Spring has sprung . . .

What does spring mean to you? What is the first thing that pops into your head when spring is here? Do you spring into action? What action?

Let me count the ways . . .

I bet the first thought is to do some spring cleaning. Let me tell you the ways: dusting, washing, scrubbing, vacuuming, maintenance, and more. Then there is there the inevitable organization, sorting out, clearing out, arrange and rearrange, put back in order . . . are you tired yet? You bet you are!

So take a seat, kick off your shoes, have a cold drink, close your eyes for a few minutes, and then carry on. But before you take what you put in boxes to be hauled away, given away, or trashed, look again. If you are too tired, ask for some help or another opinion. Haste makes waste and you could be getting rid of something that you may later regret. I know this to be true for I have made the mistake of getting rid of things and years later, wondered why.

Just the other day I went through some leftovers fabric I planned on putting in a yard sale and when I took the time to look at them again, I said to myself, nobody is going to pay for these remnants of fabric that I have held on for a long time thinking I was going to make something out of them, but didn’t. Then thought again, I should keep these and revisit my sewing machine and make something useful out of it. It actually felt good to do this. I know I may not get to this project soon, but when I do have the time, I will make something.

The same goes for family memorabilia. All those little things: souvenirs, knick-knacks, tchotchkes, and other things that at one time, for some reason, you bought it. If these things can still produce a good memory, and nice feeling, a dream and a wish that came true, or even if it didn’t, perhaps it still means something to someone else in our family.

So again, think about what is in those boxes. Then think about saving and displaying them. In my book, Create a Family Museum and Save your History, there are many examples how and where to save those little things. Also this blog has many past posts on the same topics. Click on any of them and you just might be inspired to save a little of your history. As this appropriate quote says:

 "You can find a lot of old memories
when you clean out your closet."     Anonymous


My book is Available on Amazon and at www.HeritageBooks.com

 

A Titanic Dinner . . .

In our Family Museum is a cookbook. Not your ordinary cookbook, but a Titanic Cookbook!  Last Dinner on the Titanic: menus and recipes from the legendary liner. Text by Rick Archbold, recipes by Dana McCauley, published in 1997 by the Madison Press Limited.

So why is this cookbook in our museum? Because it contains more than recipes, it holds special memories of an exceptional time that our family spent together on April 4, 1998. The four of us attended a gala white-tie dinner in the Huntington Room at the Mariner’s Museum in Newport News. VA.

When the museum director discovered the new cookbook, she planned the museum party, following every detail and invited authors Rick Archbold and Dana McCauley to attend the event and mingle with the guests and answer questions about the food and social climate aboard the ship. And boy, did Charlie have questions. He even got his picture in the newspaper.

Charlie has been hooked on the Titanic since he was 8 years old. His fascination grew as he did and we all became enmeshed with his enthrallment. Over the next twenty-two years and still counting, we saw the ship go down many times: 4 stage plays – in New York, in Belfast, Ireland, in Washington, DC and in Virginia Beach, VA.

We went to many Titanic exhibits at museums and Charlie has a sizeable collection of Titanic memorabilia. And the movie. We were riveted to our seats and not a dry eye in the audience was had. As soon as the video (VHS) came out, we had to get it and watch it again. Charlie also loves the original 1958 movie A Night to Remember.

 

In 2008, Charlie had the privilege of being a Titanic Dramaturge (Historian) for the VA Beach production. At the time, Charlie was in musical theatre and auditioned for the play. He didn’t get the part but the director, Brian Marshall, was so impressed with Charlie’s Titanic knowledge that he asked him to come aboard and assist the cast. He even got billing in the theatre’s Stage Notes. We had the poster framed and on the back of it are autographs to Charlie from the cast.

Today is the 105^th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic and in honor of the legendary event, and in memory of all those who perished, I am preparing, by request from Charlie, to make one of the meals that was served on that last night. Of the 50 recipes that are in the book, we agreed on the Roast Sirloin of Beef Forestière. The preparation of the steak seems easy enough, but the Sauce Forestière will take a bit more work.

