Me as Susan B.

Susan B. Anthony (February 15, 1820 - March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. She was born into a Quaker family that was committed to social equality.

Susan B. Anthony (image from Internet)

In 1872, Anthony was arrested for voting in the presidential election and was convicted in a widely publicized trial. Although she refused to pay the $100 fine, the authorities declined to take any further action against her. In 1878, Anthony and her associate Stanton arranged for Congress to be presented with an amendment giving women the right to vote. This amendment was eventually ratified as the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1920.

The Nineteenth Amendment prohibits the states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex. It was initially introduced to Congress in 1878, several attempts to pass a women's suffrage amendment failed until 1919, when suffragists pressed President Woodrow Wilson to call a special congressional session. On May 21, 1919, the proposed amendment passed the House of Representatives, followed by the Senate on June 4, 1919. I was then submitted to the states for ratification. On August 18, 1920, Tennessee was the last of the necessary 36 states to secure ratification. The Nineteenth Amendment was officially adopted on August 26, 1920.

The 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment's official adoption is coming up next year and to honor this anniversary I was asked if I would portray Susan B. Anthony for one of my DAR chapter's meetings. My DAR sisters know that I dress up and portray different characters for the county programs I work and thought I would be the most logical person to ask. Of course I said I would help them out.

This November's dinner-meeting was the meeting I portrayed Susan B. Anthony. Myself and four other ladies became the "Hickory Bluff Players" as we, dressed in suffragette costumes and performed our "skit" for the chapter members and their guests as they ate dessert.

The ladies and I walked into the dining room and paraded around it as we chanted, "Votes for women" and waved a 'votes for women' sign.

Susan B. Anthony was introduced and I made my way to the podium. I read the speech that Ms. Anthony gave after her arrest in 1872.  

Here are two of my fellow Hickory Bluff Players dressed as suffragettes and myself as Susan B. Anthony.

A few of the ladies who attended the dinner-meeting also dressed as suffragettes but were not part of the skit. Those of us in costume had a group photograph taken.

Our DAR chapter had a guest speaker joins us at the meeting. She is the Vice President of the League of Women Voters of Charlotte County (the other reason we had our little suffragette skit). Her name is Jean. Jean was impressed with our skit. She said we had done our research well and she really liked my performance and costume as Susan B. Anthony. She liked it so much that she asked me if I could possibly appear as Ms. Anthony at one of her organization's meetings. I emailed her later and said I would be happy to accommodate her. She emailed me back and said she had spoken with a friend of hers who is part of one of Friends of the Library groups and told her about my performance. Her friend just may be interested in a performance too.

Little did I know that donning a gray wig, olde-timey glasses and reading a speech would lead to any encore performances. My 2020 may become a lot busier if  more women's groups hear about my portrayal of Susan B. Anthony.

A bit of trivia...

Question: What does the "B" in Susan B. Anthony stand for?

Answer: Brownell. One of Susan's aunts married a Mr. Brownell.

Getting Medieval Again

The Colonel and I attended the Sarasota Medieval Faire again this year. Every year it seems to get bigger and better. This was the 16th annual faire.

This year's theme was Joan of Arc and the Siege of Orleans (1428 AD). The siege was part of the Hundred Years War between England and France.

The young woman that portrayed Joan of Arc looked authentic to me. She and her soldiers fought against the English army on the Human Combat Chess Field.

The day we attended the faire, a Joan of Arc costume contest was held. Our friend (who happens to be our "boss" for the county history programs we work) was one of the contestants. Crystal is a fabulous artist. She designed and built her costume from scratch. The Colonel and I were impressed with her costume (we had seen the preliminary sketches). She portrayed the burning Saint Joan of Arc. Crystal won the contest.

Many people dress up for the faire, adults and children alike. It is always fun to people-watch. Here are just a few interesting costumes we saw.

Cast In Bronze was at the faire again this year. This musician and his instrument are incredible. The instrument he plays is called the carillon.

 Frank DellaPenna studied music in Valley Forge, PA and is a graduate from the French Carillon School of Tourcoing, France.

As a Master-Carillonnuer, Mr. DellaPenna expertly plays an instrument that was created five centuries ago in Flanders. The carillon has a modified keyboard that is played with fists and feet.

Originally, carillons were located in bell towers around the world. In the 1960's, a Dutch foundry made the first mobile carillon.

The carillon that Mr. DellaPenna plays contains 35 bells and weighs four tons. It takes musical dexterity, strength and endurance to play the instrument. Mr. DellaPenna has played this instrument since 1991. He combines the many bells of the carillon with other musical instruments to create unique and beautiful music.

Mr. DellaPenna spoke to the audience when he was done playing. He told us that he was not a young man (68-but not ready to retire just yet). He told us about his non-profit organization that he formed to create scholarships for qualified musicians to study at the North American Carillon School; The Cast In Bronze Society (CIBS).

I met and spoke with Mr. DellaPenna. I told him I agreed with his philosophy of "passing the torch" of  his unique musical talent to future students and that The Colonel and I would become supporting members of the CIBS.

There was a new addition to the faire this year...Mini Pigs!  OMG...they were soooo cute. For a nominal fee of three dollars one could hold and feed the little darlings...and I did.

After paying my fee, I was let through the gate and into the fenced enclosure. The straw-strewn floor was home to several mini pigs. I carefully stepped my way around the pigs to a straw bale and sat down. The "pig wranglers" put a large towel on my lap and handed me a small plastic cup that was filled with minced veggies. 

As soon as I had my cup-o-veggies, one of the smallest of the mini pigs jumped into my lap and began to scarf down the food. The lady sitting next to me asked one of the wranglers if the pigs could bite. He said that anything with teeth could bite....duh.

Once the food was gone, the mini pig didn't stay long in my lap (another slightly larger one tried to join us but realized the food was gone). It was time for me to leave the enclosure and make room for the next person in line. 

Mini Pig factoids: On average a properly fed mini pig will reach 35-55 pounds, about the size of a medium sized dog. The pigs have a lifespan of around 15 years.

The Colonel and I are looking forward to next year's faire.

Before we headed home, we traveled a bit further north to put some pretty, holiday flowers on the graves of My-Favorite-Father-In-Law and The Colonel's grandmother.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday