Oh, sure - I can cook. But I've often joked that nobody every stubbed their toe in the night, trying to get back to my fridge for leftovers. I'm an average cook, not terribly creative. Adequate but a little wary of new cooking ventures. So, believe me when I say that this blog will never become a cooking or recipe blog. However, oddly enough, I do enjoy cook books and the local ones are the best, the ones put out by area churches, women's clubs....that sort of thing.
Just recently I was asked to provide some recipes for the new CHS Band cookbook, which should be available for purchase by Christmas! So, with some anxiety, I got out a couple of my fave cookbooks - the ones that are dog eared and that have my own notes written in them. And I got in to a file of recipes that have been shared with me personally through the years. One of the first ones I came to was a recipe given to me years ago by my cousin, my dear friend, my former co-worker - the late and great Eileen Gordon......a recipe for Mayfair Salad Dressing.
Just a little history, which many of you may already know......The old Mayfair Hotel building, now the Magnolia Hotel, is located in downtown St. Louis. I've gone to Wikipedia for some of the following specifics. The original Mayfair, a concrete building covered in brick and terra-cotta, was built between 1924 and 1925. It featured 18 stories, ornate in its window frames ornamentation and cornices. The building had three high speed elevators, run by elevator operators. The hotel also featured a nine-chair barber shop, a six-booth beauty salon, private dining rooms and a luxurious lounge in the mezzanine off the lobby. Among the notable hotels guests throughout the years were Irving Berlin, John Barrymore, Douglas Fairbanks, Cary Grant, Harry Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson and our Eileen Gordon. I remember walking by the Mayfair many times when I lived in St. Louis in 1968 and worked in downtown St. Louis. I had lunch there one time and I actually had the Mayfair salad dressing. It was grand.
In 1925 radio station KMOX broadcast from a studio in the mezzanine of the hotel. The station installed an $18,000 Kilgen organ and held recitals every day at noon and between 6 and 7 p.m. Wouldn't we all have liked to have seen this wonderful setting? In 1977 the hotel was renovated with 85 rooms being removed and the interior redecorated. Many original features, however, were kept in order to maintain the character of the building's historic value. The hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The hotel was sold in 2003 and then again in 2013 to Magnolia Hotels, the current owners.
In 1935 the Mayfair Salad Dressing recipe was created by Mayfair Hotel Chef Fred Bangerter. It would have been served over a tossed green salad with toasted croutons. At that time you would have been dining in the Mayfair Room, the first-ever five-star restaurant in Missouri! At some point the recipe became available to the masses. Who knows how, as social media certainly was not available. But people loved it and women loved making it and sharing it among their friends. Of course, that was then and this is now. It's pretty convenient to go to the local grocery and grab a bottle of your favorite dressing off the shelf. But this dressing is delicious and it's different than anything you'll find on that shelf. You might want to get creative and give it a try. Just a note, the recipe makes a quart and can be divided into smaller containers that you can give as gifts to your friends - along with the recipe! It will keep in the fridge for two weeks. I hope you enjoy it. After I finish writing, I'll be on the porch as long as I can stand the humidity. Care to join me?
Mayfair Salad Dressing
Ingredients:
1 clove garlic
1/2 onion
1 T anchovy paste
2 T mustard (horseradish may be used if you prefer)
1 T lemon juice
1 rib celery
1/2 tsp sugar
3 eggs
2 C vegetable oil (or canola)
1 tsp pepper
Directions: Put garlic, onion, anchovy paste, mustard, lemon juice, celery, pepper and sugar in bowl of your food processor. Process for a mere 2 seconds. Add eggs one at a time, blending two seconds each time. Add oil gradually through the feed tube with the processor on continually. After all is added, process for two more seconds.
You can no longer thank Chef Fred, but you can thank me at a later date!
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
Remembering People I Never Knew
One of our favorite past times is antiquing, though it's getting harder and harder to find what we consider good antiques stores/malls. Never-the-less, we keep looking. We used to love going to estate auctions where antiques/collectibles were featured, but it seems that the really good auctions of the past are just that, a thing of the past. I guess those great auctions won't come back until all of the
collectors like us have passed on! :)
Bob and I are antiques dealers, but on a very small scale. We just do enough to keep playing with it. For a few years we had a shop here in town, but it became very difficult to work, search and keep it open. Now, for several years, we've had booths at an antiques mall. We don't buy a lot anymore - don't need more "schtuff"! And we don't collect high priced items, just those quirky things that no one else would want!
A couple of years ago a friend of mine who also loves antiques, gave me a little black 1939 calendar book that she had purchased somewhere. The entire book, January to December, is filled with daily entries made by a young woman who lived in St. Louis. Judging from the content of the entries, I'd say she was in her early 20s during 1939. She tells about her family, her girl friends, Edna and Ruth, the ups and downs with her boyfriend, Luke. She worked at a small downtown drugstore, but apparently the boyfriend didn't work because she often had to give him money so that they could "go out". She became frustrated with that situation. Some things don't change, I guess. She talks about the movies of the day and the popular film stars. It seems like she and her friends went to the movies several times each week, sometimes at the Webster Annex. This young woman, whose name I'll never know, talked about going to Granite City on dates - when someone had a car. She also talks about places where she and her friends used to "hang out" in St. Louis.....The Corner, The Barn and someplace she called The Farm. Anyone know where those places may have been? Something else I find interesting about the entries is that the writer used a little code on some pages, a code I will never even try to figure out. But I have my suspicions. When I first started reading the little diary, I felt guilty, intrusive, as though I should not have access to her private thoughts. But......she saved the book for some reason and I tend to think she might like the idea of another woman, over 75 years later, enjoying her stories and her thoughts. Strange, right?
