Our youngest grandson is enjoying his tea with us, his friends & family, as we learn a little about the Oregon Trail at Lacamas Community Center in Roy, just down the road .
Karen Haas *, an actress, story teller, participant in many historical re-enactments, was our featured speaker for this luncheon entitled
Lunch on The Trail. Karen portrayed a woman who traveled the Oregon Trail, singing songs and telling stories of the long, difficult, and dangerous trail many traveled in covered wagons from the Eastern states to Oregon, Washington, and California in the days of our country before railroads. ( I hope it goes without saying there were no planes & automobiles either)
We had musicians, very good musicians !
Karen had volunteers hold a rope to the dimensions of a typical covered wagon. She then "filled " the wagon with people representing an average size family of the time, and also pointed out the family would have filled their wagon with food to hopefully carry them through the journey, along with the minimum of necessary clothes, bedding, tools to aid in them when they reached their destination and needed to clear land and begin building their new homes . Imagine crowding all that into a typical SUV of our day and embarking on a 6 month journey with no stops at fast food restaurants,motels, stores....no freeways or roads either.
We made our own butter for the sourdough and cornbread some of the ladies made.
Some of the ladies of Lacamas Community Center chose to host a table . This entailed decorating the table, and bringing everything necessary for the table except the food. We tried to stick to table settings appropriate for such a luncheon, but if we were to be authentic all the tables would have had tin plates and cups and the food would have been dished out of the pots it was cooked in. Above is my table. I used a few teacups I felt looked right on the table . The table cloth is a very old hand-pieced, stitched, and quilted quilt made by my paternal grandmother in the very early 1900's. I covered it with a clear plastic cover so as not to worry about food stains.
Ruth's table. Very practical. I like her outfit too.
This is my favorite table , by Beth.
Beth placed a framed photograph and kerosene lamps in the center of her table and each place setting had a burlap pot of pansies as a take-away gift and remembrance of the luncheon.
Isn't this lovely?
Pam M's table. Pam had her grandson set up an Oregon Trail scene as a centerpiece.
This is Pam W's table. This particular quilt top was one of my favorites.
Robin's table, her quilt top is so pretty.
Another view of my table before we sat down to lunch of hearty beef stew. Two of the teacups I used are shown below. They were used in other Tea Time Tuesdays so I have linked them to previous posts.
I am enjoying the privilege of holding our youngest grandchild while listening to Karen , realizing I am very thankful for the many people who made the difficult journey on the Oregon Trail, opening up and settling this part of the United States I call home.
~Ladies of Lacamas Community Center who helped put on this luncheon.~
- Martha's Favorites *
- Lady Katherine's Tea Parlor *
- Terri at Artful Affirmations *
- Wanda Lee at The Silken Purse *
- Pam at Breath Of Fresh Air *
- Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *
Two of my sisters and I took a trip to Oregon this past weekend.That is my sister Joni in front of the sign, she did all the driving on this 8 hour just one-way trip. The reason for the trip is one I will write about in a future post when I can present it in a way that does it justice, 'justice' being the key word .In spite of the tragic reason we took this trip together, we did have a good time. One of the towns we passed through as we headed to our destination was Pendleton, Oregon, home of a famous rodeo and wool mill.*
My sisters graciously stopped at the mill for me, as I am fascinated by the whole wool thing going on here, and also, the mills are a source of mill ends~ the scrap strips of wool cut from whatever they are weaving in the mill, and sold by the pound, valued by me and many other weavers for weaving rugs.
There was a small museum in the mill dedicated to the blankets & rugs woven by the *Indian tribes and also to the Pendleton Rodeo.Just look at this amazing rug woven by Indians shown in the museum behind glass.( Good thing too, because it would be hard resisting the urge to touch it.) click onto * to see history of the rugs.
This book was under glass in the museum and my sisters & I thought the inscription from a father to his son was a sentiment expressing a worthy goal for all, and especially expressing a desire for a family legacy that values an honorable name , a priceless gift of love to future generations. ( click onto picture to enlarge) "Dear Mort, This book may suggest that the best inheritance to receive or to leave is a good name. Love, Dad "
The mill had an outlet store where we shopped. I was able to purchase a few bags of mill ends I will weave into rugs such as the rugs I wove awhile ago, shown in the next two pictures.
Rugs woven of Pendleton Woolen Mill ends.
This door leads to the room where all the wool goods this Pendleton wool mill sells are woven. Maybe one day in the near future I will come to see this ,but I will need to schedule this tour. If you stop in though, the store sells fabric, rugs, blankets,shirts, and so much more...all woven right here in America. Very much worth a visit if you're traveling through eastern Oregon !
