Artisan to Abolitionist Part 1

During my ancestry research I found my 3 times Great Grandparents James Gale and Charlotte Heslop. James was born in 1797 in Lancaster, England and Charlotte was born in 1811 in Burnley, England. James came to America in 1818 and Charlotte came with her parents when she was a little girl. James and Charlotte married in 1829 in Pottsville, PA and moved to Johnstown, PA in 1832.

I am going to start with James Gale Heslop. Because of the time period when James and Charlotte lived, there was so much more information on the men than on the women. James learned the trade of blending and making colors/pigment for painting and staining wallpaper. He was under an apprenticeship in England as a boy/teen and became a gifted artisan at not only blending and making colors, but in his skill of using those colors to stain wallpaper. He made colors for oils, calico prints, and dyes. 

James' skills were so rare that the British government would not let these specific artisans emigrate to America without an impossible to obtain special passport. Even though he was a master of his craft in England he was not compensated well and knew he could make more income in America. His Father, my 4 times Great Grandfather, knew a Captain of a vessel that was sailing to America and the two of them secretly and illegally shipped James as a cabin boy at the age of 21. When they docked at the port in Baltimore the Captain had to find a way to get James off the vessel. He sent James to shore to get him a twist of tobacco and gave him a small sum of money to purchase it. As James was starting to depart, the Captain grabbed his hand, said goodbye, and said quietly in his ear, that he never expected to see him again. James Gale Heslop was now free in America in 1818.

He found work easily in Baltimore and after some time moved to Philadelphia and worked for a manufacturer of wallpaper named Howell Brothers. In 1825 he moved to Pottsville, PA then married Charlotte in 1829, and then in 1832 the couple moved to Johnstown, PA. From 1832 until 1841 James worked for the transportation companies that operated in the region. He was a skillful letterer using his finely mixed colors to paint the names on canal boats, and company names on railroad cars. With the money he made from the transportation companies James opened his own establishment in Johnstown in 1841, at the corner of Vine and Market, staining wallpapers. James used a block of carved wood and with the vegetable or earth colors he applied the stain to strips of wallpaper.

A carved wood stamp from the 1800s.

The back of the stamp.

You can go to the Ron Hazelton link of the Farmers Museum in Cooperstown and see how wallpaper was made in the 1800's. They are using paint for their exhibits so you have to imagine the process that James had to go through first of using  ink, plants, clay, minerals or other earth based items to make his stain colors. You will have to copy and paste the link below into your web browser. It is worth watching.

https://www.ronhazelton.com/projects/how_to_make_wallpaper_by_hand

 It was a crude method compared to how our current wallpaper is made, but he was a man ahead of his time. When the cylinder press was invented and available to him, James had a hand in construction and manipulation of the cylinder press and turned out to not only being a master in making colors and staining, he was also somewhat of a mechanical engineer too. He not only installed the machinery for his former employers at Howell Brothers in Philly, but also for a company in Pittsburgh called James Howard and Company. James Gale Heslop had built quite a reputation in the state of Pennsylvania. In the late 1840's James stopped staining and opened a store on Main Street and became a seller of colors and wallpaper. He retired in 1853.

Not a clear picture, but this is wallpaper from around the 1830s.

During his retirement, before the Civil War, James and Charlotte in their golden years became Abolitionists and a part of the Underground Railroad. Talk about a career change!

To be continued..........

An Armoire Update

 Many years ago we bought our current bedroom furniture. The set included the bed, dresser, nightstands and an armoire that holds a TV. We used all the pieces in our bedroom in two homes in Indiana and one home in Virginia. We used the armoire in our dining room at our previous Texas home for table linens, place mats, seasonal table decorations and chargers. Now, our new home does not have the wall space for the armoire in either the bedroom or the dining room, so I decided to update it and use it in our guestroom.

The beginning of the armoire transformation.

The TV section of the armoire has not been used for a TV in years. I purchased baskets for that section and used them in our old dining room for table decorations. I also covered, with fun fabric, the wood cut out that was for the back opening access for the electronics and held it in place with Velcro.

Baskets replaced the electronics.

Fabric covered wood to cover the hole in the back.

I used Country Grey, (looks tan) Annie Sloan Chalk Paint to paint the armoire. I painted on two coats with a round chalk paint brush. When the paint was dry I finished it with the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Wax. As I have said before about this wax, you need to use it outside, or in a very well ventilated room. This wax really smells awful.

Two coats done!

I had some left over knobs from our bathroom cabinets and they were just the right touch for this armoire.

