Hats, Hats, and More Hats

 

All you have to do is look at one century at any time in history and realize how drastically fashions can change in one hundred years. Hats are no exception, especially women’s headwear from the 1800s. From the Leghorn bonnets of the 1830s-1850s, to the prairie bonnets, and ending with the ornate hats seen in the 1890s, the styles changed dramatically over the years.

In Beyond the Horizon, heroine Ruby Shepherdson rescues a discarded hat after it arrives at the mercantile battered and misshaped. With a bit of work and assistance, she restores it to its former glory. With hats often being integral to a woman’s wardrobe, it’s no wonder we see so many pictures of 19^th-century women wearing them in their many forms and fashions. Let’s dive into history to explore these sometimes-amusing accessories.

The beginnings of the 1800s saw hats worn primarily for protection or as a means of stating marital status. Spinsters or married ladies in the Regency era wore caps both indoors and out. Turbans, not unlike those First Lady, Dolly Madison, wore, were also in style.

 

 

The 30s through 60s saw a wide variety of styles, from brims being so close to the face that they appear to be squeezing it to the wider straw hats. Headwear for women became in vogue around the 50s. Around the 60s, the sailor cap joined the variety of choices for women, as did the use of felt as a preferred material. While feathers were used on occasion, the primary decorations were lace or velvet ribbon.

It wasn’t until the middle of the Civil War that feathers and flowers became more popular, mainly being placed on the front. Enter in the smaller bonnets in the 70s and 80s, and headwear undertook an entirely new appearance. Women’s hats went from what could be considered modest in decoration to an abundance of trimming. Lace, ribbon, plumed feathers, bugs, large bows, and flower bouquets were often used.

Brim sizes fluctuated from almost nonexistent in some 70s and 80s hats to a bit wider in the 90s. Faux fruits and fowl were added to the confection of decorations, which created an even more unique ensemble. According to Maureen A. Taylor, author and researcher of historical fashion, real, stuffed birds sometimes made an appearance as well.  

In 1911, the setting for Love in Disguise, the main character, Emilie Crawford Wheeler, is aghast when her ornate hat, purchased all the way from Boston, meets its demise when it is trampled by horses. She was horrified for two good reasons. First, hats often indicated societal status. Second, they could be expensive, sometimes so much so that in the late 1890s, women spent around $100 million on Easter and Christmas hats in one year.

If you lived in the 19^th century, what trimmings would you wear on your hat?

 

 

 

She's desperate to keep her job.
He's desperate for solitude.
What is God's plan in this complicated situation?

Ruby Shepherdson has worked hard to secure her job as a reporter for The Horizon Herald. After a costly mistake, Ruby’s unforgiving boss gives her an ultimatum to either interview the handsome and reclusive Jake Lynton—or lose her job. But each time Ruby has attempted to obtain an interview, Jake has refused. Why would anyone who has saved the lives of four people deny recognition? And why does she find herself drawn to the man?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PENNY ZELLER is known for her heartfelt stories of faith, love, and humor and her passion to impact lives for Christ through fiction. While she has had a love for writing since childhood, she began her adult writing career penning articles for national and regional publications on a wide variety of topics. Today, Penny is a multi-published author of over two dozen books. She is also a fitness instructor, loves the outdoors, and is a flower gardening addict. She resides with her husband and two daughters in small-town America and loves to connect with her readers at www.pennyzeller.com. 

 

Happy Birthday to…Notable Notables

Going through the "famous people born on this date" lists is a little like a treasure hunt. Sometimes I find three to four people who fit under a broad category or two. That's like finding a vein of gold. Other times, like for today's post, the uniting threads are more like silver gossamer threads.

A scholar-writer, imprisoned for his religious advocacy, no doubt has a courageous mettle similar to the military genius and renowned actress shares a rare depth of creative talent with the unconventional poet.

