May 27, 2015

Hitty Visits the Shoemaker at Old Sturbridge Village!

Finding a Place to Rest Your Pegs!
At Old Sturbridge Village, Hitty was delighted to visit with the shoemaker.


The shoe shop at Old Sturbridge Village, that reminds of us Tasha Tudor's illustration in "The Real Pretend" of Kathy and her brother setting out to collect the money for the Larkin goods they sold. My daughter Sarah was the model for the illustrations of the little girl Kathy in "The Real Pretend".


Shoes on display in the shoe shop.
Several in our Moulton family were shoemakers in the early 1800s from Brimfield, Massachusetts, not far from Sturbridge.


Hitty Rachel and the shoemaker at Old Sturbridge Village.




Hitty was very interested in the wooden pegs used in making the shoes as she, too, is jointed with pegs.


The Freeman farm at Old Sturbridge Village is where Pliny Freeman and his wife Delia lived. Their daughter Delia married our second cousin John May. John May, Delia, and their children lived with Delia's parents at the Freeman Farm in the late 1830s. During this time John May worked at making shoes.






The shoemaker works at the low bench with his tools at hand.






After much walking around Hitty's pegs began to feel tired. She spied this little bed just her size!


Hitty sees that the little bed is already occupied by a little doll who is also in need of a rest. The little doll sort of resembled a Hitty but was not made of wood. Hitty Rachel loved her frock and pinafore!


Hitty found another little bed in the Salem Towne House. She thought that would be the perfect place for her to rest her pegs!
Ima resting at the Towne House garden.
Hitty and Ima were made by talented doll carver Judy Brown.


An antique doll bed on display at Old Sturbridge Village.


When Hitty saw this little doll cradle on display she thought of the book "Hitty, Her First Hundred Years" by Rachel Field and how the original Hitty had her own cradle. Hitty's cradle was made by Phoebe's father Captain Preble and she enjoyed recuperating in it after her trying time in the crow's nest in the "ancestral pine" that stood alongside the Preble house.
"Look," said Hitty, "what a beautiful coach to take an old fashioned ride in!"


The Hartford & Worcester stagecoach at Old Sturbridge Village.
Hitty thought of the original Hitty riding in a coach. In "Hitty, Her First Hundred Years" by Rachel Field, the Prebles and Hitty took the stagecoach from Portland, Maine to Portsmouth, New Hampshire to Salem, Massachusetts and on to Boston. The Captain was going to set sail on the ship Diana-Kate and it was decided that his family join him.




Hitty asks the driver of the stagecoach if she could see what it would be like to be in the driver's seat. The driver kindly agreed. Hitty felt that it was almost like being up in the ancestral pine as she was up so high!
Hitty took the reins for a moment but I was too startled at the thought of little Hitty driving the horses to snap a photograph!


Hitty felt like she could nearly touch the roof of the tavern!


Hitty thought a stagecoach ride can be a good way to rest your pegs!
Our email:
atthecottagegate@yahoo.com


http://corgyncombecourant.blogspot.com/2015/05/hitty-visits-shoemaker-at-old.html
copyright © 2015 Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson
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Posted by Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson at 3:37 PM
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May 25, 2015

May Flowers in Remembrance!

Decoration Day!
Nanny Nettie-Kin loves the beautiful fragrances of the stunning lilacs and the delicate lily-of-the-valley! Nanny Nettie-Kin was made by talented doll carver Judy Brown.

Lilacs are usually in bloom near Decoration Day. When I think of lilacs I think of going with my Grandmum, taking lilacs, putting them in canning jars and placing them on the graves of our ancestors. Graves are always decorated in remembrance of those who have gone before on Decoration Day. Decoration Day was traditionally celebrated on May 30th.




In the book "Wings from the Wind, An Anthology of Poems Selected and Illustrated by Tasha Tudor", with "The Concord Hymn" by Ralph Waldo Emerson there is an illustration of an old gravestone with a flag and flowers growing alongside.

We at the Corgyncombe Courant are thankful to those who have served in protecting our country, thus allowing us to do all the things we love best such as smelling the flowers!


Our email:
atthecottagegate@yahoo.com


http://corgyncombecourant.blogspot.com/2015/05/may-flowers-in-remembrance.html
copyright © 2015 Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Posted by Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson at 7:24 PM
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May 10, 2015

Mother's Day!

Sitting on the Lawn
Above is my Grandmum (my Father's Mum), my Mum who's expecting my little brother, and me little Diane. Look who has her arms crossed just like her Grandmum! No wonder my Mum always told me when I was little, "You're all Shepard!" When I was little I always remember Grandmum in her apron and her hair done up in a bun. She had an old Kalamazoo wood cook range that I remember her cooking and baking family meals on. She had a Jersey cow, pigs, and chickens. Her cellar was stocked full of canned goods and she was well known as a "Canning Fool". Grandmum loved to garden and she had vegetable and flower gardens. Her favorite flower was the Iris, of which she had many varieties. I remember sitting on the lawn with her making dandelion curls and eating potato chips at the same time! One of her greatest delights was bringing us a puffball that she found for my Father and I to cook and savor.

Grandmum always reminded me of Tasha Tudor!

Here is a link to a previous post about my Grandmum
at the Corgyncombe Courant:

Here is a link to a previous post about my Mum
at the Corgyncombe Courant:


Happy Mother's Day to our Dear Readers!


Our email:
atthecottagegate@yahoo.com


http://corgyncombecourant.blogspot.com/2015/05/mothers-day.html
copyright © 2015 Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Posted by Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson at 12:10 PM
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