It's easy to take for granted what goes into a major reenactment, like our Christmas event on December 5th. Visitors see the final product, learn a little something, have a good time, and their whole experience takes less than an hour. The time spent producing such an event are numerous.
The costumes for our Christmas event have taken several hundred hours to produce, including several hems of more than 200 inches. The script for our event went through four drafts before the final version landed in the hands of our actors and actresses. The 12-foot Christmas tree that will stand in our front parlor will take about three hours to decorate, and that doesn't count the time spent decorating the rest of the museum.
Then there's the advertising -- writing copy, laying out print ads, updating a blog...
We haven't even gotten to a rehearsal yet, haven't discussed the research that went into the script in the first place, the fund raising to pay for everything, the time spent by volunteers cleaning, practicing, and organizing... even as I write this I'm realizing more and more of what's gone into this event.
But you're not interested in all that. Unless you are, in which case you should absolutely volunteer at Riddick's Folly. Anyway, the event takes place on Friday, December 5th from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Tickets are $3.50 per person, or just $5.00 per family. Come and see. Come and learn.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Grown-up children's programs
For several years, Riddick's Folly has offered children's programming focused on the American Girl book series. These programs exposed young girls to the life and lifestyles of their counterparts throughout American history. Now, after hundreds of girls learned lasting and meaningful lessons, Riddick's Folly bids adieu to the American Girl program.
This isn't to say that there will be no more children's programming at Riddick's Folly. On the contrary, next year's calendar has more children's events than ever before. The question is, if the American Girl programs were so popular and so successful, why change?
The reason is relevance. The mission of Riddick's Folly is to provide a tangible link to our community's history through the portrayal of the 19th century Riddick family home. While one or two of the American Girl characters fit rather nicely into our mission, most do not. And none, as you can imagine, are related to the Riddicks.
Instead, we've come up with a series of new programs tailored not just to young girls, but also to young boys, oft neglected by Riddick's Folly in previous years. These programs will be no less inspirational or substantial. Their relevance to our mission, and the variety of their content make them more impactful than anything we've tried before.
We start next year with a tea for the ladies, hosted by Mrs. Mary Taylor Riddick. She will entertain the ladies, teach them the history of tea, talk about life and literature of the early to mid-19th century, and allow plenty of time for socializing.
Mr. Mills Riddick hosts a similar session for young men with coffee and desserts, and a conversation about the roles of young men in the same time period.
In the summer, we offer a day-long experience for boys and girls exploring in greater detail the games, lessons, and lifestyles of boys and girls around the time of the Civil War. We hope to offer this as part of a rotating camp with the Suffolk-Nansemond Historical Society, the Suffolk Art League, and the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts.
In the fall, boys and girls, and men and women alike will be invited to attend a mixed cotillion, the ultimate venue for learning "proper" social interactions with the opposite sex. We will give lessons during the day on 19th century dancing and etiquette, and in the evening, all are welcome to attend the cotillion to show what they have learned, and to enjoy each other's company.
We will also host an 1860s picnic for families. Period cooking techniques will be on display, and parents and children can enjoy the party atmosphere.
And for the braver children, Edgar Allan Poe will visit Riddick's Folly in October to tell some of his darkest tales in the spirit of Halloween.
So as we say goodbye to the American Girls, we welcome children back to Riddick's Folly to see more, do more, and learn more about their community's history in the 19th century.
Be sure to check out our website as our new events will be listed soon.
This isn't to say that there will be no more children's programming at Riddick's Folly. On the contrary, next year's calendar has more children's events than ever before. The question is, if the American Girl programs were so popular and so successful, why change?
The reason is relevance. The mission of Riddick's Folly is to provide a tangible link to our community's history through the portrayal of the 19th century Riddick family home. While one or two of the American Girl characters fit rather nicely into our mission, most do not. And none, as you can imagine, are related to the Riddicks.
Instead, we've come up with a series of new programs tailored not just to young girls, but also to young boys, oft neglected by Riddick's Folly in previous years. These programs will be no less inspirational or substantial. Their relevance to our mission, and the variety of their content make them more impactful than anything we've tried before.