Happy 380th Birthday to William Penn
Advocate & Writer

Born: October 14, 1644
Birthplace: London, England
Died: July 30, 1718 (73 years old)

William Penn, a notable “gentleman” scholar in history and theology, was expelled from the University of Oxford (England) for his support of the Society of Friends—more commonly known as Quakers—who were subject to religious persecution.

After the 1668 publication of a tract called The Sandy Foundation Shaken, which resulted in false claims that Penn denied the Trinity, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London for eight months.

King Charles II granted Penn the land which later became the Province of Pennsylvania. The “gift” repaid a debt the king owed to Penn’s father. To ensure his legal ownership of the land, Penn also gave a sum of money to the Native Americans with whom he’d developed a relationship.

“My prison shall be my grave before I will budge a jot: for I owe my conscience to no mortal man.”

Happy 134th Birthday to Dwight D. Eisenhower
34th U.S. President (1953-1961) & Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force

Born: October 14, 1890
Birthplace: Denison, Texas
Died: March 28, 1969 (78 years old)

Before he was elected president, Dwight D. “Ike” Eisenhower rose through the U.S. Army military ranks to achieve the prestigious rank of a highly decorated five-star general. His accomplishments as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force during World War II included the planning and execution of Operation Torch, the 1942-43 invasion of North Africa, and Operation Overlord, the 1944-45 invasion of France and Germany.

After the war ended, he served as president of Columbia University and was NATO’s first supreme commander.

“Ike” wasn’t his only nickname. He was also known as Little Ike, Duckpin, Kansas Cyclone, and General Ike.

Both Alaska (January 3, 1959) and Hawaii (August 21, 1959) became states during his administration.

“A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.”

Happy 131st Birthday to Lillian Gish
Actress

Born: October 14, 1893
Birthplace: Springfield, Ohio
Died: February 27, 1993 (99 years old)

Lillian Gish began her career in the silent film era and—unlike Debbie Reynolds’ antagonist in the classic, Singing in the Rain—made a successful transition to “talkies.”

Her numerous achievements during her decades-long career include the following accolades:

• Named the 17th greatest female star by the American Film Institute;
• Awarded the George Eastman Award (1955);
• Awarded an Academy Honarary Award (1971); 
• Awarded Kennedy Center Honors (1982);
• Receiving an American Film Institute Life Achievement Award (1984).

Fun Trivia

• Miss Gish became a vegetarian as a child—she couldn’t bear the thought of animals being slaughtered for food.
• A photo of her nibbling on a carrot launched a carrot-eating fad.
• She shared a close friendship with Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower.

How fun that Lillian and Ike share the same birthday!

“What you get is a living—what you give is a life.”

Happy 130th Birthday to e.e. cummings
Poet

Born: October 14, 1894
Birthplace: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Died: September 3, 1962 (almost 68 years old)

I added Edward Estlin Cummings to today’s birthday celebrants because I once wrote an essay about his idiosyncratic poetry called “e. e. cummings: A Celebration of Spont(typographical)neity,” which won an award from the University of Central Florida and publication in the English Department’s Calliope.

“The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful.”

Your Turn

Whose birthday party do you most want to attend? You can…

• Show William Penn around modern-day Philadelphia.
• Discuss WWII military strategy with Ike.
• Eat a salad with Lillian Gish while watching one of her iconic films.
• Wander in the rain with e. e. cummings.

Johnnie Alexander writes “Stories Past and Present” in multiple genres. A fan of classic movies, stacks of books, and road trips, she shares a life of quiet adventure with Rugby, her racoon-treeing papillon. Visit her at johnnie-alexander.com.

Photos ~ individual photos in public domain; images created with Canva.

William Penn

• The first draft of the Frame of Government of Pennsylvania, written by Penn in England in 1681. Dunn / Dunn (eds.) - The Papers of William Penn, Volume Two (1680–1684), University of Pennsylvania.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

• West Point yearbook photo, 1915. Unknown author - The Howitzer: The Yearbook of the United States Corps of Cadets, 1915, page 80.
• Major General Dwight Eisenhower, 1942 The Commander of American Forces in the European Theatre, Major General Dwight Eisenhower, at his desk. 