Recently we were at an antique mall in Marion, IL and I found a small fancy little autograph book, owned by Mamie. The earliest entires are in 1905 and other entries go as far as 1912. I don't think Mamie was a little girl during the years of these entries. I get the feeling that she was a teenager. It was very common for females to have autograph books in that era and in earlier times, for that matter. I don't think that these days, people have autograph books. The entries in Mamie's book are quite flowery, such as "Dear Mamie: In your golden chain of friendship, please regard me as a link." That was from her schoolmate, Alice, January 25, 1910. Another, "When you are old and cannot see, put on your specks and think of me." Mamie's cousin Edna wrote that one, Sept. 2, 1908. On Feb. 5, 1912, Mamie's brother, George, wrote: "Dear Mamie: Leaves may whither, Flowers may die. Friends may forget you, but never will I. A very sweet brother. People really gave these entries some thought!
Why, you may ask, would I purchase something like this autograph book or why would I enjoy reading an old diary of someone I've never known, now 76 years in the dust? Oh, who knows! Maybe because it takes me back to a simpler time when it would appear that people really were more gentle with one another. Or maybe because it reinforces for me that people are and were just people, with the same kinds of problems and emotions that we have today. I know that for some reason, I find the reading of these books to be comforting. Seventy five to one hundred years from now, what or who will tell your story? Will someone "un-earth" a book or an item that explains who we were? :) Thought provoking to say the least.
At any rate, in a FEW DAYS when this "heat dome" passes our realm, I will be on the porch and I'd be happy to share my little books with you. You'll be hooked. I know you will.
collectors like us have passed on! :)
Bob and I are antiques dealers, but on a very small scale. We just do enough to keep playing with it. For a few years we had a shop here in town, but it became very difficult to work, search and keep it open. Now, for several years, we've had booths at an antiques mall. We don't buy a lot anymore - don't need more "schtuff"! And we don't collect high priced items, just those quirky things that no one else would want!
A couple of years ago a friend of mine who also loves antiques, gave me a little black 1939 calendar book that she had purchased somewhere. The entire book, January to December, is filled with daily entries made by a young woman who lived in St. Louis. Judging from the content of the entries, I'd say she was in her early 20s during 1939. She tells about her family, her girl friends, Edna and Ruth, the ups and downs with her boyfriend, Luke. She worked at a small downtown drugstore, but apparently the boyfriend didn't work because she often had to give him money so that they could "go out". She became frustrated with that situation. Some things don't change, I guess. She talks about the movies of the day and the popular film stars. It seems like she and her friends went to the movies several times each week, sometimes at the Webster Annex. This young woman, whose name I'll never know, talked about going to Granite City on dates - when someone had a car. She also talks about places where she and her friends used to "hang out" in St. Louis.....The Corner, The Barn and someplace she called The Farm. Anyone know where those places may have been? Something else I find interesting about the entries is that the writer used a little code on some pages, a code I will never even try to figure out. But I have my suspicions. When I first started reading the little diary, I felt guilty, intrusive, as though I should not have access to her private thoughts. But......she saved the book for some reason and I tend to think she might like the idea of another woman, over 75 years later, enjoying her stories and her thoughts. Strange, right?
Recently we were at an antique mall in Marion, IL and I found a small fancy little autograph book, owned by Mamie. The earliest entires are in 1905 and other entries go as far as 1912. I don't think Mamie was a little girl during the years of these entries. I get the feeling that she was a teenager. It was very common for females to have autograph books in that era and in earlier times, for that matter. I don't think that these days, people have autograph books. The entries in Mamie's book are quite flowery, such as "Dear Mamie: In your golden chain of friendship, please regard me as a link." That was from her schoolmate, Alice, January 25, 1910. Another, "When you are old and cannot see, put on your specks and think of me." Mamie's cousin Edna wrote that one, Sept. 2, 1908. On Feb. 5, 1912, Mamie's brother, George, wrote: "Dear Mamie: Leaves may whither, Flowers may die. Friends may forget you, but never will I. A very sweet brother. People really gave these entries some thought!
Why, you may ask, would I purchase something like this autograph book or why would I enjoy reading an old diary of someone I've never known, now 76 years in the dust? Oh, who knows! Maybe because it takes me back to a simpler time when it would appear that people really were more gentle with one another. Or maybe because it reinforces for me that people are and were just people, with the same kinds of problems and emotions that we have today. I know that for some reason, I find the reading of these books to be comforting. Seventy five to one hundred years from now, what or who will tell your story? Will someone "un-earth" a book or an item that explains who we were? :) Thought provoking to say the least.
At any rate, in a FEW DAYS when this "heat dome" passes our realm, I will be on the porch and I'd be happy to share my little books with you. You'll be hooked. I know you will.
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Chester, Then & Now!
I try not to follow local or area online posts that talk about our town because, honestly, they seem to take a negative tone most of the time. While I understand frustrations and concerns about a person's community, I just think stirring that negativity online only ramps up more negativity. So, this column in no way is being written in that tone. This is just a few moments of reminiscing and perhaps a little old fashioned cheerleading. Come on along, if you'd like. I'd love to have you with me.
