History Timeline Community with Robert Diez

I was lucky enough to meet up with Robert Diez, the creator and curator of a facebook community page called History Timeline.

Robert Diez is a Costa Rican American reenactor who reenacts both the Civil and Revolutionary Wars. He was enamored by reenactors in the United States as a child but found that there was no reenacting in Costa Rica and related that they haven't even had a military since the 1940s. He was inspired by stories of family involvement in the war and wanted "to see what they saw."


 He started reenacting at the 150th Gettysburg and was featured in the book, Seething Hell, which will come out in September. He was inspired to create this page as a place to post relevant and quality content for reenactors and history people and spends 2 hours a day filling it with content. Much of his content comes from his friends on the battlefields like Garry Adelman (Gettysburg,) Austin Bradford (Gettysburg,) and Erik Dorr (Harper's Ferry.)   

Even though his English is not always good, he relates that it hasn't affected his reenacting and noted that even though the majority of foreign soldiers were German and Irish, that during the duration of the war 20,000 Hispanics and Latinos fought, appearing on both sides of the conflict.

If you don't already follow his fast growing page, head on over there and be sure to like it before it gets cool.

This is also a good time to go like me on facebook or connect with me on any of the following social media sites. 

Twitter: @WorldTUDown
Facebook
Google+
Instagram 

Civil War Knitted or Crocheted Army Mittens or "Shooter's Mittens" Patterns

Image courtesy of the New-York Historical Society

Tensions were high in 1861 and even before the first shots were fired, men and boys lined up to join the coming fight. As loved ones left home and took their spots in rank, the wives, sisters, mothers and children at home were busy doing their part to keep their loved ones safe and as comfortable as possible. Women formed handiwork groups and people commented that girls no longer sat idle in public at any time but were always working on some garment for the soldiers.

Many organizations were created or took part in collecting items for the soldiers. Money, foodstuffs and clothing made up the bulk of donations and organizations were not shy in their requests for items:

"WOOLLEN MITTENS.—An officer from West Point who commands one of the finest regiments in the service, suggests that woollen [sic] mittens for the soldiers will be greatly needed when the cold weather begins. Will not all who can employ themselves in this way, help to furnish 500,000 pairs? They should be knit with one finger to allow the free use of the first finger and thumb. It is said there were more soldiers disabled in the Crimean war from frost bitten fingers than from any other cause."

 -Delaware State Journal and Statesman, November 5, 1861

The need was great enough that there were knit, crochet and even sewn patterns printed for this style of glove. Woollen mittens with a separate finger and thumb were so associated with soldiers that they found their way into a poem printed in The Ladies’ Repository in 1861,

"Knit-knit-knit-
With a warm heart and a true!
Knit-knit-knit-
The stockings warm and new.
The mittens with a finger and thumb complete,
The gloves for the drummers their drums to beat-
And the nice warm socks for the shivering feet-"

As the war raged on, the pattern stopped appearing in publications, likely due to the war frenzy dying down. Women were still knitting and sewing items but many utilized the patterns they had collected early on.   

By January 1865, E.A. Paul, a correspondent from the New York Times to Sheridan's army reported that the weather had been cold, icy and wet and that 1 out of 4 soldiers did not have mittens. He postulated that the extra money spent on Christmas dinners could have covered the expense of the 50,000 pairs of mittens the army needed.  

Different versions of the pattern:

Photo courtesy of Bren Woodard

Click here for a modern pattern for  "Shooter's Mitts."

References:

http://historydetectives.nyhistory.org/2014/04/blast-from-the-past-mittens-and-slippers-during-the-american-civil-war/

http://cyrusforwood.blogs.delaware.gov/tag/us-sanitary-commission/

Secret Life of Bloggers Blog Party Post

I have not posted one of these in awhile. I got sick and wasn't photographing as much as usual. Now that my year is complete I think I will still do blog party posts but will probably not have a photo from every day. I am extremely excited that I was a finalist in the Art of Photography Botanical Contest (@9.50)!

I've got a new buddy.

We had a really odd night of snow. The snow fell in tiny, Styrofoam like balls that were so light you could blow it off surfaces. 

 My first attempt at sushi. I thought about writing a how to post but I only took a few photos with my phone. We just made California rolls but I thought it was safer not to use raw fish the first time.

 My neighborhood is under involuntary construction. It has been horrible. They start at 6:30 in the morning and don't stop until dark. Endless jack hammering, grinding, and vibrating along with massive holes and piles of mud.  

Gazela now has her tarp on for the winter.

Andy and I finally got out to a Gazela event. Hopefully we will get out to more this season.  

I'm going crazy being stuck inside so much. We've been having warm enough days but the wind has been bad and everything has been wet and muddy.

New Year's Resolutions

It's that time of year again for New Year's Resolutions. I have been seeing a lot of New Year's resolutions from friends, family and strangers. While I am a firm believer in self improvement I couldn't help to get a little discouraged at the resolutions I have been seeing. In fact, I've only really seen one resolution: It's a variation on losing weight.   



On one hand, losing weight is hard and it's not wrong to want a healthier version of yourself. But on the other hand, the only thing we resolve to work for is to be a smaller version of ourselves? It's depressing to think about. I am appalled that people think it is of utmost importance to change their outsides without giving much thought to their insides.