The last change to this armoire was something my sister did to her refurbished armoire at her FL home. *Florida has more Armoires per capita than any other state, in my opinion.*😉  My sister put mirrors in the doors, so you can use them as dressing mirrors. My armoire had trim pieces inside the doors that were perfect to set mirrors in. I just measured the space and ordered two cut mirrors from a glass store. You can pick a thickness for the mirrors and that was important to make sure my glass fit level to the trim pieces and that I got the right size mirror clamps. When we installed the mirrors we had to do a little sanding to the trim pieces of the door to make sure we had a tight fit. I didn't even have to touch the paint up because the mirrors covered the sanded spots.

The newly installed mirrors.

The room has a little bird theme going on and so we had to apply a few bird decals for fun. Now the armoire fits the rooms decor and it is functional for our guests.

The updated armoire in its new home

Special Twin Headboards

 Our first child was born in 1984. When we bought her crib back then, we picked a style and color that we thought we could use for all our future babies. A gender neutral crib that worked for all, and it did. This crib is now about 37 years old and I have kept it all these years. Now, my intent at the beginning was to keep it for my grandkids, but safety standards as they are, this crib was way too old and just not safe anymore.  

We built a new home last year and the crib moved with us. The crib would now be re-purposed in our new home as headboards for our guestroom. Instead of the old Queen bed from past homes, I decided to put two twin beds in the guestroom since our grandkids would be using them the most.

The end of our old crib.

I bought a can of Chateau Grey (a sage color) of Annie Sloan chalk paint at a local antique store. This paint is so easy to use, covers without primer and it does not peel. I used the end pieces, head and foot panels of the baby bed, and took all the hardware off before painting. I purchased a large round chalk paint brush from Amazon and it was absolutely the best brush for the job. I painted two coats, and when it was dry the next day, I put Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Wax on the painted headboards. This wax really smells awful and I suggest you do it outside if possible.  When it drys, it protects and leaves the paint with a satin finish.

The crib end painted.

The next step was trying to find the best way to mount the headboards to the wall. We bought some heavy duty metal hangers and put them on the top of both sides of the headboards. We put some heavy anchors and  screws in the wall and hung the headboards onto the screws. 

The heavy hanger I used.

To decorate the headboards I used the pillow shams that came with the quilts I purchased for the beds. I put a pillow in the sham and using sage ribbon that was leftover from my daughters wedding 9 years ago, I attached the ribbon to the shams top corners and tied them to the headboard.

Pillow hung with wedding ribbon.

Now we have two beautiful headboards that are a reminder of our kids as babies, our Daughter's wedding and they can be passed down as a family heirloom.

The finished product

                           

The Power of a Teacher

After an almost two year break, I have started blogging again. This blog is drastically different and will be the only one like it. It is personal. It does not included any photos or funny little antidotes. Just an honest story and a personal voice of gratitude to a former teacher.  

I graduated from High School in Columbus, Ohio in 1978. I am sure you are doing the math, I am 61 years old. I started my school years the same as millions of children do, with great excitement and eager to learn. I loved Kindergarten through 2nd grade, and then my school experience turned South. From the third grade on I was teased and bullied to the point that I would become physically ill in the morning before school.  This of course was in the 1960's and schools were not equipped to address this type of problem, nor unfortunately were my loving parents. They sure did try though. To this day I have a hard time sharing what was said and done to me. This blog is the first time my children have even heard about my experiences. It is a lot easier to write about it than to have a face to face conversation. Unfortunately, the tears still flow.

The title of this blog is to bring attention to the power that teachers have to make a child's school experience positive or negative. I truly believe that there are people that are meant to teach, and those who were not. Here is a case of the latter.  My 5th grade teacher, Mrs. C, definitely soured me on school. I was having so many physical issues with my health due to the bullying, and my parents were taking me to specialists to try to find the problem, and in hindsight counseling was what was needed. But, in the 60s kids were not inclined to complain, or make waves in school.  We would never have spoken badly of our teachers to our parents. We had a healthy respect, and in some cases, fear for both. This was a time when corporal punishment was alive and well in schools. We didn't have special programs to talk about our mental well-being or even understand what bullying was. I am sure that at that time the same could be said for teachers. No special training to identify the signs of a child in emotional distress. Ms. C was an older woman, I would guess in her 50s, and just mean. Mrs. C did not like the fact that I missed so much school, she would talk about me openly in front of the class, berate me, talk to other teachers loudly in the hall about me, keep me in class during recess to make me catch up on work (which alienated me from my classmates), and there were days that she would be just a bit physical by pushing my chair, or bump me as I went past her. It brings tears to my eyes just writing this. What she may not have known, or maybe she intended, is that she fed the fire of all those kids that were already bullying me. She gave them just the encouragement they needed. I was such a small kid and very shy and it really was too much for me to handle. Sixth grade was not any better when I had Mrs. W, Mrs. C's best friend. Although Mrs. W was not physical with me, she was just as verbally abusive.

