Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Rockford & Interurban Railway on unknown Rockford street. A trolley car is at left.

This December, Rockford has certainly not seen as much snow fall as it did one year ago, and so this snowy, winter-y entry seems less appropriate.  However, some of us (such as your humble author!) have a higher tolerance for the glittery snowflakes before Christmas than after the new year. Let’s see if we will be treated to a white Christmas this year.

As the weather grows colder, most of us bundle up in big coats, hats, scarves, and gloves or mittens, just like those before us did one hundred years ago.  Here are a few examples of what men and women wore during these blustery winter months.

Ear muffs from Rockford High School, c. 1930. Go RABs!
(RAB refers to the school colors, red and black, and was the nickname for school.)

Gentleman’s gloves and formal overcoat c. 1920s, perfect for an evening at the theater!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lady’s rabbit fur-trimmed gloves, fur-lined hat, and mink-collar coat,  c. 1920s.

 

This decorative pink satin coat was worn by a truly fashionable lady around 1890-1900.

Note the exquisite bead and embroidery detail under the collar.

Enjoy some winter scenes from Rockford’s past!

Cheery winter scene at a Rockford home, c. 1920s.

Skaters on the pond at Sinnissippi Park, c. 1920s

Winter at Camp Grant, 1917. The soldiers made their own winter fun by building a snow hill to ski and sled down.

 

Do you love snow as much as this happy boy? He is believed to be Talcott Williams, c. early 1920s.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Midway Village Museum!

1909 Christmas postcard

Second Star to the Right, and Straight on Till Morning!

Our next event is sure to bring out all of the spooks and ghouls – Saturday, October 25 is All Hallow’s Eve at Midway Village! This year, J.M. Barrie’s classic characters in Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up come to life in our haunted woods!

The stage play was first performed on December 27, 1904 at Duke of York’s Theatre in London. Nina Boucicault was first cast to play Peter Pan, and Maude Adams famously played the impish boy in the 1905 Broadway production. This tradition of an adult woman starring as Peter has continued for over one hundred years. The play introduced its audiences to the name ‘Wendy,’ as well as to children’s literature which was still in its infancy.

Peter Pan’s adventures in Never Land take us back to our childhood fantasies of pirates, mermaids, Indians, and fairies. Over time, these figures have evolved in their meaning and place within our culture.  Today, many recognize Peter Pan as the red-headed boy in the 1953 Disney animated film. Fairies are also associated with Disney-inspired design, although Tinker Bell was first represented as a flash of light and tinkle of a bell.  What kinds of ephemera would people have associated with the characters of Peter Pan one hundred years ago? How were fairies, pirates, and Native Americans depicted?

This 1870s teddy bear is much like the one Michael carries to Never Land.

This Rockford-made collapsible top hat is similar to what John wears as he pretends to be his father.
“A little less noise there!”

This thimble is representative of the kiss that Wendy tries to give Peter. Thimbles are a must in any good sewing kit, especially at a time when most people made their own clothes.

This charming book may have been a favorite bedtime story for a child who loved whimsical tales. Published in 1903, it tells the story of a star fairy prince who falls in love with a princess on Earth.

 

This handmade fairy costume, complete with wings, may have been a little girl’s Halloween costume or, more likely, costume for a play or recital in the 1920s-1930s.

For the adventurous, only a pirate book will do! G.A. Henty’s historical fiction Among Malay Pirates, published in 1899, contains short stories set in Malaysia and Indonesia. During a time when travel was limited to the wealthy, this book could take any person across the seas and among the pirates!

Children dressed as Native Americans during Rockford parade, c. 1905.

Child’s colorful, handmade headdress.

What of the crocodile, who took Captain Hook’s hand? Well, he’s become a pair of lady’s pumps.
Made in Rockford in the 1960s. (Not real crocodile!)

 

All Hallow’s Eve at Midway Village Museum, 2014

Sat. October 25  2pm – 8pm

Admission: $6 for adults and children. Museum members and children under 3 are free!

Bring your family to “trick-or-treat” in safety at the charming Victorian Village.  Additional children’s activities and crafts will also be offered throughout the day.  The Woods opens at 4:30 pm.

 

The 19th Century Does Black Friday

After the turkey and stuffing are gone and you’ve taken a snooze on the couch, you’re energized to rise before the sun, pull on your parka, and stand in front of that big box store to get the best deal on that Christmas present for your nephew.

The Friday after Thanksgiving has been known as the unofficial start of the Christmas season ever since the first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924.  The tradition of Black Friday began in the 1960s.  The term refers to businesses moving from the ‘red’ to ‘black’ in their accounts.  Retailers realized that they drew large crowds with super sales on this day.

Which Rockford shops might you have visited one hundred years ago on Black Friday?  Here is a small selection.

Department Stores were just as popular back then as they are today!

Nordstrom’s, c. 1871

Owned by Gust and Josephine Nordstrom

No connection to today’s national Nordstrom’s chain.

Henry F. Norris art goods store, 1920s

221 East State Street

DJ Stewart Department Store, 1958

113-117 South Main Street

Marie N. Freberg’s Exclusive Millinery, c. 1910

514 7th Street

Window shopping at its finest!

