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Re: Baptism Gowns in the 1860s



'Morning, Kristin!

How's life today in the Great Prairies?

Yup, put in about 15 years on and off (tho' mostly on) with CA State RR
Museum, a unit of the Gold Rush District of CA Parks & Rec.

Sadly, DPR has a very uneven, or spotty record of dedication to interpretive
living history portrayals. Nothing much in that field gets done in Old
Sacramento SHP without a dedicated ranger/interpreter or team of same who
will push the upper management for budget, staff and time support.

The work we did once upon a time was at CSRM's reconstructed 1860s Central
Pacific RR Passenger Station on the waterfront of the old city. Our best
efforts were done years prior to the opening of the massive Museum of RR
History, so the depot's covered "trainshed" was still filled with unrestored
19th c. cars and locomotives, and one engine therein was a functional
woodburner (it's since been restored, stuffed & mounted inside MORH). Back
when we did "Sacramento in 1876" -- CSRM consisted only of that depot
replica, so all the volunteers efforts were focused there. Of course, as
might be expected, the women and a fair number of "drafted" kids really got
into the costuming and interpretive study. The men...shall we guesstimate
about 60%?...wanted their parts and costuming handed to them on a plate, and
if left tot their own devices all would have showed up as '49ers, Gunsmoke
cowpokes or over-the-top Capitol Legislators and gamblers. Ugh! A big
tug-of-war over controlling those particular egos and louts made it
exhausting work

Two different years, though, we pulled-off a remarkable pair of 2-day
weekend re-enactments, with a fairly diverse depiction of passenger hustle &
bustle, class struggle, hubbub, public entertainment of that Centennial year
and historically based chit-chat amongst the living historian characters and
the public.

The only place left around here that still does a credible job -- in my
narrow opinion -- is Sutter's Fort SHP across town. They put on days
involving Fort life circa 1839 remarkable well considering that just outside
the fort's walls are 2 busy thoroughfares, a 6-story modern hospital and a
noisy, elevated Business Interstate 80 a block away. On Sundays, when that
modern outside world is a lot more quiet, the feeling of 1839 seems much
more real.
I think, but am not sure, that Ms. Katrina Worley (sic) is one of the
stalwart docents behind that LH effort.

Try phoning Sutter's Fort SHP (916-324-0539) directly. I doubt Katrina is
there daily, but they can probably link you to her or another person in the
LH program. Now that I look, I see that the phone # above also is the same
for a number of other DPR historic sites within the Gold Rush sector, so you
may need to call the Gold Rush District business office to narrow your
search for Katrina. That # is 916-445-7373.

Cordially,

Kevin


> ----------
> From:         Kristin Torgerson[SMTP:kris92576@MAIL.OLG.COM]
> Reply To:     Archives & Archivists
> Sent:         Wednesday, September 13, 2000 3:08 PM
> To:   ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
> Subject:      Re: Baptism Gowns in the 1860s
>
> Kevin,
> I couldn't help but notice that you used to work at a living history
> museum!
> I'm in the process of trying to figure out how many other LH museums have
> research/ interpretation liasons, and if the museums have found them to be
> beneficial as well as what kinds of duties they perform. I would really
> appreciate some input on this or possibly a redirection to someone you
> might
> know that could help answer my question..
>
> Much Thanks.
>
> Kristin Torgerson
> Historic St. Mary's City.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Bunker, Kevin" <kbunker@SS.CA.GOV>
> To: <ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU>
> Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2000 12:13 PM
> Subject: Re: Baptism Gowns in the 1860s
>
>
> > Angela --
> >
> > From my past experience in helping costume volunteers at several 1860s &
> > 1870s living history interpretive re-enactments, I've learned to think
> > sideways about such questions.
> >
> > A couple of related questions might need to be asked:
> >
> >         -- What faith tradition are we speaking of? This would
> >            determine whether immersion baptism or the dribble-
> >            of-water over the forehead of a child-in-arms would be
> >            the sacramental means, which in turn alters the
> >            clothing style.
> >
> >         -- Is the family of means, or basic, plain prairie folk?
> >
> >         -- Gender will (to a lesser extent during the latter 19th
> >            century for very young children) affect the fashion,
> >            although young boys might still be seen in skirt-like
> >            clothes before they turned 8, with longish hair.
> >
> > Keep researching!
> >
> > Kevin V. Bunker
> > Student Assistant
> > CA State Archives
> >
> >
> > > ----------
> > > From:         Angela Curran[SMTP:acurran@AAFP.ORG]
> > > Reply To:     Archives & Archivists
> > > Sent:         Wednesday, September 13, 2000 6:42 AM
> > > To:   ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
> > > Subject:      Baptism Gowns in the 1860s
> > >
> > > I have a friend who has asked for help to find out what a small child
> > > (6-8) would have worn while getting baptized in the 1860s in the
> Plains.
> > > (Specifically, she said 1869 in Kansas.)  My hunch is that a child's
> dress
> > > would have been similar to an infant's christening gown, just bigger,
> but
> > > I can't find anything to confirm that.  One problem is that infant
> gowns
> > > are referred to frequently, but nothing for slightly older children.
> > >
> > > Anyone have any ideas?  I also wonder whether it would depend on the
> > > particular church or denomination.
> > >
> > > Any help would be appreciated.
> > >
> > > Angela Curran
> > > Archives for Family Practice
> > > 11400 Tomahawk Creek Parkway
> > > Leawood, KS 66211
> > > (913) 906-6000, ext. 4420
> > > (913) 906-6095 FAX
> > > acurran@aafp.org
> > >
> > > A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
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> > >
> > > Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>
> > >
> >
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> A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
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>
> Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>
>

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Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>