The museum is such a tribute to Advent! Purple has historically been the color of "waiting for Christ"--I think many Lutheran paraments are now blue (don't know the answer to that one)--anyway, we have a lovely tree in the foyer covered with purple lights. I try to ask people who visit which tree is their favorite, and the purple tree frequently makes the top of their list.
We had our annual museum staff party on Saturday and we played a fun game. Everyone brought a small gift, and all were asked to share a Christmas memory or story. After each person shared her/his story, they then gave their gift to someone else so they could then tell their story. One of the reoccuring stories (that I had NEVER heard) was about the Christmas parlor. It was evidently an east Perry County tradition for the adults to decorate the family parlor or living room and to lock it down until after church services on Christmas Eve. When the family would return home from services the parlor was opened and Santa would have arrived! That is such an awesome tradition. The Christmas hymns were then sung for the first time that season, and many remembered the bags containing an orange, orange slice candies, peanuts, and other treats. A couple of people shared that when they were young their homes had no electricity. In one family they used the tractor battery to light the 9 bulbs on the tree, and in the other story the family used a car battery to light the tree and it could only be lit for about 15 minutes at a time! There were stories of Christmas program rehearsals, traditional Christmas baked goods, a long walk and hitch hiking home from military service to suprise family on Christmas Eve, a baby born at Christmas, a Christmas Eve marriage proposal, a stinky Santa Claus, and so much more. Whatever your family traditions are, I hope they fill you with joy this season. I am looking forward to listening to beautiful music, eating fun traditional foods with my family and friends, and resting a bit.
Gerard Fiehler and Ken Craft will travel to St. Louis on Wednesday to Concordia Historial Institute. They will be digitizing the Paitzdorf/Uniontown church book records for use in the Zion Roots Research Library. The large portfolios with the enhanced digital records are ready for researchers who have interests in the Altenburg, Frohna, and New Wells records. We are currently working on our digitization goals for 2012.
I want to thank the Southeast Missourian for their great feature article on the Christmas tree exhibit in this morning's paper. They also have a free "events" service that we have participated in and it has brought us numerous guests already. The Perryville Republic Monitor should have a story this week. Thanks to ALL of the regional media for your support.
I'm looking forward to the annual reading of a Christmas tree story to the local preschool and younger school-age children. The story is about a large evergreen tree that is never picked at the local Christmas tree farm because he is too big. The birds and small animals that find shelter in the tree decorate it for Christmas with things they find in nature. It is a lovely story of friendship, and I use our very own large "Perry County Woodlands" tree as an example. This tree is decorated with berries, dried plants, and has numerous birds, and small animals peeking from the branches.
We will also be one of the places hosting visitors during the regional Christmas House Tour next Saturday. Visitors will buy a ticket to support the United in Christ Lutheran School trip to Washington D.C. Give us a call or check out their site on Facebook for more information.
We will host the reception for the Trinity Church Christmas choir concert on Dec. 18, and we will host a reception for a presentation of "The Messiah" that will be performed at Trinity Church on January 15. The museum is a great place to bring your organization, church group, club, or family members. We are decorated, you can visit for free, and it is a magical place to be this time of year and always.
Tomorrow a historic preservation "historic site administration" course from SEMO will be visiting the museum for a class-specific tour and lecture. I will then travel to their classroom on Thursday for a follow-up lecture. It is always a treat to host our friends from SEMO at the site, and the students are an important part of our educational mission.
I hope that things will slow down a little bit so that I can catch my blogging friends up on all of the wonderful things that have happened at the museum. I have enough stories collected to tell you to ease the deep mid-winter.
Take Care,
Carla Jordan
We had our annual museum staff party on Saturday and we played a fun game. Everyone brought a small gift, and all were asked to share a Christmas memory or story. After each person shared her/his story, they then gave their gift to someone else so they could then tell their story. One of the reoccuring stories (that I had NEVER heard) was about the Christmas parlor. It was evidently an east Perry County tradition for the adults to decorate the family parlor or living room and to lock it down until after church services on Christmas Eve. When the family would return home from services the parlor was opened and Santa would have arrived! That is such an awesome tradition. The Christmas hymns were then sung for the first time that season, and many remembered the bags containing an orange, orange slice candies, peanuts, and other treats. A couple of people shared that when they were young their homes had no electricity. In one family they used the tractor battery to light the 9 bulbs on the tree, and in the other story the family used a car battery to light the tree and it could only be lit for about 15 minutes at a time! There were stories of Christmas program rehearsals, traditional Christmas baked goods, a long walk and hitch hiking home from military service to suprise family on Christmas Eve, a baby born at Christmas, a Christmas Eve marriage proposal, a stinky Santa Claus, and so much more. Whatever your family traditions are, I hope they fill you with joy this season. I am looking forward to listening to beautiful music, eating fun traditional foods with my family and friends, and resting a bit.
Gerard Fiehler and Ken Craft will travel to St. Louis on Wednesday to Concordia Historial Institute. They will be digitizing the Paitzdorf/Uniontown church book records for use in the Zion Roots Research Library. The large portfolios with the enhanced digital records are ready for researchers who have interests in the Altenburg, Frohna, and New Wells records. We are currently working on our digitization goals for 2012.
I want to thank the Southeast Missourian for their great feature article on the Christmas tree exhibit in this morning's paper. They also have a free "events" service that we have participated in and it has brought us numerous guests already. The Perryville Republic Monitor should have a story this week. Thanks to ALL of the regional media for your support.
I'm looking forward to the annual reading of a Christmas tree story to the local preschool and younger school-age children. The story is about a large evergreen tree that is never picked at the local Christmas tree farm because he is too big. The birds and small animals that find shelter in the tree decorate it for Christmas with things they find in nature. It is a lovely story of friendship, and I use our very own large "Perry County Woodlands" tree as an example. This tree is decorated with berries, dried plants, and has numerous birds, and small animals peeking from the branches.
We will also be one of the places hosting visitors during the regional Christmas House Tour next Saturday. Visitors will buy a ticket to support the United in Christ Lutheran School trip to Washington D.C. Give us a call or check out their site on Facebook for more information.
We will host the reception for the Trinity Church Christmas choir concert on Dec. 18, and we will host a reception for a presentation of "The Messiah" that will be performed at Trinity Church on January 15. The museum is a great place to bring your organization, church group, club, or family members. We are decorated, you can visit for free, and it is a magical place to be this time of year and always.
Tomorrow a historic preservation "historic site administration" course from SEMO will be visiting the museum for a class-specific tour and lecture. I will then travel to their classroom on Thursday for a follow-up lecture. It is always a treat to host our friends from SEMO at the site, and the students are an important part of our educational mission.
I hope that things will slow down a little bit so that I can catch my blogging friends up on all of the wonderful things that have happened at the museum. I have enough stories collected to tell you to ease the deep mid-winter.
Take Care,
Carla Jordan
