Going back to where it all began . . .

Time has a way of making us forget when, where, who and why. Nevertheless, remembering at least a little of the memory is a good thing. Such was the time I first visited Reynolda House Museum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

 I think it was about 20 years ago since I first set my sights on what would become our Family Museum. On page 9 of my book Create a Family Museum and Save Your History, the story is told with pictures. When there was an opportunity to go back to see the house museum, we; my daughter, husband and I, went back, though this was the first time for my husband.

It was a cold day in February and the museum was not crowded. I had made arrangements ahead of our visit to let them know that I was coming to tour Reynolda House and was very excited to visit the Attic in particular. When we arrived we were greeted by a docent and after a short talk, showed us the way to the house for a self-guided tour.  This was good since all three of us are house museum enthusiasts.

Little had changed in the house since we were last there. When we did it was with a large group touring the house and we did not get to see everything. But we remembered and were thrilled to see it again. My husband, being a master carpenter, was very impressed with the architectural edifices.

I was anxious to get to the attic and when I saw the tight twisted stairs going to the attic, I was thrilled. I actually didn’t remember the stairway and wondered how all of us on the tour made it up  there. Once we got up to the attic, I just stared at the displays. I did not remember how large the space was, so I was doubly thrilled.  

We first went into a smaller space that was dedicated to the Reynold’s Family children, circa 1910-1949. The preserved collection of toys, clothes and photographs were outstanding.  


Then we went into the larger room, we looked into every glassed-in display at some of the most beautiful and exquisite clothing that survived over the years. 

 Most of the apparel belonged to Katherine Reynolds and her two daughters. Additional suits, coats, military uniforms and accessories belonged to R.J. Reynolds and others. Here are some pictures from the collections.

Taking a rest, we sat on a whimsical circular sofa circa 19^th century. As we did, I pondered on how my visit 20 years ago impressed me so much that not only did I created our own Family Museum, wrote a blog and a book on how to create a Family Museum.
 https://heritagebooks.com/collections/recent-publications


Life is full of surprises and Reynolda House was one of the best. http://reynoldahouse.org/

 

So start your Family Museum today. If the Reynold's Family and my family can, you can too!