Lillian Gish

• Frontispiece: Miss Lillian Gish as Anna Moore in D. W. Griffith's Production Way Down East. From The Project Gutenberg EBook of Way Down East, by Joseph R. Grismer.
• Bain News Service. This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division.  

E. E. Cummings ~ full-length portrait, facing left, wearing hat and coat / World-Telegram photo by Walter Albertin.

Victoria Woodhull's Historic Presidential Bid: A Woman Ahead of Her Time

With the 2024 presidential campaign in full swing, it’s time to learn about the first woman candidate for president of the United States, who happened to be in jail at the time of the election.

Victoria Woodhull declared her candidacy in the New York Herald on Saturday, April 2, 1870. Women were not granted the constitutional authority to vote until 1920, and Woodhull would not even reach the required age of 35 before her inauguration, if she won.

Victoria Woodhull, 1882 candidate
for U.S. President against Grant,
preferred wearing purple

Woodhull herself submitted the article, titled “The Coming Woman,” and included her views on home and foreign policy, as well as “new ideas on government.” She stated, “I anticipate criticism,” but said, “having the means, courage, energy and strength necessary for the race intend to contest it to the close.”

Born Victoria California Claflin in Ohio in 1838, she married 28-year-old Canning Woodhull at the age of 15. Her husband, a doctor, was an alcoholic and philanderer, and Victoria divorced him in 1865 after 12 years of marriage. Though she continued to use the name Woodhull publicly, she eventually married twice more.

It was likely the experience of her first marriage that caused Victoria to advocate what she called “free love.” She did not approve of promiscuity but insisted that individuals should be able to stay with romantic partners as long as they chose and then be free to move on. The movement sought to destigmatize divorce and make it easier for women to leave abusive husbands.

She also became involved in the women’s suffrage movement, and in 1871 was the first woman to testify before a Congressional committee. Along with Susan B. Anthony and Isabella Beecher Hooker, she spoke to the House Judiciary Committee, arguing that American women already had the right to vote under the 14th and 15th Amendments. The committee declined to draft legislation clarifying that right, however.

Victoria partnered with her younger sister, Tennessee Claflin, to start a brokerage firm in 1870, making them the first women stock brokers. Newspapers dubbed them “the Bewitching Brokers” and “Queens of Finance.” The women used their financial success to start a newspaper called Woodhull and Claflin’s Weekly, which supported women’s suffrage, free love, and other political reforms.

In declaring her candidacy for president, Woodhull wrote, “While others argued the equality of woman with man, I proved it by successfully engaging in business; while others sought to show that there was no valid reason why woman should be treated socially and politically as a being inferior to man, I boldly entered the arena of politics and business and exercised the rights I already possessed.”

Newspapers announced Woodhull's
nomination for President in 1872

She remained self-nominated until 1872, when the new Equal Rights Party selected her as their candidate for president. The party also nominated well-known abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass for vice president, but Douglass never accepted the nomination.

The sisters’ newspaper published an article claiming the famous preacher Henry Ward Beecher, one of Victoria’s strongest critics, had an affair with a married woman in his congregation. The ensuing controversy resulted in charges of obscenity rather than libel, and Victoria and her sister were arrested and jailed, remaining there through Election Day. The legal troubles forced them to discontinue publication of their weekly paper.

At the time, political parties, not the government, printed ballots for elections. No records exist of how many people (only men could vote, of course) voted for Woodhull. Anecdotal evidence indicates she received at least a few votes, but not enough to win any electors.

After divorcing her second husband, Victoria moved to England. She returned to the United States a few times and attempted unsuccessfully to run for president again, but she married for the third time and lived in England until 1927, when she died at age 88.

Controversy never stopped Victoria Woodhull from fighting for her beliefs, and she remained politically active until her death.