Swanson Millinery, c. 1909-1913

404 East State Street

J. Beale and Bro. Jewelry, c. 1900

406 East State Street

Looking for a sparkly rock or impressive timepiece for that special someone?  Head over to Beale’s Jewelry!

Joe and Art Beale can find something he or she will love!

Blomberg and Swenson Bakery, 1883-1891

603 7^th Street

No time to bake?  Blomberg and Swenson will sell you delicious holiday treats!

Keigs Bakery, c. 1900-1910

405 State Street

Miss Ethel Shaw can help you pick out your Christmas cookies!

Midway Village Museum wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving and a safe and warm Black Friday!

In Hallowe’en Fashion

There’s only one more day before Halloween – the time of year that represents a line between fall and winter, life and death.  It’s traditionally a day when spirits and ghouls roam the earth and we wear costumes to ward them off.

1920s-30s Paper Jack-O-Lantern Decorations

So – do you have a costume yet?

If not, don’t fret.  Here are some examples of the costumes worn by Rockfordians in the early twentieth century.

This Halloween dress was worn in 1905.  It has paper cutouts of little spooks pasted to the skirt.

This appears to be an owl costume from the 1920s.  A black owl cutout is stitched to the back of the jacket near the collar.  The hat has several other owl-shaped cutouts stitched to it.  The fringe mimics the feathers of an owl.

These two costumes from the 1920s have gypsy or Spanish qualities to them.  The men’s costume appears similar to a matador’s outfit, although the amount of jingle-jangles on both outfits suggest more of a gypsy feel.

Hopefully with these suggestions from the past, you too can whip up a wonderful Halloween costume to frighten off the spooks!

Happy Hallowe’en!

Women in Wartime: Nursing

Lt. Marilyn Cedarleaf

Marilyn Cedarleaf, the daughter of Swedish immigrants, was born in Rockford in 1921.  She trained as a nurse at Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago and graduated in 1943.  In 1945, at the age of 24, she went with a friend to the Red Cross on Wabash Ave. to get information about joining the war effort.  Marilyn wasn’t sure that she wanted to go, but she got a hard sell from the recruiter and signed up that day.  Social pressures of wartime often influenced volunteers for service.

Marilyn went to basic training at Camp McCoy in Wisconsin, then Fort Indiantown Gap in Pennsylvania, and lastly at Camp Kilmer in New Jersey.  She and a friend from Camp McCoy stuck together throughout their service.

Nurses Training at Camp McCoy

Nurses Training at Camp McCoy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Photos courtesy of Lieutenant General Richard R. Taylor’s Medical Training in World War II.  Medical Department, United States Army)

After basic training, they and 200 other nurses set sail for Europe.  Marilyn described the trip as scary.  They had to turn their lights off at night, and one time she got in trouble for having her porthole open.  Their ship landed in Scotland on May 8, 1945 – VE Day.  They went to England to receive their assignments before heading back to Glasgow to a general hospital to treat soldiers.  Many of those Marilyn treated were POWs, which she remembered as being a very sad time. They cared for a train load of wounded every day or two.

Marilyn’s nursing uniform with cap.

After the hospital closed, she went to France from hospital to hospital, moving around by ambulance.  In Marseilles, she was getting ready to go to China but her orders were cancelled when the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb over Hiroshima, Japan.  Instead, she was sent to Belgium before being discharged as a First Lieutenant.

Marilyn’s dress uniform.

These decorative pitchers are made from bullet and shell casings and represent trench art.  Trench art dates back to the Napoleonic Wars, but is most often found from the World War I.  This type of art is directly linked to armed conflict.  Marilyn’s trench art, seen below, was made in Belgium and commemorates the places she traveled during her service.

Scotland, England, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Holland, 1945-1946

Lt. Ruth M. Cedarleaf
12th Field House

Glasgow, London, Paris (1945 inscribed on back) and Geneva, Le Mans, Liege (1946 on inscribed on back)

Upcoming Event!!!  World War II Days

Saturday, September 21, 2013  11 am – 5 pm

Sunday, September 22, 2013  11 am – 4 pm

Midway Village Museum hosts the largest World War II era re-enactment in the United States with over 1,000 uniformed re-enactors from 40 states representing soldiers from the United States, Great Britain, France, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Japan, Italy and Germany along with vintage tanks, halftracks and other 1940s era military vehicles!

World War II Days includes elaborate and realistic battles complete with tanks, artillery, armored vehicles, and exciting pyrotechnic displays. Saturday the battle shows are featured at 1:30 pm and 3:30 pm. Sunday the battle time is 2:30 pm. Maps of the event site will be available when visitors arrive showcasing the battlefield and the various encampments and attractions. The event will be held rain or shine.

 One Day Admission Cost

$12 adults; $6 for children (3 to 17); and free for World War II veterans and Museum Members

Two Day Pass Cost
Two day event passes are $18 for adults; $9 for children (there is too much to see it all in just one day!)

For more information on event details, click here: https://midwayvillagemuseumcollections.wordpress.com/tag/military/