Whatever happened to more noble resolutions such as resolving to volunteer more or vowing to stop fighting with the in-laws? To give more, to complain less? To make amends for wrongdoings? To get more done?

Or any of the virtues that Ben Franklin pursued: 

1. Temperance. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
2. Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
3. Order. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
4. Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
5. Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.
6. Industry. Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
7. Sincerity. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
8. Justice. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
9. Moderation. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
10. Cleanliness. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.
11. Tranquillity. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
12. Chastity. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation.
13. Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates. 

Seriously guys, balance is important. :) Next year I want to see resolutions that read "In 2016 I will lose weight AND read more!" "Lose weight and finally build that tool shed I've been promising my wife." "Become the first man on Mars and lose a lot of weight."

Maybe I am thinking too much into this as according to Forbes, only 8% of people achieve their New Year's goals anyway.  If you are one of the 92%, you might find that you have a higher success rate if you learn just how to write a good New Year's Resolution. The Forbes article states that you should make your resolutions tangible and achievable.

Here is a great example from The American Magazine from 1917 to get you started:
 

All joking aside I am one of those crazy New Year's Resolution people. I love planning what I am going to do with my new year and love hearing what everyone else wants to do. This year it's my goal to foster more community among bloggers. I hope to do some guest posts on other blogs and to have other bloggers featured here. I'd even like to meet some of you in person. I've been avoiding events for awhile but I hope to get out to a few this year. I also hope to cook more historical recipes.  

What are some of your resolutions this year?

Kisses from a Concentration Camp: Historical Food Fortnightly WWII Recipe

In 1969, Anny Stern got a call from a stranger. They told her that they had a package for her from her mother, Mina Patcher. Anny who now lived in Manhattan hadn't seen her mother in many years. In fact, her mother had been dead since 1944.

Due to rising political and social pressure, Anny left Czechoslovakia with her son and met her husband in Palestine in 1939. Her mother refused to leave. She was old, and told her daughter that no one would hurt an elderly lady. Mina was sent to Theresienstadt, a concentration camp near Prague.

Theresienstadt was unique. It was a ghetto, a labor camp, and a transit camp. It was a hub where people were sent to mask transportation to death camps in the East. It was originally advertised as a "spa town" but was the place where well-known Jewish people were sent to prevent public suspicion.

Famous artists, war heroes, writers, professors, musicians were sent to Theresienstadt and were allowed to keep up a rich cultural, albeit extremely censored, cultural life. Painters painted commissioned German art during the day and personal art in secret. The people schooled their children although it was illegal. Mina, an art historian, gave lectures. 


It is extraordinary the resolve these people had to do anything.  Jews in ghettos were allowed an average of 184 calories a day mostly in the form of watery soup. More food was reserved for laborers. People in the camp reported that the elderly would eat potato peels that were thrown in the street as well as weeds. It was in these conditions that 70 year old Mina and her friends wrote a collection of recipes.

Many wonder why anyone who didn't have food would bother writing down recipes. It was a distraction from reality as well as a memory of what once was. More importantly, it was a form of defiance. In the face of the systematic annihilation of their culture, these women did their part to make sure their contributions and their culture would survive. It was the hope that these foods would be on tables once again.

Of the 140,000 Jews sent to Theresienstadt, about 90,000 were sent to death camps and 33,000 died in Theresienstadt  including 90% of the children who were there. (USHMM) Mina died in the camp but entrusted her book and some photos to another inmate with the promise that he would get it to her daughter. The package traveled from family to family for 25 years until it reached Anny. It's unknown whether the carriers knew the story or what was in the package.

Historical Food Fortnightly

The Challenge: Sacred or Profane. This recipe is a little bit of both. Many people do not like the idea of recreating these dishes. According to New York Magazine, the director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center said that the publication of this collection was "sick" although it did not seem as though it was explained to him as a primary source document. Also 35 publishers turned the manuscript down. Personally, as a cook, if I spent my last days writing down recipes it would be because I wanted the dishes to survive into the future. It is my goal to help these recipes survive and the memory of those who wrote them. 

The Recipe:

Kisses from In Memory's Kitchen: A Legacy from the Women of Terezin

The Date/Year and Region: 1940s Czechoslovakia/ Europe

How Did You Make It:

Ingredients:

- 3 Cups Flour (and extra)
- 2 Cups Rolled Oats
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1 Cup Milk
- 1 Egg
- 1 Tablespoon Margarine
- 2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
- Jam for filling

Instructions: Mix flour, oats, sugar, and baking powder in mixing bowl. Add milk, egg, and margarine, mix until well combined. Add flour until it forms a dough that doesn't stick to your hands. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place one inch balls of dough on a cookie sheet and press your thumb into the center. Fill the indentations with jam and bake for 12-14 minutes. The tops stay very pale. 

Time to Complete: About 1 hour.


Total Cost: I had all of the ingredients.

How Successful Was It?: Tasted good. The dough part did not flatten as much as I thought. It had a very white color, even when it was fully baked. If I was to make it again, I would try using 2 cups of flour as per the original recipe but half the milk.

How Accurate Is It? No substitutions.

Sources

 

Tooze, J. Adam. The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy. New York: Viking, 2007.

"Theresienstadt." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. June 20, 2014. Accessed December 27, 2014. http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005424.