FAMILIES, AUTO INDUSTRY, UNIONS AND WHAT'S NEXT?

HISTORIC DESOTO HOOD ORNAMENT

Between Mount Vernon, Kentucky and Berea, Kentucky is a small used car lot that sells both semi-old and historic cars. I'm not a car buff but I am attached to old cars in another way. Like so many people that were raised in and around the Great Lakes states in the twentieth century -- we as families have a cultural relationship with the auto industry. Starting with the Ford factories in Detroit to the spread of plants to surrounding states, our fathers, mothers, grandmothers, grandfathers, uncles, and aunts plus our siblings were touched by this industry. You might say it is in our bones. We have stories to tell that can't be found in history books. 

The auto industry was huge by the end of twentieth century and had changed considerably from its first half. A secondary industry of sorts had grown as a result and it was one that was worker driven -- that industry was the unions. Unions have both a good name or not-so-good depending on which side of the worker's rights you stand on. But for all the farm boys, Africans Americans, immigrants, and others during the twentieth century,  it meant, finally, that they could make a comfortable lifestyle for themselves and their families.

My Irish grandfather worked for Henry Ford in the beginning of the century -- he was fresh off the farm located in what Michiganders call the thumb area. He had four brothers that all signed on -- copies of their Ford employment applications lay in my old trunk. My father followed in my grandfather's footsteps and worked 36 years for General Motors. Although he was not union his salary was compensatory with union demands. Both my grandfather and father retired from these giant industries. 

Now we are in the twenty-first century and things have started to go awry. Autos are over-populating the earth, guzzling oil, and filling up our landfills. The days of one car families has disappeared along with the mindset left over from the depression days of limited household spending. A dilemma of huge proportions. 

The next few decades will tell us if our thoughts of "living comfortably" are  now being overdone. Will we benefit from the lifestyle we live today? Lots to think about.

HISTORIC DESOTA POLICE CAR GRILL

AFRICAN-AMERICAN INFLUENCED QUILT

 African-American influenced quilt

Sometimes we run into something that speaks to us. This was the case about six months ago as I haunted my favorite second-hand store.  Draped over a chair, rather rumpled, was a quilt that I could see was hand-tied. I am not a big fan of hand-tied quilts but I could not resist the pleasure of opening it up to have a look. 


Now I knew what I was looking at  (a quilt) but I really wasn't seeing it. My gut was to buy it. And I did. 

Embroidery stitches with hands

Ever so often I would look at it asking myself questions about its configurations. I knew that it was made in the era of about 1920s to 1950s from the wool and cotton material and the hand-tying. I knew that is was all hand stitched. I knew that it had strips sewn together. But what really got me was the pattern and the hands embroidered on some of the squares. 

Then one day I opened it up and I really saw it. Its asymmetrical patterns jumped out at me. Research told me it was an African-American influenced quilt.

Asymmetrical zig-zag stitching and vertical strips

Since African-Americans first arrived on our shores they brought along their  ancestral textile designs and religious symbols that were soon incorporated into American quilts that they made for themselves  on the plantations. 


The symbols once had meanings that told stories  -- but over  successive generations of  family quilters they became lost. But, the symbols became traditional to future  family quilt makers  despite the missing stories. 

Hands or "mojos"

The tell-tale signs that told me this quilt was African American were: improvisation, multiple patterning, asymmetrical patterning, sewn strips, and symbols. 

According to Maude Southwell Wahlman author of Signs and Symbols: African Images in African-American Quilts, the symbols of red squares or hands are called "mojos" that represent protective charms in the African Kongo culture. So the hands on my quilt were protective charms but in which way? I guess that is part of the story that has been lost. 

I am thrilled to have this quilt as it represents cultural ways that have survived for generations. It also tells me that culturally, past customs and traditions are probably present in all of us. 

I recommend the following resources if you are interested in this subject. Ms Wahlman has done extensive research in this area and has compiled a collection of quilts and oral histories on African American quilts. 

