Just wanted to share this with those of you no longer living in Oakland. Its a beautiful stone.Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Vintage Harvest Photos:
farming the hard way...
steam tractor
harvest time may be hectic now...but its still better than it used to bethese are old harvest photos- I do not know who is in the photos or where they were taken
Does anyone have vintage farming/ harvest photos of the Oakland area?
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Washington Wayne Hogue & Eliza Jane Childress:
These items were copied from Roger Ashmore's records on his family tree.Click on any image to enlarge. If you want to save the image, enlarge it first and it will save it as the actually size.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
Graveyard shift and Dead ringer:
Did you ever wonder where these sayings came from? Some of you may already know, but some may not.
In Victorian times, it was not uncommon to be worried about being buried alive. It did happen. They would hold a mirror under your nose and if you didn't have enough breath to make it steam up, you were considered dead. This could happen if you were in a coma. They had found people who had been buried alive when they were later dug up.
They didn't have all the modern items our doctors today have, so it did happen. People were not embalmed in those days either. One person who was so afraid of being buried alive was Mary Todd Lincoln, so she arranged to have a string tied to her finger with the other end tied to a bell above ground and someone to watch over her grave.
The graveyard shift was when someone was hired to sit in the cemetery at night to listen for any bell that might ring.
Dead ringer was the person who woke in their coffin and rang the bell to be rescued from their grave.
The most wealthy people built mausoleums and were never buried under ground just in case.
Another note is that people would have wakes in their homes with the dearly departed layed out in the parlor. The undertaker would have been the furniture maker in the town. He would come and measure the body and build the coffin to size.
The body would have been taken to the cemetery and the funeral would be at the grave.
The parlor in Victorian homes where always the best rooms in the house and the only room that guest would ever see when visiting. They would be wall papered, had the best furniture and would have had expensive drapery.
As the customs grew more elaborate, businesses sprung up offering to have the wake in style and out of the family home. Hence, the term funeral parlor.
Eventually, the funeral parlor took over all the arrangements from the grieving family. Before embalming became popular, they did put coins on the eyes so they would not open when someone was viewing the body and every now and then, someone would sit up in the coffin. The bodies could also moan from trapped air being forced through the vocal cords when this happened, leaving ladies fainting and men trembling.
Through the years, morticians have become so good at what they do, there are no fears about being buried alive and the family is well taken care of during their grief. Some funeral homes can trace their family involvement back to the Victorian era where it all began.
In Victorian times, it was not uncommon to be worried about being buried alive. It did happen. They would hold a mirror under your nose and if you didn't have enough breath to make it steam up, you were considered dead. This could happen if you were in a coma. They had found people who had been buried alive when they were later dug up.
They didn't have all the modern items our doctors today have, so it did happen. People were not embalmed in those days either. One person who was so afraid of being buried alive was Mary Todd Lincoln, so she arranged to have a string tied to her finger with the other end tied to a bell above ground and someone to watch over her grave.
The graveyard shift was when someone was hired to sit in the cemetery at night to listen for any bell that might ring.
Dead ringer was the person who woke in their coffin and rang the bell to be rescued from their grave.
The most wealthy people built mausoleums and were never buried under ground just in case.
Another note is that people would have wakes in their homes with the dearly departed layed out in the parlor. The undertaker would have been the furniture maker in the town. He would come and measure the body and build the coffin to size.
The body would have been taken to the cemetery and the funeral would be at the grave.
The parlor in Victorian homes where always the best rooms in the house and the only room that guest would ever see when visiting. They would be wall papered, had the best furniture and would have had expensive drapery.
As the customs grew more elaborate, businesses sprung up offering to have the wake in style and out of the family home. Hence, the term funeral parlor.
Eventually, the funeral parlor took over all the arrangements from the grieving family. Before embalming became popular, they did put coins on the eyes so they would not open when someone was viewing the body and every now and then, someone would sit up in the coffin. The bodies could also moan from trapped air being forced through the vocal cords when this happened, leaving ladies fainting and men trembling.
Through the years, morticians have become so good at what they do, there are no fears about being buried alive and the family is well taken care of during their grief. Some funeral homes can trace their family involvement back to the Victorian era where it all began.
HINDSBORO ITEMS:
Jeannie Rankins has an assortment of Hindsboro memorabilia for sale. If you are interested, just give her a call at 346-2180.
A partial list includes old advertising, school yearbooks, telephone book and a calendar. You can call her to find out what exactly she has.
A partial list includes old advertising, school yearbooks, telephone book and a calendar. You can call her to find out what exactly she has.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
The art of hair weaving:
SEPIA JEWELRY- this item is painted with finely chopped hair and done in sepia tones- most were done as landscapes
braided hair inside of a brooch- this would have been a mourning piece- note the black stones surrounding it
examples of hair weaving patterns
patterns for TABLE WORK
PALETTE WORK- this was done by laying it flat and then gluing it onto a base
these could be made from many different family members
another brooch
this would have been worn in 1/2 morning
TABLE WORK- they used a table with a hole in the middle to hold and weigh the hair down. This is a watch fob, made of hair. The hair worked up to about 1/2 the length of the original hair.
a watch fog- store boughtThe art of hair weaving has been traced back to 1600 Scandinavia and continued through the 1800's, being adopted as a mourning custom in Victorian times.
Both men and women exchanged locks of hair, since there were no photos yet in the 1600's, as remembrances. Even though photos were around in the 1800's, not all families had the opportunity to have them taken. Sometimes the only photo they would have of someone was one taken post mortem- or after they had died- either in the coffin or lying in bed.
Hair was an excellent item to keep since it did not decompose.
Today- the art of hair weaving is self taught since there are no schools that teach it. It can be done with human hair or horse hair as well.
Today- the art of hair weaving is self taught since there are no schools that teach it. It can be done with human hair or horse hair as well.
NOTE- NOT ALL HAIR WEAVING IS A MOURNING PIECE
Victorian Funerals:
the hearse was elaborate and decorated in black with ostrich feathers
examples of headstones- weeping willow
this one is draped
and a draped urn- all signs of mourning
caskets were wood and the most expensive were carved
a vintage image of a funeral
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