We start next year with a tea for the ladies, hosted by Mrs. Mary Taylor Riddick. She will entertain the ladies, teach them the history of tea, talk about life and literature of the early to mid-19th century, and allow plenty of time for socializing.
Mr. Mills Riddick hosts a similar session for young men with coffee and desserts, and a conversation about the roles of young men in the same time period.
In the summer, we offer a day-long experience for boys and girls exploring in greater detail the games, lessons, and lifestyles of boys and girls around the time of the Civil War. We hope to offer this as part of a rotating camp with the Suffolk-Nansemond Historical Society, the Suffolk Art League, and the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts.
In the fall, boys and girls, and men and women alike will be invited to attend a mixed cotillion, the ultimate venue for learning "proper" social interactions with the opposite sex. We will give lessons during the day on 19th century dancing and etiquette, and in the evening, all are welcome to attend the cotillion to show what they have learned, and to enjoy each other's company.
We will also host an 1860s picnic for families. Period cooking techniques will be on display, and parents and children can enjoy the party atmosphere.
And for the braver children, Edgar Allan Poe will visit Riddick's Folly in October to tell some of his darkest tales in the spirit of Halloween.
So as we say goodbye to the American Girls, we welcome children back to Riddick's Folly to see more, do more, and learn more about their community's history in the 19th century.
Be sure to check out our website as our new events will be listed soon.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
We are all historians
When you work in history long enough, it becomes difficult to focus on current events and to evaluate them in a contemporary context. Every historian loves/lives to look at today's headlines and to compare them to those of the past, to see how a decision 200 years ago might have affected this or that. Last night, if just for a moment, we all became historians.
Senator Barack Obama was elected to the Presidency of the United States. An African-American was chosen for the highest office in the land, and we all witnessed it. Working in a building that was built by African-American slaves, paid for by their slave labor, and served by their unending domestic toil, I truly marveled at the sight. The contrast is simply amazing.
Non-profits get in trouble when they espouse political opinions, especially those that seem to endorse one candidate over another, so I won't do that here. I will say that the election represented a new level of maturity for all of us. We evaluated the merits of one candidate against another, and chose the man most qualified, not the man who most resembled us.
What does that mean for a house built when President-Elect Obama's ancestors were literally chained to one another? It means that the stories we tell here, and the lessons we offer about generations of slaveholders and slaves are all the more significant. We all become historians, and we all compare this new reality to our old one. When you see the laundry room, the kitchen, the low, plain, uncomfortable slave bed here at Riddick's Folly, you can now take solace that America demonstrated its ability to change, to self-correct, that America has made great strides in recovery from an illness that led to Civil War and Civil Rights.
Next spring, Riddick's Folly will host a traveling exhibit focusing on domestic servitude in the 19th century. We made arrangements to host this exhibit before last night, but after the election, we hope it will be all the more significant, poignant, and meaningful to those that see it.
In the meantime, like true historians, we look back. But maybe we can also, finally, look forward.
Senator Barack Obama was elected to the Presidency of the United States. An African-American was chosen for the highest office in the land, and we all witnessed it. Working in a building that was built by African-American slaves, paid for by their slave labor, and served by their unending domestic toil, I truly marveled at the sight. The contrast is simply amazing.
Non-profits get in trouble when they espouse political opinions, especially those that seem to endorse one candidate over another, so I won't do that here. I will say that the election represented a new level of maturity for all of us. We evaluated the merits of one candidate against another, and chose the man most qualified, not the man who most resembled us.
What does that mean for a house built when President-Elect Obama's ancestors were literally chained to one another? It means that the stories we tell here, and the lessons we offer about generations of slaveholders and slaves are all the more significant. We all become historians, and we all compare this new reality to our old one. When you see the laundry room, the kitchen, the low, plain, uncomfortable slave bed here at Riddick's Folly, you can now take solace that America demonstrated its ability to change, to self-correct, that America has made great strides in recovery from an illness that led to Civil War and Civil Rights.