So wish me luck and if you are looking for a cookbook filled with more than menus; this one offers fascinating descriptions and anecdotes, archival photographs and memorabilia, and a host of evocative period paintings and illustrations, along with ideas for hosting a Titanic Dinner, sending the invitations, setting the mood, and decorating the table (even illustrations on proper napkin folding), as well as choosing the wines. This is the book for anyone who is fascinated with the Titanic and some great recipes, too. Enjoy!  

P.S. In a future post, I will tell you how our Titanic dinner went with pictures.

 

Millennium learns how to conserve and preserve his history . . .

My 28 year-old son, Charlie, decided to finally clean out his closet. What an undertaking he found it to be. File folders of newspaper clippings, bags of bags from places he shopped, paper tubes filled with drawings, and boxes filled with his insatiable desire to collect maritime history artifacts. He was overwhelmed with his collections and perplexed as to how he was going to sort through it all, what to keep, what to throw away and then how and where to keep his stuff. After a few hours, he came to me with eyes like a deer caught in the headlights, stunned and at a loss at what to do next. However, he does have some knowledge on how to keep what is most important to him because he has his own museum, albeit the fact that it was created for him by me, the family museum curator. But what he has in his possession that is not in the museum is what he needs to be concerned about. So here are a few of the suggestions and steps I encouraged him to follow:

1.  Tackle one project at a time, such as going through the file folders of newspaper clippings. Review each one, measure its relevance. Separate piles in subject-like matter. Take each clipping and trim away irrelevant print, but make sure to keep the date and publication info. Repair any rips with preservation double coated tape available at www.amazon.com. Either re-file kept clippings chronologically or place a few notable ones in a scrapbook designed for keeping newspaper. For a wide selection of albums go to Google and typed in scrapbooks for newspaper clippings. A plethora of websites will give you all the help you need to find what you are looking for.

2.  Paper tubes are wonderful for storing large drawings, poster art, etc. Charlie is an artist. From the time he started to draw, his doodles, drawings and later, his diagrams were of ships. His father and I thought he would pursue a career in technical drawing, but alas, he did not, but to this day, he still draws pictures of ships. As he grew, so did the size of his drawings. The largest is a pencil and ink illustration of his most revered ship, the TITANIC. Charlie made multiple copies of this drawing. He even gave one to his high school teacher on his graduation day, and while he was a docent at our local maritime museum, he presented it to the director of the museum.

Solution to storing large drawings are to store them in paper tubes. Charlie has several of them and one already contained drawings. But he had many others and overwhelmed at how they were all going to fit.  So we laid out each and every drawing, unfurling them and making sure frayed edges were smoothed out and rips repaired. Then the drawings were lined up and firmly rolled back into place and slipped into the tube, date and contents noted.
 While doing this and before the copies were rolled up, I had Charlie take note of the TITANIC drawing hanging on his wall. I asked him if he saw any difference in the two drawings. At first he said no, but I told him to take a closer look at the writings in the picture. Getting close to it, he exclaimed, “Oh my, the writing is fading!” Yes, it sure was. So I explained how all artwork, be it a painting, photograph, reproduction work, etc., all fade with age and by light. Why do you think art museums take due-diligence protecting their artworks. So now, with him taking care to preserve and protect his drawings, when the day comes and his TITANIC drawing has faded and no longer enjoyable to look at, he can slip the preserved one from out of the tube and replace the faded one, and once again enjoy his master piece. When looking for paper tubes, check out www.uline.com

4. Storing items that are not flat, such as booklets, brochures, maps, and in Charlie's case, maritime memorabilia, such as past ocean liner menus, programs, even tiny ashtrays, need to be preserved in a box that is used exclusively for that purpose. Called "Memory Boxes" they are available at www.punchstudio.com, Michael's Arts & Craft Stores, and Amazon.com. When you use these boxes, to help with organizing the items inside, keep to a theme, i.e.: travel, souvenirs, cards & letters, etc. Make sure fragile items are wrapped in tissue paper, photographs in slip covers, and then fashion a list of contents with dates, places, etc. And don't over-stuff the box. It won't close properly and the idea of preservation is mute.

