Postcard: Pretty Pockets of Painted Ladies
Greetings from Missouri!
I didn’t get too far from my house in Missouri before I stumbled across our first postcard subject. Beautiful, multi-hued Victorian homes are just waiting to be admired all over the country, and I got to do just that in Plattsburg, a small town halfway between Kansas City and St. Joseph.
These homes were built in the mid 1800’s to early 1900’s but didn’t officially get their name, Painted Ladies, until the 1970’s in the book Painted Ladies: San Francisco’s Resplendant Victorians by Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen,with photographs by Morely Baer.
Book from the '70's which looks kinda vintage from this 2011 angle
The authors have since written a more current version, photographs by Douglas Keister:
Second verse, similar to the first
The term ” Victorian”, when you talk architecture, really is a catch- all for homes made in many different styles, and materials. Grand estate homes, to small cottages, to row style homes made of stone, brick, wood in Classic to Gothic architectural styles. All different, all Victorian. The color schemes changed as times changed. Typically there are several colors on Painted Ladies, all working together to show off the trim and architectural uniqueness of the home.
In this very short podcast, I’ll tell you a bit about the history of these homes, of the town of Plattsburg, and of other pockets of these stunning houses all over the country.
Here is the link to check out the Victorian homes of Lizzie Borden’s town: http://fallriverpaintedladies.com/
And here is the link to the Morris Arboretum, they have a miniature train display dotted with Painted Ladies. http://www.business-services.upenn.edu/arboretum/gardens_railway.shtml
I really do believe that there is beauty where ever you go, all you have to do is open your eyes. Ok, sometimes you also have to turn your head to the side and squint. But I didn’t have to do that the day that I drove into Plattsburg. I went dreading sitting in the blazing hot sun at, yet another, baseball game. I left having been treated to a gift. Beautiful old homes, preserved and displayed for anyone who had the pleasure of driving by.
Susan
Episode 10A: Season 1 Wrap-Up
Shownotes Season One Wrap-Up
When we started this project we decided that a season would consist of ten full- length episodes, posted approximately two weeks apart, with an option of unlimited mini episodes to allow for spontaneity. We also decided that we would end the season with a series near and dear to our hearts. We thought this would give us some structure, and a goal, as well as the freedom to deviate if we wanted to chat a little bit about someone- or something- related to the subject of the full episode.
We had a plan. And, for the most part, we stuck to it. Marie Antoinette, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Cinderella Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, Lizzie Borden, Helen Keller, The Mrs. Astor, Gilded Age Heiresses and Jennie Jerome Churchill. We supplemented those episodes with mini-conversations: Abigail Adams and Feminism, Books in the Little House Series, Little Red Riding Hood, Anne Sullivan Macy, The Age of Innocence movie, and Gilded Age Servants.
And we have big plans for next season as well. Oh yes, we do! But we will be taking a short break from posting full length episodes so we can get ready for that season. And have some summer fun with our families that does not include midnight editing and writing sessions, child care juggling to ensure quiet while recording, and rushing to bring back long overdue library books.
But, just as we had a plan for Season One, we have a plan for this hiatus and you will barely know we are gone. We will be putting out some postcard type entries when we stumble across (on purpose) things we know you might like. And we will be monitoring both our website, facebook page, google+ and twitter (although, we admit, we are not the best tweeters out there. We’ll own that and work on it).
This episode is a question and answer grab bag. We posted a call for questions which we answer in this episode, as well as some odds and ends we thought would be fun. We tell you a bit about National Novel Writing Month, about how we met, how we worked, and some other questions that listeners asked us. First off here is the link to NaNoWriMo- http://www.nanowrimo.org/. (Which has nothing to do with history except our own.)
Here is our solemn vow ( in print!): When we hit 1000 likes on facebook we will have a Tudors series.
Listen to the podcast for more info…but we know how much you like your visuals. And we get asked this question A LOT:
What do you look like?
Can’t we show you where we record instead, it’s so much more interesting…
This is where we sit when we talk. It might explain a lot.
Ok…we snapped some pics and this is our favorite image of us. Totally shows you who we are and what we look like:
Beckett wore cute shoes that day, Susan went for comfort. Actually, Beckett always wears cute shoes and Susan always goes for comfort. And we have the same size feet. True.