We are so fortunate in Chester to have our fine Rozier's Country Market! But certainly we all remember a day in Chester when grocery stores abounded on nearly every block! At various times, and in no particular order chronologically, there were so many, including Pautler's IGA, Tom Boy Market, Daniels, Berry's Store, Uffelman's (Later Food Park), Jung's Market, Nordmeyer's Bi-Rite and certainly Thriftway, which later was Moore & Wittenborn's. I know I have forgotten lots, having not even touched on what was located on the riverfront.
Grandma Hasemeyer did most of her shopping just a block from her home, at Berry's Store on the corner of Swanwick and Van Zant. But I do remember that she would also walk to Pautler's Market at the corner of Swanwick and West Holmes. I have great memories of going with Grandpa Hasemeyer to Pautler's meat locker where he had his own key to his own meat locker in the basement of that store. I'm sure it was mostly filled with his own venison. Just fun memories. But look at other small towns as you travel, certainly in our own county, and I think you'll see that mostly those towns depend on one good, local market.
What I hear a lot about is that Chester no longer has clothing stores. I remember Sherman's and P.N. Hirsch, which I believe were chain stores. They were called Department Stores. Remember that? And there were The Leader, Vine's and the Chic Shoppe, which were locally owned. And I remember a tiny little shop on State Street, I think it was next to where Carol's Creations is now, called the
Pleez-U Shop! Such a cute little place, that was owned by a diminutive little lady named Kathryn Boeger. I remember one time my sister and I purchased a blouse there for my mama for Mother's day. It cost $1! But that was before the current inflation!! The department stores featured clothing for men, women, children, shoes, linens, pots & pans, toys, jewelry. You name it, they had it. Again, that was small town America THEN. This is a new day. But friends, a lovely young Chester woman has stepped out on a limb and opened a new women's clothing store in Chester. It's called Studio Boutique and it sits on Swanwick Street in the building formerly occupied by Delish's Bakery. Check it out. She has women's clothing, all sizes and lots and lots of cute, fashionable things. And also check out Carol's Creations on uptown State Street. The owners are very talented and creative and feature lots of great items! It may be a new day, but we have to support our own, right?
I could go on and on about our local establishments or a lack thereof. Restaurants, for instance. I know we all go out of town to eat, but we also have spots right here in Chester that provide great food at very reasonable prices. It's Thursday night! Look around and support what's here - or down the line, it may not be.
Something else we have in Chester that is top-notch, top-drawer - is the Chester Public Library. Our library is not just 'good for a small town'. It's great for any town! Tammy, Lisa and their crew do wonderful things there and if you don't know about those things, those services, I encourage you to check it out. You will be amazed at the scope of services!
Chester has its problems like any small town, and I'm not here to sugar coat those problems. But we also have wonderful people who are working very hard to fix and solve some of those problems. We have a very active Chamber of Commerce, a Tourism/Beautification Committee, a Park Board, a committee called River City Renewal. You may think these groups don't do anything, but I'm here to tell you they work very hard. They give up their time and volunteer their efforts and talents and they don't get a lot of credit. They're dedicated and determined and while the masses are sitting down to eat lunch or supper or watch TV, they're making calls, writing letters, writing grants. They're sitting at meetings trying to hash it all out, trying to plan good things for all of us, for our community.
One more memory! Remember riding around on any given summer night - traveling the circuit between Kipp's Drive-In to the courthouse.....from the Dairy Mart back to Kipp's, maybe stopping at Mr. Goode's Dairy Queen! At some point we'd have to pool our finances to get a little more gas. I remember Charmaine and I could get a gallon of gas for 25 cents from our friend, Joe Schatte, who worked at Martin Oil! Horns were honking and we were all waving! Great memories, not gone if we remember them.
I won't lie to you. No porch today....too hot! Stay cool. Enjoy the remainder of summer and check out some of what Chester DOES HAVE TO OFFER!
We are so fortunate in Chester to have our fine Rozier's Country Market! But certainly we all remember a day in Chester when grocery stores abounded on nearly every block! At various times, and in no particular order chronologically, there were so many, including Pautler's IGA, Tom Boy Market, Daniels, Berry's Store, Uffelman's (Later Food Park), Jung's Market, Nordmeyer's Bi-Rite and certainly Thriftway, which later was Moore & Wittenborn's. I know I have forgotten lots, having not even touched on what was located on the riverfront.
Grandma Hasemeyer did most of her shopping just a block from her home, at Berry's Store on the corner of Swanwick and Van Zant. But I do remember that she would also walk to Pautler's Market at the corner of Swanwick and West Holmes. I have great memories of going with Grandpa Hasemeyer to Pautler's meat locker where he had his own key to his own meat locker in the basement of that store. I'm sure it was mostly filled with his own venison. Just fun memories. But look at other small towns as you travel, certainly in our own county, and I think you'll see that mostly those towns depend on one good, local market.
What I hear a lot about is that Chester no longer has clothing stores. I remember Sherman's and P.N. Hirsch, which I believe were chain stores. They were called Department Stores. Remember that? And there were The Leader, Vine's and the Chic Shoppe, which were locally owned. And I remember a tiny little shop on State Street, I think it was next to where Carol's Creations is now, called the
Pleez-U Shop! Such a cute little place, that was owned by a diminutive little lady named Kathryn Boeger. I remember one time my sister and I purchased a blouse there for my mama for Mother's day. It cost $1! But that was before the current inflation!! The department stores featured clothing for men, women, children, shoes, linens, pots & pans, toys, jewelry. You name it, they had it. Again, that was small town America THEN. This is a new day. But friends, a lovely young Chester woman has stepped out on a limb and opened a new women's clothing store in Chester. It's called Studio Boutique and it sits on Swanwick Street in the building formerly occupied by Delish's Bakery. Check it out. She has women's clothing, all sizes and lots and lots of cute, fashionable things. And also check out Carol's Creations on uptown State Street. The owners are very talented and creative and feature lots of great items! It may be a new day, but we have to support our own, right?
