereo mixes. This was in keeping with the practice at the time that every song on a stereo album should either be a true stereo mix or a simulated fake stereo mix. Engineers took a mono recording and placed in on two tracks, with the bass being boosted on one track and the treble being tweaked on the other. Sometimes the two tracks were slightly out of phase to add to the illusion. Capitol was not alone in this practice. All record companies did it, including George Martin's Parlophone label. The stereo version of the “Please Please Me” LP has simulated stereo mixes of “Love Me Do” and “P.S. I Love You.”

While some critics give the impression that all of the four Capitol stereo albums are full of duophonic echo-drenched mixes, this is clearly not the case. Capitol only made duophonic mixes for the seven songs that had no stereo masters at the time the albums were compiled. Most of these songs, especially “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” “She Loves You” and “I'll Get You,” are
effective simulated stereo mixes. However, the duophonic mixes for “I Feel Fine” and “She's A Woman” are truly horrendous.

For the songs taken from “With The Beatles” that appear on the mono versions of “Meet The Beatles!” and “The Beatles' Second Album,” Capitol created its own mono mixes by reducing the stereo master in a 2-to-1 mix-down. As the stereo master for the album was nothing more than a balanced copy of the original two-track master tape, Capitol's engineer merely duplicated what George Martin had done in mixing the mono master. Why Capitol did this is not entirely clear. It is possible that Capitol did not initially have the mono master tape for the album, but that seems unlikely. A Capitol engineer who has been with the company since the fifties told me that 2-to-1 mix-downs of stereo masters were sometimes made under the belief that this gave the mono songs a fuller sound.

Those who rightfully point out that the Beatles had no part in compiling the Capitol albums often downplay or ignore the involvement of George Martin and Brian Epstein. While George Martin did not program the Capitol albums and did not approve of the practice, he and Brian Epstein were fully aware that Capitol was reconfiguring Beatles albums specifically for the American market and understood Capitol's reasons for doing so. They cooperated with Capitol's plans by supplying the label with songs to place on the American albums. When Capitol needed a few more songs to round out “The Beatles' Second Album,” George Martin, with Brian's approval, sent the company “Long Tall Sally” and “I Call Your Name.” For “Beatles VI,” George Martin sent Capitol four new songs, namely “You Like Me Too Much,” “Tell Me What You See,” “Bad Boy” and “Dizzy Miss Lizzie.” The latter two songs were recorded specifically for Capitol. “Dizzy Miss Lizzie” ended up on the British Help! LP because the group needed an extra song. “Bad Boy” was slapped on a British greatest hits collection. When Capitol was compiling its “Yesterday...And Today” album, George Martin sent the company three songs from the upcoming “Revolver” album.

By the time the Beatles submitted “Sgt. Pepper” to Capitol, the practice of reconfiguring albums had stopped. Capitol knew the Beatles had recorded a brilliant album that needed to be left intact. Capitol's engineers did, however, deviate slightly from the British album by not adding the high pitch whistle or the inner groove gibberish attached to the end of the British albums. Thus, the end-of-the-world feeling one gets from the final sustained chord of “A Day In The Life” is not disturbed by the extras tacked onto the British LPs.

For “Magical Mystery Tour,” Capitol ripped off fans by converting the convenient double EP set into an album by padding the record with filler such as “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “Penny Lane,” “Hello Goodbye” and “All You Need Is Love.” (Tongue firmly in cheek for the last sentence.) Nine years after the release of Capitol's “Magical Mystery Tour LP,” Parlophone issued the same album, even using the same Capitol master tapes, which included duophonic mixes of three of the songs! (When the album was issued on CD, true stereo mixes were used for all of the songs.)

It has often been said that Capitol butchered the Beatles carefully crafted records. Some Beatles authors and fans have speculated that the infamous butcher cover was created for Capitol's “Yesterday...And Today” LP as a not-too-subtle dig at Capitol for butchering the group's albums. While this makes a good story, it is simply not true. The butcher photos were conceived by photographer Bob Whitaker as part of a bizarre series of images titled "A Somnambulant Adventure." John chose the butcher photo for the cover as a subtle protest against the Vietnam War. After the recall of the cover he stated, "It's as relevant as Vietnam. If the public can accept something as cruel as the war, they can accept this cover." Capitol made changes to the Beatles albums to help sell the albums in America. The company's strategy of
placing hit singles on the albums clearly contributed to the huge sales generated in America. Capitol did not butcher the Beatles; Capitol marketed the Beatles.

Some critics of these albums have gone so far as to say that Capitol's recent decision to release the albums on CD is an act of greed committed under the guise of giving American baby-boomer fans "what they want." The only truth in such comments is that Capitol is giving Beatles fans "what they want." This is not a case of Capitol telling baby-boomers what they want. It is a case of baby-boomers telling Capitol what they want and Capitol responding accordingly. Anyone who checks out Beatles-related posts on the Internet or reads Beatles magazines such as Beatlefan and Beatlology knows that fans have been clamoring for these albums on CD for over 15 years. We grew up with and loved these albums. We are grateful they are finally being released on CD. It is unfair to criticize a record company for appropriately responding to fan requests.

It is also unfair for people to criticize what the CDs will sound like without first hearing the CDs. Although I have yet to hear the final approved versions of the CDs as of this time, I am willing to bet a box of Krispy Kreme donuts that even the most vocal critics of the Capitol albums will enjoy hearing the George Martin stereo mixes of “And I Love Her,” “If I Fell,” “Things We Said Today,” “No Reply” and “I'll Follow The Sun” on CD for the first time.

For those that believe the release of the Capitol albums on CD is an insult to the efforts of the Beatles, George Martin and Brian Epstein, I strongly disagree. While I understand the merits of standardizing the Beatles catalog throughout the world and presenting the albums as the Beatles intended, the issuance of the American albums in a limited edition box set does not compromise either. By restricting the U.S. albums to box sets, consumers will not be confused by seeing “With The Beatles” on sale next to “Meet The Beatles!” or finding two different versions of “Rubber Soul” in the CD bins in music stores. I think Capitol and Apple came up with a great compromise by maintaining the U.K. catalog as the standard and releasing the U.S. albums
in a limited format for those who want to hear what Americans heard in the sixties, seventies and eighties. After all, America was and still is the Beatles biggest market. The Beatles legacy is not harmed by the release The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1. To the contrary, an important part of the Beatles legacy has now been preserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

BRUCE SPIZER is a first generation Beatles fan and well-known Beatles
author/historian. He is considered the leading expert on the group's North
American record releases. He has an extensive Beatles collection,
concentrating primarily on American and Canadian first issue records, record
promotional items, press kits and posters. A "taxman" by day, Spizer is a
board certified tax attorney and certified public accountant. A "paperback
writer" by night, he is the author of the critically acclaimed books “The
Beatles Records on Vee-Jay,” “The Beatles' Story on Capitol Records, Parts One
and Two,” “The Beatles on Apple Records” and “The Beatles Are Coming! The Birth
of Beatlemania in America.” His articles have appeared in Beatlology
Magazine, Beatlefan, Day Trippin', Goldmine and American History. He
maintains the popular Beatles collectors internet site www.beatle.net.
Mr. Spizer has been serving as a consultant on the Capitol Beatle albums
box set project.

This Old House

2012-01-29T23:47:00.006-05:00

I've been in a bit of a thoughtful mood of late. The possibility (I said possibility not probability) of losing our home due to cuts in pay and possibly a cut in jobs has been playing on my mind. Things are getting mighty tough, and the stress level tends to be on the upswing.
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...

The Sixberry House at Historic Charlton Park in Hastings, Michigan from 1858. The front parlor...

Entering a historic home is so much more than the "Can you imagine what it was like to live back then?" comments one often hears, usually from a mother or a teacher making a feeble attempt to understand and explain the past.
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!

Easter time at my house always finds my extended family gathered together to celebrate with food, joy, and laughter

Television times with the kids: Blues Clues, Little Bill, All That, Hannah Montana, iCarly...and for the adults: Friends, Red Wing Hockey, Antique Roadshow, NCIS...
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.

Before it was a museum relocated inside Greenfield Village, the home of George Adams was alive with visitors of family and friends

I think of the laughter and discussions that were had in the parlors or at the dining room table. I think of what the women of the home spoke of while in the kitchen. I can even hear some of the clanging and clatter of the tools of the trade, whether used for baking or fixing.
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."

The paintings of daughter Eliza and her husband that Mr. Webster was found speaking to.

Because I've read numerous letters Noah and Rebecca Webster have written during the time they lived in their Hartford, Connecticut home, a home that is now inside and preserved in Greenfield Village, I can almost - almost - see and hear the family move about and converse when I walk through the very same structure and actual rooms the letters were written in.
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.

Our parlor: filled with antiques from the 1830's through the 1890's. Yes, we use them.

From the outside, our 1944 bungalow looks like nearly every other house on my suburban block: all cookie-cutter homes built for the boys returning from fighting in WWII. But, if you've taken a gander at some of the photographs I have posted in previous entries (or maybe even on my Facebook page) of the inside of our house you know that we have decorated one of our rooms - an addition we had built in 1999 - in a mid-19th century manner. Most everything in this parlor area are original antiques - antiques that we actually use. We sit upon a couch built in the 1850's, a sette' from the 1890's, or a rocker from the 1850's, we set our (clean) dishes and glasses on our circa 1830's corner cabinet, my wife spins on her 1830's great wheel, and, in my bedroom, my clothes are tucked in the drawers of my 1850's dresser. Knickknacks sit upon the 1860's/70's what-not-shelf, pictures on the wall are framed in 19th century frames of varying ages, and I write upon my 1860 desk while sitting in my 1887 chair.

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!

We use our antiques.
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.

A journey to the past right in my own home...

My house may be a pseudo-Victorian (rather than an actual Victorian) home in the middle of modern 2012 suburbia, but it's MY home. And it is filled with memories that will last for as long as this house stands.
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

.

Victorian Detroit (Detroit Wasn't Always the Motor City)

2012-01-22T18:31:00.005-05:00

Detroit.
The Motor City. Motown. Murder City. Car Capital.of the World.

~~~~~A Victorian Metropolis~~~~~

Wait-----what??
Yep. Detroit, this industrialized Rust Belt grunge town was once at the height of Victoriana.

Gas Street Light on Gratiot Avenue 1882

A frontier town in what was considered the west at the turn of the 19th century, Detroit grew in size as the decades progressed. However, as the town slowly turned into a city, the frontier town atmosphere prevailed and "a system of plank roads leading out of Detroit was established. They follow precisely the paths of today's main arteries - Michigan Avenue, Grand River, Woodward, Gratiot, and Jefferson. There were fine residential areas on its approximately ninety streets...
In 1851, gaslights began to replace the use of tallow candles or lamps which burned lard and whale oil, (and) the curfew bell rang at six in the morning, noon, and six and nine at night to give the citizens the time."
The first signs of major industry emerged in the 1840's and 50's as the value of Michigan's timber, iron ore, copper, and other natural resources became apparent. With all of this progress, it was only a matter of time that Detroit would get the modern transport system of horse-drawn streetcars, which made their first appearance in 1863 on Jefferson Avenue.

But Detroit proper was also surrounded by small villages, villages that eventually became part of the city itself. I'd like to tell of one in particular:

Leesville, a tiny hamlet built upon a cucumber farm owned by someone named Howcroft in 1853, was on the outskirts of the much larger *metropolis* of Detroit. The search for a church site led to the start of this village in the area of intersection of Harper (called Butler at the time) and Gratiot. Englishman Charles Lee is credited with founding the village with a Methodist church and a school. The church served the residents of Leesville for a number of years, and sources tend to affirm that this is the same church that was commonly known as "Lees Chapel," located at Gratiot and what is now Georgia Street. In those early years, church was a simple decision for the residents of Leesville: Protestants went to Lees Chapel and Catholics went to Assumption Grotto (built in 1832 and is still standing) in the nearby village of Connor's Creek.

Lees Chapel was among the few country-style churches of its time in this area.

A number of years later, talk of building another church occurred when a group of residents, dissatisfied with the Methodist faith, began discussion of the formation of an Episcopal mission in their town and planned to start their own small Episcopalian church. This is said to have taken place as early as the mid-1860's. The Church of Our Savior was officially founded in 1874, with Thomas Lee among the founders. The church building, located two blocks over from Lee's Chapel, was completed in 1875, and was designed by William Cooper, the eldest son of Henry Cooper, who supplied the bricks for the building. William Cooper was not a trained architect, but had worked in the building trades and trained himself to design and build. This is the small building in the classical church style that you see in the picture (that I took in January 2012) below. This brick church—now painted white—was designed and built by William Cooper who was, presumably, a resident of this area.

It is certain that the Church of Our Savior is the last remaining building of the town center, which included, among other things, a general store, butcher shop and a sawmill.

The former Church of Our Savior: the only remnants left from Leesville still standing

By 1876, Leesville had more than 100 homes and many large farms. Bricks for many of the Detroit area's new homes were made at the Leesville and Peter Hunt brickyards.

Leesville, as stated before, was built on the site once belonging to a cucumber farmer, and that reputation stayed with the area well into the later part of the 19th century. In fact, a road in the village was named Cucumber Lane. The name was later changed to Georgia.

This early village was also a major interurban and streetcar stop, eventually becoming the site of the Detroit United Railway (DUR) streetcar barns at the turn of the 20th century. It also had its own postmaster from the 1870's through the 1890's.

Leesville got its first electric street lights in 1902, and by 1915 became part of the ever-growing city of Detroit, though some sources say it became absorbed by Detroit as early as 1896. Maybe it did at the earlier date but change and acceptance was slow in coming. Just an assumption...

There were many early villages such as Leesville on what was then the outskirts of Detroit proper - more than 40, in fact - and they all sooner or later were swallowed up and became part of Detroit itself. I chose to write a bit about the village of Leesville for personal reasons: this was where I was born and spent almost the first decade of my life, though, as you may have guessed, it was no longer Leesville by that time. The best part? Our home was on Cucumber Lane...er, Georgia Street.

-----------------------------

I found another wonderful description of the motor city when it was still the carriage city:
"Detroit in 1889 was still seven years shy of the first automobile appearance on its streets and a full decade away from the opening of its first auto factory. Hundreds of companies, large and small, produced an array of products: shoes, stoves, varnishes, paints, drugs, cigars, patent medicines, boats, railroad cars, steel rails, brass fittings, soap....
Huge elm, maple, and chestnut trees shaded the streets, and gracious homes, most of the frame and painted either white or dark green, gave the new residential areas an air of comfort and well-being. The streets were paves with cobblestones and cedar blocks, and the sidewalks were made of wood.

Photo taken on Jefferson Avenue in the late 19th century. Note the wood-plank sidewalk

The widespread use of electricity was literally just around the corner - garish 125 foot towers illuminated intersections throughout the city - but in 1889 homes and businesses still used gaslight, and trolleys still were drawn by horses."
(From the book Detroit Land by Richard Bak)
And it was only four years later - in 1893 - that the city's first electric streetcar ran along Woodward Avenue.
In 1889, Detroit celebrated its industrial growth and growing prosperity by holding an International Fair and Exhibition, located on 70 acres of land in the early village of Delray located just south of *Historic* Fort Wayne (which, like Leesville, would eventually become part of the city of Detroit in the late 19th or early 20th century). The main exhibit building was, at the time, the largest in the world, with a frontage of 500 feet and an exhibit area of 200,000 square feet. According to local historian David Lee Poremba, "there was 4.5 acres of glass in its walls to illuminate examples of Detroit's manufacturing might. Special trains and streetcar lines brought thousands of visitors to the fair. Steamship lines brought people from Canada and Port Huron to see the many events" which ran from September 17 through the 27th.

A bird's eye view of the Detroit Fair and Exhibition - 1889

The visitors had never seen anything such as this before. Stations for everything from a ladies temperance union to a racetrack were situated inside the fairgrounds. There was also a jail, a post office, a bandstand and "buildings drip(ing) with gingerbread bargeboard and colorful bunting...which were illuminated by soaring towers topped with electric lamps." (Richard Bak).
Local businesses set up shop as well, including retailer Mobley & Company, Detroit Soap Company (which sold there ever-popular Queen Anne Soap), and the shoemaking Pingree & Smith. There were hot air balloonists showing off, a wild west show, a carousel - it was a real carnival atmosphere. Again, Mr. Bak in his book Detroit Land describes it best: "There was so much to take in: threshing machines, presses, and other machinery, and a seemingly endless succession of mechanical and industrial halls. Features included a palm garden, a floral palace, and miles of stalls displaying horses, sheep, cattle, pigs, poultry, and pets. There were band concerts and piano recitals and competitions of all sorts: yachting, riding, shooting, track and field, horse racing, baseball, and lacrosse. Attendees could gaze at giant prize squashes and pumpkins while being entertained by a clarion player performing an aria from Rigoletto or sit on the veranda of the main hall and try to bounce peanut shells off a passerby's derby.

The ascension of the great balloons was a major draw, as you can see from an actual photograph taken at Detroit's fair in 1889

The grounds were open daily except Sundays, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Admission was fifty cents for adults, a quarter for children. Steamboats and trolleys disgorged visitors to the exposition in five minute intervals. Keepers of boardinghouses cashed in by lodging strangers everywhere from the cellar to the garrett."
I wish I could have attended. Unfortunately, we were on the other side of town and had our cucumber farm to attend to. But what a time those folks must've had...

------------------------------------

George Washington Stark, born in 1884 and grew up near historic Elmwood Cemetery, noted in a Detroit News article that Elmwood “gave me my flair for the historical scene.” In 1951, for Detroit's 250th birthday celebration, he authored a pamphlet-type book entitled "Detroit At The Century's Turn." In this birthday celebration booklet, the recounting of the world of pre-automobile Detroit opens up to the reader in a wonderfully descriptive narrative:
"About 1890, when I was a small boy, one of the principal interests in my life was to watch the broad-beamed white mare, Nelly, walk a tread-mill. It was in Carrie and Conn's saw-mill located at the foot of Mt. Elliot Avenue, which was then the easterly city limit of Detroit. Nelly walked patiently, and by her endless walking she put in motion the big saw that turned cedar logs into neat paving blocks.
These block were hauled away from the mill in huge box-like wagons, and were dumped in piles at intervals along the dirt roads that served as streets. Soon workmen came and paved the street by laying the blocks side by side. The small spaces between the blocks were filled with tar which was poured from a large kettle that followed right behind the men who placed the blocks.
To a small boy, the tar kettle was almost, but not quite, as interesting as the cedar blocks and the saw mill. The blocks, while still in piles at the side of the streets, made wonderful play things. We children used them for our own building purposes: houses, sheds, and most often, castles in the air. We knew, of course, that sooner or later the pavers would come and knock down our lovely castles. But the blocks had to be laid and the tar had to be poured.
I now look on the cedar blocks as an emblem that represents an older way of life."

Another remembrance from Mr. Stark speaks of the delivery wagon from the same late 19th century era:
"In the warm months, Mr. Ritter, a stout German gentleman with fierce black whiskers, called around in a wagon drawn by a single horse. He had a triangular piece of steel, which he rang with another piece of steel, producing a sound that was real melody. It brought us rushing from the house with our milk pail, which Mr. Ritter filled without getting out of the wagon. The big galvanized milk cans were just in back of him, packed in ice. The milk was transferred from it to your own pitcher or pail by a measuring cup with a long handle. The process of ladling the milk from his big cans to the customer's pail or pitcher was a sort of domestic ritual.
Fresh vegetables and fruits in season were also delivered to our door. This was done by a dark-skinned farmer from beyond Mt. Elliott Avenue. He brought everything in from his farm, but I remember he was especially proud of his potatoes. He had a song about them which he continually chanted between clucking to his horse."

And then there was the local blacksmith. I have particular interest in this subject, for my great great grandfather, Wilhelm Lietz, was a blacksmith in Detroit in the 1880's and '90's. Here Mr. Stark gives his own story of the local blacksmith in his Detroit neighborhood:

"An exciting pastime for the youngsters was to look in the open door of Mr. Rivard's blacksmith shop, particularly on those days when he was busy with the big horses from Kling's Brewery. Mr. Rivard was a huge man, seemingly as huge as the horses, which he fitted with new shoes. He worked at his forge and anvil and there was no sight along our street to compare with this. The sparks flew in showers as he fashioned the new shoes with mighty blows. The shop was a long building, and in it Mr. Rivard kept rigs of all descriptions. Behind were barns where he had his own stable of fine horses. There he often rented to the people in my neighborhood."

--------------------------

Folks generally ate their breakfast, lunch/dinner, and supper in their own homes. Going 'out to eat' was not a common activity for the greater majority of the 19th century populace. But it did occur and, being the timely newspaper that it is, the following notation is from the January 22, 2012 (yes, today - the day that I am writing this!) Detroit News:

This advertisement proclaimed a new enterprise in 1850:

Patrick Collins has opened a new Eating House on Griswold Street. Mr. Collins is a stirring man and of course will be successful. The arrangements are all "tip-top."

Eating houses featured specialties like "all-you-can- eat" oysters or green turtle soup; they usually announced "a good accommodation for victuals" such as soup, potatoes, beef, ham and so forth. Nevertheless, complaints about the food were common. With the famous French chef and cooking instructor Professor Pierre Blott moving to New York City and becoming America's first celebrity chef by 1865, Detroit newspaper editorials hoped that students of chef Blott could "relieve the country from the reproach of having but one gravy."
The earliest restaurants appeared in the 1870s in Detroit, and by 1899 the city had 169. People had come to rely on restaurants for lunch, dinner and throughout the night as night shift workers, many living in lodging houses with no kitchen, began to depend on restaurants as their only source of cooked meals.

Interesting stuff, wouldn't you say? But what about those on the go? What about the workers who didn't have time to sit in an eating house, or worked the graveyard shift when no eating houses were open? You know...fast food? Well, since there was no such thing as fast food as we know it to be today, the next best thing would have been a lunch wagon.

In the 1890's, Henry Ford worked as an engineer for the Edison Illuminating Company, which supplied electricity to businesses and also to the few residents who wanted it. According to a Ford cousin, Ford Bryan, in his book Clara: Mrs. Henry Ford, Henry Ford patronized the Owl Night Lunch Wagon during his years working at Edison Illuminating. It was pulled to and from the curbside at Michigan and Griswold streets in Detroit by Reddy the bay horse, owned by John Colquhoun. There were stools inside the wagon and a window for take-out service. It opened at 6 p.m. and left at daybreak - this at a time when restaurants in Detroit closed up by 8 p.m.

---------------------------

I don't know about you but when I read this information for the first time I looked at the city of my birth quite differently. Too many contemporary historians tend to concentrate solely on not only the automobile era, but its extreme crime-ridden blight.

In other words, the 20th century.

Detroit's history is so much more rich and full than most realize, and it's this history that needs to be told.

For further reading on Detroit's early history you might enjoy reading of its Colonial Roots

The information presented here about Leesville came from the following three sources:
Detroit Beginnings: Early Villages and Old Neighborhoods by Gene Scott
Michigan Place Names by Walter Romig
And from the Church of Our Saviour website.

Other Sources used for this post:
Yesterday's Detroit by Frank Angelo
Detroit: A Motor City History by David Lee Poremba

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Winter

2012-01-13T13:24:00.008-05:00

~ A collection of notations from wintertime past~

WINTER STORM WARNING!

cautions the scroll along the bottom of your TV set.

YOUR WINTER SURVIVAL STATION!

declares the radio news station.

POWER OUTAGES THROUGHOUT THE METRO AREA!

screams the newspaper headlines.

