Have you ever considered what your life would have been like to have been born in a different time? I’ve seen enough westerns to know I would not have particularly enjoyed crossing the plains and mountains in a covered wagon. More than likely, neither did the pioneers. Theirs dreams were set on a better life waiting for them. My ancestors traveled by wagons from the mountains of North Carolina into the hills of Tennessee and on to Mississippi…after they had traveled by ship from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. I’ve traveled to North Carolina and been to the mountain log cabin that my immigrant ancestor built. (He sold the homestead to the first physician in the state of North Carolina and the state has rebuilt it – since it was originally built in the mid 1700’s!) Once my ancestors finally arrived in the piney woods of Mississippi, they built dog-trot style farm houses and grew their farms and their families. Those were hard times, especially before and after The Civil War for our ancestors in the South.
I think what has prompted all this reflection is a British series that I’ve been watching these past few weeks: Lark Rise to Candleford. A gift from my daughter. As stated on the BBC website, the series is an “adaptation of Flora Thompson’s memoir of her Oxfordshire childhood, set in the small hamlet of Lark Rise and the wealthier neighboring market town, Candleford, at the end of the 19th Century”. The contrasts in the way of life between the small hamlet of Lark Rise and the neighboring town Candleford were evident. If you haven’t seen this series, it is wonderful and I highly recommend it. You can google it to see ways that you could watch. You could purchase the set or watch it on BritBox. I loved the costume fashions in the series. Not sure that would have been the time period for me either. Regardless of the weather, the women were dressed in layers that included bloomers, petticoats, a corset, their top layers and sometimes a jacket!
I’m especially fascinated by the time period before and after World War II. Some of my favorite movies are set during that time period: Mrs. Miniver, Since You Went Away, The Fighting Sullivans, Casa Blanca, The White Cliffs of Dover, The Bridge on the River Kwai and Shining Through. All but Shining Through were filmed in the 1940’s. Shining Through was filmed in the 1980’s I believe. One of my favorite movies of all time is set in the Guernsey Islands (which Doug and I visited on our British Isles tour and loved). It is called The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society. Well worth the time spent watching it.
World War II ended on September 2, 1945. I was born December 1, 1945. Not sure what it is about that time period that fascinates me so. I would have loved to be a set designer on the films set during that time period. The fashions from that time period especially appeal to me – the suits, the shoes – all of it. I remember the cottage that we lived in from the time I was two years of age until nine years of age. It was decorated much like a set from one of the movies I mentioned above. Recently, I saw a set of dishes advertised in our local Facebook Marketplace. A set of 8 plates from 1946! I purchased them. They’re from Crown Potteries, made in the USA. They remind me of an earlier time and place. Maybe the older you grow, the more nostalgic you become. As far as I know, we did not have dishes like these when I was growing up. The family members who would have remembered are all in Heaven now. I would love to have cups and saucers to go with the plates, but these dishes are long ago out of production. A simple set of dishes that could have graced any farm table back in the 40’s and 50’s.