RESOURCES:

Online article

UMKC -- Art Professor Maude Southwell Wahlman Uncovers Quilt Mysteries

Book 

Signs and Symbols: African Images in African-American Quilts. 

Maude Southwell Wahlman

AFGHANS -- A WOMAN'S TEXTILE TRADITION

SMALL BOX OF OLD PATTERNS

Recently, a small box stuffed with patterns for quilts, afghans and needlepoint fell into my possession. As of today, I have not completely finished going through the material to see what all it contains but I recognized that most of the patterns were torn from pages of magazines dated during the 70s and 80s. That puts most of the box’s material in the range of 30 to 40 years old.

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Now why would a small cardboard box filled with this kind of stuff interest me? Well, it wouldn’t have maybe 30 or 40 years ago but now it does. Why?  About in the early 90s I attended an older woman’s estate sale and spied a colorful afghan. For some crazy reason I was smitten with the colors and the workmanship that had gone into it. As perhaps some of you know, I do like women’s handwork -- but usually in the form of quilts. Afghans had never really appealed to me -- I had an instant change of heart as I carried away the beautiful estate sale afghan.

1970S WOMAN'S DAY MAGAZINE ARTICLE ON GRANNY SQUARES 

Since that sale I have been attempting (at a slow pace) to find out more about afghans. This box of patterns would perhaps contribute answers to several of the questions I had regarding them.

Old books about constructing afghans can be found in the library. But, they do not include what were some of the popular patterns over the past years -- or the social history surrounding them. So finding torn-out pages from magazines like Woman’s Day and McCall’s Patterns in the box gave me a snippet of information of what seemed to be popular --  it appeared that the crocheted granny square was the winner since the 70s and perhaps before? Or perhaps since I found this box in Kentucky, the granny square only reflects what was popular here?

BORDER DESIGN OF AFGHAN BELOW
UNIDENTIFIED PATTERN

Over the years the type I came to prefer were the granny squares. Also, I gravitate toward afghans with fringeless borders that are patterned with earthy colors of yarn. Many Kentucky quilts have earthy colors and I am assuming that perhaps their colors influenced Kentucky made afghans. 

After all these years, since I first found that afghan, I feel I am just at the starting line of figuring out their patterns --  knitted or crochet styles, and other attributes of  these wonderfully worked afghans.

UNIDENTIFIED AFGHAN PATTERN WITH CURVY BORDER

Perhaps, you have made afghans or someone in your family has. I do not have the ability to make such textiles as quilts or afghans. I can however stand back and admire afghans for what they represent. I label them in the category of woman’s traditions. They evidently have a role in women’s cultural history but little seems to be documented.  

HOLIDAY SPIRIT OF THE OLD RED ROCKER

OLD RED ROCKER

One Christmas eve, when I was a child, as I laid in bed listening for the sounds of Santa on the roof I overheard the the voices of my parents discussing a gift that I was to receive from Santa. It was a time when folks were still feeling the repercussions of the depression and WWII. Money was beginning to flow again in the economy yet people were still in the non-spending mode. 

The gift they were discussing was a hand-me-down cradle that was last used by my older sister. My father had just refinished it and put a chime on the rocker so that it played a tune when you rocked it. It was a lovely doll cradle by the time he had it all redone. I loved it when I saw it under the tree the next morning -- even though I knew it was a hand-me-down and not from Santa. I played along with the idea of Santa bringing it. 

OLD CLOTH TAPE SEAT AND LOTS OF WEAR MARKS

I had the cradle for many years. -- somewhere along my path of life I lost it. That  cradle had taught me many things about family and living according to ones values. 

STABILIZING WIRE

It taught me that my father, with love and kindness for his daughter, took the time to redo the cradle and add music to it. Also, it taught me the meaning of the phrase -- waste not, want not. My parents had to make do with what they had -- they didn't extend their tight budget to more than they had in their pocket. 