~~~~~~~(don't you just love the media?)~~~~~~~

The weather is frighteningly cold outside: the temperatures are well below freezing, the wind is howling at your door, the snow is coming down at a blizzard pace.

But you? You are cozy toasty in your home with the forced-air furnace blowing warmth throughout each room, the airtight windows ensuring it does not escape. Light at the flick of a switch staves off the winter darkness. With help from the radio, ipod, or CD collection, along with the hundreds of cable channels – as well as a decent quantity of DVD's – your entertainment is almost limitless. The internet can take you “to infinity and beyond” at the click of a mouse, either on your home computer, laptop, or even on your cell phone. Then there's skype and phones to allow you to "visit" nearly anyone without leaving the house. And if you run out of food, the local Circle K, CVS, or Rite Aid party stores are only a moment’s drive from your door (for many of us), even in this horrible winter weather.
Yes, let it snow...modern technology has rescued you from fear of freezing and solitude.

But, what if you should lose power? What then?
I find it amusing that if the only light and heat comes from candles and fireplaces because of a power outage at your house, it is frustrating and annoying - but when it comes in the form of intimate tours of a 19th-century village, it is charming and peaceful.
(A quote from Old Sturbridge Village).

An outage would mean no TV, no computer, no music, no electric lights or even any electricity at all...oh my gosh! - - what now?
Oh, how will we survive the winter months?

The coziness of a non-electric January evening...

Isn't this so true for the greater majority of us? I know it would be for me, for I have no fireplace...well, no real fireplace - to even give off a bit of warmth should we lose power. I could survive without the neat little electronics - I have actual books to read, not a Kindl - but a power outage certainly would be more than unpleasant, if only for a lack of a heat source.
Have you ever given any thought to how the people many of us attempt to emulate during our reenactments survived the bitter winters in days of old? I have, and so I combed through a few of my books to see if it was as tough as I had heard.
In most cases it was far worse than I imagined.

Folks, I’m here to tell you we ain’t got nothin’ on our ancestors. What they had to live through each day of every winter and what they did to survive the bitter cold and snow in the pre-electric era makes everyone of us look like wimps.

And compared to them, we certainly are!

Currier & Ives "The Snow Storm" 1864

Wintertime in the early 20^th century and before brought in discomfort and dread to most in the United States, especially to those living above the Mason-Dixon Line. Winter-wear stockings, flannels, double-layered gowns, petticoats, shirts, trousers, and jackets all had to be altered and repaired after being stored away for the summer months; new items had to be made to replace those worn beyond repair. Anne Eliza Clark thanked her mother for the yarn mitts, which were of “great service to me when I sweep my chamber and make my bed.” Mittens were commonly worn inside as well as outside because, in many cases, there was little difference in the temperature.

Sleeping with another person was a way to generate warmth in the bed chamber. From earliest childhood, our ancestors had slept together – infants with their parents, then with their siblings, cousins, or even friends, and then with apprentices, or domestic help of the same sex. So used to sleeping with others that sleeping partners were often sought out.

William Davis recalled that “fires in chambers were, in my day, far from being universal, (and I) never slept in a heated chamber, except when sick, until sixteen years of age.”

Harriet Beecher Stowe remembered her Aunt Lois setting a candle in their room and “admiring the forest of glittering frost-work which had been made by our breath freezing upon the threads of the blanket.”

Mrs. Stowe also warned that “whoever touched a door-latch incautiously in the early morning received a skinning bit from Jack Frost,” while Harriet Martineau recalled those winter mornings when even with a good hot coal fire in her chamber stove “everything you touch seems to blister your fingers with cold.” James Stuart found it “difficult to preserve the body in sufficient warmth, even wrapped in two suits of clothes, and everyone kept on stockings and flannel garments during the night. The ink froze in my pen in lifting it to the paper from an ink-horn, placed within the fender in front of a good fire.”

On the 19^th of December 1856, Caroline Dustan wrote, “Water in Mamma’s and my wash bowl freezing thick as half a dollar.”

During the coldest days of winter, families moved and lived in one room of their home, clustered around the fireplace or stove. It was in this manner that the family ensured survival. But that did not mean they were warm: “A forest of logs, heaped up and burning in the great chimney, could not warm the other side of the kitchen. Aunt Lois, standing with her back so near the blaze as to be uncomfortably warm, found her dish towel freezing in her hand.”

Thomas Chaplin wrote in January 1857, “The thermometer is down to 20 degrees in the house at eight in the morning, and everything is frozen hard, including eggs, milk, and ink, and every piece of crockery that water was left in overnight is cracked.”

Now that’s cold!

It was unfortunate for the woman who attempted to do her daily chores such as spinning, for this necessary activity required ample amount of floor space and nimble fingers. There are numerous diary entries that tell of the difficulty in performing this task inside a crowded room with frozen fingers.

Small tin and wood foot stoves filled with an iron plate of glowing coals were used in both the parlor or for traveling. These little warmers were considered a woman’s stove, or an “effeminate luxury.” In 1819, Theodore Dwight declared his toes “comfortably bitten, which excited much sympathy: & I came near suffering the indignity of having a girl with gold beads offer me a stove.”

Victorians had their fun, too: "In much merriment the sleighing party is made up to dash along with chiming bells and song and laughter. An upset now and then is counted in with the amusements of the day, so that no one is hurt, and who ever is? by a fall into a yielding snowbank!" (Currier & Ives "A Spill Out on the Snow" 1870)

(From the diary of Samuel Cormany): January 14, 1861 - Sleighing is fine - "Charlie" the horse is a very fleet-footed little fellow, and my cutter is very light, about 100 lbs, and with a Buffalo Robe under me and another over me, and fur gloves - zero weather is not to be dreaded at all.

January was the month that the cellar was to be replenished with apples and late-season vegetables, packed in sawdust or sand. Pigs had to be killed, sausages made, and barrels of pork and ham put down. Pies were baked in large quantity to be kept frozen in the storeroom, the garrett, the guest chamber, or the closed –up parlor. Maria Church, on January 22, 1854, was happy to note that she “now completed all the winter jobs of sausages, pork, putting down hams, making candles, & mince pies.”

After a bit of rest from the arduous labor of the planting, growing, and harvest seasons, the Monday following 12^th Night (or Epiphany – January 6), known as Plow Monday, was the traditional signal to begin another work year. It was on Plow Monday that the farmer began to get all of his farm equipment into tip-top shape for the growing season.

The winter months of January and February were considered the best time of year for woodcutting, and the rising of the sun was often accompanied with the sound of an axe as fuel supplies were needed. Wood chopping had a dual purpose in the wintertime: it warmed the axeman as it was being chopped and warmed him again as it was burned for fuel. The men spent long, hard days in the woods, sometimes hiring out help to complete such a task. They would cut and prepare specific firewood for the many needs such as for cooking, warming, and laundry.

The amount of wood needed was impressive: a large family recorded in a journal that they burned forty four cords of wood within a one year period in a house with seven fireplaces, a bake oven, and two chimney’s. Another family documented burning “twenty seven cords, two feet of wood” between May 3, 1826 and May 4, 1827. One impoverished woman mentioned that she endured a Boston winter on twelve cords of wood “as we kept but one fire except on extraordinary occasions.” Abigail Adams burned forty to fifty cords a year “as we are obliged to keep six fires constantly & occasionally more.”

We’re coming up to ice-cutting season, that time of year where those with the means to will head out to the frozen lakes, ponds, and rivers to cut blocks of ice to be used for the storage of meat during the warmer seasons of the year.

Cutting blocks of ice from the river (Currier & Ives - "Winter in the Country: Getting Ice" 1864)

The previous year’s sawdust, old and pungent-smelling, was shoveled out and used for fertilizer and replaced with a new five-inch base in preparation for the coming year. The roads leading to and from the lakes, rivers, and streams saw teams of horses, oxen, and mules hauling blocks of ice.

Winter, by the way, was the best time to travel; the roads and paths were usually covered with snow, and that made it easy to glide over the smooth surface. Folks traveled in sleighs, cutters, and carioles, most of which had jingling bells attached to warn the pedestrians, who were bundled up head to toe and could not hear beyond the higher pitched ringing, to move out of the way since the clip-clop of the horse’s hooves were muffled due to the snow. Instead of plowing the snow out of the way, as we do in our modern day, snow rollers packed it down. They rolled the roads, covering the bare spots so that sleighs could get through, and if they came to a covered bridge or an area cleared of the white stuff, they would shovel a layer of snow onto the bridge floor or the bare area so that the sleigh runners wouldn't stick.

This winter, when the wind howls at your door and you keep your thermostat to an oh-so-cool 66 degrees, when you feel boredom creep up on you, and your bed sheets feel cold against your body, and even when you must venture out to the local store a couple blocks away, fighting the slippery ice and snow covered streets the entire way, remember how your 19^th century self would have dealt with the months of January and February. That should warm you up a bit!

The information for this article came from numerous sources:

“Our Own Snug Fireside” by Jane C. Nylander

“At Home” by Elisabeth Donaghy Garrett

“Seasons of America Past” by Eric Sloane

“American Yesterday” by Eric Sloane

“Early Travel” by Bobbie Kalman

"Cormany Diaries: A Northern Family in the Civil War"

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Christmas is Past - 12th Night's the Last

2012-01-08T23:02:00.008-05:00

The Christmas season is now officially over. 12th Night/Epiphany/Three Kings Day (otherwise known as January 6) marks the actual end to Christmas.
And it ended with a bang!
One of the Civil War reenacting units that I belong to had our annual period-dress Christmas party this past Saturday.
"'Period dress' you say?"
Yup!

Just a few of the sixty or so 21st Michigan members to attend our annual period-dress Christmas party!

We began to hold our Christmas parties in this way since January of 2006 (we have the party in January because December is much too busy a month for everyone), and it's truly a highlight for all that attend.
When I first suggested having a period dress Christmas party, many balked at the idea. There was no other unit that did this sort of thing, so why should the 21st Michigan? But to me it was a no-brainer - I mean, how can you be in a reenacting unit and not have a period Christmas party? It still surprises me to hear, as far as I can tell, that the 21st Michigan is the only unit I know based in and around the Detroit area that does this.
It's too bad for the reeanactors that don't. They don't know the fun they're missing.

The "white elephant" gift exchange is at hand with our very own Union Santa!

To me it is a shame because we really have a great time. Our Christmas party is held in an old school house that was built in 1872, and gives the perfect historic back drop to help bring the past to life. Seeing this vestige of the past filled with 60 or so people dressed in period clothing, one can easily understand that the makings for a night of 1860's fun is at hand!

Christmas carols sounded hauntingly beautiful on the pipes

One of our members, who normally portrays local Detroit politician Senator Jacob Howard, will don his Harper's Weekly (ca 1862) Union Santa suit to help pass out the presents. Yes, there are presents, too. President Lincoln makes frequent appearances, as he did this year. And we even had a bagpipe playing member serenade us all with Scottish Christmas carols!

President Lincoln speaks politics to one of his supporters

But the real thrill, besides the clothing and historic building, is all the good food that is brought by the membership: turkey, mashed potatoes, squash, venison stew, homemade bread, ham, corn...and a dessert table filled with cakes, pies, cookies, and other goodies.
Yes, it's a wonderful way to end the season.
But it didn't end there at the old schoolhouse...
Afterward, a few members stopped over to my home for sort of an afterglow. If you are a regular reader of this blog then you know my wife and I have a very-close-to period authentic 1860's parlor in my home where we will have gatherings and light the oil lamps and candles to help with a sort of immersion experience..

A cozy January evening with good friends in our parlor

I feel bad that I cannot invite everyone over (perish the thought of having 60 people in my home!), but my home is just not very big. And most cannot make it anyhow, what with their children and all and it being on the later side of the evening.

The glow of an oil lamp is enough light for the engaging conversation here

Those that do come, however, find themselves in another time - a time that is long gone.
This is perhaps one of my most favorite evenings of the year: having appropriately dressed people over in a dimly lit room relaxing and speaking as they might have 150 years ago is as good as it gets!
In fact, I may do it again in the late winter...maybe have a parlor game evening filled with song, games, and good conversation...

My wife and I had our tintype taken by a visiting photographer

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the photos I have posted here.

And for those of you tired of my Christmas postings...this will probably be my last one for a while. Notice I said "probably" - - - -

I've been working on a winter time post I believe you may find rather interesting. Stay tuned...

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How One Family Became Living Historians

2012-01-02T10:44:00.003-05:00

How did we get here...

...from here?

I get asked every-so-often how and why did my family and I get involved in Civil War reenacting.
Here's our story, one that I wrote and originally posted three years ago but have updated since...

For years I have enjoyed visiting historical reenactments, seeing the participants wearing period clothing and living as if they were from the past. I envied those folks that were able to assume the role of a person from another era, and I would think about it quite a bit after returning home. But, I had always felt it was an exclusive club - that a plain Joe like me could not just join. This want I had to join those who brought the past to life would nag at me each time I would visit an event. Because of my love of history (And How Long Have YOU Been Into History?) I really wanted to be a part of this group of people! A big problem, unfortunately, was my job - my occupation at that time was in retail and that meant nearly every weekend was spent at work. This did not give me much of an opportunity to pursue reenacting.
After years of living the retail life, I wised up and found a new job - one that allowed me to have my weekends free. It was that same year (1996) that my family and I visited the Dickens Festival up in Holly, Michigan for the first time. What a great time we had, seeing street actors dressed up in Dickensian clothing, bringing the characters from Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" to life before my eyes. Now, you have to understand that "A Christmas Carol" is my favorite book and movie, and my wife, Patty, and I, years earlier, used to speak of having a Dickens Christmas party one day.
It never happened.
What did happen, however, was that the following year I contacted the entertainment director of the Dickens Festival and joined the troupe. Initially I did simple easy tasks that no one wanted such as selling raffle tickets. This wasn't my favorite thing but I knew it was an "in." A year or two later I became a chestnut vendor, which was actually great fun: I got to roast chestnuts over an open fire and speak to many visitors as a London street vendor just like in days of old. Then finally I got a small part in the play as a charity man asking Scrooge for a donation. To me, this was the big time.

At the 2001 Holly Dickens Festival -
velcro polyester costume - - - Hey! Ya gotta start somewhere!

My wife joined me that first year...she hated it! She absolutely found it not to be to her liking. She did not like being in the cold, she did not like the tight scheduling of events, and she did not like conversing with the public as an actress.
But, luckily for me, she never tried to prevent me from my participation. And, eventually, my two older children also took part, one as a vendor and a singer, the other as Tiny Tim. They, like me, enjoyed it immensely.
So, on the weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas we donned our Dickensian costumes (for they really were costumes - far from authentic - purchased at a costume shop) and found a niche we never knew we had. We had a great time speaking in our pseudo British accent and joking with the patrons and the other Dickens characters, doing our best to make "A Christmas Carol" come to life.

Yes, that's me between Scrooge & Marley

The trouble was, it only lasted through the Christmas season, and I found myself thinking about the Festival throughout the year. I wanted more. In fact, I would even throw on the costume here and there when no one was home. It was clear to me that one month of pretending I was from the past was not enough - I really wanted more.
My family and I visited the 1999 Civil War Remembrance at Greenfield Village on Memorial Weekend. Again, the want - the need - to take part in such a historical presentation came to the forefront of my mind. I could just feel the entire of my mind and soul aching - seriously aching - to take part in this form of time travel, even more so than the Dickens Festival; I could tell this was the real deal where the Dickens Festival was more play acting. I inquired to a recruiter for one of the military units on how I could participate in such a cool activity. The unit I spoke with (which shall remain nameless here) was friendly enough and explained how simple it was to join, which my eldest son and I did on the spot (my wife was uncertain at the time). The man told us of an event coming up that we could attend with them that was small enough and would give us a chance to see what it was like. After explaining that my son and I didn't have clothing nearly as authentic as their's - that what we had were Velcro costumes from a costume shop - we were told to wear it anyhow, that it would be OK.
We did.
---mm---not a good move...........
Unfortunately, at this event, we were shunned.
Shunned.
We must've had the plague or something.
No one spoke to us. No one explained to us anything about reenacting; what we were doing wrong or right. In fact, there was plenty of whispering going on.
And staring.
At my son and I.
Until we felt we had had enough and decided these people could kiss our...
Well, anyhow, we concluded that it was time for us to leave.
Then - and only then - did a period-dressed gentleman speak with us to tell us how great a time Civil War reenacting was and that he hoped we'd return.
Too late. Yeah, I know I should have told this guy exactly what was on my mind, but I believe he could tell how we felt, for he had a very sympathetic tone to his voice.
My son and I were miserable and we both agreed that if this was the way people that reenacted were, then we wanted nothing to do with them.
Who needs 'em?
And I ached again. I mean really ached this time.
History was letting me down. This subject that meant the world to me - this subject that I had studied intently for nearly my entire life - blew me off.
*sigh*
The same year I joined the Dickens Festival I had also joined the East Detroit Historical Society and I helped to create programs for our 1872 schoolhouse, including having me every-so-often put on my costume and act as a 19th century superintendent to the schoolchildren that would visit during the school year. That was fun and it helped a bit during the off season, even if it only happened once or twice a year. And, I would also, at times, convince my wife to don her costume and play along with me here and there for the different historical society events we would put on. Sadly, it usually ended with her saying something to the effect of, "It was OK but once in a while is enough."
However, the fact that she was willing to dress 19th century (we didn't know about "farby" yet!) had always made me feel that there was some interest in this sort of thing for her. But, my question was...how do I get her to willingly portray history more often?
For me, though, even with these "extra" historical activities, there was just something missing...there was still this empty feeling...
Of course, the memory of my experience with a real reenacting unit was very fresh in my mind, and I knew that had my wife experienced what I did, she would never even consider reenacting.
Ever.
Enter an East Detroit Historical Society living history luncheon where Patty and I portrayed the famed author Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine. Yes, my wife willingly agreed to do this (!?!). As I researched information on the author and his wife I inadvertently discovered period clothing websites. Since my sister-in-law's sister was a seamstress, we ordered period correct (circa 1840) clothing patterns for Patty's dress and for my shirt and hired Miss Cathy to make them for us. The rest of what we wore was still costume.

