Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village: Goodbye 'til April Cometh

Tara the servant girl:  "How do you do that,  sir?"

Charles Dickens:  "Do what?"

Tara:  "Make a world come alive?  I could almost see and hear them people."

(from the movie,  "The Man Who Invented Christmas")

I do try to  'make a world come alive'  anytime I dress in my period clothing,  

but rather than being a part of  a storybook,  it's making a world of the past come alive.  

It's my way of  attempting to find solace.

My personal solace,  outside of my family,  is living history and visiting Greenfield Village. 

As for the Christmastide,  the celebrations continue...

.............................................................

My wife and I~
Yeah,  I'll take the Paul Revere compliment!
And thank you to the kind woman who
took this photo!

I needed this.

I've been sort of down this Christmas season.  Not for any particular reason that I can think of.  I suppose it just happens every-so-often.  But visiting Greenfield Village for Holiday Nights usually lifts my downer spirits.

Even the weather seemed to try to cheer me up a bit.  Less than a week earlier the temperatures were in the single digits,  and that was the high for the day!  So highs in the upper 30s the day we went Holiday Nights wasn't quite so bad,  all things considered.  (Not too long ago - I believe in 2017 - I was there when the high was 6 degrees!)

As per normal for us,  we usually will go to the Holiday Nights event after Christmas,  for it helps to extend the season into Christmastide.

So,  on the evening of  December 28th,  it was on with my thick stockings,  wool waistcoat & coat over my heavy linen shirt,  light wool knee-breeches,  cocked hat,  leather buckle shoes,  and finally my heavy woolen cloak,  all to keep a man warm on a cold winter's night  (my wife dressed modern this time),  and we were then ready to celebrate nearly 300 years of yuletide merriment,  going as far back as the 1700s and up through the 1930s,  though not laid out in strict timeline order.  My wife and I make it a habit to go the last night the Village is open for the year,  for from that date it will not reopen until springtime.  In this way the most wonderful time of the year is extended,  and we are that much closer to its April 14th re-opening. 

Our night certainly began on a high note for me;  as I was waiting for my wife to come out of the  'necessary',  a woman walked up to me and said,  "You could be Paul Revere!"

Just out of the blue!  Now that  was a compliment for me!

It was going to be a good night.

As the gates opened to let us in,  we high-tailed it to the far-end of the Village where my favorite house,  the Daggett House,  stately sits,  looking as it once did over 250 years ago when it was originally built in Connecticut.  And my wonderful wife took a few pretty darn good nighttime photos with my camera,  which does not excel in darkness photography.

The Daggett House was built by housewright Samuel Daggett in the early 1750s in Coventry  (now Andover),  Connecticut.  Both inside and out it shows the clear,  strong lines of a New England lean-to   (or break-back house,  now more commonly referred to today as a saltbox).

I find it interesting that the Holiday Nights program claims that  "In 1760 Connecticut,  Christmas was not observed"  when I have found information proving otherwise.

Sorry folks,  but Greenfield Village got this wrong  (click Christmas In Colonial America for my post about this subject).

Outside the Daggett House.
When nighttime shadows fall upon an old house,  they can create an almost
eerie feel,  while the light from the candle inside beautifully offsets the darkness.

Sometimes you don't realize how close the 18th century homes were in feel to medieval homes from a few centuries earlier.  And then to look at how houses have changed during the 19th century and beyond.  A home today would hardly be recognized as such by one from Daggett's time.  That's one of the things I also look at while visiting a place such as Greenfield Village,  where three hundred years of architecture can be easily compared. 

I was warmly welcomed inside the Daggett home by presenter Samantha,  and she & I
stood near the open hearth.  Even though it was warmer than it has been of late, 
there was still a chill in the air,  so the warmth from the blaze helped greatly.

How often others stood in this same spot since the 1750s...

