Part II of Girlz Day Out

Part II of GIRLZ DAY OUT was a tour of the LeRoy (NY) Historical Society Museum.

Most towns have a historical museum. My own town does. I love to learn about the history of the early days and beginnings of towns, villages and cities across the U.S.

On our GIRLZ DAY OUT, after touring the Jell-o Museum, we visited the LeRoy Historical Museum which was on the same property as the Jell-o Museum, separated only by a garden.

Since my favorite thing in the whole world is discovering old, unused, discarded household items, rescuing them, repurposing them into something useful and beautiful and "current", I was in my glory in this house which was the museum. The high ceilings, the extravagant woodwork, the wavy glass of the windows, the broad porches, the nooks and crannies.......................ohhhhhhhhh (swooning)

There were two docents there who made sure we didn't miss a thing. The home had a center entrance with a huge reception area with seating, paintings of ancestors, hat and umbrella rack, library table. To the left was a room that housed the "land office", full of surveyer's tools, roll top desk, many glass enclosed bookshelves, maps of settlement divisions. And to the right of the entrance hall was a parlor, with music room behind that.

It was in the parlor that we discovered that this house once was part of a seminary for women. In one of the nooks between the parlor and the music room was a historical display from Ingham University. The first exclusively women's university established in the U.S. Founded in 1835 as the LeRoy Female Seminary, chartered by the N.Y. State Board of Regents in 1852 as Ingham Collegiate Institute. The thing that struck me as most sweetly sentimental was a tiny class ring. Not a big showy ring like today's class rings but a dainty gold filigreed, pearl centered ring. Many of the women who matriculated at Ingham went on to make their mark on history. One, Sarah Frances Whiting founded the physics department and established the astronomical observatory at Wellesley College.

There were two kitchens in the museum. One, a 1930's kitchen and the other, an 1830's kitchen. That hundred year span produced astronmical advances in kitchen technology. The housewives went from scrubbing laundry in a wash tub with her hands to an electric wringer washing machine. From making meals in the fireplace over a wood fire to preparing meals on a gas powered stove. From having no refrigeration to an electric refrigerator, from candlelight to electric light, from personal visits and letters to a telephone.............

100 years before - 1830

All in all, GIRLZ DAY OUT was a totally precious day filled with beautiful memories.

Girlz Day Out

Girlz Day Out is something that a couple friends and myself do every so often. Sometimes it's just a lunch date. Other times it's a long distance adventure. We don't have a set time to do this like once a month or every other month. Just whenever we're in the mood. This past Saturday was the day. We had planned a visit to a thrift shop in a YWCA in a town about 30 miles west of here. This shop is a fund raiser for the local domestic violence ministry. My friends and I all found items we couldn't live without. Of course it helped that the black and red plaid wool jacket I bought was $2.50 and the voile pink and black floral big shirt I liked was $3.00. My friends also bought jackets and blouses. It happened also to be a beautiful, sunshiny day. Our next stop was the Jello-o museum. Though this is relatively close to us (30 miles) but none of us had ever been there. The museum is a small unassuming building but the history of Jell-o is magnificent. We had a guided tour by a Jell-o expert who led us into the museum, bid us to sit down on a bench, like school children, while he regaled us with Jell-o history.

The product had a very difficult birth. The first couple owners could not make it a commercial success. The company was sold a couple times for very small amounts - like 35.00 one time and 450.00 another time. Finally it became the property of a gentleman with VISION. The year was 1899 and most American housewives had never heard of a jelled dessert. Also - just add water - was a totally new concept to them. Many did not have refrigeration but did have methods for cooling (like ice) and Ice Boxes, springhouses, etc. A MARKETING STRATEGY was initiated. The Jell-o executive hired and trained a sales crew, dressed them in business attire, provided transportaion for them to go on the road with samples. His directions to his salesmen: give the product away for free. Visit every home. At one, give a packet of Jell-o. At the next, give away a recipe book.

He paid sales calls to the grocers and encouraged them to stock Jell-O on their shelves. Then it went viral. And the rest is history. The museum had advertising campaigns to show us. Large original oil paintings which were reproduced in newspapers and magazines. By the time radio and television arrived on the scene, all the biggest celebrities got in on the Jell-O buzz. Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Kate Smith, Lucille Ball plugged Jell-O on their programs. Bill Cosby was Jell-O spokesman for thirty years.

The early packaging was designed by the the Kewpie Doll founder. Therefore, it was very Kewpie Doll-ish. See picture above. Jell-O has a long and industrious history with many, many products following the original jelled dessert. Next came Jell-O pudding, then both instant Jell-O and pudding, then sugarless, pudding pops, jigglers and, the latest - Jell-O shots (made like a jiggler but with vodka instead of water) (for adults only). We thoroughly enjoyed our jaunt to Jell-O Land but we were only at the half-way mark on our Girlz Day Out. The Town's Historical Museum was our next stop. That will be the subject of next weeks blog.

A Visit To The Canal

When Sammy visits Grammy, we usually include a visit to the canal. I'm speaking of the Erie Canal, built in 1825 and opening up points west to economic development. The canal cut the cost of transportation by 95% and was a monumental feat of engineering with its locks to move the water through varying elevations. The canal brought goods and services from Albany NY to Buffalo NY, a distance of 363 miles. The barges were pulled by mules which walked along the canal banks pulling their precious cargo. None of this means a hill of beans to Sammy though. To her, it's a wonderful place to visit because there's an ice cream store that sells fresh homemade icecream................plus she gets to feed the ducks who make their home in the canal's waters. Grammy empties her cupboards of every half finished bag of crackers, pretzels, gold fish, stale bread, cereal, etc. and we set out for the canal. We usually run out of our own duck food and end up buying some from the shops along the canal. Sammy runs like a tornado along the banks, bag of "duck food" in hand, shouting to her sister, "c'mon Megan, there's a thousand pieces of duck". (This is the terminology Sammy uses to describe a huge amount of anything)

There are many points of interest along the canal which runs through several small towns in our locality, including our own town. There are restaurants whose tables overlook the canal, icecream shops which have tables and gazebos on the banks so you can lick and gaze at the peaceful waters. In my town, all along the downtown, our town has set up water and electricity connections so that touring water craft can hook up and spend a few days touring our town. Our Philharmonic Orchestra gives concerts there in the Summertime and there's also an annual duck race, but this time it's yellow rubber duckies. I'm at a loss to imagine how anyone gets those duckies to race.......but they do. To me, the Erie Canal remains a charming piece of local history. I love to visit along its banks...............and most especially with my precious girls ♥ ♥ ♥