I could go on and on about our local establishments or a lack thereof. Restaurants, for instance. I know we all go out of town to eat, but we also have spots right here in Chester that provide great food at very reasonable prices. It's Thursday night! Look around and support what's here - or down the line, it may not be.
Something else we have in Chester that is top-notch, top-drawer - is the Chester Public Library. Our library is not just 'good for a small town'. It's great for any town! Tammy, Lisa and their crew do wonderful things there and if you don't know about those things, those services, I encourage you to check it out. You will be amazed at the scope of services!
Chester has its problems like any small town, and I'm not here to sugar coat those problems. But we also have wonderful people who are working very hard to fix and solve some of those problems. We have a very active Chamber of Commerce, a Tourism/Beautification Committee, a Park Board, a committee called River City Renewal. You may think these groups don't do anything, but I'm here to tell you they work very hard. They give up their time and volunteer their efforts and talents and they don't get a lot of credit. They're dedicated and determined and while the masses are sitting down to eat lunch or supper or watch TV, they're making calls, writing letters, writing grants. They're sitting at meetings trying to hash it all out, trying to plan good things for all of us, for our community.
One more memory! Remember riding around on any given summer night - traveling the circuit between Kipp's Drive-In to the courthouse.....from the Dairy Mart back to Kipp's, maybe stopping at Mr. Goode's Dairy Queen! At some point we'd have to pool our finances to get a little more gas. I remember Charmaine and I could get a gallon of gas for 25 cents from our friend, Joe Schatte, who worked at Martin Oil! Horns were honking and we were all waving! Great memories, not gone if we remember them.
I won't lie to you. No porch today....too hot! Stay cool. Enjoy the remainder of summer and check out some of what Chester DOES HAVE TO OFFER!
Monday, July 18, 2016
Precious Memories - How They Linger
As some of you know, I've lived in Chester all but about a year of my life. For most of those years, I've lived within just a few blocks of the building in which I was born, the old Chester Hospital on George Street. One of the houses where we lived when I was a young girl, maybe ages five to eight, was at 908 George Street, where the Randolph County Housing Authority office now sits.
During those years, of course, the Gwin apartment building was not yet built, nor was the family housing behind it. A beautiful old two story white house sat where the Gwin Apartments are now, facing Opdyke Street. The house had a long and wide front porch with a swing and rocking chairs. As my sister, Charmaine, and I would roller skate up and down the sidewalk on Opdyke, two lovely elderly women would often be sitting on the porch and they would wave their handkerchiefs at us. We loved that and and would always wave back, but sadly we never talked to them. Wish we had. They wore their hair in little "buns" on top of their heads. I believe that this house was known as the Howorth house But please, if any of my readers know differently, let me know --- correct me.
Directly across the street from our home on George Street was what we and others came to know as the "old McKenzie house". The local lore on this house is much more interesting. It was a three story brick home (including attic) with 'grounds' around it....not a yard, but 'grounds', if you know what I mean. The grounds were always very overgrown. No one cared for this property. By the time we moved to George Street, the McKenzie house had been deserted for decades and it was very dilapidated. Crumbling actually. I was sure it was haunted and tried not to look directly at it when I'd walk up and down the street. But at the same time I was very curious about the old place. We would see teenagers coming in and out of the house after dark sometimes and that made Charmaine and me even more curious. It made my mother furious. We nagged and nagged our mother until, on a couple of occasions, she caved in and actually took us in to the house to look around. The doors were always unlocked. We were not allowed to touch anything. Mother said it was disrespectful, even if no one lived there anymore.
It was amazing! Furniture still remained in place in every room on the first and second floors ... antique furniture THEN and that was the fifties! I clearly recall being fascinated by an old library table in one of the parlors that had a fringed satin pillow on it that read "Mother". Dishes were in the kitchen and beds in the bedrooms. In one bedroom upstairs I remember an old wooden wardrobe with silk smoking jackets hanging inside. The imaginations of two little girls ran wild! We did not go to the attic or to the basement, but I remember that the basement windows had iron bars on them. In the back of the property was a small brick building that also had iron bars at the windows. Through the windows of this little building we could see a mortar and pestle on a table. Well, he WAS a doctor. I know that Dr. McKenzie's office actually sat at the corner of Stacey and State Streets.
Mother didn't let us go back to the house for a couple of years and when we did go, it was devastating. There was almost nothing left and what was left was broken, destroyed, strewn around the house. Charmaine and I cried and Mother had to explain that people had come in and stolen and damaged property that did not belong to them. It was a hard lesson for two young girls.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s Dr. W.R. and Mrs. McKenzie lived in the house on George Street with their three children, Adeline, William and Robert. I don't know and so wish I did know what happened to any of them. Of course there were all kinds of spooky stories about the family's outcome and about why the house sat empty of people and yet full of belongings. As an adult, I imagine that the reasons were probably more mundane than the spooky stories we all had heard. I do know that Adeline married and that her married name was Gant, but that's all I know. The house was eventually taken down and the current housing was built in its place.