OLD REPAIR TO ONE OF THE ROCKERS

One day, later in life, I bought a child's worn old red rocking chair. It reminded me of the lessons I had learned from my cradle --  the  chair obviously had been used by several generations. There was evidence that the rocker had several problems at one time and that someone had lovingly fixed them.


The previous owners had  made  a seat with cloth tape, probably because the original splint seat had worn through. Also, one of the rockers had broken at some point and had been repaired in excellent fashion. Apparently, through use, the little rocker had become shaky --  so someone corrected the wobbling chair by repairing it with tightly twisted wire. All these repairs gave the rocker many leases on its long life. 

So when I remember my childhood cradle during the holiday season, I now look at the little red chair and know that it represents family, love, caring and reuse -- my idea of what the holiday season should be about.

UNADULTERATED OLD HOUSE IN SMALL TOWN

OLD ONE CAR GARAGE WITH NO TRESPASSING SIGN

A house in a very small town caught my  eye as I was driving down its main street. I instantly knew I wanted to find out more  about this place. I swung around and stopped in front of the house and noticed a sign attached to the  garage.  Sign said: NO TRESPASSING. Whoa, this stopped me dead in my tracks of going up to the door to introduce myself . I happened over to a nearby house and they told me the house was vacant --  and its owner was a lady in her eighties that was now living in a nursing home. 

FRONT OF THE HOUSE PORCH

With these few facts in hand I decided that I could take photos of the house from the street while searching  for clues about the the owner.

Initially, what attracted me to stop was the vernacular form of the house. But now I saw something else. -- it was the sitting porch standing as it probably stood when the elderly woman lived there. 

So, now I was looking at both the early architecture of the place and the front sitting porch. 


Based on the architecture, I put a date on the house as that of the early 1800s, It had not been restored, only preserved. It was an authentic example of a vernacular Federal/Greek Revival house.

So many questions swirled in my head:

--How long had she lived in the house?

--Was this a family home that had passed through several generations?

--Did she know who built the house or the garage or any of the outbuildings on the property?.

--Was it a large house because large families had lived in it?

Many other questions passed through my mind -- too many to write down here. 

OLD PORCH CHAIRS

Architecture aside, I turned to the sitting porch to seach for clues about the owner. It contained a little bit of interpretive material. 


The woman of eighty plus apparently liked plants as she had several planters sitting on the edge of the porch with remnants of former plants.

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She had some old metal chairs that appeared to be there for socializing.

OLD PORCH PLANT STANDS

Some old vintage plant stands stood empty on part of the porch. A chicken figure, that perhaps was a planter, sat on top of one of the stands. 

Together the architecture along with the materials on her porch seemed to tell me that over the years she made do with what she had. The house along with the porch artifacts  remained "as is" over the years.  "As is" meaning no changes. 

As an example of the remaining  "as is"  of the house architecture was the original weather-board siding, a few old outbuildings, old tin roof, original six over six  window panes (also called lights), column pilasters on the porch, and a fan light over the front door. 

My conclusion about the elderly lady was that she liked to socialize, loved plants, and liked things to remain as they were.

SIDE YARD WITH OUTBUILDINGS ON TOWN LOT

The over-all ambiance of the property gives one the ability to glance at a "real" historic setting -- not one that has been adulterated with the clean and sterile look of many museums.  The overall place is in context to its landscape -- a small town in Kentucky.

Its like an archaeological dig -- trying to interpret fragments into a viable story. Humans invariably leave debris when they have lived somewhere for any length of time.  The interpretation may not be entirely accurate but is usually fairly close to reality.

APPALACHIAN ADVERTISING BARN

KINGSTON ADVERTISING BARN - SIDE 1

Going... going ...  almost gone. That is the condition of a barn in the rural  Kingston community of  Madison County, Kentucky. With this decline one realizes the loss of a historic vernacular advertising barn.