Charles and Catherine Dickens -
we were trying...

Patty also learned as much as she could about Catherine Dickens so she could answer questions should any arise. However, at the garden party, the majority of the inquiries were not about Catherine Dickens, but of the period dress she was wearing. That seemed to spark a bit of an interest in her, and once the four-hour luncheon had ended, Patty remained in her dress for a couple hours after.
It was shortly after this time that me and two other members of our historical society were planning a historical timeline of the colonial era through the turn of the 20th century - one where all participants would dress in period "costumes". And, yes, I wanted my family to be involved. Patty actually offered to sew a dress for our two year old daughter, and, as for our only son that did not have anything period to wear (remember: my two oldest had their Dickens costumes), we would put together something we felt could "pass."
I had even found a ca 1900 jacket off ebay that I thought would work to improve my own impression.
Let us jump up eight months into the future, to the very next Memorial Weekend. The timeline event hadn't taken place yet. However, I had convinced Patty to dress up, once again, in a "period" dress - one that I found that I felt looked a bit more accurate to the 1860's, and we attended the Civil War Remembrance at Greenfield Village, dressed "period" as best as we could. This ensemble now included a hoop skirt of which she had never worn. (Looking at the dress now, it was far from accurate but better than the Dickens Festival costume).
Being the brave soul she is (and given the fact that she loves me very much) she ventured into uncharted territory. It helped that our friend, Lynn, who collects original garments and enjoys dressing period, came along with us.
Patty had a blast! She really did!

This was us making a first real attempt at wearing period clothing - not costumes - and we did it at Greenfield Village's Memorial Weekend Civil War event. No unit membership - it was totally on our own - but we continued trying. What brave souls we were...

It was on this weekend that I met a few members of the 21st Michigan Civil War reenacting unit - a group I had only conversed with through e-mail due to their participation in the timeline festival that would take place later that summer. I immediately felt a friendliness that was not present with the other unit from a couple years earlier. They even invited us to stay for the evening ball! We could not because my mother was ill in the hospital and we had to be home early, but just the idea that we were invited stuck with us.
It was then that I started on the "Let's give it another try and join a Civil War unit" plea. Patty replied, "No, I really don't want to - I like doing it how we've been." I told her I'd really like to give it another go and that it would be a great thing for us to do as a family - every trick I could think of.
She still shook her head no.
So I mentioned to my two oldest sons about joining the 21st Michigan, Robbie did not hesitate to respond with a resounding "Yes!" Tom, the oldest, remembering what had happened previously was a bit more cautious and responded with "Will I get to fire a musket?" When I answered in the affirmative, his response was a very un-Victorian "Cool!"
Yesssss!!! Now to work on my wife.
Well, in early July, the timeline event, now called Erin-Halfway Days, took place. Patty wore her 1840 Catherine Dickens dress and spent the day crocheting while I wore my Ebay purchased jacket with my Dickens shirt and pants. We all got to see first hand the 21st Michigan - soldier and civilian - in action.
I wanted to join so bad! That evening, after my wife had left, I spoke with a few of the civilian members and they agreed that it was a great family hobby. I knew Patty would enjoy it if she gave it a chance. But, I vowed to myself that I would not join unless my family joined with me.
Finally, I just confronted her.
"OK, Patty, here's the deal: you give it a try for three - just three - events. Why three? Because you cannot make a decision based on one or two events. The first may be good. The second not so good. The third one could be the tie-breaker."
That was my plea.
Believe it or not, she agreed. But, she had many questions: Did she have to play a role? What will she do all day at an event? What do we do with our youngest two children, especially Miles, who was autistic and didn't like loud noises, much less musket fire? And there were many more questions that I could not answer. So I told her to come to the drills that Tom and I planned to attend and maybe she could meet some of the women in the unit who could help her along.
She came, and I was ecstatic that she did. A couple of the women showed and made my wife feel totally comfortable, answering all of her questions openly and honestly. So much so, in fact, that we spoke positively of our joining the unit the entire 35 minute ride home. Patty actually showed signs of being excited about portraying a Civil War era woman!
Now, the real test would take place - we would attend our first reenactment, taking place at Historic Fort Wayne in July of 2004, just a couple weeks after Erin-Halfway Days. And I wore what I did at the timeline while Patty wore what she did at Greenfield Village. One of the female members rode to the fort with us, which helped to calm our nerves a bit - yes, we were very nervous. After my previous experience with an actual reenacting unit, how could I not be nervous? It also helped that we left our kids at home this first time out.
The day was a complete success! Patty had more fun and was more relaxed than I had seen her in quite a while, crocheting and talking with the other members of the 21st. We even had our photograph taken with an old glass-plate camera - the only picture of us taken at our very first event.

You can see just how farby we were - don't you just love photos from your first event?

Best of all was having the members help us along, giving us pointers, and generally accepting us.
We were not shunned at all!!
Even while wearing very farby (a word I learned earlier that year) clothing.
All the way home, after we returned home, and into the following days all conversations seemed to be about Civil War reenacting.
"All right!" I thought. "One event down, two more to go!"
Our second event was a big one - the Jackson event, which is the largest in the midwest. The whole family (sans Miles) was to come along this time. But in order for Tom to be a part (for he had been drilling with the military end of the unit) he needed a uniform.
Yep - Patty gave me the okay to order him one.
"I think she's hooked!"
If you have ever attended large events, then you know what Jackson is like. Virtually every Michigan unit, as well as some from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and even Canada, were there. Wall to wall reenactors - we had never seen anything like it. And, since Tom had received the OK from the drill masters and borrow the unit's musket, he was able to enter into battle.
Our heads were spinning!
Once again, the long drive home was filled with conversation of the day's events - all very positive. And Patty was on a Civil War "high" for weeks following.

Even though there was no need for a third event, we more than willingly attended a living history festival in Wyandotte that September, this time bringing Miles. Although he cringed when the military fired their muskets for the public, even he enjoyed himself! And when Patty realized this would be the last event of the season, she was, in her own words, "bummed."
The original three event test was now complete and it passed with flying colors.
That first winter I had made the decision to remain a civilian - much to the chagrin of a few of the military fellows - and studied period men's clothing intently. I found a number of living historians on line, including Bill and Glenna Jo Christen, and spoke with and learned from them. By the time the first event of 2005 rolled around, we were ready!

At Greenfield Village the following year - what a difference from the previous year, huh?

That spring we joined a second reenacting - actually, a living history - group, the civilian only Michigan Soldiers Aid Society (MSAS), whose membership thrived on and strived for authenticity and accuracy beyond any group I had witnessed. This wonderful group of social historians - especially Sandy Melcher Root - have taught me so very much about everyday life of the Civil War era, and I have applied what I learned to each reenactment I attend. They opened my eyes to first person presentations and, because of the early workshops and one on one conversations with them, I was now able to bring history to life for the visitors.

MSAS members at Walker's Tavern - a scene from the past!

I also remained with the 21st Michigan, and due to the ever-growing civilian contingency, I have been elected (for six or seven years now) as 'Civilian Coordinator' for the unit, where, like the MSAS, we are always working to improve our impressions, clothing, and speech.

Since our foray into living history, my family and I have immersed ourselves into the 1860's, applying much of what we learned from the past to our present day living. We have even attempted to recreate a Victorian parlor in our home:

We have also met some of the finest people one could ever meet and are proud to call them our friends. We have a like-mindedness like I've never experienced - a connection like no other. It's hard to explain.
And we continue to meet more and more...
My wife will now reenact without her dear old husband around - who'd a-thought, right?
I'm glad I never gave up on becoming a reenactor/living historian, for I can now live out my dream/fantasy of traveling to the mid-19th century pretty much as often as I'd like. The opportunities for our time-travel excursions have grown ten-fold over the years to now include Christmas and winter time activities as well.
And be with the finest folk on God's green earth.

Members of the MSAS, the 21st Michigan, and a few independents at Crossroads Village 2010: a fine group of living historians, if you ask me!

It just doesn't get any better.

.

Thoughts As The Season Winds Down

2011-12-30T23:32:00.008-05:00

The circa 1832 Eagle Tavern is festively decked for the Holiday Season

I have to say that this was probably the best Christmas season ever for me. And it's still not over, for we have the New Years Celebration coming up. Now, I'm not really big on New Years, to be honest. To me it is just taking me further away from the past, distancing me from a period of which I love. On the other hand, a new year also gives me the opportunity to learn even more about the past through newly discovered research, thus bringing me closer to the time I love.
Don't try to figure that out!

The front sitting room table in Giddings House 1750

Anyhow, I would like to wish all of you a very Happy and Peaceful New Year. Please be safe - not just on New Years Eve, but for the whole of the year and all the years to come.

Stay tuned - there are plenty more postings about living history, reenacting, and general social history on the way...

Lanterns near the front door of the 1750 Giddings House light the way for visitors

A Christmas verse published by Joseph Royle in 1765 in The Virginia Almanack:
Christmas is come, hang on the pot,
Let spits turn round and ovens be hot;
Beef, pork, and poultry now provide,
To feast thy neighbours at this tide;
Then wash all down with good wine and beer,
And so with Mirth conclude the Year.
(taken from the Colonial Williamsburg Facebook page)

.

Christmas 1860 and2011

2011-12-23T14:29:00.005-05:00

...Now for a Christmas description from Godey's Lady's Book December 1860:

Miss Moses is ready for the ride from the city to the country

CHRISTMAS IN THE CITY and COUNTRY
Christmas, the general holiday, has its charms for each. In towns there is much consultation as to toilet, for though the children absorb the morning, and it is proper to be seen at church, it is not less certain that the intimate gentlemen friends of the family will make their appearance by the time a demi-toilet can be dispatched, a little rehearsal of the general reception that marks the New Year. There are symptoms of it in the well-spread lunch table of the luxurious drawing room, in the impromptu grouping of ladies of the house with the first tinkle of the doorbell, and its enjoyment culminates in the entrance of "the coming man," who "takes the liberty of bringing his friend Marks," already well known in society as "superb in the German."
The country cousins, meantime, have already dined! - unfashionable creatures - and enjoyed with keen appetites the ample bountiful Christmas dinner the barnyard and the garden's latest gifts of crisp celery, winter vegetables, and fruit have contributed to. The air is keen and clear, the sky unclouded sapphire, the roads in their prime of sleighing from yesterday's travel over the last cheerful snowstorm. They, too, have "gentlemen friends" who are only too happy to pay their devoirs in the clear open air, and in much merriment the sleighing party is made up to dash along with chiming bells and song and laughter. An upset now and then is counted in with the amusements of the day, so that no one is hurt, and who ever is? by a fall into a yielding snowbank!

---------------------------------------------------

In the colonial Giddings kitchen

December 2011:
Our annual trek to Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village has expanded: by the time the Christmas season is over I'll have been there a total of seven times! You see, this year my period vocal group, Simply Dickens, has been contracted to sing there for six nights! Yes, we have been set up in the gazebo near the Ackley Covered Bridge and perform our old world carols for the throngs of visitors who pass by. Many will stop and listen to the little known carols from Christmas past and, happily, remain there, enthralled by the music of our ancestors.

Simply Dickens in Greenfield Village

For a group like ours, having the opportunity to play in such a place as Greenfield Village during the ever-popular Holiday Nights is akin to performing at Cobo Hall for a major recording artist. Thousands of people stroll past us as they hear Past Three O'Clock, Gloucestershire Wassail, Riu Riu Chiu, The Boar's Head Carol, The Sans Day Carol, and even Silent Night sung in German. Many will stop and listen, and in doing so will get to hear a little bit of the history of each ancient carol sung by the group.

The Ladies Aid Society in Smiths Creek Depot

This Christmas season also saw my wife participating at Holiday Nights as well; she portrayed one from a Ladies Aid Society in Smiths Creek Depot with fellow living historian Lorna Paul. Now, you must understand that, though my wife enjoys reenacting, she's never done it without me with her. This is the first time she had ever taken it upon herself to participate in such a thing on her own. And she absolutely loved it! Not only was she was able to crochet and knit items for our fighting men in blue, but had the opportunity to give the visiting patrons a tour and give a bit of history on the depot itself.

I visited the lovely ladies at the depot

~Note the feather tree~

One thing my wife has never done was to visit the Crocker House Museum in Mt. Clemens, so this year I finally took her there. She was so aglow at the sight of this restored Victorian home. Crocker House is run by my good friend Kim Parr, a true living historian and a wealth of 19th century information. Kim used to be a master presenter at the aforementioned Greenfield Village and has brought her well-gained knowledge from those years over to the Crocker House.

The rooms in Crocker House
are authentically decorated

This 1869 home is beautifully decorated as it might have been in the late 19th century and, to an extent, in the early 20th century. Teas are held multiple times during the Christmas Season (including my favorite, the Simply Dickens Tea!) and each one is a sell out.

Santa comes down the stairs at Crocker House

The display accurately conveys the scenes from the movie "A Christmas Story."

Another fun Christmas thing we did this year was to visit the Plymouth Historical Museum (in Plymouth, Michigan - not Plymouth Mass.), where they have a pretty fun exhibit of "A Christmas Story" vignettes throughout there Street of Old Plymouth display.

Randy lay there like a slug...it was his only defense!

Christmas is what you make it. If it's stress and malls that you think of when Christmas comes around then maybe you should take a step back, breathe a little, and take in all your town has to offer. Christmas is so much more...

Having a Historic Christmas in My Own Home

2011-12-19T11:33:00.007-05:00

Yes, the candles are real and are lit on our tree. We cut our tree down ourselves at a Christmas tree farm so we know it's fresh. I have been doing this for over 25 years and can honestly say it is truly a beautiful sight to behold.

Well, I got my house all decked out for Christmas. Since it is a modern bungalow, built in 1944, decorating in a period style can be rather difficult. But, in 1999 we added on a large room in the back, and it was based off several designs from certain homes located inside of Greenfield Village. We are not rich or well-to-do even, but over the last eleven years or so we have collected numerous antique furniture pieces; items bought at very good prices through friends, acquaintances, or even on a lucky buy, and have furnished this room to give a fairly accurate mid-19th century appearance. Needless to say, this period atmosphere has spilled over into Christmas time.
Well, as you know, I enjoy visiting museums - besides Greenfield Village I also frequent Crossroads Village, Waterloo Farms, Crocker House Museum, Charlton Park, and any number of other historically accurate localities. And I photograph nearly every nook and cranny - inside and out - of these beautiful historic places. I do the same thing at Christmas, for I enjoy the period feeling one gets when inside these old structures no matter what the season. And I try to take a little bit from each locale and blend the ideas together as I decorate my back room in order to keep it unique to me and my family.
It seems to work.
The other evening we hosted a number of our living history friends for our annual "A Christmas Carol" party. No one dresses in their period clothing for this gathering; we come together as friends with mutual interests, share snacks and drinks, and then settle down to watch one of the many filmed versions of this greatest Christmas movie of all time. This year happened to be the 1951 Alistair Sim version from 1951.
Anyhow, quite a few friends showed up and a few comments were made by a couple of the guests: the first comment was over-hearing one guest speak on the phone to his son about how he was at a party, sitting in an authentic room from the 1860's. Now, I must note that this gentleman works at Greenfield Village as a historic presenter.
Another guest, also a worker at Greenfield, mentioned to me directly that he felt like he was at work, "only I can touch and sit on this stuff. We're not allowed to at the Village."
A third guest, who visits my wife and I often, upon seeing my decorations noted how accurate they were as well. This friend is the director and curator at Crocker House Museum as well as being a former master presenter at the, ahem, Village of Greenfield.
Comments like this coming from these kinds of folks is quite a high honor for me. I was on such a high upon hearing this!
If you have (hopefully) read my two most recent postings on my Christmas time-travel adventures:
(Christmas at Historic Fort Wayne in Detroit
and
Ghosts of Christmas Past), you will know how hard I strive to bring Christmas of long ago back to life. Every year I think I get a little closer...
I took a few photos and I thought I would share with you Christmas at my house.
I hope you enjoy them:

Opposite the Christmas tree shown at the top of this post is the sitting area of our Gathering Room/Parlor. My wife will sit here for hours - literally - and spin wool into yarn on her spinning wheel

This is where I come to "get away" from it all when modern society gets to me and I haven't the time (or energy) to go to Greenfield Village


Most of what you see in this room are actual mid-19th century antiques - some a little older, some a little newer - but all close to the era of which I strive to replicate. Except the fireplace...I'll explain that shortly...

This particular picture was not taken at my house (tho' I wish it were!); this was taken at the Waterloo Farm in 2010. I love the way they decorated the fireplace mantle very traditionally. I tried to replicate this look on my own fireplace...

...what do you think? Close? Now, my fireplace is not a real one, this is obvious. Since we don't have one at all in our home my mother bought us this heater/faux fireplace. Even though it's not real, it certainly gives a fine appearance, don't you think?

Even though I'm showing this with the lit candles, we do have electric lights on our tree as well. We only light the candles once during the season, and they stay lit only for around 15 minutes or so. The rest of the time we have 21st century period-correct tiny electric lights.

I hope you enjoyed the little tour of Christmas at my home. I do wish you the merriest of Christmas's!!

.

Christmas at Historic Fort Wayne in Detroit

2011-12-11T23:09:00.024-05:00

Another weekend in December - another Christmas time-travel experience...

That's our home - the white one
(This photo from the Fort Wayne website)

Historic Fort Wayne is located in downtown Detroit and is situated on the Detroit River at a point where it is about a mile to the Canadian shore. The original 1848 limestone barracks (with later brick additions) still stands, as does the 1845 Star fortification (renovated in 1863 with brick exterior facing). On the fort grounds but exterior to the original star fort are additional barracks, officers quarters, hospital, shops, recreation building, commissary, guard house, garage, and stables.

Our entrance way - quite elegant,
wouldn't you say?

The star fort today is substantially similar to the original construction, although some changes have been made.
It's here that annual Civil War reenactments take place during the summer months. It's also here during December that a semi-annual Christmas living history event will also take place known as Christmas at the Fort.
(The above was taken from Wikipedia)

Ready to begin our
Christmas Eve 1861 celebration

On December 10th of this year a number of us donned our period clothing and brought the past to life for a few hundred tourists that took a scheduled tour, stopping at different locations to learn of Christmas celebrations past. They visited the barracks where Civil War soldiers were shown participating in the same activities they would have done a hundred and fifty years ago. They also stopped at a home to show what it was like for southern families during that time.
I was part of a group stationed inside a very elegant commander's home, though our scenario wasn't about the commander; it was to show how a well-to-do northern family would have celebrated Christmas Eve.
The house was as ornate and elegant as any Victorian home I have seen, and we got to call it "home"!

Family and friends gathered in our front parlor
to enjoy this joyous holiday

This was a unique presentation, for the group of visitors were not allowed to roam throughout the home and speak to the various living historians. They, instead, were able to stand in the doorways of the various rooms to peak in and see the 1860's in action. While they did this, one from our group would quietly get up from our activity and move over to where the visitors were and speak of how we were celebrating Christmas.