I know that though I could not have put it into words then - as a child - as an adult I can look back and say that it seemed as though the house had an actual heartbeat, as though it breathed. I wish I could see it one more time and that I could walk those wonderful old grounds again. They had an ancient scent, sort of like you smell when you walk through a very old and undisturbed forest.
And I know something else. Shame on anyone who went into that house all those years ago and stole and destroyed that old mansion with its wonderful history!
If I sit on my front porch now I can almost imagine those sweet little old women across the street on the porch of the Howorth house, waving their handkerchiefs and smiling at me - all grown up now and nearly an old woman myself!!! (smile) Ahhhh, the passage of time brings sweet, precious memories to us all, does it not? See you on the porch!
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Are You A Fan?
I don't remember when I became enamored with hand fans, but it was definitely many years ago. Obviously, in the beginning, I'm sure it was because I was HOT a lot of the time! Sometimes it seemed that that good old trusty hand fan that I tried to carry with me most of the time was my most valuable possession. Women would often look at me fanning and smile, if they understood the cause. Or people would sometimes look at me as though thinking that a fan was an odd thing to have with me. Didn't care. I needed to fan!!!
As the years have gone by I have continued to carry a fan with me - I'll say pretty much all of the time. The style of the fans has changed, but there is still one present in my purse or in my hand today and everyday.
The early history of the hand fan actually dates to around 3000 BC and there is evidence that the Greeks, Etruscans and Romans all used fans as cooling and ceremonial devices. Early fans were not of a folding nature, but were of a fixed design. Early European traders are said to have brought prototypes back to Europe, acquired from merchant traders along the coasts of China and Japan. Fans of that era were reserved for royalty and nobility and as expensive "toys". They were regarded as status symbols and were made of ivory, mother of pearl and tortoiseshell, often carved and with gold and silver ornamentation, as well as with precious stones. DISCLAIMER: Do not break in to my home for these fans. I do not have any of those fans. Fixed design fans and folding fans are often seen in portraits of fine ladies throughout the seventeenth century and beyond. As that century progressed, folding fans rapidly gained popularity.
During the eighteenth century old testament Biblical scenes became popular on fans. By the end of the eighteenth and into the nineteenth century, women everywhere utilized fans of all kinds and their production became much less work intensive and much more inexpensive. However, throughout history fashionable artists continued to adorn very lavish fans and to sign their wares. Now I'd like to find some of those! I won't hold my breath.
In addition to the types of fans I've talked about, we probably all remember the ones we've seen in our lifetimes......fans our mamas and grandmas used, with advertising, perhaps of a church or of a funeral chapel. Those were used when churches and other places were not air-conditioned. They were a necessity and now are collectors' items.
In many retail venues today you can purchase fixed design fans, palmetto fans or folding fans very inexpensively. Today, as with many products, they are not necessarily made to last, but because they are inexpensive, they are very replaceable. If you know me at all, you know I am a keeper and user of fans. I always have them "at the ready" and when possible, will coordinate my colors. I know. I know. Don't start with me. It's a sickness. Often friends have brought me beautiful fans from beautiful places and those fans, I do not use. Sentimental. I also have, on many occasions, given fans as gifts to people dear to me. It's a personal gift, but not extravagant and hopefully a thoughtful gift.
As I mentioned on an earlier day, if you join me ON THE PORCH, I will furnish you with a fan if in fact one is needed. Oh, how I look forward to cooler days on the porch!!
As the years have gone by I have continued to carry a fan with me - I'll say pretty much all of the time. The style of the fans has changed, but there is still one present in my purse or in my hand today and everyday.
The early history of the hand fan actually dates to around 3000 BC and there is evidence that the Greeks, Etruscans and Romans all used fans as cooling and ceremonial devices. Early fans were not of a folding nature, but were of a fixed design. Early European traders are said to have brought prototypes back to Europe, acquired from merchant traders along the coasts of China and Japan. Fans of that era were reserved for royalty and nobility and as expensive "toys". They were regarded as status symbols and were made of ivory, mother of pearl and tortoiseshell, often carved and with gold and silver ornamentation, as well as with precious stones. DISCLAIMER: Do not break in to my home for these fans. I do not have any of those fans. Fixed design fans and folding fans are often seen in portraits of fine ladies throughout the seventeenth century and beyond. As that century progressed, folding fans rapidly gained popularity.
During the eighteenth century old testament Biblical scenes became popular on fans. By the end of the eighteenth and into the nineteenth century, women everywhere utilized fans of all kinds and their production became much less work intensive and much more inexpensive. However, throughout history fashionable artists continued to adorn very lavish fans and to sign their wares. Now I'd like to find some of those! I won't hold my breath.
In addition to the types of fans I've talked about, we probably all remember the ones we've seen in our lifetimes......fans our mamas and grandmas used, with advertising, perhaps of a church or of a funeral chapel. Those were used when churches and other places were not air-conditioned. They were a necessity and now are collectors' items.
In many retail venues today you can purchase fixed design fans, palmetto fans or folding fans very inexpensively. Today, as with many products, they are not necessarily made to last, but because they are inexpensive, they are very replaceable. If you know me at all, you know I am a keeper and user of fans. I always have them "at the ready" and when possible, will coordinate my colors. I know. I know. Don't start with me. It's a sickness. Often friends have brought me beautiful fans from beautiful places and those fans, I do not use. Sentimental. I also have, on many occasions, given fans as gifts to people dear to me. It's a personal gift, but not extravagant and hopefully a thoughtful gift.
