 Home Table of Contents Calendar Newsletter Archives Membership Information Properties Hands-on-History |
Box 212 Monroe, CT 06468
Christmas Fair at the Old Schoolhouse Our annual Christmas Fair was a success, even with eight inches of snow on Thursday as we were getting ready to open the Fair on Friday. The snow did make it feel like Christmas and the Schoolhouse looked lovely with a blanket of snow. Fortunately, it did not keep away the Christmas shoppers! Thanks once again to Ed and Marsha Coffey for doing a wonderful job of organizing this annual event. We sold almost three times as many copies of our new Cookbook as we had expected.. If you missed this special Christmas printing, we will be printing it again for our Spring events. There will be a few changes in the next editionfor those of you who may have noticed errors, please call Judy Standerford, 268-5511 or email judy@geometricdesigns.com. Editing and publishing this book became more involved as we got into the project. In order to get it printed for the Fair we were a little rushed at the end! We forgot a few special recipes which will be printed in a later newsletter and definitely will be included in the next edition. Another new addition at this years Fair were many items made for sale by our junior Historical Society. This is an informal group of teenage girls who have been attending and helping with our Hands-on-History workshops. Weve had several craft workshops at the Beardsley House this fall in preparation for the Fair. We would like to continue and possibly expand this young group. We have several projects that we need help with and we plan on starting work on next years Fair soon. If you know someone who would be interested, please call Nancy Zorena, 261-8554, or Judy Standerford, 268-5511. Thank you to everyone who helped make our Christmas Fair a success. This event involves more volunteer hours than anything else we do and we appreciate all the time and donations that members provide. Thank you to everyone who helped with the Christmas in Monroe house tour. It gave us a wonderful opportunity to showcase two of our buildings. Thank you to Dolores Rossler for all the wonderful items she has donated for our upcoming Textile Sale and Tag Sale. The Christmas in Monroe House Tour sponsored by the Monroe Newcomers and Neighbors Club featured the Beardsley Homestead and the Meetinghouse. Despite rainy weather, it was very well attended and both of our buildings were shown to best advantage. With help from many volunteers, both buildings were beautifully decorated for Christmas. Volunteers from both the Historical Society and the Newcomers and Neighbors Club dressed in period costume and welcomed guests. Several of our junior members, dressed in Jane Austen dresses, worked on needlework and decorated the tree to give an old-fashioned Christmas feeling to the Beardsley Homestead Dear Members of the Monroe Historical Society, Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! What a great experience I had working with all of you on the Christmas in Monroe House Tour. Your knowledge and passion for things of the past has enriched my life by allowing me to see our town in a whole new way. I no longer think about Elm Street/Cutlers Farm as the quickest way to get from my sons pre-school to 111 or view the Stevenson Post Office as the quickest place to get my packages mailed in time for the holidays. I no longer look at woods or undeveloped land as just another spot to build a new house. Now as I travel through our town I see so much more! I see beautiful landscapes that the Burr sisters might have painted. I see townsfolk strolling about the General Store. I see horse drawn carriages, tanneries, blacksmith shops and hard working people, and Hannah Crannas coffin slipping off the back of a wagon! On the day of the house tour I found myself recalling many of the stories I had heard from your members about the town and about their personal experiences as well. As I dressed in the period costume and walked about the rooms in the Beardsley home with the fires roaring, the Christmas tree adorned with handmade ornaments, the kitchen table filled with feast and the parlor set for tea, these stories came to life for me and I was truly transported to the past. I thank all of you for the many unique and memorable times I have experienced working with your group. I know that I speak for all of the Monroe Newcomers & Neighbors Club members when I say that without your involvement in our Christmas in Monroe House Tour we could not have achieved the success we did. I look forward to working with you again on future projects. Sincerely, Karen Cardi