Sources:

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/victoria-woodhull

Victoria Woodhull announces her candidacy on Apr. 2, 1870 in the New York Herald - Newspapers.com™

Victoria Woodhull & Company | The Spirit to Run the White House (victoria-woodhull.com)

Multi-award-winning author Marie Wells Coutu finds beauty in surprising places, like undiscovered treasures, old houses, and gnarly trees. All three books in her Mended Vessels series, contemporary stories based on the lives of biblical women, have won awards in multiple contests. She is currently working on historical romances set in her native western Kentucky in the 1930s and ‘40s. An unpublished novel, Shifting Currents, placed third in Inspirational Romance in the nationally recognized Maggie Awards, and is a finalist in the Touched By Love Awards. Learn more at www.MarieWellsCoutu.com.

Her historical short story, “All That Glitters,” set in her home region of western Kentucky, was included in the 2023 Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction collection and is now available free when you sign up for Marie's newsletter here. In her newsletter, she shares historical tidbits, recommended books, "behind the scenes" writing info, and sometimes vintage recipes.

The Hula Hoop

By Kathy Kovach

Round and round she goes!

October 4th was National Hoop Day. What better month to write about one of America’s favorite amusements? But is it an American invention?

Let’s circle backward in time. The hoop was introduced in America in the mid-20th Century. Different theories have emerged as to how the name Hula Hoop came to be. Some say sailors stationed in Hawaii came up with the name. Others say the founders of the toy company Wham-O, Richard Knerr and Arthur “Spud” Melin, named it after they acquired the right to produce it.

However, spunky Australian Joan Anderson, who recently celebrated her 100th birthday in January 2024, claims that she not only brought the hoop to America in 1956 but also named it.

She had married an American pilot whom she met in Brisbane, Australia. They moved to Los Angeles, California and started a family. A few years later, Joan returned to Australia to visit and heard about this craze of the Hoop, (not yet named the Hula Hoop.) After coming home to the states, she had her mother ship a bamboo hoop. Five months later, her husband introduced it to his friend Spud. Though they shook hands, neither Joan nor her husband ever saw a dime. Wham-O made over 100 million dollars the first year of production. The craze has since gone worldwide. She finally sued the Wham-O company and only received $8,000 in compensation. A short documentary about the “Hula Girl” was made six years ago. Here’s her story:

In the 1950s, Australian school children used it in their gym classes as a fun workout. It sure beat calisthenics! The Hoop was produced by businessman Alex Tolmer president of Toltoys. His company made them using a new product—plastic. Over 400K units were sold in Australia after Tolmer took the reins. It’s surprising that Joan hadn’t heard of it while growing up there.

The hoop wasn’t a new fad, however. In the 1400’s, hoops were used in Native American culture as a form of story-telling. It’s still used today. A couple of years ago, I visited the Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota. A Lakota woman put on an exhibition, educating groups about this creative part of her heritage. Her hoop dance mesmerized the audience.

Heading back over the pond, we reach further into the past to 14th Century England where author Charles Panati writes about a craze using the hoop made of wood or metal. Apparently he stated, doctors complained that participants were injuring themselves, dislocating their backs and suffering heart failure.

Continuing our journey in time reveals that the ancient Greeks and Egyptians also used a hoop-like device, either for exercise or entertainment. It might have even been an Olympic sport. These hoops were made of dried grapevines, willow, or rattan.

Not everyone is a fan, however. The Japanese government banned the practice, stating the gyration of the hips was too promiscuous. Indonesia followed suit. Russia denounced it as an example of “the emptiness of American culture.”

Yeah, whatever. It’s fun!

The following video is of my grandson killing it with the Hula Hoop. 

Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal

A TIME-SLIP NOVEL

A secret. A key. Much was buried on the Titanic, but now it's time for resurrection.

Follow two intertwining stories a century apart. 1912 - Matriarch Olive Stanford protects a secret after boarding the Titanic that must go to her grave. 2012 - Portland real estate agent Ember Keaton-Jones receives the key that will unlock the mystery of her past... and her distrusting heart.

