Thanksgiving Holiday

I traveled to South Carolina to spend Thanksgiving with my son, daughter in law, granddaughter, grandson and his wife. I paid my first visit to their new, one story house, met my new little granddog (a Cavalier King Charles terrier) and thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the southland.

One of the highlights of my time in the south was a visit to the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC. Built by George Vanderbilt and officially opened on Christmas Eve 1895. In 1898, he brought his bride, Edith, to the Biltmore. In 1900, their only child, Cornelia, was born there.

Today, the estate remains in the family. A grandson, William A.V. Cecil owns the home and his son, A.V. Cecil, Jr. serves as the CEO. The enterprise employs 1800 people.

The house was lavishly decorated for Christmas, with lots of huge, trimmed Christmas trees, luxurious, trailing pine mantle piece garlands. Sadly, no cameras were permitted in the mansion. Therefore, all my pictures will be of the outside of the home.

During the depression, in response to requests to increase tourism in the area and raise funds to preserve the estate, the Cecils opened the house to the public in 1930.

During the time the first generations lived in the home, the estate was completely self sustaining. Farming, viticulture, hunting, and fishing were all part of daily life at the Biltmore. The house, itself, was run by 30-35 servants. In the servants domain, you'd find vegetable pantries, walk-in refrigerators, pastry, rotisserie, and main kitchens, kitchen pantry, laundry and drying rooms.

For the pleasure of the guests and the home's residents, there was 70,000 gallon heated, tiled pool, a bowling alley, gymnasium, dressing rooms. There were 43 bathrooms when (in 1895) most homes did not have one indoor bathroom.

George Vanderbilt kept his valet busy laying out clothing for his various activities. Different attire was required for each activity and may have necessitated 4-6 changes of clothes a day. (Sounds like my granddaughters). A specific outfit was required for horseback riding, another for tea, and yet another for formal dinner.

The outdoor areas - gardens, bowling green, parks, trails, ponds, etc. were designed by famous garden architect, Frederick Law Olmsted who also designed Central Park in NYC, the U.S, capitol grounds and Highland Park in Rochester, NY. He was a personal friend of George Vanderbilt and spend much time at Biltmore. John Singer Sargent visited Biltmore to paint portraits of the Vanderbilt mentors, among them Frederick Law Olmsted. His portrait hangs in the salon at the Biltmore.

Automobiling was an outdoor activity that the Vanderbilt's and their guests were fond of. It required it's own attire including a linen motoring duster, touring cap, gloves, and goggles. Most of the Biltmore guests probably traveled to NC on the railroads that an earlier Vanderbilt built (Cornelius).

There is so much more to see on a visit to the Biltmore. If you have an opportunity to visit NC, this is a "must see".

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.