Monday, December 24, 2007

Civil War At Christmas


This original 1863 Thomas Nast print shows a touching scene of Husband and Wife on Christmas Eve 1862. The picture is from the January 1863 edition of Harper's Weekly. This leaf is a stunning illustration and is over 140 years old!


As the war dragged on, deprivation replaced bounteous repasts and familiar faces were missing from the family dinner table. Soldiers used to "bringing in the tree" and caroling in church were instead scavenging for firewood and singing drinking songs around the campfire. And so the holiday celebration most associated with family and home was a contradiction. It was a joyful, sad, religious, boisterous, and subdued event.


"Snowy Morning on Picket" from Harper's Weekly January 30, 1864.

The final verse of a poem By the Christmas Hearth published in the Christmas edition of Harper's Weekly reflected the sentiments of many:

Bring holly, rich with berries red,
And bring the sacred mistletoe;
Fill high each glass, and let hearts
With kindliest feelings flow;
So sweet it seems at home once more
To sit with those we hold most dear,
And keep absence once again
To keep the Merry Christmas here.

Great Site with Info on Civil War and Christmas

http://oha.alexandriava.gov/fortward/special-sections/christmas/

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Ball Room Etiquette


Ladies and gentlemen were on their best behavior in the ballroom. Manners were more formal, clothing was finer, and bows were deeper.

Men were expected to be extremely active in the ballroom to make up for the total passivity required of ladies; who could not ask gentlemen to dance, and who could not even be seen to cross the dance floor unescorted. Ladies would be conveyed to their station by a gentleman, and there they would wait until another gentleman came to speak to them, ask them to dance or convey them to the punchbowl.

"The gentleman should call for the lady whom he is to escort, go with her to the ball, escort her to the dressing room, return to join her there when she is ready to go to the reception room... engage her company for the first dance, and escort her to supper when she is ready to go. He must watch and see that she has a partner for dancing through the entire evening. Upon reaching home, if the lady invites him in, he must decline. It is his duty to call in two days".

"A gentleman should always walk around a lady's train and never attempt to step over it. If by accident he should tread upon her dress, he should beg her pardon, and if by greater awkwardness he should tear it, he must offer to escort her to the dressing room so that it may be repaired. If in the ball room a lady asks any favor of a gentleman, such as to inquire if her carriage is waiting, he should under no circumstances refuse her requests... well bred gentleman will look after those who are unsought and neglected in the dance".

Rules for the Ballroom
A man who knows how to dance, and refuses to do so, should absent himself from a ball.

Noisy talking and boisterous laughter in a ballroom are contrary to the rules of etiquette.

In a ballroom, never forget nor confuse your engagements. If such should occur, an apology, of course, must be offered and pleasantly accepted.

Always wear white gloves in a ballroom. Very light shades are admissible.

Usually a married couple do not dance together in society, but it is a sign of unusual attention for a husband to dance with his wife, and he may do so if he wishes.

Great care should be taken by a lady in refusing to dance with a gentleman. After refusing, she should not accept another invitation for the same dance.

"When gentleman are introduced to ladies at a ball for the purpose of dancing, upon meeting afterward, they should wait to be recognized before speaking; but they are at liberty to recall themselves by lifting their hats in passing. An introduction for dancing does not constitute a speaking acquaintance"

[Editor's note: ladies and gentlemen could not dance unless they had been introduced, so the hosts and escort spent much of the evening rushing about making introductions]

All the above quotes are from "Rules of Etiquette & Home Culture" 1886

Thursday, December 13, 2007

For those born 1920-1979

Me Age 4 1968

FOR THOSE BORN 1920-1979
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As infants &children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because, WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day.And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies ! or DVD's , no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computer! s, no Internet or chat rooms.......

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not poke out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

If YOU are one of them CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good .

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?! !

The quote is by Jay Leno: "With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Freeport 12.02.07


The next day after the Ear Muff Parade, I again found myself in the car and in period dress (no Farb either!) and headed to lunch at the Jamison Tavern. This tavern was built in the late 1700s.






I always find the reaction of those seeing us in period dress immensely entertaining. When I entered the tavern I got mostly stares from people. During lunch we had requests from a tourist for pictures. We rode in a horse drawn wagon around Freeport, again soliciting stares mostly.




A few asked of we were part of a local play. Another assumed we were caroling. My personal favorite was when a woman noticed the antique fur muff I was carrying to warm my hands. She asked what sort of fur it was suppose to be assuming it was fake. When I explained it was real fur and an antique she seemed taken aback.."You know some people would find that offensive around here" I did try to point out that it was an antique and that the animal had been dead for decades.




There is a saying..."Better period correct then politically correct" ....


With dressing I agree with this statement


(I don't agree with being disrespectful to African Americans or calling them the "N" word)






Saturday, December 1, 2007

Ear Muff Parade



December 1st, 2007 I drove 70+ miles one way to walk in the Chester Greenwood Parade. This gentleman invented the earmuff and Farmingtom Maine takes great pride in this. So with 8 Soldiers (2 were Rebels) we walked in cold (17 degrees) and windy (15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph) with wind chill at a -10 degrees, weather ...How can we possibly do this you wonder? The answer is a word known to all re-enactors. FARB..

Farb is a derogatory term used in the hobby of historical re-enacting for participants who exhibit less commitment to historical authenticity (Thank you Wikipedia).

Now some events are strictly period correct, that is, those running the show may come over and note that you do not have hand stitched button holes...hence the term "Stitch Counters". Antietam was an example of a period correct (as far as the Third Maine was concerned) event.

Now 17-19 degree weather is not an event where as a civilian I can not have Farb...Oh yes I made a valiant effort to hide what I could, but alas it was there. The list included:
Fleece Socks, Ski Pants (under every petticoat I own), multiple shirts, a fleece lined jacket with a zipper and even the little pocket hand warmers. Ashley was no better. Oh well...it is a hobby
after all.

After the parade we did get hot chocolate courtesy of Matt B. Huzzah!
We even made the news (hope this link works!)