Most folks are familiar with the Chew Mail Pouch Tobacco ads that are painted on barns, mostly found across the eastern part of the country. However, old barn ads cover a wide spectrum of products. In the case of the Kingston barn (above photo) we see an ad for Standard Motor Oil. 


Barn advertising was very popular during the period of 1900 to 1940. Companies paid barn painters to adorn ads on barns while the barn owners were paid a small stipend each  year. The advertising company was responsible to keep the ad freshly painted.  

KINSTONG ADVERTISING BARN - SIDE 2

This particular barn in Kingston has two sides painted. Each side has presentation to the flow of traffic in a particular direction. In the photo above one can see that the second painted side has most of its paint worn off and only the word GAS can be made out. 


It is difficult to date when this ad was painted on the Kingston barn. One local I talked with said he could remember the ad being on the barn since he was a boy about 45 years ago. Of course he also mentioned that it could have been there longer than 45 years. 


Today such painted barns can be considered historic landmarks. Some have been federally listed as National Historic Landmarks. Many are in decline or have been demolished. Efforts to save these artful treasures could bring community pride to rural areas. 


SOURCES:


Advertising Barns by William Simmonds


Rock City Barns by David Jenkins


Mail Pouch  Tobacco Barns,  Wikipedia

COUNTRY STOOL REVEALS ITS LEGS

STOOL WORK SITE

The above photo might look a bit chaotic. It is because I am undressing a stool from a couple layers of upholstery  -- the upholstery dates from when these materials were added. A secret  was revealed when I found the third and last underlying layer.

I was at my favorite second hand shop cruising the aisles when I spotted this foot stool with an upholstered top. The upholstering was newish and rather awkwardly tacked to the top of the footstool. -- ugly, I thought. 

But wait, those legs! I picked up the stool and turned it over to get a look at the legs. The legs were cherry,  simply cut into a curve similar to forms of the late Empire/early Victorian country style. Could it be, I thought, that this actually is a country stool perhaps  150 years old?. I looked at the price -- $5.00! I always seem to find bargains when I really concentrate -- by looking through their age disguises. Here, in this piece, were legs that told me what it really was or so I thought. For $5.00 it would be worth taking home and undressing it to see if my hunch was correct.

SLINGING THE SECOND LAYER OFF 

The top layer of the stool was a blue check material (see top photo),  perhaps from the last few decades. It was aluminium stapled and brass tacked onto the stool. The second layer was a brown and beige diamond print that I estimate to be from the 1920s era. And the last layer was what you see in the photo above -- an old, early black velvet with needlework applied to the top. This handwork was very similar to that done by women in the mid to late 1800s. This was the secret of the stool. I never expected to find the original upholstered top!

MID to LATE-1800S SAW MARKS AND NEW REPAIR TO LEG

As I had determined that this was of country origin, I figured that the style along with the handwork put the age of the stool somewhere in the 1870s range. Underneath the stool's top were  old circular saw marks that were known to be used during the time-frame. A very new repair had been made to one of the legs apparently to stabilize it. The third velvet layer or last layer was affixed with handmade nails.

.Now one might say what do you want with a stool that has an old worn cover. Well, if one looks at an old piece long enough stories begin to emerge of how and when it was used. 

My story is that a young wife ordered the stool from a country carpenter while she made the simple velvet needlework top. A gift no doubt -- for her beloved husband. Now this is just a story that danced through my head but stories can be fun. 

STOOL AT CRONE STAGE

Here is the old early stool presented as it originally appeared so long ago. Of, course much worn by use and time. But still beautiful.

WHO WORE OUT A SPOT ON MY VELVET TOP?

And in the photo above is a large wear mark on one side of the stool. The husband undoubtedly used this stool for years because it had sentimental value for him. He was a very organized man as he always used the same side of the stool as the other side was not worn. 