As I mentioned on an earlier day, if you join me ON THE PORCH, I will furnish you with a fan if in fact one is needed. Oh, how I look forward to cooler days on the porch!!
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Life Is Short
Life is short. Life is difficult. But it's wonderful. Probably no one reading this would disagree with any of those statements. Certainly the old classic Christmas movie, "It's a Wonderful Life", starring Jimmy Stewart, tells us that life is difficult but wonderful and the movie illustrates just why it's so wonderful. Life is wonderful and rich because of the people with whom we share our lives. Oh, there are other great things. I mean who can deny that the world we live in is beautiful? Nature. Exciting and fun events. Heck, food is wonderful! Books. Music. Laughter. All wonderful. If we sat down together, we could make long and impressive lists about what makes life wonderful. God created a great world and and He has given us all the abilities to create so many amazing things. But above all are the people we know, the people we love, the people with whom we have relationships.
There are people in our lives who we see day to day or with whom we communicate often, and with whom we maintain tight, close relationships. And then there are people we have known all of our lives, who we still deeply care about, but who are not actively in our lives. There are people we have just met who hold promise of being "keepers". And then there are those long, long lists of people who we know, who we wish well, but who probably are not ever going to make the short lists. We see them at the grocery store or on the street. We wish them well and we mean it! But realistically, we cannot hold everyone close. Our lives will not contain it.
But when tragedy and loss strike, our hearts open to enfold those involved. We feel their loss, their pain. We feel the tragedy. We might not even know their phone numbers or perhaps we're not friends on Facebook. I think back......when did I last see or speak with this person? Our hearts are affected and, as stated in the previous paragraph, these people didn't even make the "short list". But there's a connection, a real connection. It's about the heart, about history, about love, friendship and relationship.
Allow me to go back to my first little sentence. Life is short. Just this Spring, we unexpectedly lost a family member, my brother-in-law. Too soon. His passing has created a huge empty place in the lives of my sister, my niece and my nephew. They will go on, but the empty place, filled with pain, remains as a reminder of who once filled it.
Since the beginning of this year, three young people who grew up with my son have passed, and I have lost a very good friend myself. So young. Way too soon. One passed suddenly and unexpectedly and the others following long and hard-fought battles with cancer. In the wake of those losses, I think back to so many memories of these fine young people. My heart breaks for their families, their close friends, their yet "unlived" lives. And all we can do is remember them fondly, include them in our conversations, think of them as we go on. Life is short. But life is meaningful, worthwhile, rewarding. The losses remind us to live, to "Live Life Like Someone Left The Gate Open". Can we do that? I hope we can.
I had a need to write this, knowing full well that you may not have a need to read it. Smile. If you did, thanks for bearing with me. My next entry will be more upbeat. For now, the rain has cleared briefly, allowing for a brief "sit" on the porch. Care to join me? Albert says he cares to very much.
There are people in our lives who we see day to day or with whom we communicate often, and with whom we maintain tight, close relationships. And then there are people we have known all of our lives, who we still deeply care about, but who are not actively in our lives. There are people we have just met who hold promise of being "keepers". And then there are those long, long lists of people who we know, who we wish well, but who probably are not ever going to make the short lists. We see them at the grocery store or on the street. We wish them well and we mean it! But realistically, we cannot hold everyone close. Our lives will not contain it.
But when tragedy and loss strike, our hearts open to enfold those involved. We feel their loss, their pain. We feel the tragedy. We might not even know their phone numbers or perhaps we're not friends on Facebook. I think back......when did I last see or speak with this person? Our hearts are affected and, as stated in the previous paragraph, these people didn't even make the "short list". But there's a connection, a real connection. It's about the heart, about history, about love, friendship and relationship.
Allow me to go back to my first little sentence. Life is short. Just this Spring, we unexpectedly lost a family member, my brother-in-law. Too soon. His passing has created a huge empty place in the lives of my sister, my niece and my nephew. They will go on, but the empty place, filled with pain, remains as a reminder of who once filled it.
Since the beginning of this year, three young people who grew up with my son have passed, and I have lost a very good friend myself. So young. Way too soon. One passed suddenly and unexpectedly and the others following long and hard-fought battles with cancer. In the wake of those losses, I think back to so many memories of these fine young people. My heart breaks for their families, their close friends, their yet "unlived" lives. And all we can do is remember them fondly, include them in our conversations, think of them as we go on. Life is short. But life is meaningful, worthwhile, rewarding. The losses remind us to live, to "Live Life Like Someone Left The Gate Open". Can we do that? I hope we can.
I had a need to write this, knowing full well that you may not have a need to read it. Smile. If you did, thanks for bearing with me. My next entry will be more upbeat. For now, the rain has cleared briefly, allowing for a brief "sit" on the porch. Care to join me? Albert says he cares to very much.
Thursday, July 7, 2016
The Slamming Of A Screen Door
New houses have storm doors and even most older homes have upgraded to storm doors, as well. I live in a house that's 156 years old and even we have upgraded to some storm doors. But on one of our three porches, I insist on keeping that wonderful old screen door. I love the sound of it slamming. And I love that when the door is open, air actually comes in --- unlike with a storm door.
I was on one of my porches this morning during the rain and stayed there until the rain actually came to get me. Usually I can find escape from the rain on at least one of the porches, but yesterday and this morning, the rain was pretty aggressive.