Yes, we were ghosts of Christmas Past
to the visitors from the future

The rest of us continued reading, singing, knitting, playing games, or doing whatever else we were in the midst of and were oblivious to those apparitions from the future. And then, when our presenter had finished their talk, they re-joined our group and continued as if they had never left.
I must say, this was a bit difficult to do as a presenter. We normally ask if there are any questions or employ the help of another reenactor in a sort of tag-team presentation. We're not used to just ending our speech and walking away. So, we kind of did a combination of the two. It worked well but it is my hope that should we do this again next Christmas that we re-visit this goal and see if we can make it kind of an ethereal presentation.

We gathered 'round the pump organ
and sang Christmas carols

We did have a fine time as living historians bringing Christmas past to life. We took turns reading from the various material including Dickens "A Christmas Carol," the latest issue of Harper's Weekly (from December 1861), and from a book of poetry, short stories, and other period correct verses. We sang Christmas Carols to a pump organ, and played parlor games. And some of the ladies crochet and knitted Christmas gifts for their loved ones off fighting the rebellion.

Our servant girl continued doing what
she was paid to do, especially on Christmas Eve!

As any wealthy family would have employed, we had a domestic there, cleaning, sweeping, and keeping house for us. She was included in our scenario here and there: while we had a group of visiting public inside, our servant would stop what she was doing and take a peak inside the room to view the celebrating. I, of course, would chastise her and send her back to her duties of which I pay her for. The tour group loved this.
On a side note, as we gathered all of our participants together for a group photo, one elegantly dressed woman told the domestic, "Servants in the back!"
The young lady obliged.
Yes, we do take our fun seriously.

Posing for a photograph -
this is what WE saw

But it is fun and it is role playing - by choice - and that's why I love working with the living historians that I do. They are top-notch. Yes, there is room for improvement. But, we are heading in the right direction, and with each event that we present in this manner we raise our bar a bit higher.

Posing for a photograph -
this is what the future sees

As I stated in my last post (Ghosts of Christmas Past) I have always dreamt of the days of Christmas past, from the time I was a tiny tot throughout my adult-hood, and I had attempted numerous times to replicate Christmas's from an era long ago.
And now my wish, my dream, my prayer seems to be coming true.
I never thought I'd see the day...

~If you would like to see more photos of this event, please click HERE to see photographer Ian Kushnir's picture album on Facebook~

Ghosts of Christmas Past

2011-12-05T11:56:00.004-05:00

Christmas Dreaming...

"Our Home"

Many do their Christmas Dreaming a little early. There are those who dream of a White Christmas. Some even dream of sugar plums dancing in their heads.
As for me, I have always - always - dreamt of the days of Christmas past.
From the time I was a tiny tot throughout my adult-hood I had made the attempt to replicate Christmas's from the time of Charles Dickens, whether through the old stories such as "A Christmas Carol," movies ("Carol" of course, and a few others), as well as the old traditional music.
I just didn't know how to actually take part - to live it.
But now that I am a living historian and have learned (and still learning) how to bring back to life an era of which no one alive today can say they have personally witnessed, my Christmas Dream is coming to pass.
Recently a few of us participated (again) in the Christmas on the Farm event in Waterloo, Michigan, portraying family and friends during December 1861. As a good friend of mine noted, "It was like being in a Christmas card!"
Yes, it was that good.
We did the same sort of living history presentation here last year, and once again I believe it came off very authentic, very real.
Yeah, I know, there I go again. But it's true - there were times I almost felt I was back in 1861.
Mind-travel.

In other words, I believe, in a way, we were there, back in that first December of the Civil War on a farm enjoying the period after harvest time where, though plenty of work still needed to be done, it also was a more relaxing time of year. You see, Once we completed harvesting our crops I worked very hard on banking up my home and farm by insulating the north sides of each structure against the coming winter, and preparing our sleigh and its runners to ensure its readiness for travel over hill and dale. Of course, my daughter shined the jingling bells up nicely, and I can just see them glistening in the rare sunlight - or even moonlight - this coming January and February when they will jingle as we ride along the snow-covered roads. Many folks believe that the jingle bells are a Christmas delight because of the ever-popular song written in the mid-1850's. That is truly not the case: jingle bells were put on sleighs for safety reasons. The horse's clip-clopping usually heard along the roads during the other three seasons are muffled greatly by the snow-covered ground of wintertime, and the head gear folks wear also muffle the sound of the on-coming beasts and carriages, making the pedestrian pert-near deaf. This could be a dangerous situation except for the sounds of the jingle bells warning the pedestrian to move out of the way. Just as horns are required on the modern day motor vehicles, bells were once a must for winter travel on sleighs. "Keeping to the Right" upon hearing the jingling of a sleigh was the rule then as it is for automobiles today.
Lest you think of "Jingle Bells" as strictly a Christmas carol, this little bit of social history should give you a different perspective upon hearing this winter song.

As my wife spins on her wheel, Mrs. Root entertains with a Christmas reading

Spinning wool into yarn to make the necessities for the coming winter months was as important a task as any, and my wife presented a pleasing picture of 19th century womanhood as she sat behind her wheel. Many visitors from the future passed through "our home" and had numerous questions about our lives in the past, and my wife's spinning was quite the curiosity to those modern folk, especially the children.

Can you imagine children who have never seen a spinning wheel? These kids from the future certainly haven't!

My daughter kept her hands busy by knitting a scarf for her brother off fighting in the war, and we allowed our domestic to take time in the afternoon to do the same for her own beau.

A more beautiful rendition of "What Child Is This" I have not heard

Our very good friend, Mrs. Root, joined us in our Christmas celebrations. It was unfortunate that her journey was a bit arduous, for there was trouble with the carriage wheel along the way and they had to wait for a local wright to repair it. But, once she arrived safely she made herself quite at home and entertained us with her many talents, first by playing Christmas carols on our pump organ; the beautiful strains of "What Child Is This" coming from our formal parlor wafted throughout the entire house, giving an air of Christmas Past that only such an instrument can give. Mrs. Root also entertained us by her expressive reading of Christmas stories from a newly purchased book. One such story, The Christmas Tableau, was particularly enjoyable.

Mrs. Fleishman rocked little Zane to sleep in the cradle

Other friends joined us as well: Mrs. Fleishman and her mother both arrived by early afternoon. Mrs. Fleishman had brought her five month old baby boy with her, and as he smiled and coo'd he kept everyone very light-hearted indeed. I must say that little Zane added a note of realism one doesn't normally hear at living history events, which is the natural act of a baby's cry. Hearing that tiny voice throughout the farmhouse made our whole presence there that much more real. And then to find him rocked to sleep by his mother in the wooden cradle shortly thereafter was the topping on the cake.

Idle hands are the devil's workshop - no idle hands here!

The following day was a bit quieter, as it should had been, for this was Sunday - the Lord's Day. It was only Carrie (our domestic who would, on this day, act as my daughter) and Mrs. Cook, another dear friend who portrayed my sister, that joined me, although there were others from the Waterloo Historical Society throughout the other areas of the house as well.
My friend, Mrs. Zuccala, was also present on this second day and portrayed a woman of the house who happened to be nursing an injured arm she received when the horses jolted her out of the buckboard and onto the ground. Luckily, Doc Howard told us she had not broken any bones but was to let it rest in a sling for a week to heal.

Mrs. Cook certainly enjoyed the feather tree

It was very enjoyable to interact not only with other living historians in a first person manner, but with the visitors as well. They seemed to enjoy the interplay between us and them, and we tried to include them in our scenario. For instance, I would usually ask these very modern children if they remembered to do their morning chores before venturing out: did they empty the chamber pots? Did they trim the wick and clean the chimney's on the oil lamps? Did they get the milking done?
It went over very well. And I hope it helped them to relate to their role in history had they been born 'back then.'

Mrs. Zuccala, her arm in the sling from the buckboard incident, and I relaxed on the sette'

The realism of this time-travel event didn't end solely with the sights and sounds of the farmhouse, by the way. There were other little things that added to the experience such as the odor of kerosene from the oil lamps, the smell of wood burning in the stoves upon entering the home, the scent of baking emanating from the kitchen where women were busily making Christmas confections, and even heading outside to the icy cold necessary (outhouse/bathroom) which was quite a ways from the house itself when one had to, um...go.

Hmmm...wonder where they are coming from...?

And the few inches of snow upon the ground on Saturday gave it that Christmas Card feeling even more so. It was unfortunate that it had melted by Sunday's arrival.

So my dream of living a Christmas of long ago seems to be coming to pass.
I am in heaven...

Mrs. Zuccala looking for Christmas to come...

By the way, if it weren't for my wife and children, Mrs. Root, Mrs. Fleishman and her mother Mrs. Kyryluk, Miss Graber, Mrs. Cook, and Mrs. Zuccala, there would be no Christmas Past for me. I thank them all from the bottom of my heart.
Also, a very special thank you must go out to the Waterloo Historical Society for allowing all of us to live out our Christmas dream.
I am proud to say I am a member.

Troll the Ancient Yuletide Carol

2011-11-25T07:47:00.009-05:00

Troll (verb)

1. to sing or utter in a full, rolling voice.

2. to sing in the manner of a round or catch.

In December of 1983 I thought I would treat my girlfriend to an old-fashioned Christmas, so I purchased tickets to a special evening dinner at Greenfield Village's Eagle Tavern where we would be able to partake in traditional holiday fare of the mid-19th century.
I was very excited about this and we arrived much earlier than the 6 pm start time; we were there at 5:00! So we made ourselves at home inside the lobby of the entrance building and sat next to a roaring fire in the fireplace. There was a beautifully decorated tree that I would guess was at least 12 to 15 feet tall, and there was also cedar garland roped throughout the large room, giving one that old-time Christmas feeling even before the event itself began.
Above all of this, however, were the sounds of Christmas music being piped in through a hidden sound system. Now, I had grown up with Christmas music playing continually from the night before Thanksgiving through New Year's Day. Artists such as the Ray Conniff Singers, Andy Williams, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Johnny Mathis, Gene Autry, Mitch Miller, and Rosemary Clooney were always on the console stereo - my mother wore the grooves out of those records!
That was Christmas music to me and I absolutely loved it, even as a blase' teen and young adult when one is supposed to be too cool to like anything like that.
On this special evening at Greenfield Village, waiting with my girlfriend in the lobby for the horse and carriage to take us to the Eagle Tavern, there was something a little different coming from the speakers: it was the sound of the hammered dulcimer, a fiddle, and guitar. The music playing, for the most part, was of mostly unfamiliar tunes. However, even though I didn't recognize them, each carol sounded like Christmas. But not like the Christmas's I used to know...rather, it gave me the feeling of Christmas's my great great grandparents used to know.
It was an engulfing and mesmerizing experience.
I went to the front desk and asked for the artist's name they had on. Unfortunately, the woman couldn't tell me, and neither could anyone else working there. And they were too busy to find out.
But those sounds stuck with me the rest of the evening. Even after listening to a quartet of traditional vocalists entertaining us while we dined on a splendid repast of turkey, squash, stuffing, whole cranberries (of which I had never tried before that night) and other traditional fare inside the 1832 tavern, the beautiful strains of the dulcimer, et al I heard in the entrance building continued to haunt me.
I remember on the way home speaking about what a fine time we had, and how we both felt like we had stepped right into another era from long ago and experienced first-hand the way Christmas used to be celebrated during the time of our ancestors. We were on a high that I can still intently recall after all these years since. Yet, it was the Christmas music I heard in the lobby that rang in my ears.
I searched off and on for quite a while for that old-time music, to no avail. During this period in my life I was working as the head product buyer in a record store, and part of my job in the fall was to order and organize the Christmas music albums and CD's. Virtually everything we ordered was on a major label such as CBS, RCA, MCA or Warner Brothers, and those companies carried the titles and big name artists that I've mentioned above (Mathis, Crosby, etc.). Yeah, there were some cool rock and roll, blues, and country Christmas albums released as well, but nothing close to what I was looking for.
However, there was a music peddler, a man known as Billy from Tant, who would show up a few times a year with a whole unheard world of music stacked and stocked inside of his van - he was a dealer in recordings and artists which consisted of pure hillbilly, folk, big band, rockabilly, country blues, "old-timey", and other similar genres that the larger record companies wouldn't sign, for it was felt there was little commercial appeal in this style of music. Instead, these mostly obscure folk artists would sign up with small independent record labels such as Rounder or Flying Fish.

Well, in the fall of 1985 (the year I married my girlfriend, I might add) Billy brought over a collection of Christmas music. I sat in his van and picked through the albums to sell in our store. Most fit the non-commercial category as described, and there were even a couple of Christmas radio shows from the WWII era - pretty cool stuff! But one album on the Hogeye Record label caught my eye, mainly because I liked the name of the label. You have to admit, "Hogeye Records" did sound enticing. The title on the front of the cover was "On This Day Earth Shall Ring." I flipped it over to read further information about it: the list of song titles were not the usual assortment I normally saw - "Christmas Is Coming," "I Wonder as I Wander," "Virgin Mary Had One Son," "Blessed Be That Made Mary," "Patapan...", and even a couple of well-known carols like "What Child is This," "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," and "Silent Night."
But, guess what? Listed under the titles were the names of the instruments used, and there, under "What Child Is This," was...the hammered dulcimer! I also noticed other instruments included such as the recorder, guitar, mandolin, viola, and harp.
Just what I've been looking for!
I'm sure you can guess what I purchased that very day. And you can go ahead and just imagine how thrilled I was to put the album on my turntable and hear the traditional three and four part harmony vocals, hammered dulcimer instrumentals, and, for the most part, the music that has been haunting me over the last two years!
Oh yeah, this was my album of the year.
Since that time nearly three decades ago, I have amassed a rather large collection of these wonderful old-world-type Christmas carols CD's. The search-and-destroy experience taught me to look for the small indie label artists rather than the major labels for this stuff.
And you won't hear most of it on the radio either, by the way.
There is a unexplainable sensation one gets when listening to this old-world music. It does not 'urge' you to go out to the mall to Buy! Buy! Buy! - but instead lulls you into enjoying Christmas rather than stressing out over it.
The best part is this period Christmas music can - and does - mix in well with the more popular, well-known carols from the major stars heard often (too often sometimes) in our modern age.
I don't know...I'm sounding new age-y here, aren't I? Ugghh! I don't mean to. This is not new age music by any means. It is a music of long ago, from another era, from a time when Buy! Buy! Buy! wasn't the buzz word or catch phrase of the Christmas season.
And I never tire of hearing it. No hippopotamuses here!

The following is a list of my favorite traditional old world Christmas Music CD's. I linked them to Amazon.com in case you find yourself wanting to purchase some of this wonderful music for yourself. You won't be sorry!

On This Day Earth Shall Ring: Songs for Christmas

The Holly And The Ivy: Christmas Music With Hammered Dulcimer And Singing
and
Christmas Comes Anew by Madeline MacNeil

The Bells of Dublin by The Chieftains

American Christmas by Folk Like Us

A Victorian Christmas by Robin Petrie

A Victorian Noel by Robin Petrie

Christmas at The Eagle Tavern by Opera Lite (Greenfield Village singers!)

Celtic Christmas by Katie McMahon

Renaissance Holiday by Mannheim Steamroller

Cup of Kindness by Neil Woodward

Colonial Christmas by Linda Russell

A Scottish Christmas by Bonnie Rideout

Sounds of the Season, Vol. 1 by Maggie Sansone

The Christmas Revels by The Christmas Revels

Christmas by Mannheim Steamroller

Cold Frosty Morning by Katie LaRaye Waldren

Believe me when I say there is plenty more available besides what I have listed.
Troll away!!

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Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T00:47:00.006-05:00

I realize that not everyone celebrates Thanksgiving as a religious holiday, but that doesn't take away the fact that in America it truly is a religious holiday, and has been celebrated as such since even before that most famous and most popular celebration took place back in 1621. Thanks was given to God for the bountiful feast at hand and for those who helped in the growing and harvesting of it. Yet, many people today believe the pilgrims were giving thanks to the Indians. One only need to learn of their religious beliefs to see the puritans, who advocated strict religious discipline, would not have given thanks to the Indians themselves, but rather to God for sending the Indians to them to ensure their survival. Puritans would not give thanks to mere mortal man.
And we, in our house, give thanks to that same God the pilgrims did nearly 400 years ago.

A bit about Thanksgiving feasts:
Although this feast is considered by many to the very first Thanksgiving celebration, it was actually in keeping with a long tradition of celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops.
Native American groups throughout the Americas, including the Pueblo, Cherokee, Creek and many others organized harvest festivals, ceremonial dances, and other celebrations of thanks for centuries before the arrival of Europeans in North America.
Historians have also recorded other ceremonies of thanks among European settlers in North America, including British colonists in Berkeley Plantation, Virginia. At this site near the Charles River in December of 1619, a group of British settlers led by Captain John Woodlief knelt in prayer and pledged "Thanksgiving" to God for their healthy arrival after a long voyage across the Atlantic. This event has been acknowledged by some scholars and writers as the official first Thanksgiving among European settlers on record.
Whether at Plymouth, Berkeley Plantation, or throughout the Americas, celebrations of thanks have held great meaning and importance over time.

What is thought to have been served at this most celebrated Thanksgiving in 1621:

The feast consisted of fish (cod, eel, and bass) and shellfish clams, lobster, and mussels), wild fowl (ducks, geese, swans, and, yes, turkeys), venison, berries, and fruit, vegetables (peas, pumpkin, beet root, and maybe onion), harvest grains (barley, and wheat), and the beans, dried Indian corn (maize), and squash.

A Description of the feast from those who were there:
William Bradford of Plymouth Plantation:

Thus they found the Lord to be with them in all their ways, and to bless their outgoings and incomings, for which let His holy name have the praise forever, to all posterity. They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health and strength and had all things in good plenty. For as some were thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercised in fishing, about cod and bass and other fish, of which they took good store, of which every family had their portion. All the summer there was no want; and now began to come in store of fowl, as winter approached, of which this place did abound when they came first (but afterward decreased by degrees). And besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc. Besides, they had about a peck a meal a week to a person, or now since harvest, Indian corn to the proportion. Which made many afterwards write so largely of their plenty here to their friends in England, which were not feigned but true reports.

Edward Winslow of Plymouth Plantation:

Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruits of our labor. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which we brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.

And this, by the way, from President Lincoln 1863:
"I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union."
Abraham Lincoln

And a wonderful Docu-drama about the Pilgrims and their adventure:

Desperate Crossing: The Untold Story of the Mayflower

Here is my review of this historical story:

This History Channel presentation of the pilgrims is two and a half hours of a well-known and very important part of our American history, although you may not realize how little you actually do know of these separatists and of the times they lived. In fact, it certainly is more movie than documentary and, although interspersed throughout are historians filling in the gaps, this docu-drama is as engulfing and riveting as any full-length period movie I have seen. The lives and times of these early European settlers are authentically portrayed by use of English Shakespearian actors, and the quality shows. Never have I seen any other film put flesh on the bones of the pilgrims to the extent this one does. A social history extravaganza!
The clothing, lighting, effects (especially while on the Mayflower), and, at times, even some of the speech patterns are reflected fairly accurately. I did not see the typical revisionist history so often reflected in many of today's historical depictions. They were very religious folk bent on keeping their practices, even if they had to cross the ocean to do it, and this movie shows that in no uncertain terms.
The Indian dramatization was done very well for the most part, although I would have preferred to have their speech in their original (or close to their original) language and include the use of sub-titles.
Oh well, can't have everything.
As an extra added bonus, by the way, there are a couple of short (too short!) extra's - one features the making of this extraordinary documentary, and the other has outtakes and bloopers.
For teachers and lovers of history I recommend this docu-drama very highly. A wonderful way to learn about our early American history.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my blogger friends! May God Bless and keep all of you.