Oh! You want to know what our FACES look like! Got it…
Susan- action shot.
Yeah, we could do this all day.
Thank you for your encouragement,and emails and notes to us! Thank you for telling us who you would like to hear us discuss, and thank you for telling us where you listen to us. Thank you for clicking our stylish DONATE button, and for writing such wonderful reviews for us on iTunes. Thank you for listening! We are having a wonderful time and are very excited to come back to you very soon with Season Two!
Peace!
Beckett and Susan
I should have used my "fairy pixie" shot. Maybe next season... Beckett
You could have just googled to see this. Susan
Episode 10: Jennie Jerome Churchill
We wrap up our Gilded Age series with a lively discussion about one of the first wave of Gilded Age Heiresses- an American born woman who gave birth to a son who would eventually be known as one of the greatest Britons in history.
Jennie Jerome Churchill.
A young and captivating Jennie Jerome Churchill
Yes, we talked about her already. But we only gave a thin sketch of her life as a Dollar Princess- we never got to the really juicy parts! We promised you an episode on Jennie Jerome Churchill, and by golly, we are History Chicks of our word!
Jeannette Jerome was born in 1854 into a family with a father who was very good at making money, and also good at losing it…and making it again. Jennie and her three sisters were raised in a fairly wealthy home in Brooklyn, spent summers in Newport, and- when Mama had had enough of watching her husband dally around- lived in Paris.
While there, Empress Eugenie took a shine to the Jerome girls and Parisian life suited them all just fine until war broke out and Clara hustled those girls out of Paris to England. The beautiful Jerome girls quickly assimilated into English society, and when Jennie befriended Edward, the Prince of Wales- life really started to get interesting!
In 1873, a 19 year-old Jennie Jerome had a three-day romance that ended with a proposal from Lord Randolph-Spencer Churchill, the second son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough. She officially became Lady Churchill.
Lord Randolph Spencer Churchill. Think what you will.
We discussed the hoops the couple had to jump through before marriage when we talked Gilded Age Heiresses and the birth of her first son, Winston but there was a second son born to Jennie and enveloped in scandal as a great deal of this woman’s life is–the family was even exiled to *sarcastic gasp* Ireland!
She also possessed a remarkable resemblance to another famous Lady…
…ok, maybe it’s just us.
When Randolph passed away at age 45 (syphilis…of course it was syphilis) Jennie took up a couple projects, really modern things like starting a magazine and flipping houses—but her biggest success came when she finally turned her attention to her son Winston and his political career and, we all know how that worked out for Winston. (And if you don’t…google…come on, you need to know this one.)
Winston Churchill (not W.C Fields)
Jennie isn’t one to be alone, there were two more marriages (the last one to a man 23 years younger than she…go, Jennie!) At the age of 67, in a very dramatic way, she falls down a set of stairs and amputation is required, gangrene develops and she passed away.
Time Travel With The History Chicks
You can start in Brooklyn and try and figure out which home Jennie was really born! There seems to be some speculation about this. Even her birth held some drama! Start your search with this blog: http://brooklynbeforenow.blogspot.com/2009/01/beloved-winston-and-his-brooklyn.html
Or think globally! Let’s go to Blenheim! http://www.blenheimpalace.com/
Another blog that you should really bookmark, is Scandalous Woman…but use think link: http://scandalouswoman.blogspot.com/2007/11/american-jennie-portrait-of-jennie.html (the obvious dotcom is not a site you want in your history)
Like your history visual? You can get the DVD set of the 1974 PBS miniseries starring Lee Remick.
DVD Cover of PBS series
Ok, you like books. We know that…
Anne Sebba has two books on Jennie! TWO! You KNOW there is some more dirt to dig up!
Jennie Churchill:Winston’s American Mother by Anne Sebba
American Jennie: The Remarkable Life of Lady Randolph Churchill by Anne Sebba
You can read the Lady’s own words in The Reminiscences of Lady Randolph Churchill.
The Reminiscences of Lady Randolph Churchill by Jennie Jerome Churchill
Enjoy your travels as you learn more about the very American woman who had a huge impact on British history!
As always, music for our podcast comes courtesy of Music Alley. Visit them at music.mevio.com.