Growing up, my family's house didn't actually have a porch, so my sister and I would sit out in the yard during all seasons. There was just something about that outdoor camaraderie. Oh, the conversations we had sitting in that yard! Our grandma's house did have a front porch - with a swing! She loved to sit out there. Maybe that's where I got my love for it. People would walk by and drive by. Some would only wave, but others would stop to talk. It was wonderful.
The front porch became popular in American architecture in the early 18th century and for more reasons than just watching the world go by. People wanted to escape the hot indoors! But it did also offer an opportunity to visit with neighbors, hear the news of the day, wave to a passerby, etc. A porch was and still can be an extension of a home's interior.....some place where we can actually feel the breezes, be comfortable, relax. Put up a ceiling fan for the days when it's too warm. Or, like I do, have a hand fan waiting for you on the swing. Wonderful!
It makes me sad to drive down a road and see a house with a pristine, clinical porch where everything looks perfectly beautiful - but where you know that no one ever sits and enjoys the day or the evening. I want a swing, maybe with a blanket or pillow. I want a rocking chair or three or four (pillows/blankets apply here too!), where people feel automatically invited to join in. "Sure! Come sit a spell! Can I get you a cup of coffee? (Or depending on the time of day....) Perhaps something stronger?"
Lots of houses today have decks and/or patios. And that's fine, if that's what you like. I have a patio too, but somehow I usually migrate from it to one of the porches. The porches are covered, a little more cozy. The porches just whisper my name. Sometimes they scream my name. Last night I was INSIDE, watching the Cardinals - which is something I also LOVE to do. Try as I did, I couldn't stop myself from leaving the TV and wandering out to the porch swing. And while I was out there, the Cardinals actually scored a few points. So, maybe I should have stayed outside a little longer.
We have friends who have what we fondly refer to as a "river porch". How we love sitting there with a glass of wine in the evening. Nothing better - relaxing with friends, looking at the river and having a glass of wine (or two).
One of these days I'm going to train myself to actually leave my cell phone indoors when I go to the porch. That's a tough one, but possibly an attainable goal. Ahhhhhh, that really sounds good.
I'll leave you for now with just this thought or encouragement. If you're not already a "porch person", give it a try. You might just really enjoy it. Feel the breezes, watch the world go by and even if you only have storm doors, try to remember a time when you could actually hear the sound of the screen door slamming.
I was on one of my porches this morning during the rain and stayed there until the rain actually came to get me. Usually I can find escape from the rain on at least one of the porches, but yesterday and this morning, the rain was pretty aggressive.
Growing up, my family's house didn't actually have a porch, so my sister and I would sit out in the yard during all seasons. There was just something about that outdoor camaraderie. Oh, the conversations we had sitting in that yard! Our grandma's house did have a front porch - with a swing! She loved to sit out there. Maybe that's where I got my love for it. People would walk by and drive by. Some would only wave, but others would stop to talk. It was wonderful.
The front porch became popular in American architecture in the early 18th century and for more reasons than just watching the world go by. People wanted to escape the hot indoors! But it did also offer an opportunity to visit with neighbors, hear the news of the day, wave to a passerby, etc. A porch was and still can be an extension of a home's interior.....some place where we can actually feel the breezes, be comfortable, relax. Put up a ceiling fan for the days when it's too warm. Or, like I do, have a hand fan waiting for you on the swing. Wonderful!
It makes me sad to drive down a road and see a house with a pristine, clinical porch where everything looks perfectly beautiful - but where you know that no one ever sits and enjoys the day or the evening. I want a swing, maybe with a blanket or pillow. I want a rocking chair or three or four (pillows/blankets apply here too!), where people feel automatically invited to join in. "Sure! Come sit a spell! Can I get you a cup of coffee? (Or depending on the time of day....) Perhaps something stronger?"
Lots of houses today have decks and/or patios. And that's fine, if that's what you like. I have a patio too, but somehow I usually migrate from it to one of the porches. The porches are covered, a little more cozy. The porches just whisper my name. Sometimes they scream my name. Last night I was INSIDE, watching the Cardinals - which is something I also LOVE to do. Try as I did, I couldn't stop myself from leaving the TV and wandering out to the porch swing. And while I was out there, the Cardinals actually scored a few points. So, maybe I should have stayed outside a little longer.
We have friends who have what we fondly refer to as a "river porch". How we love sitting there with a glass of wine in the evening. Nothing better - relaxing with friends, looking at the river and having a glass of wine (or two).
One of these days I'm going to train myself to actually leave my cell phone indoors when I go to the porch. That's a tough one, but possibly an attainable goal. Ahhhhhh, that really sounds good.
I'll leave you for now with just this thought or encouragement. If you're not already a "porch person", give it a try. You might just really enjoy it. Feel the breezes, watch the world go by and even if you only have storm doors, try to remember a time when you could actually hear the sound of the screen door slamming.
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
A First Effort - So Here Goes!
Welcome to "On The Porch With Gwendy", which I hope will be a series of visits that you and I
could have if we were sitting on my porch, somewhere that I love to be. I'll be doing the talking, but I'd love for you to respond if you have something to say on any given subject.