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Lincoln at Gettysburg: First Hand Accounts

2011-11-19T11:12:00.007-05:00

We have read and heard many times over of President Lincoln giving his Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863 in the new National Soldiers Cemetery. But many have not heard of the excitement that occurred the night before and the morning of the famous speech; of how the folks in town reacted and celebrated such an occasion as having a Presidential visit. Especially after the horror that took place just a few months before.
The following comes from the book, "Gettysburg Remembers President Lincoln: Eyewitness Accounts of November 1863" by Linda Giberson Black.

The train depot on Carlisle Street

At about dusk on Wednesday, November 18, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln's festively decorated train arrived at the railroad depot on Carlisle Street. From there he moved to the home of David Wills.
Gettysburg was a lively place that evening. Many of the visitors who thronged the streets were still seeking lodging. Military bands played patriotic music by torchlight, stirring the crowds. Numerous people openly enjoyed alcoholic refreshments. A large crowd gathered outside the Wills home.
"Thousands of persons were in the square anxious to see and hear the Chief Executive of the nation," Michael Colver wrote.
Many in the crowd began to call for Lincoln to come out and make a speech. At last, Lincoln decided that he could no longer ignore the pleas to appear. When he went to the window to wave, the crowd cheered. Not satisfied with this brief glimpse, the people continued to call for a speech. "When he did appear, never did mortal have a more enthusiastic greeting," J. Howard Wert noted.
"Hurrah for Old Abe!" shouted some as their hats were flung in the air. "We are coming Father Abraham," was the chorus of other enthusiasts. "God Bless our President! God save our President!"
Lincoln began to speak in the high-pitched voice that always carried so well to the sudience.
"I appear before you fellow citizens merely to thank you for this compliment. The inference is a very fair one that you would hear me for a little while at least, were I to commence to make a speech. I do not appear before you for the purpose of doing so, and for several substantial reasons. The most substantial of these is that I have no speech to make," he declared, drawing laughter. "In my position it is somewhat important that I should not say any foolish things," he added.
"If you can help it!" someone in the crowd shouted.
"It very often happens that the only way to help it is to say nothing at all," the good-natured Lincoln replied, making the people laugh again. "Believing that is my present condition this evening, I must beg of you to excuse me from addressing you further." And went back into the Wills house.

The David Wills Home - Lincoln's stayed in the room marked with the bunting

Many of the home owners in Gettysburg had unexpected company that night due to the overwhelming throngs of out of towners clamoring to hear the President's speech. Kate McCreary said, "They slept on the floor of the parlor; had comforters and pillows for beds. The family slept on the third floor that night."

On the momentous Thursday morning morning of November 19, 1863, Gettysburg sprang to life early. Much to the relief of everyone, the weather was good.
"It was one of those very few November days in our climate that are adapted for open-air audiences and open-air speakers," wrote eyewitness Henry Eyster Jacobs. "The sun shone brightly: the air was almost balmy."
Gettysburg was bursting at the seems. Visitors poured into town.. The local newspaper, The Compiler, noted: "The streets swarmed with people from all sections of the Union, the number variously estimated at from twenty to forty thousand. Every available spot on the principal streets was occupied. The throng of ladies and gentlemen, the large turnout of military in their best trim, the flags floating in the breeze at innumerable points - all contributed to the making up of a picture of rare and exciting interest."
W.C. Storrick walked to town with his father that morning: "The streets were rife with people. The bands were playing and I was delighted with the music which was the best I had ever heard."
At ten o'clock, the scheduled starting time for the procession, President Lincoln, wearing a black suit, stovepipe hat with mourning band, and white gauntlets, stood in the doorway of the Wills house.
Storrick remembered, "I was surprised and I might say awed by his great height, his black hair and beard, his dark complexion, his head covered with a tall silk hat. I thought he was the tallest man I had ever seen and I fancy I can still see him as he appeared to me on that day."
Lincoln was greeted by cheers as he walked between to lines of soldiers to the reddish-brown horse that had been selected to be his mount. However, the steed was too small for him. Henry Holloway recalled, "After he had mounted the animal, Mr. Lincoln's feet were near the ground. The spectacle was humorous, and no one seemed more conscious of it than himself. If there had been an accident, he certainly would not have had far to fall."
At about eleven o'clock, the procession to the Soldiers' National Cemetery was finally ready to start. "The band began to play and Mr. Lincoln's horse became excited and pranced around quite lively. It seemed to amuse the President, and then that sober, sad-faced man actually smiled," remembered Liberty Holloway.

The Shriver home on Baltimore Street as it looked in 1863

The proud color guard led the way down Baltimore Street. Next came the Marine Band, playing a stirring march. The rest of the military participants followed in their best attire, presenting an impressive sight.
Accompanied by numerous dignitaries such as Secretary of State William H. Seward, Postmaster General Montgomery Blair, and others, Lincoln appeared next in the procession. Despite the solemn purpose of the parade, many of the spectators who lined Baltimore Street greeted the President with cheers. Lincoln's face became illuminated with smiles and he bowed continually to acknowledge the cheers.
Annie Skelly was only seven at the time. "I remember vividly of a man who lifted me up to see Lincoln. He would turn from side to side looking at the people on either side when he passed. He looked rather odd on such a small horse."

This painting gives the reader a fine impression of what Gettysburg's Baltimore Street may have looked like on the morning of November 19, 1863

To the new cemetery Lincoln and the parade participants went, along with over twenty thousand cheering supporters, to hear what is perhaps the most famous speech given by a President in American history.
And the rest of the story, as cliched as it may be, is history.

I hope this little post helped to give you more of a 'you are there' understanding of what it was like during the evening of November 18 and the morning of November 19, 1863, for the population of the town of Gettysburg.

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Reenacting Frustrations

2011-11-16T14:27:00.013-05:00

My wife, Patty, and our good friend, Jean Cook, are on the cover of the latest issue of "Citizens' Companion" magazine - 'The Voice of Civilian Reenacting.'
It is an honor and a thrill for the two lovely ladies to be on the cover of such a respected magazine, and for me as well, for I was the man behind the camera last year at Waterloo Farm Museum during our Christmas at the Farm presentation. The back cover photograph is also one that I took, though this was at Daggett Farm in Greenfield Village - a scene around 100 years earlier than what's on the front.
Seeing the picture on the cover got me to thinking about that weekend last December and the presentation we did. It was an amazing weekend.

The photo used for the back cover of Citizens' Companion

There were eight of us there and we did our best to give the visitors an immersion experience - to help them feel as if they stepped into Christmas past. We all had an opportunity to interact with the public as well as to demonstrate everyday life. As Mrs. Cook (the woman on the left of the cover photo) said, "It was like being in a Christmas card."
Bringing the past to life is no easy task, mind you, for all participants must be on the same level with the same mindset; nothing would be worse than providing a 1st person atmosphere to a patron only to have one of your own be caught with a cell phone in their hand or to hear their cell ringtone. This not only ruins the moment for everyone else - including the patrons - but pretty much the rest of the day. Yes, this has happened and, unfortunately, probably will happen again. You see, for me it's the cell phone that is the bane of a living historian's existence. Too often I see period dress folk not even try to make an attempt to hide their phones. And when they do make the attempt it's still pretty obvious. But, everyone seems to have a cell - me, too - and too often we will whip it out without a care as soon as we hear a sound coming from it.
Fortunately, I have prepared myself to hopefully prevent this situation from occurring again: before the event begins I will ask, "Are your cells off or on vibrate? Do you know what to do should you feel the need to answer your phone?"
Yep - these'll be my words to the participants for I will no longer tolerate any more of this crap at events where I am the main coordinator.


This is a man portraying President Lincoln. How do you think the public perceives this? Whether you are in a modern parking lot or in authentic surroundings, while in period clothing the living historian should always present themselves as best and as authentic as they can.	No, this is NOT Michigan's very own Lincoln, Mr.Fred Priebe!

Oh wait - how about those plastic water bottles? They are as bad as the blasted cell phones! I actually see reenactors walking around with these obscenities more than cell phones! Oh, that's right - it's inconvenient to pour water into a glass, and the water may spill as you walk around.
Do I sound anal? Like a stitch nazi? To be honest, I really don't care.
When something like this occurs it's a reflection on me and/or anyone else who is "in charge."
So, what to do if your phone begins to vibrate (for I am assuming that you were courteous enough to put it on silence)? Quietly and unobtrusively excuse yourself and move off to another room in the house or, if you happen to be outside, out of public viewing (like maybe behind or inside of a tent) and then answer it. If the caller already had hung up or left a message, you can then phone them back should the call be of utmost importance.
It's simple! And no one will be the wiser.

Do you think the good folks that come and see us notice this sort of farby behavior?
You bet they do, and they are making no bones about their feelings. In this latest issue of Citizens' Companion of which I am so proud, editor Connie Payne writes an angry editorial - very unlike Connie to do so, by the way - about this very subject. She speaks of one particular reenactment (she does not state where it took place) and the extreme farb some visitors witnessed, backing their claims with photographic evidence. By the way, what happened in the following snippets from Mrs. Payne's editorial did not take place after hours, but during the event itself:
In a letter she received from a non-reenacting visitor there were complaints of seeing a few young women who were attempting to portray men in uniform; "One had a lip pierced. They laughed, giggled, chatted about how their soccer team had finished the season and made absolutely no attempt at any 1st person impression for the spectators."
In a second scenario she tells of a spectator's husband that wandered off to the military camp where she found him "sharing a Bud Light Lime with a soldier. Having taken off his kepi and exchanging it for a Cubs ball cap, he had cracked open 2 beers, offering one to (the) husband while giving his very best recruiting speech: 'This is what it's all about man! Killing rebs, sleeping under the stars, and enjoying a cold one with the guys!'"
And in a third 'presentation' - this time in civilian camp - "they were greeted with a family of reenactors sitting under their fly eating Subway" with modern chat and slang, modern kitchen ware, and "a bubbling pot of delicious smelling meat of some sort. When our writer asked the owner of the camp what was cooking, she replied, 'Taco meat!'"
Connie's final line in her editorial was "Friends, tighten it up a little. Please? You are being watched, you are THERE to be watched. Show them, and each other, the 19th century as it was, not as we have distorted it to be."

A woman stands in front of her very patriotic parlor

As for my own personal experiences I have witnessed a portable television set brought to a reenactment, plenty of (ugghhh!) cell phone usage (went over this already), and even laptop computers.
Did I mention that these were all under flys?
I suppose one could say, "I had an emergency. I had to use my cell!"
Well, there certainly are a lot of emergencies, for this is a very common occurrence.
I suppose one could say, "The Red Wings are in the play offs against Colorado. I don't want to miss that!"

Then go home or to a local sports bar. A reenactment is NOT the time or place for you to watch (or listen to) a sporting event on an electronic device.
I suppose one could say, "I had to get work done on my computer!"
Then go inside your tent, not under the fly!!
I suppose one could say, "I have pictures on my phone that I wanted to show him/her because I don't see these people outside of reenactments!"
Then post the dang things on Facebook!
I suppose one could say, "We didn't bring any/enough food for us to eat this weekend. We had to eat something!"
Then stay at the restaurant and eat it there! Don't look foolish by eating Subway or Burger King or whatever under your fly for all to see! My family and I have had hotdogs and burgers at times during reenactments. We do not bring them back to our camp, however, but instead will eat it in the area where it was purchased. Even patrons will understand that you are in a "time-free" zone.

A very realistic scene at Smith's Creek Depot with the Michigan Soldiers Aid Society. This took quite a bit of preparation but we pulled it off!

With so many opportunities to almost literally time travel, it gets pretty frustrating for those of us who put our all into this hobby only to have it ruined by inconsiderate boobs who think of no one but themselves.
I suppose my solace is that I can say truthfully that both units that I am a part of - the Michigan Soldiers Aid Society and the 21st Michigan Volunteer Infantry Civilian Contingency are moving in the farb-free direction, due to some policing by our own membership. That's what it's going to take to cure the living history community of these ills: for us to police our own, for captains, presidents, and organizers to say NO to the farb and to begin pushing for the events to become more progressive.
Whew! That felt good. Thanks for allowing me to get it out.

A happier more upbeat post next time - - -

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My Dept. 56 Dickens Village Display for 2011

2011-11-08T14:33:00.014-05:00

I purchased my very 1st Dept. 56 lighted house in 1989. It was the original Scrooge house from Dickens "A Christmas Carol" story and, being such a fan of that novel, I just had to have it. And there it sat proudly that Christmas, as a center piece on our kitchen table.
"Every year I'll add to it!" I told my wife, "And eventually I'll have a pretty cool collection."
And I kept my word. The following year I paid closer attention and noticed that not only were there houses in this collection, but figurines, too. So I would get another house and a figurine or two. Within a few years I had a small but growing village. One year I kinda went over board: I was at our local (but now defunct) Hudson's Department Store and saw that they had this massive amount of additions to the Dickens Village. So, I did something that wasn't very smart - I opened a Hudson's charge account and bought a few pieces with it. Well, more than a few pieces...enough to get my wife pretty ticked at me. For quite a while...
I cut up the card and went back to getting one or two additions a year again. And, except for one or two accessories, it was always from the Dept. 56 Dickens Village.
Over the ensuing years I bought something like 36 houses and countless figurines and other accessories; enough to fill three or four 6 foot tables. Every November 1st I would take the day off work and spend the early morning til late at night setting up my village. And it would spill over another day or two, depending on how elaborate I wanted to get. Why early November instead of after Thanksgiving? Because it took so long and so much work went into it that I didn't want to have it up for only a few weeks and then take it down after all this work.
Anyhow, I really don't go nuts in adding to this collection anymore only because the pieces are priced out of my affordability. I might buy an accessory or two if they are cheap enough, but that's about it.
Now, it's been since around 2007 or 2008 since I've put up my entire village, so this year, now that we've cleaned up the basement a bit, I decided, "what the heck!" and pulled out the entire collection.
My whole family was thrilled!
I didn't go very elaborate - you can see a few things like wires here and there, though I've used cottonballs to try to hide most of it.
So I thought I would post a few photos...okay, more than just a few photos.
I hope you enjoy it:

The rich side of town. This is where Charles Dickens and Mr. Brownlow live.

The rich side of town. This is where Charles Dickens and Mr. Brownlow live. In fact, I see Mr. Dickens in his green coat - it looks like he is giving a reading of his new novel, "A Christmas Carol."

Heading into the city we see Scrooge's nephew Fred's home. And there is the beautiful stone church with the pastor giving bread to the poor.
And, wait? Is that Florence Nightengale?

Note the graveyard and the ghost of Christmas Yet To Come with Scrooge. Since they are invisible, the others have no idea that they are even there and go on their merry Christmas way!

I see Scrooge's house - and a hearse going by...
If you look just in front of the horse you can see the Ghost of Jacob Marley right outside Scrooge's door.
I bet that must be Marley's body in the hearse!
"SCROOOOGE!"

Getting closer to the business section of town we pass a bakery and a place to get lamps and oil.

Without the camera flash.

Now we're into the heart of my own little London town. Do you see the Scrooge & Marley Counting House? Yep, it's Christmas Eve and he's still in there working!

"Business?? Mankind was my Business!"
Here is where so much of London's business takes place.
Oh and I know Big Ben was not around in 1843. It's just a really cool piece and Miles insisted that I put it up.

A very busy and exciting city during Christmas!

And there's the pub!
Whoa! That lamp post is leaning. One is supposed to lean on a lamp post, not the other way around!!

"Chestnuts! Get yer hot chestnuts 'ere!!"
I also see the vendor who has the Big Prize Turkey off in the distance.

A maltings and gristmill are on the edge of town.

Oohh...the seedier side of town. This is where Fagin lives, and where the dirtier businesses such as the blacksmith and the coal factory are located.

The same scene without the camera flash:
See the young pick-pocket run off with his stolen goods? And, of course, another pub.

And there is Scrooge with the Ghost of Christmas Past ("Long past?"
"No, YOUR past") looking inside old Fezziwig's warehouse window, eying a Christmas party from his youth. I believe they danced the Virginia Reel!
It's old Fezziwig alive again!!

"Wassail wassail all over the town,
our bread it is white and our ale it is brown!"
I see wassailers celebrating and making a lot of noise as they stroll and dance down the cobblestone lane.

Ahhh...I see the Ghost of Christmas Present showing Scrooge the Christmas celebration at the Cratchit home. In fact, I see Bob and Tiny Tim!

Looking down the lane where the Cratchit's live. If you look close enough you can see a woman dipping candles.
I see the road labourer should fix the road!

I believe this just might be the Cratchit children bringing home the Yule Log!

A bird's eye view of the entire village.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the photos of my village. I do enjoy setting it up - it gets me in the spirit of Christmas a little earlier. We don't bother much the whole shopping aspect that has become the Holiday, and this is one of the little thrills we all get that simply adds to the season.

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"A Christmas Carol" Film Reviews Updated for 2011

2011-11-03T11:24:00.010-04:00

I realize it's only November but I wanted to give you plenty of time to get your favorite version of this wonderful movie - - - - so I am repeating this post from last year.
Hopefully in this posting you can find which Christmas Carol is the most accurate to Charles Dickens original vision.
The links provided for each version is for the DVD.
And, just so you are aware I have recently located two silent versions of which I plan to purchase. When I do I will add my review to this post.

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'A Christmas Carol.' Is there any other story that epitomizes what the modern day Christmas celebration is all about? And who would have thought this very English fable written over 150 years ago would be every bit as alive today here in the 21st century United States as it was in 1843 England when first published? Gerald Charles Dickens, great great grandson of THE Charles Dickens, was quoted recently as saying,
"The 'Carol' is 10 times more popular in America than it is in England. In England, the 'Carol' is just a story. In America the 'Carol' IS Christmas."
Because many of my friends know I am such a fan of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol," every year I receive a numerous inquiries asking about my favorite filmed version. So a few years ago I posted here on my blog my reviews that I had originally written on Amazon.com - I put them altogether in one posting. Well, I'm repeating the post again this year, only with the addition of the latest filmed version of the story and a few changes in my other reviews. Not that my opinion means squat - it's just my opinion. But, I do hope that it helps you decide which version you may want to watch this year - hopefully, you'll get a chance to see at least one version (besides the Muppet version, which too many feel is the only one they need to see).
Or better yet, read the original book!
Are you ready then? Here we go - - - - - ............

The one with Seymour Hicks as Scrooge - 1935:
This is better than one might think for 1935.
However, I feel that they could have come up with better spirits than a light, a shadow, and a voice. I also feel that Scrooge's reformation comes on a bit too fast. He was clearly already a changed man before the Ghost of Christmas Past was finished with its job. And, I have to say that Scrooge's former love, Belle, seemed to be quite the motherly type - we counted at least 14 children from her post-Scrooge marriage!
Now for the pluses: the sets were terrific! Very authentic - I wonder if they were actually filmed in original period structures? The Cratchit's home is perfect for their status, as was the home of nephew Fred. And the showing of Tiny Tim's body lying in state in the Cratchit home gives realism that a few of the other more popular filmed versions haven't touched. Also, seeing Mrs. Cratchit pull out the pudding from the laundry tub gave this that extra bit of authenticity rarely seen anywhere else.
The addition of Queen Victoria celebrating Christmas was unique.
Unfortunately, the quality of the print is not as good as it should be. It's not horrid but not what one is used to from a remastered disc. I am guessing that the original print is long gone. But, it's much much better than the VHS version.
All in all, not bad for its age. Mr. Hicks gives a fine rendition of Ebenezer Scrooge that is nearly as good as the others.
A worthy DVD, especially if you are a collector.

The one with Reginald Owen as Scrooge - 1938:
A nice, short, light-hearted family version of the Dickens classic. Good for the kiddies to introduce them to this great story. But for the purist, it has its shortcomings. First of all, it deviates frequently from Dickens original story - right from the opening scene in fact. And there is little "spirit" here. For instance, Marley just speaks his part instead of wailing it as one would think a tortured specter would. Bob Cratchit is a bit too portly to be believably poor in my opinion. And, I'm sorry to say, Kathleen Lockhart over-acts. Watch her as she sets the pudding down on the table. Also, Reginald Owen becomes converted just too darn quick to believe that he is supposed to be this mean, crusty old sinner as he's supposed to have been. He's been reformed before the second spirit completes his task.
Another complaint is there is more telling of the story here than actually portrayed. Sort of like a Reader's Digest condensed version. Too bad the script writers wrote so many of their own scenes and changed Dickens' own 'staves,' too (this does happen to an extent through virtually all of the filmed versions, unfortunately, but none as much as this).
I will say this, though, until the one made by Disney in 2009, this was the only version I had seen that explains about the Cratchit's goose being cooked at the bakery, to be picked up at an appointed time on Christmas Day. Many poor people in Victorian England did just that since their homes had too small of an oven or no ovens at all.
All in all, this is probably my least favorite. For the purest, this is not a God awful version. Rather, it's a mediocre one that has its moments.
By the way, Scrooge's sister's name was FAN not Fran.

