We don’t give a lot of thought to our silverware, a part of our daily life our ancestors didn’t take for granted A quick history of spoons and status in colonial era Dutch and English New York, at Philipsburg Manor, Sleepy Hollow, New York
Daily Life of the American Colonies: The Role of the Tavern in Society
I’m no stranger to taverns, and if I lived in the days of colonial America, it’s a safe bet I’d be found in one of the colonial inns that still dot the east coast. In fact, you still can when I have a chance. In the century or so leading up to the Revolution, colonial taverns […]
Daily Life of the 19th Century: The Cooper Shop at Old Sturbridge Village
I’m from the midwest, where for the most part, people are friendly. Outgoing even. If you meet a person outside in the dead of winter, you’re likely to find yourself standing out in the cold, talking about how cold it is. While visiting the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm Manor House in Newbury, Massachusetts, I found myself in a […]
Daily Life of the 19th Century: Clothes on the Line
Some things we took for granted, and among them was drying clothes on a clothes line. Certainly not the speediest method, but there’s a charm to the process that isn’t matched by a dryer. Time didn’t seem as pressing back then. People had patience. Our lives weren’t timed in fifteen minute increments. When you hang […]
The reason for the season? How Christianity dyed its pagan roots.
I remember Christmas as a time of magic. There was something supernatural going on that you could never put your finger on. Flying reindeer, animals that talk at midnight, ghosts and Santa, a supernatural figure if there ever was one. To believe in Santa required faith, not unlike the kind of faith required to believe […]
What makes a church a church? Carmi’s Emmanuel United Methodist church looks to leave history behind for greener pastures
There’s a controversy brewing in my hometown which I’ve been watching as it deals with issues of local history and historic preservation, as well as a bigger question. What constitutes a church, the building or the people? I don’t attend the church in question, or any church on a regular basis, so I don’t have […]