I moved on to Jr. High with low self esteem, and the same kids moved with me from Elementary School. Better environment, but still not a happy student experience . Then I went to High School. I don't remember the first year I had Mrs. H.B. for Home Economics/Sewing, but to say she was a blessing is an understatement. She was a young teacher, well I was 16ish and thought all teacher were much older, and she made me fall in love with sewing. She was such a great teacher, and she seemed to love the subject matter she was teaching. She paid attention to me, encouraged me, and complimented and displayed my work. She taught me and inspired me. I was not this awkward dorky teenager, I was a budding seamstress. 

That following Summer I worked at the lemon shake stand at the Ohio State Fair for the two weeks the Fair was held. I worked long hours, and had many bee stings, to make the $150 I was paid for the pleasure. My older sister took me to some yard sales and at one I found a portable Singer Sewing Machine for $50 and bought it. I am not sure if that was a good price back then, but it was one of the best purchases of my life.  My Mom was an outstanding seamstress, and she was so proud of me. What 17 year old girl spends her hard earned money on a sewing machine? Well, Me!!

When I went back to school for my Senior year and told Mrs. H.B. She was so supportive and showed so much interest in my special purchase. She encouraged me to do extra projects and I could even take projects home and work on them. We learned other life skills in her class, and I enjoyed those as well, but sewing was a life changer for me. It allowed me to really excel at something I loved doing, in a safe environment, with a teacher that cared. What a huge contrast between my 5th grade school experience and my junior and senior years in high school. That was because of Mrs. H.B. 

I have over the years shared these experiences with one of my older sisters and she shared that she too was bullied in School. It is funny that we both kept all that hurt and anger of those years to ourselves until we were in or late 50s and 60s. It just shows that the effects of bullying does not go away after graduation, you carry that all through your life. I remember when my kids started school I made sure that I got involved in their school and education to make sure they had a positive experience. That experience not only helped them, but it helped me gain confidence in myself too. I gained self esteem, held state office in PTA, spoke and held workshops at conventions, and became a parent leader in my community. Yet, there was always that fear, that someone was going to say something critical or hurtful about me and make me feel like that 5th grader all over again. Even when I was an Aide and Secretary in two different Middle Schools, kids would say something about me or call me names. Kids being kids I guess, yet it threw me right back into Elementary school on the playground and classroom with the bullies. I am sure that reaction will never go away.

A positive outcome came after a stay with my sister a few years ago and our conversations about our bullying experiences. During those conversations I told my sister about what a huge impact Mrs H.B. had on me and how I wish I could tell her that. So, after I returned home I got on Facebook to see if I could find Mrs. H.B.. I found someone that had the same name and her profile picture looked just like her, so I sent her a message on Messenger over a year ago asking if she was my High School Home Economics teacher. On March 18, 2021 she replied YES! I wrote back thanking her for her kindness and for how much she helped me in High School. She was so gracious and appreciated me looking her up and letting her know what a positive impact she had on my life. I think everyone should have that conversation with the people that had a positive influence on them.

We shared our bios from 1978 on, and I realized that we still share the love of sewing.  She stopped teaching from 1979 until 1997 and then went back to teaching, but this time in Special Education. That is not surprising to me knowing her kindness and encouragement to me those many years ago. I am sure she was wonderful at her new chosen career, and her students were probably better for having her in their lives. I sure know I was.

Dallas Arboretum's "Celebrate the Children" Exhibit

I took my daughter in law to the Arboretum for a Birthday adventure in mid May, and we were delighted to see the Gary Lee Price, "Celebrate the Children", Bronze Sculpture Exhibit. Mr Price has had exhibits at the Arboretum in the past, but this was our first experience seeing one. The hand crafted bronze sculptures are scattered throughout the gardens.

Mr. Price's exhibit includes 25 sculptures that depict joyous children of all ages (many are of his own children) celebrating life. They are so life like and you just cannot help but smile when looking at them. My pictures were taken just before the noon hour at peak sun, so they are not as clear as I would like, but you can still get a feel for the artists depiction and it is a great representation of children just being children.