5. As for Charlie's bag of bags, it's entertaining. If he ever needs an odd gift bag or amusing tissue paper, he's got it. This reminds me of a few words my father said to me time  and again: "Lisbit, never throw anything away. You may need it later."

Conservation, preservation, keeping, storing, organizing - all of these activities are well-worth the time and energy you put into it. And my Millennium is learning many life-long lessons as he sorts, selects, keeps & disposes of newspaper clippings, artwork, collections and then some. And he is actually enjoying this endeavor. He gets to visit times, places, and things buried in his closet and in his memory, but now has been unearthed and enjoyed again. You should do the same!
 

  

 

Our "Family Museum" Story

One day my dear friend Barbie accompanied me to the attic. As I rearranged once again stacks of boxes to make room for more, she laughed when she spotted a box labeled,
    "Charlie’s Memorabilia"
She asked, “How could Charlie already have a box of memorabilia when he is only two years old?” Laughing, I said, “Open it.” 

She did and was surprised to see I had saved not only the usual
baby shoes, she saw his teething ring, a tiny box with his baby teeth, first tiny diaper, Christening gown, rattles and photographs. As she closed the box, I could see a melancholy expression on her face. She said softly, “I kept Christy’s baby shoes but not Ryan’s. I never thought to keep the things you did.” Then she laughed. “And baby teeth! Ryan swallowed his and I think my grandmother kept some of Christy’s, but their gone now.”

Handing the box back to me, she asked, “What are you going to do with all this stuff you are saving?” Feeling overwhelmed as I gazed upon the stacked boxes, I was not at all sure what to do. A couple of years later, push came to shove and I had to do something about all those boxes.  

My father had a stroke and my mother was terrified of taking care of him herself.  

After much soul-searching, my husband, Keith, and our kids Tiffeni & Charlie
offered to turn the attic into an apartment for them. Because Keith built our home, some areas were still a work-in-progress, particularly the front hall. We did not know what style staircase we wanted, so we did not build it since there was one in the kitchen. Because there were no stairs in the hall, we installed an elevator for my father who now had to be in a wheelchair.
 

When finished, the attic became a private two-bedroom, handicap bathroom, full kitchen and a living/dining room apartment. It was quite commodious and with the ease of the elevator, dad was able to ride it down to the basement where we had set up a workshop filled with all his tools and gadgets so he could entertain himself.
 

So what happened to all those boxes? It was a conundrum. We piled the boxes in the guest bedroom, which was also my office. We piled boxes in the kids bedrooms, hallway and laundry room. As we placed these cubicles of souvenirs’ into stacks, I looked into each box to see what exactly was in it. Oh my goodness! Talk about memories. Each of us was stunned to see stuff we thought long gone and were thrilled to see again. I will not describe here all the emotions displayed, but rest assured there were plenty. So what did we do next? Organize! 
 

As we opened a box and saw what was in it and to whom the stuff belonged, we put the box in that person’s room and labeled it with their name and description of the contents. This was the best time to consider what were the most important things to continue saving. Box-by-box everyone had a hand in creating their own preservation. But what to do after we organized it all was still a dilemma. Then I got a clue by way of a very unexpected discovery.
 

One day Tiffeni and I took a trip offered by the Chrysler Museum to the Reynolda House Museum of American Art in Winston-Salem, North Caroline. Built in 1917 by Katharine Smith 
Reynolds and her husband R.J. Reynolds, founder of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, the home displayed a premiere collection of American art ranging from the colonial period to the present. The museum had restored interior rooms and furnishings to reflect the periods when the family lived there. Reynolda House features a gallery space for traveling exhibitions. There are usually two shows featured in that space every year, one in the fall and one in the spring.
 

