|
Posted on Wednesday, August 03, 2011 7:28 AM
Because of the time involved in duplicating blog posts (it is more than a simple copy and paste) please catch all of the newer posts on: www.19thcenturywoman.blogspot.com. |
|
|
Posted on Wednesday, July 06, 2011 8:35 PM
 When I started reenacting I was under the impression that the Victorians were so utilitarian that they only had buttons made from bone, shell, wood or other readily available, but primitive material. The fact is that the Victorians were very fancy. If you look at pictures from the era, you will often see buttons of a contrasting color gracing the front of a lady’s blouse or dress. Their buttons were their adornment. Buttons of the day were made of china, rubber, gutta percha, horn, metal, ivory and any other media available. |
|
|
Posted on Thursday, June 30, 2011 9:15 PM
A couple of weeks ago my husband and I traveled to Upstate New York to inter three of our parents’ ashes. On the way back to Oklahoma we stopped in Washington, D.C. to visit my son, who is stationed at Ft. Myer, VA with the Old Guard (Army). While there, we had the opportunity to watch as his company transferred someone from one grave site to another in Arlington. It was done with great pomp and respect. I know nothing about the person whose body lay in the casket. I don’t know if they were male or female, old or young, whether they gave their life for their country or died of other causes. |
|
|
Posted on Wednesday, June 22, 2011 9:17 PM
I learned a lesson last weekend—a lesson about fortitude and perseverance. These are qualities needed to survive the 19 century experience. As our captain, Cleon Plunk, stated, “We really got a small taste of what it was like to live back then.” Vaunda and I made the 6 hour drive to Booneville, MO for their 150 anniversary reenactment. We arrived Thursday evening and set up our tent, a process that takes about 8 hours total. We finished sometime around noon on Friday. |
|
|
Posted on Sunday, June 12, 2011 8:09 PM
“I like your costume.” I hear this frequently, and every time I do, I cringe. Costumes, in my mind, conjure up images of Halloween and cheap costumes worn over clothing and fastened with ties or Velcro. The clothing that I wear is more than just a costume. My wardrobe is carefully researched, and the fabrics and buttons chosen to be in keeping with original period-appropriate clothing. My Civil War dresses are collar-less and have dropped sleeves. My camp dresses, which date to an earlier era, have collars, and are shapeless. |
|
|
Abigail: Posted on Wednesday, June 01, 2011 9:38 PM
Tents, Twisters and Trains Several years ago we went to a reenactment in Atoka, OK. As we pulled in and set up camp we looked at the sky and saw this: The sky was beautiful, but also sinister-looking. We knew that a storm was brewing. It was quite breezy, as it often is on the Oklahoma plains. When you live in Tornado Alley you tend to keep your eyes on the sky. Vaunda, Brenda, and I pitched our tent in the civilian area, and expecting a storm, we lay plastic on the ground to protect us from the torrential rain that we knew would come. |
|
|
Posted on Tuesday, May 31, 2011 8:29 PM
Ever since I was a child I knew that I was born 100 years too late. Over half a century later it is more like 150 years. There is just something about the simplicity of life, the challenge of making do with what you have, the creativity needed to invent new ways of doing things and travel by train and horse that have always appealed to me. My mantra was “Go West, young woman,” and go West I did, although not as I envisioned. As a teenager I married the farmer of my dreams and shortly thereafter we moved from Upstate New York to Oklahoma to go to school. |
|
|
Vaunda: Posted on Saturday, February 05, 2011 2:44 PM
Welcome! Who is Anna? Who is Abigail? |
|