Next spring, Riddick's Folly will host a traveling exhibit focusing on domestic servitude in the 19th century. We made arrangements to host this exhibit before last night, but after the election, we hope it will be all the more significant, poignant, and meaningful to those that see it.
In the meantime, like true historians, we look back. But maybe we can also, finally, look forward.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Mourning Judge Riddick
Our Victorian funeral and mourning reenactment began today. Here are some photographs.
The black wreath consists of painted magnolia leaves and twigs. Mourning "decorations" could be quite elaborate, but a staple was the black fabric (usually a silk-like material called crape) hung on the front door.
Juliana Riddick, sister of Judge Riddick, grieves for her brother. Juliana's dress is actually a dark green. She is portraying a woman in the latter stages of mourning when colors other than black could be introduced into a woman's clothing.
Missouri Riddick grieves for her husband. Although Missouri had already passed away at the time of Judge Riddick's death, she will be present during this event to portray the widow's mourning which was the deepest and most severe.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The Bottom Line
Odds are good that you've reached this blog from our website (www.riddicksfolly.org, just in case you came to us another way). If you saw the website, you probably noticed the snazzy colors, sharp layout, and efficient interface. This is what friends are for.
The Addison Group, an advertising agency located in Suffolk, designed not only our new website, but also our new logo:
We're especially grateful to them, because this was purely an in-kind donation, and it's an indicator of how businesses can affect more than their own bottom line.
Some for-profit businesses have stockholders that make decisions. Others have Boards of Directors, and still others are just Mom and Pop, doing what they feel is best for the business. But they all have a bottom line -- profit -- that informs every decision, and that influences every action. How does this action make money?
Non-profits have lots of decision-makers, too. Boards of Directors, staff, volunteers, and even donors affect the direction of the organization. Their bottom line, though, is quite different. It's not about a financial profit, but about a social profit. How does this action make this community better?
What many in the for-profit and non-profit sectors don't realize is that these two bottom lines, these two questions, are not mutually exclusive. One can make money and make a community better at the same time. Likewise, one can improve a community, and not lose money doing it. In other words, "non-profit" ain't nothin' but a tax status.
Businesses such as The Addison Group have caught on, and even when the economy slips and budgets get cut, some still find time (and money) to do their part in their community. Riddick's Folly thanks The Addison Group. Now, Riddick's Folly is offering other businesses the chance to do their part.
This month, Riddick's Folly launched its new Business Partnership Program. This is an opportunity for businesses to use their resources to improve their community. As every good businessman knows, a better community yields better customers. By partnering with Riddick's Folly, businesses can receive benefits for their employees, recognition in Riddick's Folly's publicity and publications, but more importantly, businesses can see a tangible improvement in their community -- a return on their investment, as their bottom line would dictate.
But businesses are not the only ones who can improve their communities. Riddick's Folly's membership organization, the Friends of The Folly, is looking for new members, too. New benefits are available, as is public recognition for helping to make this community better.
What better bottom line could there possibly be?
The Addison Group, an advertising agency located in Suffolk, designed not only our new website, but also our new logo:
We're especially grateful to them, because this was purely an in-kind donation, and it's an indicator of how businesses can affect more than their own bottom line.
Some for-profit businesses have stockholders that make decisions. Others have Boards of Directors, and still others are just Mom and Pop, doing what they feel is best for the business. But they all have a bottom line -- profit -- that informs every decision, and that influences every action. How does this action make money?
Non-profits have lots of decision-makers, too. Boards of Directors, staff, volunteers, and even donors affect the direction of the organization. Their bottom line, though, is quite different. It's not about a financial profit, but about a social profit. How does this action make this community better?
What many in the for-profit and non-profit sectors don't realize is that these two bottom lines, these two questions, are not mutually exclusive. One can make money and make a community better at the same time. Likewise, one can improve a community, and not lose money doing it. In other words, "non-profit" ain't nothin' but a tax status.
Businesses such as The Addison Group have caught on, and even when the economy slips and budgets get cut, some still find time (and money) to do their part in their community. Riddick's Folly thanks The Addison Group. Now, Riddick's Folly is offering other businesses the chance to do their part.
