Romance from the Heartland

During the time of the new moon, the night sky furnishes only starlight. While beautiful, the stars do not often supply enough light to guide a person’s path.

Perhaps a torch. Yes, rushes or other material dipped in pitch and lit provides light. Set into a bracket, these same torches provided light in castles and stone houses. (I hate to think of the result if you had a cottage with a thatch roof.)

Candles became common and many types of holders were designed to turn them into lanterns and lamps.

This model is located in a reproduction of an 1830’s Illinois village. With one glass panel hinged, candle replacement was quick and easy. The design protected the flame from wind and rain when in the hand of an experienced person.

Candles gave way to lanterns with other fuel, such as lard oil and kerosene. With the development of electric bulbs and batteries, flashlights became the standard way to light your way on a dark night.

In fictional Elm Ridge, Illinois, the residents use a mixture of candles and lard oil lamps and lanterns. Check out the sweet romance, Stitching a Dream, to learn some of the other things happening in 1851.

Here’s a link with book details: https://amzn.to/3VwoeFh

A home’s fireplace, or multiple in larger buildings, supplied a portion of the light and heat for both cooking and comfort. This situation predominated in one form, or size, or another for centuries.

Imagine a colonial or early American cook. Year round, regardless of the weather, the kitchen fireplace burned. Meals were often prepared and set to cook in cast iron pots like those below.

In some homes, the kettles were hung on hooks able to move from over the hearth to over the fire. In others, the three-legged pots were set deep into the fireplace or on a trivet.

Always, the hazard of fire, either to the kitchen or the cook, remained. Imagine for a moment moving in the kitchen, wearing a skirt that hovers mere inches from the floor, and positioning the kettle containing today’s primary meal. No wonder that childbirth and fire were the most common causes of death among women.

But technology sped forward in the 19th century. In the 1820’s the first cast iron cookstoves appeared. They gained in popularity at a steady pace — I like to think in much of the new construction — and by 1850 even the White House boasted one. Was the man of the house reluctant to change? Convince him that a stove used less wood than a fireplace. Less wood to cut – or purchase. Saves time and money — and perhaps a life.

By 1851, in fictional Elm Ridge, Illinois, many of the homes have one or more cast iron stoves. Think of one in the kitchen for heat and cooking and perhaps another (if the home is large) in the parlor for heat. The town also is the site of a foundry where stoves are manufactured and shipped — as far as St. Joseph, Missouri.

The stove, and more important, a large oven is the center of the bakery’s workroom. In the clean & wholesome romance, New Dreams, a newly arrived young woman is lucky enough to be hired by the baker — first as a chore girl, and later with increasing responsibilities with the bread and other baked goods. Check the details at the link: https://amzn.to/3vWydWE

Among all the seasonal graduations remain a few continuing classes. Independent study. Non-traditional school year. Refresher class. One-off lecture. Reasons remain for students of various ages to find themselves in a classroom.

What do you want to study in this space?

I believe a history lecture would be appropriate. This is a classroom on the campus of the College of William and Mary in Virginia. The design is attributed to Sir Christopher Wren.

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine you are one of the young men (no women allowed in 1698 [or many years following]). The light is from the high windows behind the student benches. A low fire burns in the fireplace to keep the chill of a cold winter wind moderated. The professor takes his place and begins to speak about The Battle of Hastings.

A century and a half later, young students (boys and girls), sit at similar benches in an Illinois schoolhouse and listen to the schoolmaster speak about the founding of Jamestown in Virginia. Not all the students are attentive. Joseph Black, for one, would rather tackle sums than history — unless knights are involved.

Seamstress Polly Black, mother of Joseph, welcomes you to read the story of events in 1851-52 in fictional Elm Ridge, Illinois. The story is titled, Stitching a Dream. Clean and wholesome — readers are encouraged to share between generations. (Male readers allowed.) Here’s a link to the kindle edition. https://amzn.to/3VwoeFh