The dainty red flowers , made with tiny crochet stitches, were worn flat. Small pieces of sewn ribbons formed the stems. She worked hard to make this lovely piece for her mother. Did I say mother -- oh, yes, maybe she made it for her mother? Its also a story that would fit the piece -- in fact, hundreds of stories can be called up. That is why I like pieces that are old and worn, it lets my imagination run wild.

SMALL TOWN STONEMASON -- CHARLES JONES

CHARLES AND NATHAN AT WORK SITE

Now I am not going to say that I know everything about historic masonry -- but it is an interest of mine left over from a masonry class that I took at university many years ago.The class dealt with historic brick and stone -- I found the class tough yet intriguing.  So when I met Charles Jones, a stonemason of more than forty years, I was extremely delighted and  impressed with his knowledge. 

How did I find Charles? Well, I was driving through Lancaster, Kentucky when I spotted two men working on an elevated brick porch leading up to a beautiful historic building. I stopped in the middle of the street and called out my window, " do you have time to talk to me for a few minutes?" I really did not know that I was yelling to this expert tradesman on repairing historic brickwork. I just had a feeling I might learn something from this man and I sure did. 

CHARLES JONES

The man's name was Charles Jones and he was very receptive to taking a small break to explain a bit about what he was repairing. Parts of the brick porch needed to be re-grouted as they  were coming loose. He and his helper, Nathan, were in the process of re-grouting in the three photos below. He mixed up a special mix to use with the old bricks. 

Charles, a native of Lancaster, told me that he learned the trade from his father when he was young. His grandfather, many years ago, had hand mixed cement and laid all the sidewalks in Lancaster. Charles said he has witnessed the disappearance of many fine old buildings in Lancaster.

CHARLES AND HELPER ASSOCIATE NATHAN

Charles even walked down the street a little to show me a historic deteriorating brick house, built using old lime  mortar. He told me that this  type of mortar is found in very early brickwork. From the deteriorating foundation of the house he picked up a small piece of mortar and showed me how it crumbled easily as he broke it in his hand.  He told me that this was one of its characteristics. 

We then stood on the sidewalk as he pointed out repairs recently made to buildings on the commercial block. He gave a tally on a few of the buildings that had been altered or torn down in the main commercial section of town. 

CHARLES GROUTING

I then excused myself as I knew he had to continue the porch's repair. -- working along with his associate helper Nathan. 

HISTORIC IRONWORK RAILING

Preservation techniques such as Charles was doing help prolong the life of a building. In this case the porch being preserved -- it was well worth it for both  stability and aesthetics. The artistic early ironwork railing of the porch would be almost impossible to duplicate.

One can read books and articles about a subject but talking with a hands-on skilled tradesman can give you an education in a short amount of time. 

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FOR INFORMATION ON REPAIRING OLD BRICK AND STONE CLICK BELOW

U. S. Heritage Group


PRESERVATION BRIEFS

APPALACHIAN "MAKE DO" DOLLS

1940s CLOTH DOLL 

In Appalachia, as well as other parts of the country, cloth dolls have been part of the culture as long as there has been fabric around to make them. Cloth dolls were both hand-stitched or machine-stitched or both types of stitching were found in one doll. The cloth dolls in this post average about 15 inches in height. 

I found these dolls in the Appalachian area. They probably are indigenous to the area however they could also be migrants from other parts of the country. No documented history came with these dolls. 

The above doll is more than likely from the 1940's. She has both hand stitching and machine stitching on her body as well as her clothes. The fabric appears to be 1940s plaid. The buttons also speak out 1940s. She is in excellent condition given her age.

CLOTH DOLL CLOSE-UP OF HAND-STITCHED FACE

A close-up of the cloth doll shows her hand stitched face. Hair is sewn on yarn. 

HAND-STITCHED CLOTH DOLL'S SHOES

Her cloth shoes made with the same material as the dress are capped by swirling buttons. The maker of the shoes even used a white material to indicate soles. 