The one with Alastair Sim as Scrooge - 1951:
This is the one that many consider to be the definitive Christmas Carol. It really is an excellent version. Alastair Sim plays Ebenezer Scrooge like no one else can. The believability factor here for both, the 'old mean Scrooge' and the 'newly transformed Scrooge' is very high, with the transformation itself coming about slowly. And that's what I like about this one. Scrooge doesn't suddenly become happy and giddy from the first of the three spirits, as in the Seymour Hicks and Reginald Owen versions. It takes Sim's old Ebenezer fully until the last spirit to convince him that he truly was a "squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!"
Victorian London is well represented here, its sinister darkness, dreariness, and hopelessness surrounding the viewer in glorious black and white to further the mood of the dirty old town.
Jacob Marley is excellent here (listen to the way he mourns and moans. Sends chills!). And Mrs. Dilber is hilarious when she meets up with Scrooge on Christmas morning. All three of the Christmas Eve ghosts are as Mr. Dickens described. Considering how little movie magic was used, that's no small feat! But, most important, Scrooge is well played here by Sim and his portrayal is a fine one indeed.
Yes, this is definitely an annual watch for us - my wife's most favorite depiction.

The one with George C. Scott as Scrooge - 1984:
This version is, to me, a smidgen above the Alistair Sim version - just a smidgen.
Yes, it's that good.
The opening scene literally grabs you and pulls you into the gray, wintry Dickens London on Christmas Eve day 1843. The viewer will feel as if they were walking down the cobblestone streets of Merry Olde England, passing the street vendors hawking their wares, and hearing the carolers and street musicians singing and playing that wonderful Victorian Holiday music. Top hats and bonnets abound as the crowd of people - rich and poor alike - rush to celebrate this most Holy of Christian nights. That is, all but one. And the first image of old Ebenezer Scrooge, played here to perfection by the late great George C. Scott, will send chills down the back of even the most ardent skeptic.
Just think...if the opening scene is this good, you can just imagine how great the rest of this movie is! Of all the different "Carols" that have been filmed, this one of the best and most realistic I have yet to witness.
Now what puts this version of Charles Dickens' classic tale above the one with Alistair Sim? First and foremost is the feel. There is a certain ambiance here - a sort of realism - that is not present in the others. As stated previously, you, as the viewer, are drawn into the movie as a willing participant to the events happening about you. Given that this movie was filmed not on a stage set in Hollywood, but in and around actual buildings that were standing during the period in which this story takes place alone gives this version an edge the others can't touch. And the authentic costumes are as accurate as I have seen.
Another major plus here is that Dickens' original story is followed very close. And the casting was pert near perfect as well. In fact, the only character I felt that was miss-cast was the actor (who's name escapes me) that played the role of Scrooge's nephew, Fred. Not toward the beginning of the film when he's inviting his uncle to dine with him, but toward the end when Uncle Ebenezer is dining with him. A bit of over-acting here. A small blip ever so minor that, because of just how wonderful the rest of the movie is, one would hardly notice. Not enough to lower any part of the score!

The Ghost of Jacob Marley tears at your heart, for the believability factor here is high that this specter is truly wrenching in pain and sorrow for his life's (mis)deeds. And the Ghost of Christmas Present, with his sarcastic wit, easily puts Scrooge in his place simply by using Scrooge's own lack of common sense and lack of courtesy against him.
In my opinion, virtually everything about this version of 'A Christmas Carol' surpasses its predecessors. All the 'Carols,' before this have been average to very good. But it's this one with George C. Scott that ranks above them.

The one with Patrick Stewart as Scrooge - 1999:
This Patrick Stewart version of 'A Christmas Carol' is one that, judging by others reviews, you'll either love or hate. I believe, however, in a middle ground (or upper middle ground in this case). What makes this one so unique is that it actually shows many scenes that were in the original book but never put on the various filmed versions available for viewing. A few examples: the Ghost of Christmas Present showing Scrooge the many different types of people in greater detail than in the others - miners, lighthouse keepers, sailors out at sea - all celebrating this special day; the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come showing the lifeless body of Tiny Tim laid out in the Cratchit home (the Jim Carrey version is the only other one I have seen do this); the lower jaw of the ghost of Jacob Marley dropping "down upon its breast" when the bandage around his head was removed. Even the items that once belonged to Scrooge being sold at "Old Joe's" pawn shop, such as the sugar tongs, were listed in the original book.
This one also has the best Cratchit family put to film. Their physical appearance (even their teeth), their manner of speech, their clothing, all were as you would expect a poor 19th century London family to look, sound, and be like.

The costuming, the acting, the sets, all are very well done, though at times one can tell it was filmed on a stage rather than in period buildings. For what I just wrote, I would put this particular version above average.
However, it does have its minuses that brings it down a couple of notches. First and foremost is Patrick Stewart. He actually does a fair job in his role as Ebenezer Scrooge. But I truly do have a problem with the 'look' of this particular Scrooge. Instead of a mean appearance, Stewart is almost sinister...murderous...like he could snap at any moment. Also, Mr. Stewart's choking out a laugh toward the end of the film is obviously (too obviously) forced.
Other small but noticeable errors: (1) Mrs. Fezziwig telling her husband that she is on a diet, and, (2) toward the end of the story, when Scrooge is asking the young lad to go and get the poulterer, the young boy answers with "you're joshing." I'm fairly certain that 'joshing' and being on a diet were not terms yet used in 1843. One must wonder why they put in such contemporary slang terminology.
One must also wonder why they call Scrooge's sister Fran instead of what she was called in the book - Fan. The 1938 version with Reginald Owen also makes this same mistake. Fan/Fanny was a popular name in the Victorian era.
And, yes, I must agree with many other reviews I have read that they could have done a better job on the phantom. Again, with all of the computer tricks available, why go with a battery operated child-type toy figure?
Why, with all of the wonderfully accurate scenes, did they allow for the inaccuracies that they did? It makes me wonder...
All in all, even with the inaccuracies, it is worth adding to your collection. It is a pretty decent version that, because of pluses it has included in contrast to its deficiencies, will, I believe, stand the test of time.

The one with Jim Carrey as Scrooge - 2009:
This is the adaption which is right up there with the best of them. Now, being a traditionalist, this may come as a surprise to you, considering the computerized / live-action approach Disney has taken with it. But, right up to the third of the three spirits it is the closest one yet to Dickens' original story; most of the dialogue comes straight from the author's own words, and the depiction of old London is simply outstanding! Now, don't let yourself be fooled...just because it is somewhat animated doesn't mean a fig.

The details of old London are shown as realistic as if one were there - details from the past that would be much too costly to have been built on a set. And, except for George C. Scott's version, the homes are as authentic as I have seen yet - as with the George C. Scott adaption, the viewer is pulled right into the scene.
No easy task!
This is a downright very dark and very scary 'reading', just as Dickens originally wrote. The characters seemingly jump off the screen right into your room - no, I'm not even speaking of the 3-D version here, by the way - Old Marley's ghost is as real a depiction of an apparition as anything I have yet to see. Just watch his eyes...very eerie.

And Mr. Carrey as Scrooge is perfect!
Whether you like Jim Carrey as an actor or not shouldn't make a difference here, for one cannot even tell it's him! In fact, Carrey also plays the role of Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet-To-Come, as well as Scrooge in the various stages of his life, and he excels as each. The general feel is what I suspect one would imagine while reading the book, and there have been very few movies that have ever done that for me.
Now, as wonderful a depiction of this tale this one is, there are a few complaints I do have (possible spoiler alert):
1) Ghost of Christmas Past - I don't mind too much that a candle flame head represents the ghost...it adds just a bit of unique flavor without taking away from the story. But, what I didn't care for was when Scrooge snuffed out the candle with its hat, he is suddenly shot miles into the air, gliding in front of the moon along the lines of E.T., then falls back to earth, landing on his bedroom floor. I believe they only wanted to show the magic of 3-D here. It doesn't take away from the story, but it doesn't add anything either There were outtakes that should have been included instead of this wasted minute or two..
2) Ghost of Christmas Yet-To-Come - There is a scene where Scrooge is being chased by a phantom horse and hearse during this portion of the movie that I feel takes away from what this chapter was originally supposed to mean. Then, to further take 'artistic license' (if you want to call it that), Scrooge suddenly shrinks to the size of a rat while being chased, and slides through gutters, etc., while trying to get away.
(Maybe, in this way, they can promote this bit as 'for the children.')
Aside from the two above diversions (and just a couple others that matter little, really), the rest is as close to the book as I have yet to see, and easily overtakes the blips.
I would love to see a "director's cut" to show more of what was in the original book, such as seeing Belle's family, Jacob Marley while he was alive as Scrooge's partner, and more of Scrooge's future. In fact, on the DVD there are deleted scenes, and one in particular shows the horse-drawn hearse being driven up the stairs inside of Scrooge's house, just like in the original novel:
"You may talk vaguely about driving a coach-and-six up a good old flight of stairs, or through a bad young Act of Parliament; but I mean to say you might have got a hearse up that staircase, and taken it broadwise, with the splinter-bar towards the wall and the door towards the balustrades: and done it easy. There was plenty of width for that, and room to spare; which is perhaps the reason why Scrooge thought he saw a locomotive hearse going on before him in the gloom. Half a dozen gas-lamps out of the street wouldn't have lighted the entry too well, so you may suppose that it was pretty dark with Scrooge's dip".
I wish they would complete and include that scene in a future release!
Now, as I stated earlier, this is quite the scary version and may not be suitable for the younger set. Heck! Even a couple of older folks had to close their eyes upon a recent showing during a Christmas Carol party I had!

I think Dickens might agree that, aside from the blips taken to show off the modern 3-D magic in movie making and the chase scene, this one is right up there as a contender for the most true-to-book depiction of "A Christmas Carol" put to film.
Coming from me, that's saying a lot!

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Now, I know there are a few I missed (Muppet version, the various hand-drawn cartoon versions, the musical version, the silent versions). I just wanted to cover the major film adaptions (and I haven't seen the silent ones yet).
I must say, however, that I really enjoy the Muppet version, although I don't take it too seriously.

Which is your favorite?

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By the way, at the beginning of this post I commented about reading the original Dickens novel of "A Christmas Carol." It always amazes me how many people have actually never read this story the way Mr. Dickens wrote it in 1843. My wife did for the first time in February of '11 and thoroughly enjoyed it. She got so much more out of it than the filmed adaptions, which is usually the case for books turned into films, isn't it? I read it every year, beginning right around the 1st of November, and my favorite is the "Annotated Christmas Carol: A Christmas Carol in Prose" with Michael Patrick Hearn adding annotations to Dickens' original. I wrote a review of this book on Amazon (with slight updated modification):
'Simply amazing! That is the best description I can give of this version of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."
How many times have you ever read this wonderful novel, but overlooked many parts because it may have seemed long-winded, or maybe you just didn't quite understand the Victorian language that Dickens used (and why wouldn't he?)? Being a student of Dickensian England, editor Mr. Michael Patrick Hearn, in this book, thoroughly explains every minute detail of the time period in which this story takes place (1843) through the story itself. So much so that after completing this encyclopedia (for it truly is an encyclopedia), I felt as if I understood completely what the readers of the time of Dickens must have felt after reading the first edition nearly 170 years ago. Words, sentences, phrases - all explained descriptively so as one now knows what Dickens actually meant when writing them. It opened my eyes much wider to the WHOLE story, not just the fluff we've all come to know. And you get the complete original novel as well as the 'reading to the public' version that Dickens used while he toured, along with a very informative introduction.
Dickens "A Christmas Carol" is "A Christmas Carol" no matter which book version you read. But this particular one, however simply put, takes the cake!'

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I hope you enjoyed my little take on what is perhaps my favorite story and, in nearly all the differing adaptions, my favorite movie of all time. I realize it's still early November as I write this but this may help you to decide which one is best for you. Or, you may be a nut case like me and get them all - - !
Whichever route you take you can not go wrong with this Christmas story.

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"Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.
He had no further intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle, ever afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One!"

Meetings Don't Have to be Boring, Especially For A Reenacting Unit

2011-11-02T09:45:00.011-04:00

We recently had our annual period dress fall meeting of the 21st Michigan Civil War reenacting unit members. It used to be strictly a civilian meeting but some in our military began to attend as well, and now it's become an opportunity for both contingencies to learn. While our spring meeting is held in or near my home, we hold our autumn meeting out in the country on the farm of one of the families in our unit, the Schroeders. Since the greater majority of us live in the city this gives us the chance to get away from the hustle and bustle for a day. And how beautiful it is to have the scent and sights of autumn surrounding - no, engulfing us.
Since becoming the Civilian Coordinator of the 21st Michigan back in '06 I have coordinated these period dress meetings to, at first, a hesitant membership ("Really? Dressing up in our Civil War clothing for a meeting? I don't know..."). But now it has grown into something that is nearly an event in itself, and our membership even looks forward to attending them. Part of the charm is that it's just us - no public is allowed. Therefore we can dive in and immerse ourselves into the 1860's in a more relaxed manner. Our hosts really went all out this year in the attempt to give it a more authentic feel by removing as many modern necessities as possible, including their TV set and other appliances, and they are to be commended for this wonderful gesture.
As you may or may not know, one of our consistent projects in the 21st Michigan is to continue improving our 1st person presentation, so we decided to try something a little different: we created a sort of time-travel workshop; upon arrival we seemingly stepped through a portal that took us a century and a half into the past. As soon as we stepped out of our modern motorized vehicles and shut the doors they suddenly turned into carriages, buggies, wagons, and buckboards. How this happened, I don't know. But it was very strange.

Mr. Schroeder makes sure the ladies have all they need before he joined the men

And so the day commenced with visiting opportunities: in this way we would be able to socialize with our friends, albeit in 1861, before the actual meeting itself.
As would have happened in most homes back then, the ladies gathered together in the parlor for sewing, quilting, and other 'craft-filled' necessities. I was not privy to their conversations - nor, as a male, should I have been - so I cannot comment on what they spoke on, but Mrs. Schroeder assured me before-hand it would be period-correct.

The men ventured out to the yard where we kept our conversations to discussing what we may have spoken about in this fall of 150 years ago: the war at hand and how long it might last, harvest time, health matters, and other similar topics. One adventure that I particularly enjoyed telling of was about my travels to ensure I would arrive there on time that morning. You see, we live clear over in Erin Township, which is north of Detroit, and the farm for our meeting is in Hillsdale; it took us nearly a week to get there in our carriage, so I was able to regale everyone with tales of our traveling experiences, including spending nights in taverns.
While the adults conversed, the children went to the barn and milked the cows.

My daughter had never milked a cow before and picked up on it very quickly. (I hadn't milked a cow before either and, believe it or not, I did it correctly right from the beginning. It helps to read "how to" beforehand!).
There were one or two of our membership that did not feel comfortable in 1st person, therefore they didn't really try. And that's fine - I don't expect everyone to join in on this part of living history. It's my hope, however, that once they see how easy it is to do and how pleasing the outcome can be when everyone joins in that they'll eventually make the attempt as well.
We ate a wonderful harvest dinner of turkey, stuffing, and many types of vegetables. So good!! Once dinner was over it was announced that we were now back in 2011, and our fall meeting commenced.
I won't bore you of the details of our meeting except to say we covered a bit about this past year's reenacting season (and the rights and wrongs of it) as well as our plans for next year. There was lots of input from our membership and some "pro-active against farb" discussions ensued.

A very fine meeting indeed.
As I have said before, I believe the period dress meetings truly serve to get membership into the right mode - the right mindset - to help any unit progress to the next level up as living historians. And it amazes me that, as far as I have seen, the 21st Michigan is the only group that does this, at least here in Michigan.

The Harvest Ball

2011-10-27T07:37:00.014-04:00

We had a ball the other day...literally!

A large group of us went to the Harvest Ball in Lansing, Michigan on the 22 of October. It's held in an old church, which gives it a very period feel. What's nice about this ball is that, first of all it's limited to 100 people (tickets are sold ahead of time). The other thing is that it does not follow a reenactment. Yes, you heard me - it's a ball for a ball's sake and attendees are refreshed and raring to dance without having a full day of reenacting behind them.
The ladies literally spend nearly half of the day dolling themselves up to be as pretty as can be. My wife says the hair takes the longest.

The finest band in the land - Glen Morningstar's Michigan Ruff Water String Band - are our musicians, and Glenn will announce at the beginning of the evening that because most of us there are "seasoned" dancers he likes to try new old-time dances on us. But he will also have the favorites such as the Virginia Reel and the Spanish Waltz.

One of the nicest traditions for a few of us is to meet for dinner beforehand, and we always head to the Okemos (a tiny town near Lansing) Cracker Barrel restaurant. What a sight we are to the waitresses and patrons alike! At times we may get multiple waitresses just so they can have a chance to speak with us.
This year we made quite a splash, for there were eighteen of us in attendance! We made sure we took plenty of photographs to commemorate the day, including sitting in the rockers outside the restaurant.
Two of the gentlemen enjoyed a friendly game of checkers.

Ball day has become a special part of our reenacting year, and because wintertime is just around the bend many of us may not see each other until next spring (just like in the old days!) and that makes this day even more of a grand affair.

(Click any of the photos in this - or any other - post to get a larger image)

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Researching History - EXPAND Your Knowledge!

2011-10-24T14:24:00.012-04:00

Historical research - don't you love it? I certainly do!
But I have a question for you - - - when you are researching something, do you only research that particular item (or craft or clothing...) and end it there? Or do you take what you've learned a step further...researching whatever it is you are studying to see how it applied to everyday life?
Recently...well, in fact, yesterday, I was reading an older posting that I wrote about Pre-Beatles Rock and Roll and I noticed that it was really only partly done in that it sounded more like an advertisement for Time Life Music than an article about early rock music.
- I must have written it in a hurry -
So I took it upon myself to 'complete' the article to give the reader a greater idea of the why's and wherefore's of the music instead of only how one could obtain it. And that got me to thinking about all historical research; I think too many of us half at it when we study history and get only get a dictionary definition rather than a well-rounded encyclopedic picture.
Expand - that's the word, the verb, we're looking for. I have learned to use this wonderful word in my research - - expand. To give greater detail in your quest for knowledge of the over-all period in time that interests you is taking that extra step. For instance, if you have an interest in stage coach travel, then learn about the parts of the stage itself and of the men who made them. Learn about the types of roads the coaches traveled over. Study what tavern life was like, for many folks who traveled on stage coaches invariably spent time in a tavern, whether just for board or for an overnight stay. It's in this way you can have a more well-rounded and total picture of the subject at hand (please see my posting and stage coach and taverns to get a better idea of what I mean here).
Another example of expanding your historical knowledge involves something that nearly all living historians/reenactors begin their 'hobby' with: period clothing.

Here is an original 1860's men's frock coat (from the collection of Bill Christen)

There are those who lean heavily on studying period clothing. These are the people that will collect original examples, from hats and bonnets right down to the undergarments. They will also usually collect cdv's to study clothing as well. A cdv, for those who are unaware, is an acronym for the French carte de visite or visiting card. This style of antique photography took over in popularity from the daguerreotype or ambrotype of the 1840s and 1850s and carried on into the 1860's and (I believe) 1870's. In many cases, by studying cdv's one can see in great detail exactly how clothing of the period should look as it's worn, and many have been able to make replicas of the period clothing to either wear for themselves, sell, or to even make a pattern for. I have numerous friends who are well-versed in their period clothing expertise, and they have helped my wife and I learn what we should (and should not) wear during an event.
There are a few of these clothing historians that have done enough research on historical wearing apparel that they can tell you why each piece was worn, the time of day, the season, and for what reason. They understand and can "bring alive" those who originally wore that particular garment.