The wife of  American novelist Herman Melville,  Elizabeth  (Lizzie)  Melville,  wanted to modernize their old 1780s home to be more fashionable to their mid-19th century time.  Her first goal was to get rid of the big central chimney,  which had gone out of fashion long before.  Herman would have nothing to do with that notion.  He loved the old chimney and actually wrote a short story about it called  "I and My Chimney"  (published in Putnam's Monthly Magazine in 1856).  In the article he wrote:  "It need hardly be said,  that the walls of my house are entirely free from fire-places.  These all congregate in the middle—in the one grand central chimney,  upon all four sides of which are hearths—two tiers of hearths—so that when,  in the various chambers,  my family and guests are warming themselves of a cold winter’s night,  just before retiring,  then,  though at the time they may not be thinking so,  all their faces mutually look towards each other,  yea,  all their feet point to one center;  and when they go to sleep in their beds,  they all sleep round one warm chimney."

Needless to say,  the old central hearth remained.

Sam continued to eye the fire in one of the hearths of the central chimney, 
 the hearth in the great hall,  ensuring its continued warmth on a long winter's night.

As you may know the Daggett House also has one central chimney,  with one of the hearths facing the great hall  (as seen in the above photos),  another in the kitchen  (as seen in photos below),  still another inside the parlor  (as seen in a photo directly below),  all on the lower level  (below stairs),  while the two main bed chambers on the second floor  (above stairs)  also each has a hearth stemming from the same central chimney  (as can be seen in THIS posting).

The parlor:

Unfortunately,  I did not get any photos of the parlor on this night we went,  but I did take some pictures during other visits there,  so here is what the parlor hearth off  the central chimney looks like - 

Taken during a daytime visit long ago.
Note the ever-popular white clay pipe in the pipe kiln. 
And in the image below,  here am I,  inside the parlor,  bringing my light with me.

This photo was taken nearly a decade ago during Holiday Nights  (yep---I have different clothing on here),  and no longer are we allowed inside that room, 
especially with a lit lantern.

The kitchen:

Jennifer,  in the kitchen,  also kept her central chimney hearth a-blazing as well.

This style of home that Mr.  Daggett built is commonly referred to as a  "saltbox"  house,  supposedly named for the popular wooden box used to store salt.  But that name for these houses didn't come about until the early 20th century,  from what I understand.  According to historian Jack Larkin,  in the 18th century,  this style was known as a lean-to or a break-back.

So,  this quaint distinctly American New England  "saltbox"  house is as distinctive to the region as crisp fall foliage,  rocky coastlines,  and picturesque winters.  Regardless of the period,  lean-to houses were generally built to expand living space for families and help them weather New England's harsh climate.  The sloping roof encouraged snow to melt more quickly in the sun while deflecting the strong winds common in that region.

This picture gives a very good look at the darkness of the Daggett kitchen.

The Daggetts generally would not have two  (or more)  fires and multiple candles burning at once,  for that would have been considered wasteful.  However,  if guests were visiting for a special occasion,  perhaps to celebrate the coming of the New Year  (Congregationalists may not have celebrated Christmas,  but they oftentimes did celebrate the coming of the new year),  they just may  have multiple fires going...including in the bedchambers as well as in the parlor.  If I learned nothing else in my history studies I've learned that nothing is cut and dry.
 I appreciate that Greenfield Village keeps the artificial battery operated lights out
of this home,  for to me it is a special house that deserves to be seen in the way
that it was seen in its past.

I love the use of lanterns here.
I am fascinated by - and collect - historic lighting myself.

So,  as modern visitors began to come into the house,  it was on with the cloak
and hat in preparation to head back out into the Village.

This windmill we see below,  once the oldest windmill on Cape Cod,  near West Yarmouth,  Massachusetts,  now stands at the southeast end of Greenfield Village,  next to the Daggett house.  This mill was built like those the early pilgrim settlers had seen during their exile in Holland.  Young men were induced to become millers by being exempted from taxes and military duty.  Winds off the Atlantic and Cape Cod Bay turned the mammoth fifty four foot sails,  grinding corn into meal in ten minutes or in three hours,  depending on the wind force.  The long lever between the roof and the ground is used to turn both the roof and the sails in the most favorable positions.  