There are other exhibitions throughout the year in the Northeast and West Bedrooms in the house. Not only in the bedrooms but in the attic where a wide hallway was lined with glassed-in mini rooms that displayed delightful items, from

clothing to jewelry, sports equipment, toys, music, photographs and more.

 

That is when I came up with the idea of a family museum. If the Reynolda family can take areas in their home to display their precious memorabilia, then so could my family! 

www.reynoldahouse.org

                                        

Next Post: Back to Our House



Mother Day Memories

 

There is an in-depth article about the history of Mother’s Day from the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia that explains how and why there is a holiday that celebrates mothers and motherhood. If you want to find out all there is about this cherished holiday, take the time to read it. I could not add any more to this offering, therefore, I am going to share with you my stories about the Mother’s Day’s celebrated in our family with a few of the many gifts and cards given and received throughout the  years. 

My foray into motherhood happened (at this writing) 44 years, 8 months and 14 days ago when our daughter, Tiffeni Jeanne was born on April 28, 1970. Before that special day, I had the traditional Baby Shower hosted by relatives and friends. I saved the invitation along with an assortment of gift cards. When I found these wonderful memoires, I could have transported myself back in time to that day. I could feel the excitement of opening the gifts and reacting to the tiny items lovingly wrapped and presented. I can recall seeing the faces of those who gave the gifts, their anticipation if I liked it or not. Of course, I liked them all. I cherished them now and luckily still can, because I preserved some of the baby clothes, toys, books, and pictures and a few are on display now in our children’s museum.

What really had me intrigued as I rummaged through the card box labeled Lizzie, I found an eclectic assortment of papers (hospital & doctors paid invoices, pictures, cards, a pressed flower – its fragile petals and leaves turned yellow, and a list of names, and one big curl of Tiffeni’s baby hair), all stuffed into a tiny book with a pink cover showing a picture of a very pregnant momma bear. The book’s title, “EXPECTING?” Nursery rhymes for pregnant times, written and illustrated by Dolli Tingle, published in 1968. (the price was $1.95).  

I can’t remember if I bought it myself or if it was a gift, but that doesn’t matter. What’s great is that I still have it. I wrote on the first page, My Book when I started and finished writing in it; June 2, 1969 to April 27, 1970.

As small as the book is, it is filled with everything you want to know then and remember now. Such as, IMPORTANT INFO: doctor’s name and number, hospital, what to take there, and many pages of do’s & don’ts, such as WHAT DOC SAYS I SHOULD EAT. He said, “eat anything I pleased, but then he said, “lay off the salt” the last weeks of the pregnancy. A list of WHAT I CRAVE! chocolate malts, hamburgers, and onion rings. I’LL KEEP MY WEIGHT DOWN chart, starting at a mere 115 pounds (I was 5’7” tall) with a final weight of 154 pounds. Not good!

There was a page for BOY’S NAMES WE LIKE BEST. (Back then the sex of the baby was not known until birth). There must have been an omen present when we picked the name Charles, for he came 17 years after Tiffeni. (Future story there). GIRL’S NAMES WE LIKE BEST didn’t include the one we chose. Listed first were my picks: Gigi (loved the movie) April (she was born in April) Simone (a name I chose for a character in a book I would write in the future). Her papa Keith chose names of old girl friends (excuse me!) One was Drusilla (oh, please!) The other was Nancy. (Far too old fashion for me). At the bottom of the page is the one we chose: Tiffeni Jeanne. WHY, the book asked. I wrote, “because Tiffany (spelt differently at first) sounded rich . . . ” But there is another story – the one I remember most. As I was sitting in my hospital room listening to the radio, the announcer told a brief news story about a woman who was thrilled to have found her missing cat, named Tiffany. (I like cats and I felt happy that the lady found hers.) . . . “and I liked the song, Jean (very popular back then; written and sung by Rod McKuen for the Broadway play, “Oliver” in 1969).  (watch & listen to this beautiful song on YouTube)

 

“Jean, Jean, roses are red, All the leaves have gone green, And the clouds are so low, You can touch them, and so, Come out to the meadow, Jean.”