Here is a CDV of a working man and his daughters

By the way, I am not necessarily speaking of sellers who run a sutlery. Oh yes, there are a few very good sutlers. But unfortunately there are many - too many - out to make a buck and will gladly sell you whatever they have whether it's period correct or not! Just so you know (for newbies in the 'hobby').

There is one particular person (who shall remain nameless at this time) that I consider my mentor. This women not only knows clothing of the period, but her general knowledge of everyday life of the 1860's goes beyond anyone else I have met. She has studied speech and manners, etiquette, food, home tools/accessories, furniture, occupations...the list goes on and on...
And she willingly shares her knowledge - not in an uppity way but in a very friendly conversational style.
Best of all, she is not afraid to say if she does not know the answer to a specific historical question. Unlike a few that I know, she will not assume or make things up. She may offer a possibility or an opinion but she makes it clear that she may not have the facts if she truly doesn't.
She, too, is in a constant state of research.

This is the way that I am trying to be.
But I've had retention problems that will sometimes prevent me from sharing what I have learned, which can be very frustrating.
However, I am overcoming that...
I read somewhere (and I apologize that I don't remember where) that the human brain only retains a mere smidgen of what we read; it was something like 3% of an entire book. The rest we almost immediately forget as soon as we read it. As I just stated, I have found this to be true with myself. I'll find an amazing book - Our Own Snug Fireside for instance - and there will be loads of wonderful historical information, the kind that I just eat up. But it seems that once I close the book at the end of a chapter, all of that living historical information leaks out of my brain like a sieve except for a few small things that made a strong impression while I read them.
This isn't something new for me - I've always had this problem, especially when I was in school. But a number of years ago I discovered a way that I could retain the information better: rather than reading the book as a book - you know, all at once, chapter by chapter - I instead flip to points of interest at any given time. For instance, I am interested in colonial hearth cooking and the equipment used. So the other morning at breakfast I found that particular section in my "Snug Fireside" book and studied what was written on the subject. In this way I can read about any one topic that I may have a want or a curiosity about rather than go through each entire chapter and read - but not retain - information I may not be interested presently. Reading my history books in this manner - just jumping around book to book, section of interest to section of interest - has greatly helped my retention level.
And it sticks with me, too!

This is wool that was sheared, cleaned, combed, spun, and dyed using traditional natural methods (roots, plants, and berries) at the Daggett House. It's simple enough for one to spin wool on a spinning wheel. But that's only a very small part of the entire process. Expand! See?

It's also a way for me to learn about many different topics instead of just a few chosen interests. One of the problems I have encountered is some of the men have a stigma on learning about women's work of the 19th century. Seriously. I mean, we know what our wives do today - and they know our chores as well - so why wouldn't we know about their chores of 'yesterday' ?
As men we absolutely would!
I watch as my wife spins on her spinning wheel. I've even helped her pick out the dirt and seeds from the raw wool. And I'll help her dye the wool when she does that as well. And I'll study other subjects, no matter if it was for a male or a female: the other day it was hearth cooking. And by reading about hearth cooking I also learned about the differing types of pans and ladles used to cook. And that lead me to read about the local blacksmith and how he made these cooking utensils in his shop. And to the potter shop to read about plate and cup making.
Do you see where this is leading?
Now tomorrow I may look up coopering, and later this week I may learn of a domestic's duties. I also have a want to learn more about the variety of mills in the mid-19th century. Crazy, huh? But who knows where each of these topics may lead me? So for me, my method of bopping around a book rather than reading it straight through has actually given me much more knowledge of the era. It helps to show me how it all ties in together in the family home of the mid-19th century because I do take that extra researching step and, more importantly, I retain the information.
I have also found that I can join in and share on nearly any topic of the mid-19th century and beyond. And if any one subject is spoken of during a conversation (stage coach travel for instance) I can then expand on that subject to accent and fill in the holes missing.

It works for me - it just might for you.

Save Our History - Part Two

2011-10-18T12:14:00.001-04:00

It has come to my attention that an open-air museum - Billie Creek Village in Rockville, Indiana, which has numerous 100+ year old buildings on its grounds - is up for sale and may close permanently after the 2011 season. I learned of this from one of the blogs that I follow, Front Porch Indiana.

During discussions under the comments section it was suggested that it would be nice to have someone with a ton of money purchase the place and keep it maintained instead of spending money on "ghastly ginormous houses, private jumbo airliners, and the like."
Wouldn't that be something?
It did happen before...not just once but twice!

Did you know almost a hundred years ago two very rich visionaries - Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller - preserved history, most of which otherwise would have been lost?

Yes, it's true. I'd like to give a little bit on these two giants of the early 20th century and how they began their historical preservation journey.

Henry Ford's first preservation project was more out of wistfulness than anything else - it was to restore his own family farm, the house in which he was born and raised. This home, built in 1861 by his father William, was a simple two-story clapboard farmhouse on the dividing line of Springwells and Dearborn Townships in Michigan. In 1919, highway officials decided to extend Greenfield Road south; unfortunately, the homestead was directly in the proposed road's path. The family's decision to move - thus save - the house and the outbuildings prompted Ford's of restoration. It was decided to bring back the old homestead to the way they remembered it as it was in 1876 - the year Henry's mother passed away. He obtained every piece of original furniture, pictures, and equipment that could be found. He had his men searching high and low for every artifact that matched the memories of the Ford family as well and soon found many more items than necessary. Mr. Ford kept them all, and then some.

The news of Mr. Ford's restoration project and his penchant for collecting Americana of the previous century got out, and, in 1923, he was asked to restore The Wayside Inn in South Sudbury, Massachusetts, built in 1686. Ford bought the inn and 2600 acres of the land surrounding to not only restore the historic structure, but to preserve the setting in which the inn was located.

Closer to home, Ford, in 1924, purchased and restored the 1836 Botsford Tavern, located outside of Detroit. Henry Ford had first seen the tavern while courting his future wife, Clara, in a horse and buggy in the 1880's.

It was only a scant year or two after that Henry began formulating his plans for a restoration project that went far beyond anyone's wildest imagination; a complete village of restored homes and businesses representing everyday life in the America of the 18th and 19th century where he could show how American ingenuity of the past transformed the world into the modern age.

Of course, you all know it as Greenfield Village!

Right around the same time that Henry Ford was busily saving Americana from disappearing, there was a town in Virginia that, for the most part, time had seemingly passed by. Williamsburg, as it appeared as late as the early 20th century, still retained many of its original structures from over a hundred years earlier. There was one man, a visionary named Dr. William Goodwin, that saw an opportunity to do what most other towns and cities could not - restore Williamsburg back to its original historical appearance from when it was the capitol city of Virginia in the mid-to-late 18th century. And why not? Most of the original structures were still standing, though many had been modified and updated from their original form. Of course, this would take bundles of cash, of which Goodwin did not have nearly enough. To gather interest he stated, "The best way to look at history is through windows. There are windows here, and there were others, which might be restored, through which unparalleled vistas open into the nation's past." (from the book Williamsburg Before and After by George Humphrey Yetter).

The author continued to state (in part) that Goodwin sought out backers of his project for he truly felt that Williamsburg was one colonial city left whose restoration was feasible because it hadn't been swallowed up by burgeoning urban growth. Knowing of Ford's Wayside Inn restoration, he appealed to Henry Ford's family for support. He wrote a letter to Ford's son, Edsel, stating: "Unfortunately, you and your father are at present the chief contributors to the destruction of this city. With new concrete roads...passing through the city, garages, and gas tanks are fast spoiling the whole appearance of the old streets and the old city, and most of the cars which stop at the garages and gas tanks are Ford cars."

The very short reply from the Fords said, in part, that "(Ford) was unable to interest himself in the matter mentioned."

You think, after a letter such as Goodwin's?

Well, anyhow, Goodwin continued searching for monetary support and soon found it through various organizations such as The Colonial Dames of America. And it was because of the donations that he was able to restore a few of the buildings. But, only a few. He wanted the whole town of Williamsburg restored.
It was during a speech he gave while in New York that turned the course of history, for John D. Rockefeller was in the audience and Goodwin invited him to visit Williamsburg. The Rockefeller family did visit the city and was given an enthusiastic tour of not only what had already been restored but of the possibilities of what a full restoration could do and mean.

Again, according to Williamsburg Before and After, Rockefeller said "The opportunity to restore an entire colonial community and keep it from incongruous surroundings was irresistible."
Goodwin was then authorized to engage an architect to preliminary drawings showing the town's restored appearance.
Welcome back Colonial Williamsburg!

Under the 'comments' section of the Front Porch Indiana blog's post I wrote: It has been a dream of mine to buy an open-air museum/village and to turn it into a true and total living history "locale" - a place where visitors, and even the presenters, would feel like they literally time-traveled."

One response was, "It's been for sale for some time. The couple who own it are a lovely couple but not exactly in the prime of their lives. If it doesn't sell, I don't look for it to be open after this festival."
And still another wrote (and this is repeated from the top as well): "Imagine how much good any of those billionaires could do, and instead they mostly spend money on ghastly ginormous houses, private jumbo airliners, and the like."
This same person also commented: "Maybe if it doesn't sell. a group of volunteers could form to do that."
Grand ideas. Can we make them come to pass?
Either way, a historical village - fabricated or not - such as Billie Creek Village should be saved for future generations to enjoy and learn.
If I only had the money...

More Americana at the Henry Ford Museum

2011-10-16T15:55:00.012-04:00

Earlier this year I wrote a posting on a few of the thousands of historical objects on display at the Henry Ford Museum.

And nearly four years ago I wrote my very first posting about this wonderful place. Well, here's an updated version of that March 2008 post that makes a fine part two to this year's post:

The entrance way to the Henry Ford Museum

By now I'm sure you've read of my fondness for the Greenfield Village open air museum located in Dearborn, Michigan. If you haven't you must be new to this blog. Well, on the same grounds of the Village is the Henry Ford Museum, an indoor collection of Americana second only to the Smithsonian in scope. That's a mighty big claim, I know, but read on to see why:
When Henry Ford (the man/car magnet) began collecting all things American back in the early days of the 20th century, folks from all over were very happy to help him out by sending him all of their "junk" they had stored in their basements and garages. Items of little use, including old-time farm implements, cooking and heating stoves, yarn winders, eating utensils, furniture, watches & clocks, spinning wheels, guns, etc.

Little did they know that what they were giving away (and in some cases, selling) would one day become museum pieces - objects that told the story of the average (and not-so-average) American of the 18th and 19th centuries. Other museums at the time held paintings of the great artists, furniture of kings and queens, and items that people of great wealth once owned. But that wasn't what Mr. Ford was interested in. He wanted to show the things that made America great. He wanted the light to shine on folks like you and me - everyday people.

At one point, Ford realized he needed a place to store all of his treasures and decided to build a museum, originally called the Edison Institute, after his hero Thomas Edison.

Ford’s collection grew beyond the everyday items that he obtained: more classic automobiles that you can imagine, George Washington’s camp bed and trunk from the late 1700’s, trains and more trains, buggies and carriages, pre- WWII airplanes, an original 1940’s diner, the car that Kennedy was killed in, a writing desk belonging to Mark Twain, and another belonging to Edgar Allen Poe, a teapot made by Paul Revere, Henry Ford’s very first car known as the Quadricycle, an original MacDonald’s sign from the 1950’s, lighting through the years…the collection of Americana just goes on and on.

There is one very unique piece of American History here that goes beyond the scope of what other museums - including the Smithsonian - has: the Lincoln Rocker.

This is the actual chair that President Lincoln was sitting in at the Ford Theater on the evening of April 14, 1865. To his right sat his wife Mary, and just beyond her were their guests, Major Henry Rathbone and Clara Harris. Of course, as you (hopefully) know, around 10:30 John Wilkes Booth shot our 16th president at point blank in the back of the head, and the rest of the story is history.

Except for this chair.

What most do not know is that this chair now sits in the Henry Ford Museum. According to the web site American Lincoln Online "The rocker's importance became obvious immediately after Lincoln's death. The War Department held it as evidence during the trial of the assassination conspirators.

And from an article in the Washington Post:

In January 1867, the War Department sent it to the Department of the Interior. Interior Secretary O.H. Browning acknowledged receipt of the chair, writing, "It will afford me satisfaction to have the Chair deposited in the proper place, among other relics, in this Department for safekeeping."

Soon after, the chair - along with the stovepipe hat Lincoln wore to the theater that night - were put on display at the Patent Office building. They were exhibited for only a year or two, and in 1869 the two items were delivered to the Smithsonian. They were kept in storage, their exact whereabouts a closely held secret.

In 1893 the chair was sent to a museum that Union veteran and Lincolniana collector Osborn Oldroydit opened at 516 10th St. NW, the house in which Lincoln died. There it stayed for the next four years. It was returned to the Smithsonian, where in 1902 it finally received an official accession number - 38912 - and was catalogued in the Department of Anthropology. And it was there that the chair remained...in storage. Then, in 1928, Blanche Chapman Ford, the widow of Harry Clay Ford (the original owner of the chair who loaned it to the Ford Theater for Lincoln's use), wrote to the Smithsonian. Was it true, she asked, that they had the chair, and if so, "Will you kindly tell me why it is not on exhibition?" She added that if it was not of use to the museum she would like to have it. Smithsonian curator Theodore Belote responded that it was the museum's policy not to show objects "directly connected with such a horrible and deplorable event." Perhaps, but Brian Daniels, a Smithsonian Archives research associate who has studied the circuitous history of the chair, thinks there was another reason: Belote, the son of Maryland slave owners, was not fond of Lincoln. He was happy to see the chair go.

In the spring of 1929, Blanche Ford's son George collected the chair. That December it was on the auction block, selling for $2,400 to Israel Sack, a Boston antiques dealer who conveyed it to Henry Ford for his new museum.

"This is the chair that embodies a transformative moment in time for America and indeed the world," said Christian Overland , vice president of the Henry Ford museum.

"It kind of is like the one that got away," Daniels said.

I have read that the Smithsonian as well as the Ford Theater has asked numerous times for the chair for their own respective museums. Of course, the Henry Ford Museum has always responded in the same way - a resounding "no."

Think about it: if you were the curator of such a museum, would you let this piece of Americana go? The Henry Ford Museum has also painstakingly restored the chair in 1999 and placed it in a temperature-controlled environment to ensure its longevity for generations to come.

I believe my favorite part of the museum...well...it's a tie between the carriages and buggy department and the furniture exhibit.

The Buckboard from 1885

The Chaise from 1870

And the Concord Coach - great for travelling - from 1865

Of course, the area with the trains is truly spectacular, too:

The Dewitt Clinton from 1831

The Sam Hill from 1858

and the gigantic Allegheny from 1941

The variety of items in this museum continually astound me.For instance, they can actually say "George Washington slept here" - well, not in the museum itself, but they do have his camping bed and other supplies from 1770 belonging to our soon to be 1st President!

How cool is this?
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And then there's a wonderful piece of mid-20th century that one rarely sees any more - Lamy's Diner from the 1940's

By the way, this diner is supposed to be open for business - yes, selling lunch - in 2012. I'm looking forward to it!

Please see the description of this wonderfully
interesting cupboard below the picture.

(The following information came from The Henry Ford site. I found it fascinating in that it brought this beautiful piece of furniture to life):

We believe that Hannah Barnard was born in the late 17th century, probably in Hadley, Massachusetts. She was 31 (a "spinster") when she married John Marsh in 1715 and died shortly thereafter giving birth to her daughter, Abigail. We believe that this was Hannah's "marriage" or "dower" chest--a fairly expensive piece of furniture she received or had made specifically to be brought into her new household. Her press cupboard stored precious household linens which were time-consuming to make, and may have held silver or ceramics in the upper portions.

The colorful hearts, petal flowers, vines, and half-circles are characteristic of a number of "Hadley-chests" made around Hadley, Massachusetts nearly three centuries ago. Six of them include women's names painted on the front, such as this. It is unusual for a piece of furniture to be decorated with anyone's name, much less a woman's. Why was her name put on the front?

We're not sure. Perhaps, after thirty years as a Barnard, did Hannah not want to forget her family name as she entered into marriage with Mr. Marsh? Or did it mark the fact that Hannah was well aware that while women could not inherit property, they could inherit moveable furniture? Did she ask that her name be painted there? Or was she surprised and embarrassed when she received it from her family or her betrothed?

We can only speculate. What we do know is that it is one of the few pieces of furniture that we can say was made for, and used by a woman.

The Hannah Barnard press cupboard is currently on display in the Fully Furnished exhibit in Henry Ford Museum.

What a neat story about one who would have otherwise been lost to history. Who would have thought that a simple court cupboard would come with so much emotion attached. And that truly is what is attached: the presence and emotion from someone who lived over 300 years ago.
At least, that's what I feel when I stand in front of it.
Yeah...maybe I am a little crazy, but it's the only way I can explain it.

As I said, I never cease to be amazed at the amount of American history found here inside this awesome museum - and to think that Greenfield Village is right next door!!

I plan to do future postings on other wonderful historical objects that are displayed inside this world of Americana.

Wolcott Mill 2011

2011-10-10T23:21:00.004-04:00

This past weekend was bitter-sweet. Sweet because one of the best Civil War reenactments of the year had taken place. Bitter because it was the last of the big reenactments in these parts til next May. From here on out it's smaller - but still wonderful - living history events.

Wolcott Mill is a beautifully restored grist and feed mill built back in 1847 and is located in the northern rural portion of Macomb County here in Michigan. With plenty of trees and land surrounding it, it is a fine spot for a reenactment, especially during the autumn time of year; the leaves on the trees were spectacular - I love the early fall because there are still green leaves mixed in with the golds and reds making for a more colorful display. This year the daytime temperatures reached 80 degrees while the nighttime lows went down to the 40's with no rain in sight.

And it's this fall spectacle that makes the Wolcott Mill event that much more special.
It also helped that members of both units I belong to - the 21st Michigan and the Michigan Soldiers Aid Society - all camped together in the same row...er, street. Both groups are top notch at living history but we also enjoy playing a little as well. Just like our ancestors, we like to have some fun, too!
For instance, Mrs. Root put together a puppet show for the evening lantern walk of a play that was written in the 1850's. She had the young ones in our group as the puppeteers and allowed them to provide the voices as well. The lantern walk crowd loved it, and I have to admit (maybe because one of the puppeteers was my daughter) that they were very good!

I mention quite frequently how proud I am of the two groups I belong to for they take living history a step further than most other groups. This year we had a tinsmith and a gunsmith showing the visitors their talents in their crafts. Our tinsmith spent the better part of Saturday making a new lantern while the gunsmith was meticulously carving intricate patterns into the wood of the rifle, not unlike the gunsmiths of long ago.

The tinsmith and gunsmith explain to their respective crowds how they work their crafts

We also had our own surgeon return after a year's hiatus, and he explained - in his 1860's style live 'power point' presentation of which included period tools of the trade - what surgery was like during the 1860's. It helps that he's a doctor in his modern day profession!

I've been expanding my presentation as a postmaster. Yes, I still speak of the importance of the mail during the time of the Civil War and show folks replica 1860's stationary, but I have taken it into another level. For instance, there are times when I will look up from reading my Harper's Weekly (yes, I do read them!) and there will be a large group of visitors standing before me, gawking at my 'post office' set up.
"Oh my," I exclaim as I see the crowd, "did the stage arrive earlier than expected? How was your journey?" And then off I go speaking of stage coach traveling and tavern adventures, using real history to accent my delivery. If there are children within the group I like to speak to them about the chores they would have had if they were living "back then," such as emptying the chamber pots and trimming oil lamp wicks & adding more oil to them, as well as other chores the under ten crowd would have had.