HAND-STITCHED RAG DOLL

I would consider the doll in the charming rose floral dress above to be a "rag doll." Some use the term cloth and rag interchangeably. To me a rag doll looks rather primitive in its structure I would consider them a piece of folk art. . I sometimes wonder if these loosely made dolls were made by children.

HAND-STITCHED RAG DOLL

This guy in the blue polka dot pajamas has a happy smile on his face -- another doll that I would classify as folk art. Both the rose dress lady doll and the blue pajama guy have early printed fabric as clothes. They could or could not be original to the doll. 

Folk art can be found in many types of material including fabric. The cloth and rag dolls are part of our "make do" culture. Our doll history can be traced back to when this country began. 

Take a look around -- attics, yard sales, and second hand stores. You might just find one of these pieces of our folk culture. 

DYNAMIC ARCHITECTURE OF AN OHIO RIVER TOWN

OLD ROW HOUSES ALONG MARKET STREET
MAYSVILLE, KENTUCKY 

Maysville, Mason County, Kentucky, is a small town with a  large area of housing and commercial buildings that need to be seen to be appreciated. It is an old river town, along the Ohio River,  that had its beginning in the late 1700s.

Here is a town in situ (buildings not moved) that has remained viable for the folks that live in the area. There is a movement to upgrade sympathetically -- keeping the structure in line with its original design. 

I recently talked with Sara Swope from the Maysville Chamber of Commerce and Lynn David from the Kentucky Gateway Museum Center to ascertain the architectural history of their town. They were both very informative about the mindset of the folks that live there. They both said that the town had families going back several generations and were not anxious to change the architecture of the town. Many natives of the area owned the buildings and felt they should remain as they are.. With such citizens their buildings have become their architectural legacy to Kentucky. 

2ND STREET -- STREETSCAPE --  MAYSVILLE KENTUCKY

My trip to Maysville was a jaw-dropping experience. As I rode into town I was met by a commercial downtown that seems to have every historic type of style imaginable.. Known locally as Old Town, it reflected its economic pattern  by the types of buildings standing -- they were built from 1784 through the late 1800s. If you are a folklife or historic preservation student or layperson of architecture this is where you should visit, to not only see the structures but the connections that they have to the land and the social setting of the town, This is a real working and living town not a planned museum complex. 

OLD OPERA HOUSE -- 2ND STREET --  MAYSVILLE, KENTUCKY

Unfortunately, my time was very limited in the town. I had my camera with me however, some turned out dark as the sun was going down. Given the wrong conditions for taking streetscapes, I still pointed the camera and clicked. I wanted to at least give you a small window of some of Maysville's streetscapes. I plan to revisit this place often as it holds threads to our present life -- such as art history, architectural history, settlement patterns, economies, and a cultural matrix of other realities. 

A couple thoughts stood out in my mind as I glanced at the buildings. First and foremost was that the town essentially resembled a time warp. not economically but through their buildings. If I were designing a mid- 1800s movie location, I would say that this town would be the perfect set.

EARLY 1930s SHERWIN WILLIAMS SIGN, 2ND STREET

Above is an Italianate building that housed the Hendrickson Paint Company beginning in 1908  through 2004. The Sherwin Williams sign was installed on its facade in the early 1930s. Its retail business was paint, wallpaper and home furnishing. This is just one of the many examples of the historic and cultural  elements of the town.

2ND STREET -- STREETSCAPE
MAYSVILLE, KENTUCKY

More of  2nd Street. This street section appears to hold earlier buildings than the photo -- second one down from the top -- of this post.  Of course my fast glimpse of the town didn't allow time for close examination.

Ms Swope and Ms David provided quite a bit of detail of the Maysville area. Their generoisity and time was greatly appreciated. 

Now when I visit Maysville again (and again) I will allow plenty of time to take in the town.