When I entered the hospital on a very cold and rainy day, I recall looking out of my window and how it rained every day I was there, seven days total because I was very ill. On the day before I went home I was able to walk to the end of the hall and look out the window. It was still raining. The next day I went home and when I finally stepped outside into the fresh air, it was spring. Spring had sprung while I was in the hospital. I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to see the trees green leaves, the clouds puffy white and the many flowers by the roadside as we drove home. Then the song came on the radio and after listening to the words, I knew at that moment, Tiffeni’s middle name was Jean.  

Back to the book. There was a LAYETTE page. Checked off were all the things I must have received at the baby shower. Next page titled, KEEPING IN TRIM,” I wrote, “did a lot of walking the first 5 months because I was working.” I was a private secretary to the president of a marine insurance company. I loved my job, but I was not doing well the last month of the pregnancy, so I had to quit. I remember being very upset. To cheer me up, my mother gave me a little party. (That’s what mother’s do). 

Next where 3 pages to list GIFTS. I filled in a page and a half. The last page, NOTES On what happened tells a very concise story of the difficult birth. I must have written this months after because it reads emotionally unaffected. Perhaps I only wanted to record the facts and leave the pain out of those last words. But the little book’s story happily ends with these words, “We both went home together.” The End.

The moral of the story is, and keeping with the theme of the Blog is this: like all things precious, Mother's Days memorabilia must and should be kept alive, either by preserving the object or retelling a story. Mother’s Day memories are perfect for your family museum, no matter how you preserve them.

 

HAPPY MOTHER’S TO ALL MOMS,

YOUNG AND OLD!

     

Next Posts:  more on antiques

 

Americana & Art Collecting

Collecting Americana encourages people to learn, to be enlightened and to understand America’s heritages. Collecting can be either a hobby or a serious endeavor. It depends on what is collected and why. A passion for the activity could start in childhood and carry on through adulthood. We might even consider that there is a collector in all of us. Here is a category list of some of the items people collect. See anything here that you collect? 

Old Bottles

Cat Collectibles

Coca-Cola Memorabilia

Disney Figurines

Old Vintage Antique Signs

    Antique & Vintage Cans

    Vintage Wine Collection

    Silver Coins, Medals

    Vintage Magazines

    Hummel Figurines

    Sterling Silver

    Teddy Bears

 

Collecting Art does begin at an early age. Just think about some of the art projects you did throughout your educational years that you may have saved. As your style and taste developed, you may have started to focus on one or several art styles and periods. When you could, perhaps you purchased an art work for your apartment or home. Eventually, your collection grew. 

My favorite art form was Impressionistic paintings. The colors, textures, subject matters, all appealed to me. And for whatever or why you falling love with a work of art, buy it, take it home and enjoy it.

There are many types of collectible art other than the tried and true: paintings, sculptures, and drawings to mention a few. Such as Concert Event & Vintage Posters – Limited Edition Prints.

FYI, here are a few art collecting tips for beginning art collectors as well as for the experienced and a few good reminders for anyone interested in art or already collecting art. Most of all buy art because you like it, because it moves you. Art enhances life. 

* Visit as many art galleries as you can. Gallery staff can be
   helpful guides in your art education.

* Get on gallery mailing lists so you'll be invited to openings and
   special events.

* Visit and join your local art museums and non-profit art
   centers. Curators sometimes give lectures on collecting art.

* Attend National and International Art Fairs and Art Expos
   whenever possible.

* If you know art collectors, talk to them and find out what they
   know and what they've learned about collecting art.

* Read books on art history and books about collecting art.

* Subscribe to a few art magazines.

* Working with a professional art advisor/art consultant is a
   good way to learn about art collecting, and they will guide
   you through the process of purchasing art.

* Read reviews by local and national art critics, keeping in mind
   that reviews usually just reflect one person’s opinion.

* Most of all, protect your collection with museum-like
   professionalism.

 

Next Post: Books & Jewelry