Friday the 13th Victorian Funeral Re-enactment
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| 10/13/2006 |
| County Historical Society celebrates Friday the 13th with authentic Victorian parlor funeral this weekend |
BY ELIZABETH SKRAPITS, STAFF WRITER
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| WYOMING — There’s nothing like celebrating Friday the 13th with a good old-fashioned funeral. |
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And the Luzerne County Historical Society does mean old-fashioned.
For the unlucky weekend, the Society is presenting a Victorian parlor funeral complete with candlelight, hair chains, yards of black crepe, and tales of bloodletting and strange burials, at the Swetland Homestead. It was the inspiration of Clara Hudson, administrator of the historic home.
The star was Lisa Lewis of West Pittston, who, elegantly decked in authentic Victorian mourning attire from her veiled hat to high-heeled boots, sat with decorous melancholy beside the coffin in the parlor. The coffin was draped with an authentic shawl called a pall and topped with a sheaf of wheat, which Lewis said represents eternal life.
We thought, since we have the house and it’s already set up in a Victorian manner, why not do something? said Historical Society Executive Director Jesse Teitelbaum.
During the years of Queen Victoria’s reign, 1837 to 1901 — and particularly after the death of Prince Albert in 1861 — burying the dead became an elaborate ritual. Funerals were held at home, and there were strict codes of dress and conduct for the mourners.
Hudson spent weeks researching for the exhibit. Wyoming Valley West students could help set up and participate to fulfill part of their History Day requirements, said Michele Burns, 15. She was one of the guides stationed in each room — she was in the dining room, telling tales of horrifying burials.
Next door were glass cases filled with artifacts of death and mourning including a watch chain made of human hair, a surgical kit from the American Revolution, and a black-draped daguerreotype of Abraham Lincoln.
Outside the parlor, Allison Alexander and A.J. Klopotski, both 15, played Overture to the Messiah by Georg Friedrich Handel mournfully on their cellos.
Who is the coffin’s occupant?
I was very specific about not designating that, because it gave me a strange feeling, Hudson said.
In the two years she has worked at the homestead, Hudson has become very close to the Swetland family. It didn’t seem right to her to pretend one of them was in the coffin.
However, it was possible they were in attendance.
Hudson said visitors and staff have told her they feel a presence in the house. Jen Manganello, 13, the guide for the Victorian sickroom, heard that and nodded vigorously.
People often ask me, is the house haunted? I don’t know. But there is a definite feel of the family, Hudson said.
Press Release / November 21, 2006
Betty Lou McBride
Victorian Olde Time Christmas in Jim Thorpe
POCONO MOUNTAINS, Pa. – Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, long known as the Switzerland-of-America and noted for its mountain setting, pristine Victorian architecture and award-winning Christmas lighting will host the 25th Annual Olde Time Christmas Celebration on December 1-3,9,10,16,17, 2006. A major holiday attraction, the event will be highlighted by an emphasis on the Victorian days of Charles Dickens with activities for both adults and children.
Authentic Victorian-era clothing, from undergarments to outer wraps, will be shown by Lisa Lewis, the Victoriana Lady at a Vintage Fashion Show and Tea, on December 16 at 1:00 p.m. at the Mauch Chunk Museum, accompanied by a lecture detailing the fashions of 100 years ago. A Victorian tea including traditional English tea sandwiches, delightful sweet delicacies and a variety of teas will be served in the style of olden days with afternoon tea cups, white napkins and gracious servers.
Olde Time Christmas will begin with the traditional lighting of the Christmas tree on December 1, in Asa Packer Park by Santa and Mrs. Claus. Holiday tours of the Asa Packer Mansion and a tour through town on a horse-drawn trolley will be available December 2, 3 and December 9, 10, weather permitting.
All three weekends visitors will enjoy the beauty of the magical Victorian Christmas tree display at the Guilded Cupid Bed and Breakfast and Rotary Club Ghost Walks beginning at 8:00 p.m. at the Inn at Jim Thorpe.
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