The Farris windmill was moved several times,  that being easier than finding a millwright to build a new one.  The initials  "T.G."  and  "1782"  were carved in one of the beams during a move.

Just outside the Daggett house is the 1633 Farris Windmill.
Wouldn't it be cool if,  for one day out of the year we could
see the sails spin?

I next found myself inside the early 18th century Plympton House.

This photo was taken last year,  for I did not bring my lantern this year. 
But...because we were trying to do so much I forgot to take a picture of the Plympton
House during this year's Holiday Nights visit,  so here's the next best thing.
However,  the picture below is from this year:

This is a wonderful house with a rich history  (click HERE).

There am I,  only a silhouette...
Because it is mostly plexi-glassed off it can be difficult to get a non-glare picture.
I think we succeeded.

The original Plympton House burned down in the very early 18th century,  like around 1704.  They rebuilt this house around the original hearth and chimney - the very same one we see here.

Across the street from the Plympton House is the 1750s Giddings House.

The Giddings front door.
The two pictures here are,  once again,  from last year's visit.

The servant girl greeted me as I knocked upon the door.
This year,  sadly,  the inside was roped off.

And the Giddings were prepared for a New Year's party.
This is the only time of year we can see the parlor from the kitchen
entry doorway,  where you see me standing.

The Giddings Parlor from the kitchen entry.

And in the Gidding's kitchen we find...

...chocolateers preparing the treat of hot chocolate.

Chocolate was initially a treat for the wealthy,  but soon was available to the every man.

By the early 1770s,  the demand for chocolate in the colonies resulted in the importation of over 320 tons of cocoa beans,  which made drinking chocolate affordable to all classes of people and was available in most coffee houses,  where colonists would gather to talk about politics and the news of the day.

However,  if one had the means,  such as a man of the stature of shipping merchant John Giddings,  one could have afforded to hire a chocolateer,  who would make it right there in the kitchen to impress and entertain the guests for a party…perhaps a New Year’s gathering.

~o~

Ken's thoughts:  We used to be able to walk in through the Giddings front door,  hear the presentation in the everyday parlor  (also known as the sitting room),  then step on through to the kitchen.  During our most recent visit we now,  unfortunately,  have to clamor our way through the crowd and head back out the front door and go around to the back kitchen door to see the chocolateers  (glad it wasn't raining).  I don't like this nearly as much because we're all bunched up together - I prefer being able to walk through the house as has been done for this event almost two decades ago.  Plus there is much more room being able to walk through rather than the way they do it now.  I see no reason to keep us all squished and shoved out of the way so others can get through.

And bunched up again to watch the chocolateers.

Okay - off my soapbox now.

~o~

From the 18th century Giddings house we begin our journey into Christmas future.  Oh!  Not today's future,  but the future from an 18th century perspective!

Let's jump up to the 1822 Noah Webster Home where they are planning a child's 16th birthday. 

Such bright candles in all of the rooms in the Webster House!
Perhaps they're spermacetti?

Spermacetti candles were produced in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries,  and are made from spermaceti - the oil collected from the head cavity of a sperm whale.  Sperm oil was highly valued because of its clear,  white color and the fact that it produced a high-quality candle which burned brightly,  and with little odor.

Spermacetti is now illegal,  which,  in my opinion,  is a good thing.  With the 1987 international ban on whaling,  sperm oil is no longer legally sold. So,  no,  Greenfield Village does not and would not use such a thing in the first place.  It was just a spark of  an idea to speak about another part of our history.

Quite the spread for a birthday party.
This is the first time I've heard it presented as such - it's always been that
this was a New Year's Party.
That makes more sense,  if you ask me.

Well,  we're still in 1822:

Tony certainly gave a rousing rendition of the Clement C.  Moore poem from 1822 
"A Visit From St.  Nicholas."

One man,  a college professor,  claims he has evidence that this was not written by Moore,  but was instead written by a man named Henry Livingston Jr.  There is supposed  "evidence"  for both men,  but after reading both sides I believe will side with Moore being the author. 

