A Victorian Christmas at the Remick Country Doctor Museum and Farm in Tamworth, NH - 2004
by Patricia L. Cummings
Once each year, during the Christmas season, the staff of the Remick Museum invites the public to enjoy the ambience of a Victorian Christmas at the former home of Capt. Enoch Remick, now a farm museum located in the foothills of the gorgeous Mt. Chocorua in northeastern New Hampshire.
As one drives up to the old white farmhouse with its yellow barn, the first sight is the wonderful profusion of color seen in the upstairs center window which sports blooming geraniums. To the left of the building are pastures. In fact, we were greeted with a “Moo,” and dismissed with a “Neigh,” from a cow and a horse, who might have been raising a bit of a protest at the wind on that chilly December day. The cow is seen above, during warmer temperatures last summer.
We had been unable to attend the public event, but knowing of our interest in Victoriana, and in the museum, we were invited to see the household decorations. What a treat!
Gerry Eldridge, the museum's curator, described the previous Sunday's
event. Staff
members, and volunteers alike, wore period dresses of velvet and lace.
Visitors were greeted with a cup of hot “wassail” and some sugar cookies,
still hot from the oven. The cookies, cut out in various shapes with antique
tin cookie cutters, are baked in a large, black, wood fueled stove oven, and
Gerry says that there are no other sugar cookies that taste as fine! After
sampling one, we would have to agree! Popcorn balls were also a hit with the
crowd of visitors.
Place cursor on photo thumbnails and click for a larger view.
At eye level at the far end of the kitchen, a small tree has been placed
and decorated with strings of popcorn, and strings of dried cranberries, and
hung with cookies. Three antique stuffed bears, in various sizes, sit under
the tree, waiting for Santa. A small photo, located next to the
tree, depicts Dr. Edwin C. Remick, as a child. He grew up in the house. To
differentiate him from his father, Edwin, who was also a medical doctor, the
curator habitually refers to "Edwin C." as “the young Dr. Remick.” In the picture
of long ago, he is holding one of the bears.
Passing into the dining room, a solid color red tablecloth has been
adorned with an overlay of a handmade filet crochet white tablecloth, a
lovely heirloom which belongs to the curator (which she loaned for this
event). A
fruit
compote sits on a sideboard, and a mantle is adorned with pomegranates,
pears, and bunches of grapes. A small table holds an antique punch bowl
which was used last weekend for the "wassail," a traditional drink
which consists of apple cider, juice concentrates, and spices.
An old fashioned, wooden high chair that will convert to a stroller stands at attention in the dining room, wondering where the small children have all gone. For the celebration festivities, however, many children showed up.
In fact, within the short time span of 1-4 p.m., no less than one hundred thirty eight people signed the guest book, and many more children visited, who did not sign the book. In all, there were an estimated one hundred seventy five people who visited the home. Some area folks attend the event annually, and the displays are never the same from year to year.
As Jim exclaimed while standing in the dining room, "Everywhere you look in this old house, there is more to see!" That is what is so lovely about Victoriana! From the wallpaper, to the needlepoint chair pad on the piano stool, to the hooked rugs, ornamentation was the rule of the day in Victorian times. More was better. Even the tin ceilings are decoratively patterned.
Proceeding through the hallway, we could see that the stairs were draped with fresh evergreens and large red bows. Within a recessed foyer, an old-fashioned manger scene with ceramic figurines, a creche, and straw, occupy a table top.
Moving on into the parlor, a beautiful tree with a very special angel
atop, has been decorated with white lights shaped like candles (real candles
having
being deemed a fire hazard). Many of the baubles are made of colored tin.
This same room has some beautiful examples of Victorian Christmas cards, and
many early children’s books and games. One can only imagine by gone days
when the Remick family lived in this home. They probably gathered around the
piano for a songfest at Christmas.
The front sitting room has been transformed for the occasion with yet
another tree, this one with photos of the Remick family members hanging from
it. The mantle, draped with greenery, also features more family photos. On
the floor are old fashioned ice skates, the kind that were strapped onto
shoes, not a separate affair. There are dolls, an old fashioned sled, and on
the table in front of the window, is a manger scene made of paper by "young
Dr. Remick" and his mother when he was just nine years old.
This is the same room where the doctor saw patients for office visits. We were shown photos of what the room looked like then.
To add an important “piece of the past” to the Christmas festivities, the
curator brought in a wooden doll bed that Dr. Remick's wife had given to her
daughter when she was only three. It has come back, complete with a
“cheater cloth” quilt, a little tied quilt that Gerry made.
She feels a part of the house, having not only been delivered by “young doctor Remick” but also having worked for him for thirty years, when he was seeing patients. In all, she has been associated with the family (through work) for forty one years.
In the last room we visited downstairs, there were three mannequins on display, each of them dressed in clothing that had belonged to members of the family. Most remarkable was the bear skin coat, made from the pelt of a black bear, the only bear native to New Hampshire.
In ending, we would have to say that we had a “bear-y” good time. We are indebted to the Remick Museum staff members Gerry, Winifred, Marilou, for their ongoing friendship, and for sharing the results of their work with us. In the end, all we really have to give to each other is our time and our love.
Click here for Victorian Christmas at The Remick Museum: 2005
©Copyright 2004. Patricia and James Cummings, Quilter's Muse Publications, Concord, NH. To contact the author of this article, please write to:
pat@quiltersmuse.com
Note: The Remick Museum was founded by the late Dr. Edwin Crafts Remick and
is maintained as a farm museum which features educational programs for
children. For additional information, please see their website:
http://www.remickmuseum.org/