This month, Riddick's Folly launched its new Business Partnership Program. This is an opportunity for businesses to use their resources to improve their community. As every good businessman knows, a better community yields better customers. By partnering with Riddick's Folly, businesses can receive benefits for their employees, recognition in Riddick's Folly's publicity and publications, but more importantly, businesses can see a tangible improvement in their community -- a return on their investment, as their bottom line would dictate.
But businesses are not the only ones who can improve their communities. Riddick's Folly's membership organization, the Friends of The Folly, is looking for new members, too. New benefits are available, as is public recognition for helping to make this community better.
What better bottom line could there possibly be?
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Lard
When the oldest child moves out of the house, the rest of the children usually fight over his/her room. If Riddick's Folly's various exhibits and purposes are children, this analogy quite nicely reflects what will happen in less than two weeks when the peanut exhibit comes down.
The room in which that exhibit currently resides was formerly the house's pantry and larder room. Its windows offer a street-level (literally!) view of Main Street and the sidewalk leading to the front steps of the house. That it has these windows makes it an optimal place for our gift shop, but an unusual place for a larder room.
Typically, the larder room, pantry, and kitchen all occupied separate buildings on the property. These buildings, along with a smokehouse, an ice house, and a root cellar made up most of the support facilities for life in the house. Mills Riddick's design for his house brought the kitchen, laundry room, and larder room all into his basement -- Riddick's Folly, indeed.
Of these, perhaps the larder room made the most sense. It required a cool place, such as a basement, and its proximity to the kitchen would have been convenient to be sure. The larder room takes its name from -- you guessed it -- lard. Meats would be partially cooked or smoked, and then stored in vats of lard to keep them until they were ready for final cooking and preparation. As it needed no fire for its operation, there was no risk of damage or destruction, at least from that. Such was obviously not the case for the kitchen, or even the laundry room for that matter.
The house's former kitchen houses the gift shop at the moment, but its lack of natural light and its unnatural ceiling (protruding in places with 20th century ductwork) make it more like a cave than a shop, certainly not the kind of place in which one would feel comfortable shopping. Its windows once looked out on the Riddick family's garden, and its close proximity to the family's smokehouse made the kitchen's location in the basement rather handy. When the family added on a side porch in the early 20th century, the kitchen's windows looked out on nothing but a wall, and the smokehouse was torn down. On top of this, the family constructed a new, modern kitchen as a separate wing on the rear of the building, just off the back parlor which was then used as a dining room.
It makes sense, then to relocate our gift shop to the former pantry/larder room/peanut gallery. Not only does the gift shop get a better location with windows, but we can now restore the period kitchen to make more complete our presentation of the Riddicks' 19th century home.
However, for the time being, that presentation will be a little light. So far we have only a dry sink and a jelly cupboard to fill the space, making interpretation akin to games of make-believe we play when we're younger (though it's too bad we stop playing them). We'll address this over time, sure, but the walls will be awfully bare for a while.
There is the matter of the smokehouse, but that's the subject of another post. Stay tuned.
The room in which that exhibit currently resides was formerly the house's pantry and larder room. Its windows offer a street-level (literally!) view of Main Street and the sidewalk leading to the front steps of the house. That it has these windows makes it an optimal place for our gift shop, but an unusual place for a larder room.
Typically, the larder room, pantry, and kitchen all occupied separate buildings on the property. These buildings, along with a smokehouse, an ice house, and a root cellar made up most of the support facilities for life in the house. Mills Riddick's design for his house brought the kitchen, laundry room, and larder room all into his basement -- Riddick's Folly, indeed.
Of these, perhaps the larder room made the most sense. It required a cool place, such as a basement, and its proximity to the kitchen would have been convenient to be sure. The larder room takes its name from -- you guessed it -- lard. Meats would be partially cooked or smoked, and then stored in vats of lard to keep them until they were ready for final cooking and preparation. As it needed no fire for its operation, there was no risk of damage or destruction, at least from that. Such was obviously not the case for the kitchen, or even the laundry room for that matter.