My name is Gwendy Dungey Garner and my professional background includes newspaper work and healthcare public relations and marketing. After 35 years in the workforce, I am now retired. Throughout my professional careers, I did a lot of what I love... writing. As a newspaper writer and editor, I wrote the news, soft news, harder news........in our small town we didn't have a lot of really hardcore news. I wrote about the births, the deaths, the engagements and the weddings. I chronicled the things your kids did in school.....the sporting events, the awards, the graduations. I wrote about the club work and organizational work in our small town. But there was also the County Board news and there were city council meetings. Very occasionally there were murder trials and other criminal events. I didn't really enjoy writing about those things. But at a small town newspaper, you learn to do it all. In addition to writing and editing, there were ads to take over the counter and over the phone. There were lots of pictures to be taken. There was proofing, lots of proofing, something that doesn't seem to happen at a lot of newspapers these days. I learned that I could never go anywhere without a pen and tablet. Something newsworthy might happen and I would have to take notes! I miss that world and guess I always will.
And then there were the years of hospital PR and marketing. I started that endeavor at a time when hospitals were just beginning to have PR departments. It was scary and I kind of had to carve it out of the wall at times, but we got through it. Again, at a small and rural hospital, most people didn't really understand what went on in that office, if in fact, anything went on in that office. My work again involved quite a bit of writing - in new and different directions than I had done before, but interesting. Promoting a healthcare facility and its professionals is an animal unto itself. I certainly learned to respect the professionals at that hospital. I learned to respect their knowledge, their dedication, their integrity, their abilities and the stressors that they met on a day-to-day basis. I hope that after 24 1/2 years I left it a little better than I found it. Who ever knows, really?
Retirement is a category in life that I highly recommend - if you find you have the stomach for it.
It can include those extra cups of coffee in the morning with a good book or the newspaper, curled up next to your wiener dog, Albert. It can include the early morning news show, again with those cups of coffee. I really like this part. And it can include staying up late at night if you want to. I had missed that part over the past 35 years and I've really been taking advantage of it. It can also include a lot of community involvement and volunteering if that sort of thing appeals to you or if you have not effectively learned the word "no".
I guess the important thing is to do what makes you happy. Right now is where I probably should use the Facebook term LOL, along with a smiling emoji, because on any given day it's hard to know just what that is. I take it a day at a time. When I retired, a very close friend, a young woman, sent me a poster that reads:
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go out and do that. Because what the world needs is people who are alive." (Howard Thurman)
So that's what I'm doing. So far, so good. And to a very good friend who is looking toward retirement, I hope that's what you will do.
This is a first effort for "On The Porch With Gwendy". I just wanted to introduce myself a little. I'll be back, but I'm not sure how often at first. I hope some of my ramblings will strike your fancy.
Remember - the world needs people who are alive!!! So, until next time and every chance I get, I'll be out on the porch!
July 5, 2016
could have if we were sitting on my porch, somewhere that I love to be. I'll be doing the talking, but I'd love for you to respond if you have something to say on any given subject.
My name is Gwendy Dungey Garner and my professional background includes newspaper work and healthcare public relations and marketing. After 35 years in the workforce, I am now retired. Throughout my professional careers, I did a lot of what I love... writing. As a newspaper writer and editor, I wrote the news, soft news, harder news........in our small town we didn't have a lot of really hardcore news. I wrote about the births, the deaths, the engagements and the weddings. I chronicled the things your kids did in school.....the sporting events, the awards, the graduations. I wrote about the club work and organizational work in our small town. But there was also the County Board news and there were city council meetings. Very occasionally there were murder trials and other criminal events. I didn't really enjoy writing about those things. But at a small town newspaper, you learn to do it all. In addition to writing and editing, there were ads to take over the counter and over the phone. There were lots of pictures to be taken. There was proofing, lots of proofing, something that doesn't seem to happen at a lot of newspapers these days. I learned that I could never go anywhere without a pen and tablet. Something newsworthy might happen and I would have to take notes! I miss that world and guess I always will.
And then there were the years of hospital PR and marketing. I started that endeavor at a time when hospitals were just beginning to have PR departments. It was scary and I kind of had to carve it out of the wall at times, but we got through it. Again, at a small and rural hospital, most people didn't really understand what went on in that office, if in fact, anything went on in that office. My work again involved quite a bit of writing - in new and different directions than I had done before, but interesting. Promoting a healthcare facility and its professionals is an animal unto itself. I certainly learned to respect the professionals at that hospital. I learned to respect their knowledge, their dedication, their integrity, their abilities and the stressors that they met on a day-to-day basis. I hope that after 24 1/2 years I left it a little better than I found it. Who ever knows, really?
Retirement is a category in life that I highly recommend - if you find you have the stomach for it.
It can include those extra cups of coffee in the morning with a good book or the newspaper, curled up next to your wiener dog, Albert. It can include the early morning news show, again with those cups of coffee. I really like this part. And it can include staying up late at night if you want to. I had missed that part over the past 35 years and I've really been taking advantage of it. It can also include a lot of community involvement and volunteering if that sort of thing appeals to you or if you have not effectively learned the word "no".
I guess the important thing is to do what makes you happy. Right now is where I probably should use the Facebook term LOL, along with a smiling emoji, because on any given day it's hard to know just what that is. I take it a day at a time. When I retired, a very close friend, a young woman, sent me a poster that reads:
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go out and do that. Because what the world needs is people who are alive." (Howard Thurman)
So that's what I'm doing. So far, so good. And to a very good friend who is looking toward retirement, I hope that's what you will do.
This is a first effort for "On The Porch With Gwendy". I just wanted to introduce myself a little. I'll be back, but I'm not sure how often at first. I hope some of my ramblings will strike your fancy.
Remember - the world needs people who are alive!!! So, until next time and every chance I get, I'll be out on the porch!
July 5, 2016
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