Christmas at Fort Wayne

This is the second time I have had the opportunity to participate in the amazing event that is Fort Wayne. I've visited the fort numerous times, and you can read one of the events here. This time, however, was special. We celebrated Christmas, and we did it completely in 1st person. Yes, I stayed in character the ENTIRE time!

 I was Mr. Giorlando's daughter, and Larissa's stepdaughter. With Rosalia as my sister, we were up to no good the entire event! Also note the pretty plaid green/blue dress; I *barely* finished it in time! It's hot off the sewing room table...

 Andrea played my cousin, and of course us ladies kept busy with either sewing or knitting. It was lovely to sit and relax for a change. Usually I am running all over an event, but I was able to sit and actually get some work done!

 My dear Aunt Sarah (Sandy Root) brought along decorations, which filled the home with a festive air. Andrea and I had an interesting time adorning the stairs, though when we finished, we were awarded with the joyous company of our family!

Of course we had fun whilst celebrating the holiday. My Father even delighted us with his playacting experience, and my Uncle lent me his pipe! Also, let it be known that more popcorn ended up in my mouth, rather than the Christmas tree. Perhaps the reason I love this celebration so much is because it warrants a bit of silliness in every heart.

I should also add that we were able to eat dinner in the dining room! While I caught no pictures of the beautiful meal, we were able to snap a quick *shiny* pic at the end. Everyone brought a dish to share, and we were served by my Aunt Sarah's servants, Agnes and Candace. Ham, cheeses, pickles, mustards, cranberry, pudding cake, cookies...and a cup of hot spiced cider to top it off! I was nearly bursting out of my corset!

We sang carols a bit later (I offended everyone's ears with my horrific voice...) and eventually listened to Father read the last chapter of A Christmas Carol. By that time the meal had my eyes heavy with sleep...seven hours of celebrating has that effect on a person!

 At the end, when we all broke character, we realized just how many people had visited during the tours. Fort Wayne gave nearly 300 people a tour of Christmas along various stops. We were an affluent family in the Commander's old house, but there were also others: the Lincolns, a poor southern family, a group of officers, soldiers in the barracks, a hospital, and a blacksmith. This tour was also very inexpensive; at $5 a person, an entire family could enjoy live history for less than a movie!

The people taking care of the Fort are excellent! They are doing their best to recreate the Fort with very little money...those of you familiar with Detroit's financial crisis know how difficult it is to allocate funds towards historical preservation. Through these events and other resources, the Fort will one day be transformed into its original state! If you would like to donate, you can do so here.

I returned home exhausted, but so excited by the amazing events that transpired throughout our celebration. Thank you to everyone who made this possible for me, and happy holidays to all!

~Kristen

***I have two finals and another event to prepare for in the next 4 days. Yikes!!!

I Still Claim Part of this Blog! -Becky

I still claim part of this blog, but it seems like Kris is taking over this month!

I haven't done any sewing, but I am planning a major baby shower! Im expecting close to 60 people!
We finally set the date for the shower this morning! I am so behind on everything. I have a lot of help, but deciding who would be great at a certain job is still undecided.

Plus the theme of this shower has switched! I had bought duck invitations, thinking I would have a rubber ducky theme, but there have been too many suggestions to do a Christmas/ winter theme. Im quite overwhelmed! Now I have duckie invites for a "Baby it's cold outside" baby shower. Humph!

So with an update:

Ive stopped working on a pregnancy corset. It may be easier to make a post prego corset with nursing flaps.

I went to Ft Wayne with my future Father-In-Law. I enjoyed my day trip and my father and step-mom did a great job as tour guides for the F-I-L and Step- Mom's parents. That day was the first time I met Andrea and Jillian.

Jillian and I spent a day at Joanns and washing some fabric for her corset.---We havent touched it since :/

Wolcott Mill was a bust! There were so many things that went wrong. There were ways that I could have attended on Saturday, but no one updated me on it. I made it on Sunday, I had some trading and people depended on me being there. It was canceled when my boyfriend and I walked though the gate.

And personal updates:

Almost every weekend is booked with my boyfriend. This week was so hectic! This was my weeks prep for a wedding on Friday:

Monday I searched for shower favors, gift ideas, and table candy. I also had a well needed manicure and pedicure. Doing my eyebrows was a fabulous bonus!

Tuesday I went for a Dr. apt and found that I have gained, and gained a lot.

