Category: Uncategorized
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A Few Ways to Celebrate Chirstmas Historically
Christmas, and most winter holidays, have a special sepia tone glow of nostalgia and tradition surrounding them. With the gentle unwrapping of each and every Christmas tree ornament and the retelling of where it came from, we reaffirm the importance of our own personal histories. Each time we open the oven to check on the…
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Oh, the Weather Outside is Frightful: Weathering the Winter in History
It was quite some time ago that we made a post about keeping cool in history so it seems like it\’s about time to look at the difficulties of keeping warm in an era before central heating and polar fleece. According to Elizabeth Garret (At Home: The American Family 1750-1870), extremes in North American weather…
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More Fun with Weddings at Clermont
In my internet wanderings today I happened across a photographer\’s website highlighting a wedding at Clermont. The photos are beautiful–even with the on-and-off rain the couple were battling–and it reminded me of one of the most important things about outdoor weddings (at Clermont and elsewhere): Nature is unpredictable so have a few preparations ready just…
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Under Cover: Setting Clermont\'s Christmas Table
Almost as soon as we can get our Halloween decorations put away, Clermont\’s staff begins our work decorating for Christmas. I know, it\’s little early. We\’d like to join the major national retailer who pledges not to decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving, but the fact is that it takes our small group of 2-3 part-time…
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Finding the Patio: Landscape Discoveries at Clermont
Sometimes historic discoveryjust depends on getting the right people there at the right time. This was the way with the patio just recently discovered hiding under a few inches of dirt next to the mansion. Our gardener (who is notoriously camera shy so I can\’t include a picture of her) was admiring a photograph on…
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Ticket: How to Reserve for Legends by Candlelight Ghost Tours
Hi there! I\’ve been seeing a lot of hits on this blog by people trying to find out how to get tickets for the Legends by Candlelight Ghost Tours, and it seems that I\’ve never gotten around to making all that information available on the blog. You can always find information about our events on…
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Appleton Manor–part 3!
One of the nice features I\’ve discovered about this blog is that it connects me to other people out there writing history. I usually pose questions rhetorically, not expecting a reply, but every now and then I am lucky enough to get responses from Livingston family members and other historians. And today\’s fun response was…
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Always Guess Robert: Sorting Out the Livingston Men
When I hand around the Livingston family tree on mansion tours, I joke that \”If you ever are asked about a Livingston man, guess Robert. You\’ll probably be right.\” It\’s only mostly a joke. It seems like every nuclear family in the Livingston genealogy has a Robert in it. And then you\’re left depending on…
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A Ghostly Preview: Legends by Candlelight 2012
As the weather chills, Clermont is diving headlong into Halloween. And we are just thrilled. Okay–at least I am just thrilled. Legends by Candlelight is my favorite annual event around here, and I love to put my all into it. The Legends by Candlelight Spook Tours are on October 19 & 20, 26 & 27…
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Getting Around: Travel in the 18th Century
We\’ve all heard it; we all know it. Travel in the 18th century was just not what it is today. But the details of what it was like are usually obscured. Blurry images of dirty taverns, idyllic horseback rides, or \”Lord of the Rings\” style treks through the mountains kind of get mixed together in…
Clermont State Historic Site 