A few of us went out for a stroll on a beautiful autumn day

And then I'll ask if anyone was expecting a letter, which will then lead into the importance of mail for the boys fighting the rebellion and for those of us on the home front to hear how that our sons are okay. This time of year, of course, I'll question the folks on how well their harvest was this season. The people tend to enjoy being included in such a way and hearing of their lives 150 years ago.
Yeah, and we can act a bit goofy sometimes, too. It's been brought up how the Wicked Witch of the East wore the same kind of socks that our Civil War ladies wear; remember when the house fell on her and her legs literally curled up and disappeared? Here's a photo (no, I didn't take this one!) to rekindle your memory, just in case:
Well, guess what we did...but only with a tent? We've talked about it for years but seemingly always forgot to actually recreate this scene.
Here, check out the photos I took shortly before tear down of the tent falling upon the Wicked Witch of the East:

Like I said, we tend to go off the deep end sometimes (and you folks thought I was such a serious bloke!).
So now the main part of the reenacting season has ended. But I still have an 1860's ball, a period dress meeting, multiple Christmas living history scenarios, the 21st Michigan period Christmas gathering, and performing with Simply Dickens to carry me through the rest of 2011.
The time-traveling continues...

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In the Good Old Colony Days

2011-10-02T09:17:00.028-04:00

In the good old colony days

When we lived under the king
Lived a miller and a weaver and a little tailor
Three jolly rogues of Lynne...

I'm in a colonial mood.

Yes, every-so-often this man of the Victorian era gets a hankering for things colonial as well.
It's been a while, however, since this colonial infatuation has been at the forefront of my historical thoughts. There is a blog that I follow called An Historical Lady and she writes almost exclusively about 17th and 18th century life - she and her husband truly seem to live history and she has posted literally hundreds of photos of their excursions to the past. I think this is part of the catalyst for my colonial thoughts of late.

When I was a young lad in my 'tween and early teen years I was heavily into the period from around the 1740's through the 1780's, mostly due to the bicentennial celebrations that began a few years before the actual 200th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It seemed from 1974 til 1976 wherever you turned there was something being written about the year 1776, especially in the newspapers. And the TV had bicentennial programming here and there as well - does anyone else remember "Bicentennial Minute"? But, with me "coming out of the womb into history" (my mother's own words - not mine) I also loved to read books that were about the 18th century. A particular favorite was The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz, which gave a very accurate account of everyday life in the wilderness that eventually became western Pennsylvania ca 1780's. I remember pretending that I was living with the Hamilton family: our dank and dark basement 'became' the cabin (and it had a real fireplace to boot, which made it all the more "real" in my mind), and the over-grown brush behind our garage was the frontier.
I had a great time!

Anyhow, after the bicentennial celebrations had died down later in the '70's, this southern part of Michigan in which I live slowly began to forget its colonial past (click Detroit - A True Colonial City for a little diatribe on this subject) and even almost skipped over the 19th century (thank God for Civil War reenacting!) and began to instead concentrate on the first part of the 20th century. The two historical open-air museums of Greenfield Village and Crossroad Village used to have Colonial Weekends, but both events have canceled in the ensuing years. Fortunately there are still a few smaller Revolutionary War reenactments here in Michigan - the largest and most popular taking place up on Mackinac Island at the tip of the lower peninsula every Memorial Day Weekend. I am very glad to hear of that!
Another plus for colonial era fans and historians is knowing that Greenfield Village has a few structures on its grounds that are from the 17th and 18th centuries and they are all grouped together in one area, which is nice. But only one in this particular collection, the Daggett Farmhouse, is usually "alive" with period-dressed presenters for most of the year. Giddings 'comes alive' at Christmas time.
Needless to say I spend much of my Village-visiting time inside the colonial buildings there, just taking it all in. I enjoy the candle dipping, the cooking over the hearth, the dyeing of spun wool by way of bark and berries, learning of the herbal garden and drying the said herbs as well as fruits and vegetables for the winter...just the whole wooden-ness of it all!

I know what you are thinking: "Ken, I thought you were passionate about the mid-19th century?"
I am. I consider the 1840's through the 1860's my era; it is my favorite period in time. But, don't forget - much of what was done in the colonial period was still practiced in the 1860's including spinning and dyeing, food preservation, mode of travel, and even dipping and burning candles (though oil lamps were becoming prominent by mid-19th century).

But, I believe it would be a great experience to dabble (accurately and authentically) in the colonial era. I've never worn clothing of that period, and to have my wife and I enjoy a stroll as a couple from 1770 would be, I would think, great fun. Of course, learning of the every day lives of any past era has always been my main course of study, but reading of our ancestor's survival through even harsher terms than the Civil War era makes me admire these folks even more. I suppose if I were to reenact the colonial period I would want to surround myself with those who took it as serious as I would by dressing and acting as authentic as we could with what knowledge we had. It would be a challenge, for instance, to study their language usage. I mean, the 1860's verbiage is challenging enough, so I can just imagine making the attempt to speak as they did 250 years ago. The John Adams series, I feel, has the closest to what those of that period sounded like, with a bit of a British accent in their words. I have heard that they used to pronounce the "K" in words such as know and knife, but I don't know for sure...maybe some of you etymologists can help me on this.

In my recent studying of this now over-looked time in our nation's history I have found scads of wonderful information that helped to bring this era alive in such a way that I haven't felt for nearly (dare I say?) 35 years! I'd like to share some of my findings with you, if you don't mind. Please understand, what you will read in this posting is only a grain of sand on a Michigan beach in comparison to what I could write. But, if it piques your interest in the colonial era even just a little, then I have done my job. Too bad it's not a paying job!

It seems through all of my research on any historical era, one thing that has not changed over these past few hundred years is that life then, as now, tended to center around the home. But, oh! how life in the home has changed!

"The kitchen in all the farmhouses of all the colonies was the most cheerful, homelike, and picturesque room in the house; indeed, it was in town houses as well. "

In the kitchen it was the massive fireplace that was the center of it all. And, of course, all of the necessary cooking tools to go with it: "A nest of iron pots of different sizes, a long iron fork to take out articles from boiling water, an iron hook with a handle to lift pots from the crane, a large and small gridiron with grooved bars and a trench to catch the grease, a dutch oven (or bake pan), two skillets of different sizes, a skimmer, skewers, a toasting iron, two tea kettles - one small and one large, a spider (or flat skillet) for frying, a griddle, a waffle iron, tin and iron bake and bread pans, two ladles of different sizes, two brass kettles of different sizes for soap boiling, &c." (From Miss Catherine Beecher).
One must remember, however, that most young folks did not go into setting up their household with all of this iron cookware. Many would have only the basics - a small kettle, a spider, and a ladle - to begin with, and would accumulate the rest over time.

Most cooking fireplaces were equipped with a suspension system for the large pots and kettles. An iron crane that could be swung out toward the room to check on the contents of the pots and kettles was also mounted inside of the chimney. By raising or lowering the pots to adjust the distance between them and the fire, or by moving the crane forward into the room, cooking temperatures could be adjusted.
The importance of not allowing the fire to go out cannot be overstated. It was quite a chore to get another going; since there were no matches in colonial times it was very difficult to get a fire started from scratch. To do so required striking flint rock against steel to create sparks into tinder. Tinder was anything that would ignite easily - usually strips of linen or paper thin strips of wood. These items would have been kept inside a tin or metal tinderbox. In the previously mentioned book The Cabin Faced West the fire did go out and young Anne Hamilton was at a loss of what to do:
'As soon as she stepped inside, she had a sinking feeling in the bottom of her stomach. She had forgotten about the fire. Quickly she ran over to the hearth and sank down on her knees before a pile of black ashes and a half-burned log. In desperation she blew into the fireplace, hoping to revive a hidden spark. Ashes flew out into the room and up in her face, but there wasn't a tiny glow of red anywhere. She looked at the tinderbox beside the fireplace with its piece of steel and flint. She had never made a fire from the beginning. She walked back and forth in the cabin, holding the baby while she talked to herself. "Maybe I could borrow some. But if I went down the hill to Uncle John's, I'd have to take the baby. It wouldn't be so bad going, but coming back, carrying the baby and a pot of fire - I don't know if I could manage." '

Just for a fire...imagine...(by the way, young Miss Hamilton did eventually head down to her uncle's place to 'borrow' fire. But something happened on the way...
The Cabin Faced West is really a fine book on colonial life - you should get it, even if it is for young kids).

Needless to say, between breakfast, dinner, and the evening supper meal, it was in the colonial kitchen that most of the activity took place, besides the cooking. In the wintertime, it was also the warmest room in the home. But even with the fire going all day, on extremely cold winter days the kitchen fire might not be able to warm the adjacent rooms, and more than one family found themselves literally living in that one room for weeks on end, including sleeping.

By the way, let's dispel the myth that "people were shorter back then."
No they weren't.
Well, maybe slightly...like about an inch or so. But the myth that the average height of a colonist was 5'4" or whatever is just that - a myth.
"But the ceilings were so low and the beds were so small!"
The ceilings were lower to retain the heat from fireplaces in the cold months - this is a proven fact. I needn't go further on this. As for the beds being smaller, I've been told - and I have read - that people did have a tendency to sleep at least partially sitting up. It's been said that the upright sleeping position may have helped to ease breathing problems caused by a lifetime of inhaled smoke from the constant fires. When I spoke to the presenters at Greenfield Village, they have stated that anyone who has ever spent time in a house heated by a fireplace and cooked over an open hearth can testify to how much wood smoke is inhaled daily.

Imagine a lifetime of this: emphysema, lung cancer, and other diseases that in our modern times are associated with cigarette smoking were very common. Taking all of this into account, and considering the other myths that have been dispelled, I have to agree with the theory that our ancestors could breathe easier and sleep sounder lying in a partially upright position.

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Upon my own visitation to the Daggett farm I have also witnessed the spinning of wool into yarn on the large walking wheel (or great wheel).

The walking wheel was used in the spinning process, and it's here at Daggett where one can watch as the un-carded wool is carded by use of carding paddles before actually being spun into yarn (unless you have a wife like I have who also spins on a walking wheel as well as a Saxony wheel). As this process is done, the presenter explains every step, from the twisting of the wool onto the bobbin, to plying two single bobbins of thin thread to make one stronger thread, to winding the finished thread into a skein by using a yarn winder (also known as a clock reel) or on a niddy noddy. The skeins could then be washed or dyed before use.

Preparing to dye wool...

Outside in the yard a large vat of water is boiled over a fire pit. This is part of the process of having spun wool dyed to a variety of colors. The women of the family would hunt through fields and woods for flowers, leaves, and bark to dye their wool, crushing walnut shells for brown, goldenrod blossoms for yellow, and roots of the madder plant for red. The ingredients were boiled in water until the liquid becomes the desired shade, then skeins of yarn were simmered in the vat of dye.

The dyed wool...

And now the wool can be spun into yarn. The large walking wheels were very common in colonial homes. The fiber is held in the left hand and the wheel slowly turned with the right. This wheel is then good for using the long-draw spinning technique, which requires only one active hand most of the time, and can free a hand to turn the wheel.

The spinner begins to slowly turn the drive wheel clockwise with the right hand, while simultaneously walking backward and drawing the fiber in the left hand away from the spindle at an angle. The left hand must control the tension on the wool to produce an even result. The process is continuously repeated. Thus the name "walking wheel."

The ladies of the house enjoy a well-deserved break from spinning

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Alice Morse Earle wrote, "The making of the winter's stock of candles was the special autumnal house-hold duty, and a hard one too, for the great kettles were tiresome and heavy to handle. An early hour found the work well under way."

In our modern times we think of the pre-electric light period as being very dark, where the nighttime homes were candle or oil lit. By the Civil War era, the much brighter oil lamps had a strong foothold in American society and candles began their fade as a necessity, although they were still in great use. But candles did not necessarily need to be made at home anymore...one could go to the store and purchase them fairly cheaply instead of going through the whole process of making them in the way their fore-fathers did.
However, during the mid-18th century, artificial light was truly a luxury. People were used to working by daylight, and lighting a candle while the sun was up was rare. It was customary for folks to move from room to room to get the most out of the day's light. In most homes candles were lit during the nighttime hours, but sparingly so, due to the candlemaking process. According to one source, what would be considered by today's terms to be a typical middle class home in the 1750's would go through nearly 500 candles a year. And that may even be a conservative view - it would not surprise me if many homes went through at least a third more than that!
Colonial women dipped candles as part of their domestic work. As you have read, every Colonial home was the producer of all things needful to life, including candles. Candlemaking was not a hobby then — it was a labor assigned to the housewife. And a backbreaking, smelly, greasy task it was. For a long time, candles were made only of animal fat, and housewives collected every scrap after butchering and cooking of meats was completed. These precious fats were hoarded carefully, protected in covered crocks. At candlemaking time, the fat was melted down and the dipping process began.
Fortunately for early American women with the wherewithal to get them, there were other candlemaking materials available to them, besides ones available in Europe. New England gave them bayberries, which have a heavenly scent — quite a change from the stinky animal-fat candles. Bayberries were introduced to the Colonial women by their Native American neighbors, who also showed them how to get the wax out of the berries. another source of candle wax was beeswax, and many farm families raised bees, primarily for their honey and their pollination work, but also to get the sweet-smelling beeswax. Lucky was the Colonial farmer with a hive or two of bees!
~ (The above information about candle dipping came from an on line source by M. J. Abadie, but it is the same information that the presenters at Daggett also tell) ~
If there was a fire in the hearth that had been for cooking or for warmth, candles might not even be used; as long as one could see well enough to eat, spin, knit, whittle, or do any number of other duties by the light from the fireplace, a candle would be considered wasteful. I've also read that on a bright moonlit night, especially when there was snow covering the ground, the reflection of light from outside could be bright enough for one to read while indoors!
However sparingly, candles were still needed more often than not in the nighttime hours. As one woman reminisced: "When evening came we used to set a candle on a candle stand and pull the stand to the center of the room so that four people could sit around it and see to work."

Working by the light of day or by candle light at night

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As I said, what I have written in this week's post is barely a snowflake on an ice burg for the information available. I will probably write a part 2 sometime in the future.

Chopping wood was not just a man's chore...

And you can see that my excursion into the Colonial period, not unlike my passion for the mid-19th century, also centers on the social history of the time. I've always loved social history - the wars and battles, although I realize were important and I do read about every-so-often, never interested me nearly as much as everyday life.

Anyhow, it's unfortunate that I know no one who lives nearby that has clothing of that era for my wife and I to try or I just might just make the foray into colonial living history for a lark.
Ahhh...maybe one day...
The photos included throughout this posting are some that I took of the colonial era homes at Greenfield Village.
Again, my solace away from the 21st century....
The following photos show more of the colonial structures in which the other pictures were taken, including exterior shots:

The Daggett Farmouse: A typical Connecticut Salt Box house...

Gathering herbs from the garden.

The McGuffey Birthplace: A typical log cabin of western Pennsylvania - not unlike the Hamiltons from "The Cabin Faced West" story quoted above I suppose...

The Plympton House: An early Massachusetts home - - -
There was very little privacy in this small home

Four walls and a loft...

The Giddings House: A home from New Hampshire - a bit fancier than the others...

It really amazes me just how historically blessed I am to have the opportunity to visit the numerous eras of American history, from the colonial period through the 20th century, in places very near to where I live.
Almost, but not quite, as good as living in a historical house!

By the way, here's a list of a few books I own that has helped me when I've needed my colonial fix:
Daily Life in Colonial New England by Claudia Durst Johnson
Home Life in Colonial Days by Alice Morse Earle
Stage Coach and Tavern Days by Alice Morse Earle
Welcome to Felicity's World 1774
A Midwife's Tale - Laural Thatcher Ulrich
Diary of Anna Green Winslow - with an introduction by Alice Morse Earle
Our Own Snug Fireside: Images of the New England Home 1760 - 1860 by Jane C. Nylander
Your Travel Guide to Colonial America by Nancy Day

And here are a few colonial era movies. Not all are necessarily historically accurate, and a couple concentrate on war, but I do still enjoy watching them:
John Adams - Hands down as authentic as it gets!
The Patriot
Felicity - Great for kids and enjoyable for adults
Last of the Mohicans
The Crossing
Three Sovereigns For Sarah - Salem Witch Trials - as good as it gets!
Desperate Crossing - A docu-drama that plays more like a movie than a documentary about the Pilgrims

Again, I'm sure there are more out there but finding them tends to get a bit tiresome at times.
I do advise you to stay away from such trash as "The Story of US" put out by the History Channel. So much is glazed over or not even touched upon. In fact, so little time is spent on the early years of our nation that one would think the great explorers came over in the year 1800!

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A Trip to the Cider Mill

2011-09-24T16:18:00.010-04:00

We went to the cider mill today. We almost didn't go this year. You see, we wanted to go to a cider mill that didn't have the thrills, frills, and chills that virtually every other one has. You know the kind I mean: over-commercialized with singing skeletons, mechanical hillbilly bear band, $10 per kid play area, $3 hot dogs...yeah, you know what I'm talking about. The kind of cider mill that the typical suburbanite goes to in which to enjoy "the country."
We've been to that kind in previous years and don't plan on going back. Way too crowded, way over-priced, and wa-a-ay over-commercialized.
We just wanted to pick apples, drink cider, and eat doughnuts.

These apples will be baked in a pie very soon!

And not return home broke.
It took some searching but we found one right smack dab in the middle of "cider mill country" - Romeo, Michigan. Within just a few miles of Romeo Village are at least five cider mills, and all but one are of the suburbanite's dream, varying from extreme commercialization (did I mention the haunted barn?) down (or up) to the good old-fashioned mill.
We chose Stony Creek Orchard - the most basic of them all.

In speaking with one of the owners, she told me that there are some customers who have complained because there was nothing to do except, well, pick apples, drink fresh cider made right there, and eat fresh doughnuts.
On the other hand, there were many more who, like me, have thanked them for having nothing else but apple (and raspberry) picking, cider drinking, and doughnut eating.
Okay, they have a small hay climbing area for the kids.

And a tractor ride out to the apple orchards.
I can handle that.
And so can my kids. The fun for them was the apple and raspberry picking. The fun was eating warm fresh doughnuts and drinking freshly pressed cider.
The fun was our family outing, from grandma to grandkids.

Stony Creek Orchards caters to folks like us who do not want the over-priced highly commercialized pay-an-extra-nickel-for-a-cup-for-your-cider cider mills.
It was a very enjoyable way to spend an autumn day.

~ By the way, my hat is off to Yates Cider Mill in Rochester, Michigan. They may not have apple picking, but it is another low-frills mill to go to. Their big plus is a country pathway for visitors to walk alongside the Clinton River. Very beautiful this time of year. ~

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Millrace Village

2011-09-18T07:48:00.011-04:00

~Loaded up on the wagon and ready to time-travel ~

Patty prefers to sit in the back...sitting directly behind the horses always makes her a little nervous.

I love discovering something new - especially when it relates to history.
In a previous post I wrote about the opportunities we here in southern Michigan have to visit the past. Well, this weekend I discovered another local open-air museum only around a 45 minute drive from my home known as Millrace Village.

~A stop at the tavern is always a must after such a journey~

It was unfortunate that very few reenactors chose to stay away from this event because it has the makings of something very special. There are several Victorian homes within this park, along with a tavern, general store, blacksmith shop, church, and a school - all from the 19th century. As I have said many times before, there is nothing like doing living history when you are surrounded by history itself. And, as with a few other events, the kind folks here actually allow us to set ourselves up inside the old buildings to use as our own.
Yep, bringing history to life before your very eyes.

Friends and family stroll the town's lane

Again I ask, why do reenactors - especially military - constantly complain about being bored doing the same old reenactments but yet stay away from these wonderful new ones? We were hoping to have a skirmish take place, utilizing this park as a battle town. Unfortunately, we had one - count 'em, 1 - Union soldier show up, with nary a Confederate in sight.
How sad.
And disappointing.
Seven of us civilians attended to help bring the "town" alive: we had a woman in mourning, a couple young ladies, two children, my wife spun on her spinning wheel, and I as the postmaster.
And the visitors were so appreciative of us! Can you imagine just how authentic it could have been with a few more civilians plus a hundred or so soldiers to give the folks a good showing of a battle town?

The young ladies of town enjoy a moment's respite from their chores

Yeah, I am complaining again - sorry about that! - I suppose I just expect more from my fellow reenactors. Michigan is ripe for living history and I feel one should grab the opportunity while we can.
Then again, maybe there was a football game on television...

~Yes, a stream cuts through Millrace Village~

I'd much rather be here...wouldn't you?

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