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Next
Meeting
Sunday, January 15, 2006
2pm at the Champaign County Historical Museum on E. Lawn Ave. in Urbana.
Barbara Plaistaid, Ann Corfman and Glenn Lewis will entertain members and guests
by portraying three interesting Champaign County personages. Barbara Plaistaid
will play the part of wealthy St. Paris resident Thyrsa Kiser who with her
husband, John, once arrived at their home on East Main Street driving a red
Panhard, St. Paris' first automobile. Ann Corfman will become Elizabeth Hughes,
a far from wealthy woman from Urbana Ann refers to as Urbana's " original
ecologist ". Glen Lewis will perform as nationally recognized Billy Clifford,
Urbana's famous son and vaudeville actor who, as a boy, once worked at the
Douglas Hotel ( then known as the Weaver House ) as a bell hop earning $ 1.50 a
week. This is a program you will not want to miss!
As
always, guests cordially are invited to attend.
Prior
to the meeting there will be a very short session to elect officers.
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Reminder
This is a gentle reminder to all of you who have not yet renewed your
membership in the Champaign County Historical Society, 2006 dues of $10.00 per
family are payable now.
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Cook Books
The popular
Bicentennial Cookbook compiled by the Bicentennial Arts and Culture Committee
still is available at the Historical Society Museum - $ 20.00 per copy. Call to
reserve your copy or stop any Tuesday between the hours of 10:00 am and 4 pm.
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Welcome
The Historical Society welcomes new members Dan and Jane Daulton and Mike
Forhan.
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Recent Acquisitions
One of the
Museum's newest acquisitions is a clay canning jar with lid that came from the
Rutan homestead on Bullard-Rutan Road. It was donated by Calvin and Jean Rutan.
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A Request
While the museum has uniforms representing nearly every war in which the United
States has been involved, we do not have a uniform from the Korean War. Do you
know of anybody from Champaign County who would be willing to donate one for our
military collection?
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Historic Tidbits
The Champaign County Historical Museum has in its collection a variety of old
spoons among which are some interesting " souvenir spoons " . These small
sterling and silver plate spoons usually depict famous people, historical places
or events and were immensely popular at the turn of the 20th century. Two of
those in the Historical Society's collection have a picture of the school in
Mechanicsburg; one shows the monument in the center of the Square in Urbana,
Ohio and another shows Urbana's third court house.
Earlier spoons in the collection include a few made from coin silver. The term "
coin " applies to the quality of the metal. 17th and 18th century people took
their silver coins to the goldsmith to be melted into sheets of silver and
formed into objects. The finest coins, and thus the finest silverware, were .925
silver for sterling quality.
At the opposite end of the scale from the fine coin silver spoons on display in
the museum are three tiny tin spoons referred to as " disposable " or " throw
away " ice cream spoons. Ice cream parlors in Urbana, Ohio like the Quality
Creamery on East Court Street, gave them to people who ordered a dish of ice
cream " to - go " . They measure about three inches long.
Although the museum does not have examples of any of the following, it is
amazing to learn how many different types of spoons actually exist. There are,
for example, " apostle " spoons, spoons that have a figure of one of the twelve
apostles at the end of the handle. There are " mote " spoons the size of a very
small teaspoon with a decoratively pierced bowl for straining tea leaves and a
slender handle for poking tea leaves from the inside of a teapot spout. There
are " strainer spoons " useful for single cups of tea and there also are " tea -
caddy spoons " with a short handle and a broad bowl quite often in the shape of
a shell. There are spoons designed for scooping cheese; there are long - handled
spoons for serving olives; there are " berry spoons " with juice - catching
bowls; and there are special spoons with pierced bowls were used to serve
relishes.
Physicians often carried folding spoons with corkscrews at one end.
And then there are the " runcible spoons ". It has been
said that poet, Edward Lear, while composing a poem, applied a nonsense word " runcible " to pickle forks - forks that have three broad
curved prongs, one of which has a sharpened edge for cutting. The coined word
has been used every since. Remember Lear's poem, The Owl and the Pussycat
? The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea / In a beautiful pea - green boat: / They
took some honey, and plenty of money, / Wrapped up in a five pound note. / The
Owl looked up to the stars above, / And sang to a small guitar, / " O lovely
Pussy ! O Pussy, my love, / What a beautiful Pussy you are, / You are, You are!/
What a beautiful Pussy you are! / Pussy said to the Owl, " You elegant fowl ! /
How charmingly sweet you sing ! / O let us be married ! Too long we have
tarried: / But what shall we do for a ring ? / They sailed away , for a year and
a day, / To the land where the Bong - tree grows, / And there in a wood a Piggly
- wig stood, / With a ring at the end of his nose, / His nose, His nose, / With
a ring at the end of his nose. / " Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one
shilling / Your ring ? " Said the Piggy, " I will " . / So they took it away and
were married next day / By the turkey who lives on the hill. / They dined on
mince and slices of quince, / Which they ate with a runcible
spoon; / And in hand, on the edge of the sand, / They danced by the light of the
moon, / The moon, The moon, / They danced by the light of the moon..
In addition to spoons that were carved from wood or formed from horn of bone,
pewter spoons were among the most common type that our early ancestors used.
Pewter was a soft material , however, and frequently needed to be remolded.
Itinerant spoon molders roamed from settlement to settlement using molds.
Our Victorian ancestors preferred more elaborate accessories and, when possible,
set their tables with silver objects like the fanciful " spoon warmer ".
Until ready for use, spoons were kept in the " warmer " which was filled with
warm water.
Although certainly not amusing at the time it occurred in the spring of 1862, a
bit of Ohio history relates to spoons. Confederate Gen. John Hunt Morgan, who
had commanded a 2,500 - man mounted cavalry and raided deep into Ohio, was
captured in Columbiana County and incarcerated in the Ohio Penitentiary in
Columbus. The penitentiary at that time was considered escape - proof.
Nonetheless, Morgan and several of his officers used tablespoons to break into
an airshaft and escape over the walls. He was never recaptured.
This month's commentary will conclude with the following " historical tidbit "
regarding spoons. An early tavern in Boston known as the Beetown Tavern had only
half a dozen pewter teaspoons. When the sugar was passed, each guest stirred a
spoonful into his coffee and passed the spoon on to his left - hand neighbor
who, in turn, used it and passed it to his left.
Next month I'll regale you with electrifying information about forks.
Compiled and written by
Barbara E. Sour, Trustee/Editor
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