Here are a few of the "Celebrate the Children" Exhibit.

This is the pamphlet for the exhibit that has the Pogo-stick Kids on it.

The detail on this baseball player is phenomenal. 

This is my personal favorite. I love the little girls feet and hands. 

Their faces are just so life like.

Ring Around the Rosie

What a cute flower pot.

This young farmer is picking vegetables from the garden. The Arboretum has a table set up for samples of recipes they make from the food they grow. Today's ingredient was white beans. We had white bean and strawberry ice cream.  Surprisingly good!

That is one strong girl to get that much height.

Cartwheels in the Park.

That is how many kids end up after attempting a cartwheel.

We had such a great day in the gardens, and the adorable Gary Lee Price Bronze Exhibit made it all that much better.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

It has always amazed me that our dog Edy can sleep in so many different positions. She sleeps away most of her life. She mixes it up by changing one weird position after another. Enjoy the following gallery of Edy sleeping pictures. Hopefully they will put a smile on your face.

Edy is sleeping in our son's dog Dahlia's bed, also sleeping on her pillow, with her toy.

This is a common position, and is usually accompanied by snoring.

Gross eyes!

Just too tired to make it to the bed.

All bundled up.

All tucked in.

"Are you sure I am not a human?"

"How cute am I?"

I am not sure if she didn't make it to the bed, or rolled out of it.

The back bend position 

No idea how this happened. 

She looks like she has a smile on her face.

Looks pretty comfy.

I am not sure when she started hanging her head off the end of her bed.

She is about a fourth the size of Dahlia, but she had definitely laid claim to Dahlia's bed.

Edy walked into our bedroom, plopped down on the carpet, and went to sleep.

I wonder if she is trying to make us think she is too big for her bed and needs Dahlia's.

"Oh, How I love this big bed!"

We have endless pictures of Edy sleeping, since she sleeps most of the day. She is going to be so very sad when Dahlia moves into her new home in a few weeks and takes her bed with her. But, until that day she will continue to be an interloper, and make Dahlia's bed her own.

Displaying My Grandkid's Artwork

I have a refrigerator that is not magnetic so there is no "kid's art" hanging on the refrigerator. I am not a fan of cork or magnetic boards, so I decided to make my own.

My Refrigerator is slid in a cabinet, so the side is a wood cabinet wall that goes from the floor to the top of the cabinet over the refrigerator. I needed to find a wood frame that would fit nicely on the side of the cabinet. Off to Hobby Lobby.

The future home of my grand kids artwork.

I found a black wood frame in the clearance section of Hobby Lobby. The frame did not have a back, or glass in it, which was exactly what I was looking for. It was an odd size, 20 1/2  by 47 1/2, and it would fit perfectly on the side of the refrigerator cabinet.

Next, I bought a roll of cork at Hobby Lobby that was about 1/2 inch thick. There was a small problem with this cork, it was soft, so it would not be sturdy enough to put in the frame alone without a backing.

Time for a trip to Lowes. After looking at thin pieces of solid wood boards, I decided to buy pegboard to put on the back.  The peg board was less expensive and the holes will help with the length of the pins which are longer than the width of the cork. Being able to actually find the holes with the pin is a problem I have not yet solved, lol. The inside of the frame measured 17 1/4 by 47. I loved that Lowes cut the peg board for me to the dimensions I needed, and they did it for free. Thanks Lowes.

The peg board was cut to size and I used it to cut the cork.

I also bought a can of multi-purpose spray adhesive at Lowes, and now I have everything I need to start my project.

I unrolled the the cork onto a thick piece of cardboard, laid the pre-cut peg board on top of the cork, and then with a box cutter I cut the cork to the size of the peg board.  I then used the spray adhesive on the pegboard and waited until it was tacky. I then laid the cut piece of cork onto the pegboard and applied pressure until the cork adhered to the board.

I put the corked peg board into the frame.

When the adhesive was dry I put the cork covered board in the frame like a picture. Using thin nails, I pounded them into the edges of the back of the frame to hold the board in place.

The nails hold the corked peg board in place.

Using Command Velcro hangers, I put them on the top corners, the center of the top, and on each side about half way down the frame. I had to use white hangers, so I used black paint and painted the side so you couldn't see the bright white between the black frame and dark brown wood cabinet.

The side of the white Command Velcro hangers.

The painted Command hangers

Now I can display the Grandkid's artwork, and it looks great!

The finished product

Grandkid's artwork beautifully displayed.