The house's former kitchen houses the gift shop at the moment, but its lack of natural light and its unnatural ceiling (protruding in places with 20th century ductwork) make it more like a cave than a shop, certainly not the kind of place in which one would feel comfortable shopping. Its windows once looked out on the Riddick family's garden, and its close proximity to the family's smokehouse made the kitchen's location in the basement rather handy. When the family added on a side porch in the early 20th century, the kitchen's windows looked out on nothing but a wall, and the smokehouse was torn down. On top of this, the family constructed a new, modern kitchen as a separate wing on the rear of the building, just off the back parlor which was then used as a dining room.
It makes sense, then to relocate our gift shop to the former pantry/larder room/peanut gallery. Not only does the gift shop get a better location with windows, but we can now restore the period kitchen to make more complete our presentation of the Riddicks' 19th century home.
However, for the time being, that presentation will be a little light. So far we have only a dry sink and a jelly cupboard to fill the space, making interpretation akin to games of make-believe we play when we're younger (though it's too bad we stop playing them). We'll address this over time, sure, but the walls will be awfully bare for a while.
There is the matter of the smokehouse, but that's the subject of another post. Stay tuned.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Exhibits
We're well on our way to having the new, permanent Civil War exhibit installed. The cabinets are in place with fresh paint, and lighting will be installed in the next two weeks.
The exhibit will focus doubly on the military occupation of Suffolk. This won't just be the perspective of the Union soldiers stationed here, but also of the citizens of Suffolk who lived under military rule.
The citizens who stayed behind signed a document called the "Parole of Honor." This was essentially an agreement between the occupiers and the occupied that the former would not interfere in the affairs of the latter, so long as the latter made no attempt to overthrow the former.
Those citizens left behind were mostly women, children, and the elderly, all unable to serve in either army. We recently acquired an 1863 article from a Charleston, South Carolina newspaper talking about Suffolk, specifically mentioning the Riddicks. Newspaper articles such as this pair well with photographs of soldiers generously donated to us to provide an interesting counterpoint to the 100+ pieces of military hardware that otherwise dominate the exhibit.
In the meantime, we say goodbye to the peanut. For years, Riddick's Folly has been the home of Suffolk's only exhibit on peanuts. Given Suffolk's history with the legumes, an exhibit is certainly warranted, just not here.
On September 1st, the peanut exhibit will come down for good at Riddick's Folly as we focus on our mission to portray 19th century life through the lens of the Riddick family. Peanuts in Suffolk didn't become a phenomenon until the 20th century, and even then, that had little to do with the Riddicks and their descendants. If you'd like to see the Peanut exhibit, be sure to stop by while it's still around. In September, the items will go to their original owners where possible, and otherwise to the Suffolk-Nansemond Historical Society.
The exhibit will focus doubly on the military occupation of Suffolk. This won't just be the perspective of the Union soldiers stationed here, but also of the citizens of Suffolk who lived under military rule.
The citizens who stayed behind signed a document called the "Parole of Honor." This was essentially an agreement between the occupiers and the occupied that the former would not interfere in the affairs of the latter, so long as the latter made no attempt to overthrow the former.
Those citizens left behind were mostly women, children, and the elderly, all unable to serve in either army. We recently acquired an 1863 article from a Charleston, South Carolina newspaper talking about Suffolk, specifically mentioning the Riddicks. Newspaper articles such as this pair well with photographs of soldiers generously donated to us to provide an interesting counterpoint to the 100+ pieces of military hardware that otherwise dominate the exhibit.
In the meantime, we say goodbye to the peanut. For years, Riddick's Folly has been the home of Suffolk's only exhibit on peanuts. Given Suffolk's history with the legumes, an exhibit is certainly warranted, just not here.
On September 1st, the peanut exhibit will come down for good at Riddick's Folly as we focus on our mission to portray 19th century life through the lens of the Riddick family. Peanuts in Suffolk didn't become a phenomenon until the 20th century, and even then, that had little to do with the Riddicks and their descendants. If you'd like to see the Peanut exhibit, be sure to stop by while it's still around. In September, the items will go to their original owners where possible, and otherwise to the Suffolk-Nansemond Historical Society.
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