Yesterday, Allison, Tim and I went to the New York Historical Society. I was particularly moved by the Lafayette exhibit they have going on now – and it’s going to be there until 2008 so I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone in the area, or anyone who plans on visiting New York. Wonderful stuff: relics of his triumphant return to America, his grand tour in 1824 – mugs imprinted with his face, ladies gloves with his face on them in a little imprint – handkerchiefs, invitations to balls – everything in honor of him. Portraits of him, snippets of his writing, etc. etc. Great stuff.
I also had a lovely time walking through the grand gallery on the 2nd floor where there is a marvelous exhibit of American painters of the Hudson River school. Soft green walls, vaulted high ceiling – and MASSIVE paintings. Very interesting stuff.
Oh, and one last thing: on the weekends, the NY Historical Society has what they call “Living History Days”, where people dressed up in Revolutionary Era clothes mingle with the hoi polloi. They answer questions, they do demonstrations with their weapons, they cross-stitch little hankies and talk to children, and generally behave like history geeks. When we were there, we got to mingle with Lafayette (who, of course, had a mellifluous French accent) – I had a nice chat with him about the terror in Revolutionary France and how he fared – I exchanged a shy smile with Ben Franklin but was too timid to speak to him, and I cowered in awe and fear of the towering George Washington. I also caught one of the little Revolutionary ladies in her bonnet and apron chatting on her cell phone behind a column telling whomever was on the other end, “I’ll be outta here by 6 … wanna grab some Thai food later?” Hysterical. There’s a 9/11 exhibit going on as well (the photo exhibit which makes up the book Here is New York – I’m sure you’ve heard of it – I own it, it’s a prized possession of mine) – and there are two huge lit-up rooms filled with the photo prints from the book. It has a distinctly modern vibe, with fluorescent lights, etc. – unlike the Lafayette exhibit which feels like you are stepping back in time. I wasn’t into the 9/11 exhibit, didn’t feel like going in there – but I did glance in once – and the room full of photos was empty, except for one solitary figure. A British soldier from the time of the American Revolution, a true “lobsterback”, with his rifle at his side, his red coat ablaze in the fluorescent lights, stood and browsed through the photos. All by himself. I took a picture of him from afar. I loved the incongruity of it, it seemed quite beautiful. It’s why the NY Historical Society is one of my favorite organizations in the city, because you see stuff like that all the time.
If you have kids – “living history days” would be a great thing, I think. There were little kids talking with Washington, asking him questions with total belief – he WAS who he said he was, etc. And the actors, or re-enactors, were all wonderful. Great fun.
“A British soldier from the time of the American Revolution, a true ‘lobsterback’, with his rifle at his side, his red coat ablaze in the fluorescent lights, stood and browsed through the photos. All by himself. I took a picture of him from afar.”
Sheila – Would you post this photo here? Pretty please, with sugar on it?
And I hope I can get to the Lafayette exhibit before it closes. It sounds wonderful. I am so envious.
Michael – I most definitely will post it – it came out great! I just need to upload it, etc. He was deep in contemplation, with his redcoated back to me, holding his rifle, staring at photos. Beautiful!!
You should definitely try to see the Lafayette exhibit if you can – it spans 3 floors, it’s very comprehensive, and I think it’ll be up until august of next year!
/I exchanged a shy smile with Ben Franklin but was too timid to speak to him, and I cowered in awe and fear of the towering George Washington./
Oh, Sheila, you make me laugh!
If you’re ever wandering through Western Kentucky near the Land Between the Lakes, there is a “living museum”-type thing. It’s really interesting.
It’s an 1880s farm that’s actually self-sustaining, and the people who “live” there really eat the food cooked on the woodstove, and babies are really rocked in wooden cradles. Animals are kept just as they were in the 1880s and crops are grown and tended that way too.
It’s set away from the parking lot and the gift shop, so you have to walk aways to get there, but it’s like stepping back in time. We’ve been twice.
Also, Mt. Holly Cemetery in Little Rock uses students from Parkview Fine Arts Magnet High School (LR’s version of Fame!, I guess, is the best way to describe the school.) to act out famous Arkansans who are buried in the cemetery. You just go to the grave, and the kid (in period dress) tells you all about the person buried there. It is a VERY cool way to celebrate Halloween.
A slightly off topic story:
Family is visiting Mt. Vernon during the holidays in ’95. In a tent on the grounds there are two women in period clothing, serving hot cider and cookies:
Colonial Woman “A” (handing us cookies): “These are ginger cookies, you may not know this, but ginger was General Washington’s favorite spice.”
Brother-in-law (in a deadpan voice): “That’s ironic, Ginger was my favorite castaway.”
Brother: (literally falls to his knees laughing)
Me: Snort! (As hot cider comes out my nose)
Quick aside: Hot cider through the nose is far worse than most other liquids: I think it might be the cinnamon. Trust me, being around my brother-in-law, I’ve experienced a wide variety of liquids coming out via the nasal passages.
Colonial Woman “A” (confused):
Colonial Woman “B” (ice stare): “Yes… How ironic…”
Sister-in-law and wife (red faced and in unison): “I’m not with them, pointing to the men”… and walk out of the tent.
Sister (to Colonial Women): “I really have to apologize for my husband!… We’ll be going now; thank you for your hospitality”, as she drags her husband out of the tent.
Colonial Woman “B” (dryly, to my brother and me, who are still laughing): “I believe the rest of your party has left, perhaps you should join them.”
Lisa – I love stuff like that!! Sturbridge Village is a place like that, up in New England – and we’d go on field trips there and churn butter and stuff like that with women in bonnets showing us to do it, etc.
JFH – hahahahaha Spare us from the icy stare of colonial women!
tracey – HA! I know! I felt like a little kid myself! I walked up to the place to meet Allison and I saw a bald gentleman with strings of hair off the sides of his head, and little bifocals, and a knowing grin – standing on the steps of the Historical Society and I gasped, as though it were the real Ben Franklin. I’m 6 years old.
Lafayette was very nice.
I looked for Hamilton, but he was nowhere to be found.
We walked past there today on our way to the museum of natural history. I said we’d go in on our way back, but we were exhausted and hungry by then. We’ll make it a point to go back next weekend.
Michele – you guys will love it!! Great exhibit.
Yes, please- the photo.
These are so much fun, if they’re done well. And the folk attracted to this usually take great care with it.
The kids at our children’s elementary school did the Living Museum thing.
I told our youngest that she could be anyone we already had a costume for. This boiled down to Joan of Arc, someone Renaissance or the Virgin Mary.
She picked Queen Isabella of Castile and wore the slashed-sleeve red dress with the pearl-encrusted bodice. Her props were books and a globe.
I have a priceless photo of Her Majesty, Juliette Low and Annie Oakley mugging for the camera.
About 10 years ago, we went to see Pat at a festival that had various historical re-enactors wandering around. A friend of mine ended up having a 20 minute conversation with Solomon Juneau. When she finally rejoined us, I asked what they hell they talked about all that time. She answered “Bridges, mostly” which is hilarious if you know your Milwaukee history.