~A winter scene break~
The Mill Pond over by the 1830s Loranger Gristmill,  looking toward Liberty Craftworks

See that large building near the center of this photo?
Well,  in the 1840s,  President Lincoln practiced law here!
But at Christmastime musician Neal Woodward performs wonderful
old Christmas carols on period instruments inside.

The front entry to the Logan County Courthouse.

Moving forward in time found us in the early 1860s - the time of the American Civil War - where we find our Union Men in Blue in winter quarters:

Inside the McGuffey School House the men gave a presentation on how the
soldiers spent their winter during the war.

A few of the soldiers kept warm around a blazing bonfire.

Since we are coming upon the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution,  it would be nice to see a similar presentation for Valley Forge.

Just a thought.

Now we enter Christmas 1876 at the home of Henry Ford.

By this time most households had oil lamps.  That's not to say they still didn't use candles,  which were fairly cheap,  but oil lamps were a much less messy and brighter way to light your home. 

The Birthplace of Henry Ford  (born in 1863).

Table-top Christmas Trees were popular at this time.  Artificial trees,  such as the feather tree,  were still a decade away,  so it would have been a real tree.
The tree would have been cut down either sometime on Christmas Eve or even perhaps on Christmas morning.  But you can see the patriotism shown on this tree as the Fords celebrate the centennial of the United States. 

A feast for friends and family was laid out.
In all honesty,  there probably would have been even more food and desserts than what we see here!  In the 1870s,  Christmas was about church and food,  and for the wee ones,  perhaps a few small toys,  probably religious in nature,  such as a Noah's Ark.

Let's jump up another couple of decades:

Part of the wonderfulness of  Holiday Nights is the transformation one undertakes
while walking through Main Street - you are transported to turn-of-the-century America.
Welcome 1900s!

And so we'll head to the year 1915 and celebrate at the Edison Cottage:

I like that they show a feather table-top Christmas tree:

A feather Christmas tree is a type of artificial Christmas tree that is generally considered one of the first artificial trees used as a Christmas tree.  They originated in Germany in the late 19th century and became popular in the United States during the early 20th century.  These first artificial trees were,  in part,  a response to growing environmental concerns in the late 19th century concerning deforestation associated with the harvest of Christmas trees in Germany.  The tradition of feather Christmas trees was brought to the United States by German immigrants.

Feather trees were initially made of green-dyed goose feathers which were attached to wire branches.  The feathers were split and then secured with wire to form the branches.  These wire branches were then wrapped around a central dowel which acted as the trunk.  The branches were widely spaced to keep the candles from starting a fire,  which allowed ample space for ornaments.

I would like to decorate my home in a similar manner.
And,  yes,  I do have a feather tree!

Such a hearth in a house from 1915?
Well,  yes - considering this is the original part of the structure,  built in 1816.  
The rest of the house was added on and updated - but they kept the great hearth!

There is much more to see at Holiday Nights than the bits I have posted here.  But it was a nice night out for me and my wife - most needed.

So that's it for my visits to Greenfield Village until April,  for it closes during the winter months for deep cleaning and any repairs or changes.  At Colonial Williamsburg,  folks can still walk amongst the historic buildings - I wish we could do the same.  It would be nice to continue the  "Members Only Days"  once or twice a week during the winter months,  where,  if you are a paid  "Member"  you have the privilege of  walking through the Village even though the buildings and restaurants are closed.  It's a peaceful occasion for those who love to take pictures.  I also would love to see two houses in particular opened during special occasions to show how winter life was - Daggett & Firestone - and maybe even do a few events,  such as maple sugaring  (the Navarre-Anderson Trading Post in Monroe does this - click HERE - but how wonderful to see it at Greenfield Village).

As for my wife & I,  we are now heading forward into the past as we enter the New Year of 2023  (if you know me then this will make sense lol).

Perhaps I'll spend New Year's Eve quietly...welcome 1773~

I pray for blessings and good tidings to you and your kin for this coming New Year.  May God be with you for your every step.

Amen.

Until next time,  see you in time.

~   ~   ~