Wednesday was another shopping day. I purchased some shoes. I never buy shoes until the one's Im wearing are broken. I also bought a dress with tights, but the next day I had to return the dress when I found a better fitting one the next day.

Thursday I went back to shopping with my younger cousin at Motherhood maternity. I never thought that I would like the mature look that the store sells, but I LOVE the store! So with buying a dress from Motherhood, I had to return the other dress that was too large.

Friday was the biggest prep day! I got my hair done. Colored, cut and styled for the wedding hours away. The driving situation was never determined and made the whole day uneasy. We never did make the wedding because the boyfriend's brother arrived late from work, didn't fit into any of his clothing and decided we need to buy him a shirt that day. I was quite mad. He literally wore the shirt that he bought minutes before the reception!

The reception was great. The table arrangements were appropriate and I enjoyed who I was assigned with. I didnt dance, I found the people I sat with were more entertaining than I would be on the dance floor. They talked about how all three weddings were the week after the other. They made a big bachelor party in Vegas and what wild time that they had.

Since then I have been conditioning my body to switch back for work. Im exited to go back on a mini vacation for my boyfriend and I's first anniversary in Frankenmuth in two weeks!

Kristen: Fort Wayne Civil War Reenactment

Perhaps now, dear reader, you assume that I am tired of reenacting. The stress of sewing, dressing, and driving to events has been too large of a burden, and that I am in a fit of hysterics. Well, you're wrong!

I did get a bit hysterical here...

I ended up "day-tripping" both days, meaning that I did not camp during the night. Since I live only 20 minutes away, it seemed like less work! The first day I spent more time in the beautiful house, playing parlor games or sewing. Who know just sitting around a house would be exhausting?

And some GORGEOUS wallpaper!

I also had the opportunity to walk through the rest of the fort. While this is not my first post about Fort Wayne, I still find plenty of moments that need a photo. Why is this place so beautiful?

On the second day my family visited, and we walked around a bit more. My feet were so sore! I also had the opportunity to meet new members of the 21st Michigan, and wear my yellow dress, hot off the sewing room floor!

-Ken Giorlando

-Ken Giorlando

I will be returning to Fort Wayne in the next few months, and to be honest I'd like to volunteer my time (when I can find it) to help clean/restore the fort when possible. While the city of Detroit might be experiencing financial difficulties, there is no reason to not support history, especially in honor of the many veterans that passed through those gates.

Finally, I'd like to note an odd creature who hangs about the beautiful house in which I spent most of my time. While her dress is pretty, unfortunately she has lost mobility of her right hand. She was so anxious at the idea of company, that she hid herself away in the back, stiff with fear. There was no comforting her either; she simply stared straight ahead like a statue in her terror.

And who says reenactors don't have any fun?

~Kristen

Kristen: Fort Wayne, 18th Century Inspiration

This might be a little secret (no wait, I posted it on Facebook!) but I have been researching 18th century clothing as of late. It doesn't help that I attended a Revolutionary War reenactment with my fiancee and the Giorlandos a few weeks back. Of course I have forgotten to post those photos...

My fiancee had never seen the fort (a gem in Detroit) and I had never been there as a spectator. It's odd; I felt that I was dressed wrong! The first thing I noticed about the reenactors is that they remind me quite a bit of the Civil War. The wooden tables and chairs, tents, and cooking fires all reminded me of "home."

All of the people were very friendly and willing to answer questions. Hmm, that sounds familiar! The doctor and his tools were especially interesting, as my fiancee recognized a few from his medical studies.

 

We continued exploring Fort Wayne, and even ate lunch on one of the porches of a house. It really is a shame that this place was so misused for such a time. All of the history in this fort, and it was abused by the people of Detroit. Thankfully, there are those willing to donate their time and money to the fort, fixing it up inch by inch. If you're interested in knowing more, you can look at their facebook page here and donate here.

Finally, I MUST talk about the clothing! Since I am not well-versed in 18th century clothing, it was difficult for me to completely know every bit of clothing, though I did note a lack of stays on several women. Was this common? My Civil War dress just doesn't fit right without proper undergarments, though it might be different for this era. Also, I saw many pockets!

So here is the big reveal...I've already made 18th century stays! It is not perfect by any means, but I am proud that I jumped right in. It is better to have sewn and lost...then to have never cut at all! My next post will show its construction, and hopefully me in it. Also, Port Sanilac is coming soon, in all of its reenacting glory...

~Kristen