We have had a chance to acquire several diaries that were kept by members of the Burr family in the late 1800s and early to mid-1900s. Here are some excerpts from two of our most recent purchases. Elnora's Diary... a diary with a beautiful, red marbleized cover bought from James Young's Book and Stationery, Bridgeport, CT a gift from Jennie to her sister in 1883. At this time, Elnora was a teacher in a schoolhouse in Oronoque and boarding at a home nearby. She was about 24 years old. "Sunday, February 10, 1884, a lovely day after a week of storms. Last Tuesday, the New Church folks had their sociable here. Not long ago we finished reading David Grant a story by George McDonald. I liked it very much. Frank Tibbals sent me one of his cabinet photos last week and I rec'd letters from Mamma, Fannie, and Jessie, this last is a naughty little girl who has cut her hair but as she sent me a pretty little valentine I shall forgive her. Today I have a fearful cold, have written to Fannie and Jessie and read two short poems by Shiller entitled The Song of the Bell and Hero and Lavender. Sunday, Feb. 24th A beautiful day but my eyes feel badly. Last Wednesday eve we attended the literary at Frank Blakemans and had a pleasant time. Arthur Cornwall from New Haven sang. Friday afternoon, (Washington's Birthday) Matti and I went down and called on Genie. I have rec'd letters from Jessie and Fannie during the past week. Fannie is on top of the highest wave. (At the time Fannie was studying art in NYC at the Student's Art League) Jennie's Diary (She was about 60 and living alone on Elm Street at the Burr Family Homestead on Elm Street.) February 12, 1943 Friday, Lincoln's birthday. cold- 15 to 22 Sat by kitchen fire and read book catalogue. Valentine from FC and call from her in the P.M. (3 eggs) Refers to the eggs that Jennie gathered from the hen house that day. Feb, 22, 1943 Beautiful , warm Washington's birthday. Heard the first bluebird. No mail No paper Worked all day mending and washing, stopping up holes and cracks in sitting room stove with stove putty, saw possum down in pasture near enough to touch him. (3 eggs) Jan 26, 1943 Dark and chilly, snow and ice melting. Income tax foolishness,- "mumbo jumbo" Feb 27, 1943 Sat. Sorted apples and made 4 qts applesauce also pie crust for two pies- an experiment. FC called she has finished up the sale of her place and for cash. Heard first robin. Feb 28, 1943 Sunday, Gray, March windy day. Pie crust baked in omelet pan on top of stove was a success. Saw blackbirds flying over and old man Possum eating frozen apples under tree in dooryard. Mrs. Baumman called. (5 eggs) Fabric, Textile and Needlework Sale On Saturday, April 26, from 9 a.m.3 p.m. we are holding an Open House at the Beardsley Homestead and will have some of our quilt collection on display. We have recently been given two quilts made by the Burr family, which will be on display along with our Bicentennial Quilt. While these quilts are on display in the Beardsley House, we will be having a sale of new and vintage fabrics, textiles, and textile equipment in the Barn. This sale will include duplicate items from our collections, materials that have been donated to our Hands-on-History program (too much fabric for us ever to use!) and other items that have been donated for sale by members. We will have two floor looms (in as-is condition) for sale as well as other pieces of textile equipment. If you have any items you would like to donate for this sale, please call Nancy, 261-8554, or Judy, 268-5511. This sale will include fabrics (new and vintage), needlework (finished and unfinished), yarns, patterns, textile magazines and books, vintage pieces of clothing, household linens (vintage and gently used ) and anything else you may have that falls into the category of textiles . This is a great opportunity to get rid of those projects youre never going to finish, left-over materials from the projects you have finished, and linens you will never use again. Help us make this a great sale and a fine fundraising event. We are planning our second annual Tag Sale to coincide once again with the Strawberry Festival. Please let us know if you have any items you can donate. Bring them to the Old Schoolhouse the day before the event (Friday, June 13) or you can call 261-8554 or 268-5511 to arrange for pickup. This was a very good fundraiser for us last year and we would like to continue it as an annual event. To do this, we need donations of gently used , vintage and antique household items. We need volunteers to help us mark items on Friday and to help with the sale on Saturday. Please contact us if you can help. |
. |