To buy: Amazon

Kathleen E. Kovach is a Christian romance author published traditionally through Barbour Publishing, Inc. as well as indie. Kathleen and her husband, Jim, raised two sons while living the nomadic lifestyle for over twenty years in the Air Force. Now planted in northeast Colorado, she's a grandmother and a great-grandmother—though much too young for either. Kathleen has been a longstanding member of American Christian Fiction Writers. An award-winning author, she presents spiritual truths with a giggle, proving herself as one of God's peculiar people.

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Colorful Characters of Tallulah Falls

 by Denise Weimer

Last month’s post focused on Tallulah Falls, Georgia, home to a thousand-foot gorge, six spectacular waterfalls, and a Gilded Age and Edwardian resort area that provided the setting for my novella A Summer at the Niagara of the South. We looked at the lavish hotels and waterfalls with names like Tempesta, Hurricane, and Oceana.

In addition to the amenities at the hotels, and hiking and hunting excursions, guests made the most of mountain culture and activities offered by enterprising locals.

Photographer Walter Hunnicutt captured thousands of images using his large format wooden dry-plate camera. He also founded Blue Ridge Mountain Post Card Company and Rustic Furniture Company, making twig furniture from mountain laurel.

Mary Ann Lipscomb, a prominent summer resident from Athens, led a movement to establish Tallulah Falls School, which opened in 1909. All students learned math and English. Boys learned gardening, woodworking, animal husbandry, and stone masonry. Girls were taught spinning, sewing, crocheting, basketry, and weaving patterns to sell in the craft shop such as Orange Peel, Snail Trail, Pine Bloom, and Lover’s Knot.

“Aunt” Fannie Smith (and her fried chicken) became “the famous hostess of Sinking Mountain,” welcoming thousands to her 1840s log cabin seven rough miles from town. The mother of ten girls and a boy, she trained local girls to assist when her daughters left home.

Hotel owner W.D. Young brought aerialist J.A. St. John to Tallulah Falls in 1886 to cross the chasm on a hemp rope. The feat attended by over 6,000 spectators was billed as the highest and longest high-wire walk ever. A quarter of the way across, one of the main guy lines snapped! “Professor Leon” dropped to a knee as word spread the line had been cut—possibly by someone betting against a successful crossing. St. John completed the walk safely but declined to cross back.

In July of 1970, 65-year-old legendary aerialist Karl Wallenda became the second person to cross the gorge—on 975 feet of steel cable…to a crowd of 25,000. He paused to perform two handstands. Upon reaching the other side in under eighteen minutes, he earned ten thousand dollars.

We cannot close the story of Tallulah Falls without mentioning the woman who led the fight against Georgia Power’s construction of a dam on the Tallulah River to generate electricity for Atlanta—Helen Dortch Longstreet, widow of the famed Confederate general. Mrs. Longstreet lobbied for preservation at state levels from 1911-1913. She would have been surprised to learn that thirty years after her death, her state park became a reality through the efforts of the state of Georgia and Georgia Power Company.

Tallulah 1882 Fare

Now visitors can visit the interpretive center, take ranger-led hikes, kayak in the lake or on the river on scheduled aesthetic release days, and sip tea in the old depot at Tallulah 1882.

Breaking under the stress as a rising opera star, Grace Galveston travels to Tallulah Falls in search of reprieve. With its multiple waterfalls, spectacular gorge, and lavish resorts, "The Niagara of the South," seems the perfect place. Local minister Daniel Monroe seems the perfect tour guide—until his heart gets entangled with the red-haired beauty with an angel’s voice. The trip sheds light on the secret pain in Grace’s heart. Can the possibility of love guide her toward healing, or will the call of her life back in New York mean even greater heartbreak?

https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Niagara-Romance-Gilded-Resorts-ebook/dp/B0CV91YK6Q/ 

Denise Weimer writes historical and contemporary romance from her home in North Georgia and also serves as a freelance editor and the Acquisitions & Editorial Liaison for Wild Heart Books. A mother of two wonderful young adult daughters, she always pauses for coffee, chocolate, and old houses.

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