My research on one branch, the Camps, has been much aided by the fact that a book was published about my great great uncle, due to the fact that he was a sort of agricultural whiz kid in the mid 20th century and solved the longstanding problem of how to grow cotton in California. (And by the fact that there are about a million Camps out there, and perhaps as many websites and mailing lists).

That’s him, Wofford “Bill” Camp, standing next to his father in front. In the back left, behind his mother, is my great great grandfather William. My great great great grandparents are John Clayton and Mary Jane Atkins Camp. This is them in front of the still standing house known as Camps Crossroads, in Gaffney, South Carolina. (Someday I WILL visit this ol’ homeplace!). I was lucky enough to know William’s daughter, Maggie Lorene (Camp) Hill, as a child. It is to the home her husband built in Shafter, California that we are headed today, where her son, my grandpa, lives with my grandma. The house pictured here is in where my grandpa began his life, and the house to which I’m going is where he’ll end it.

I am so intrigued by Mary Jane, and really hope to find out more about her. Aside from raising 8 kids, she was the local midwife in Cherokee County, SC along with a black woman named Mealie Norris. This was the late 1800s and their family’s friendship was a bit of a novelty in the post Civil War South.

John Clayton, or Clayt, looks so much like his male descendants! Hey there Gramps, hey Uncle Terry.

Here is an excerpt out of the book about how Clayt related the story of how he met Mary Jane to his son Wofford (Bill) as she lay dying of pneumonia:

Three days later, when her temperature was still much too high and her breathing still very difficult, Clayt Camp sat quietly with his sons and daughters trying to face the fact that his Mary Jane was going to leave him. He rose at one point and went out of the house with Bill to look out over the fields.

“You know”, he said, “I fell in love with her before I ever saw her. I was sitting talking with some men in Gaffney and she was around the corner coming toward where we were and I heard the sound of her footsteps and I said out loud ‘That’s the girl I’m going to marry’. Before she’d come into view. Such a pretty pitter-patter.”

I am so excited to spend the rest of my life researching my family history, and hopefully eventually helping others learn about theirs too. I encourage you to get as many names, dates, and stories from your relatives as you can. Then just start putting names into popular genealogy sites and see what comes up. It’s a start. I traced two of my lines back to the 1500’s just by going “click, click, click…” There’s lots of info out there and it’s almost a guarantee that some of your distant kin have already done the work of putting some of it online for you. (I have been in touch with 4 of my cousins so far!).

Just seeing the old names is worth it! So far my favoritely named ancestors are two couples- Napoleon and Obeline (French Canadian) and Absalom and Hanna Hosea (Southern).

It’s such a satisfying endeavor, so deeply felt in the heart. Think about it- for each generation you go back, you double the number of ancestors you have. And if it weren’t for every single one of them, you wouldn’t exist.

Lose yourself in the fantastical clothing of summers past and…

Get your Witch Priestess on:

Size 7.5/8

Embroider your tall tales:

Betsey Johnson

reserved for Alela

Be a summertime elfin baby doll:

Dazzle the dragon in white lace and crochet:

And snag your prince by framing your lovely face with intricately woven neckline designs:

I Magnin

It’s been many photo shoots since I’ve posted a “preview” here, but I felt that the time was ripe to do it again for three reasons: 1) I really enjoy letting my friends and readers have first dibs 2) I have a strong feeling that at least one person will find their new favorite garment if I post this rather than just start listing on Etsy and 3) I am going out of town on Friday and probably won’t have time to list all of these, so through your comments I can ascertain which pieces are most fabulous and list them first!

]]> http://violetfolklore.com/2010/07/i-never-wear-beautiful-clothes-just-for-the-function-there-always-has-to-be-an-element-of-fantasy-or-a-story/feed/ 6 http://violetfolklore.com/2010/07/summer-thrift-scores/ http://violetfolklore.com/2010/07/summer-thrift-scores/#comments Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:36:49 +0000 admin http://violetfolklore.com/?p=1951

Ah, the thrifting life is certainly a rewarding one. Surprising, at times tedious, but always worth the effort. I recently scored both of these white lace dresses (thus adding to my ever growing collection of all things white lace) and this perfect stretchy belt and these wicked, witchy purple shoes (which will be for sale in the shop soon, but I can’t say the same about the dresses! Or the belt).

I am so completely smitten with this doll. It’s the clothes, of course. Such gorgeous embroidery! And the red skirt with lace! The apron, the bonnet! So Eastern European peasant. The stockings are fabulous too. And her face is so intricate and lovely. After considering a slew of other, really quite prettier, names I decided that I had to go with my heart and name her Maja Lisa, after a character in the novel Hanna’s Daughters, which I just finished and is about about three generations of Scandinavian women.

The grandmotherly lady at the thrift store had a soft spot for little girls and gave this doll to us for only $3.

Here we have two of the most practical scores of the summer. This darling plaid apron for the hours and hours and hours (and hours and hours and hours…) of kitchen work (which I am not complaining about, I am finding that I am becoming more domestic by the day, and that having a couple of lovely aprons around adds an extra dimension of comfort and joy to the repetitive tasks). And this killer playhouse/tent that has sure gone a long way toward keeping my girl occupied in the last couple weeks! It was marked at $20 but, as I’ve mentioned before, the Salvation Army’s in this area have the whackiest sales and on this day it was “anything with white in it half off”, so we paid $10 (plus the price of me having to fend off another mama who was trying to move in on my score!).

And finally, a little preview of the beautiful new vintage that will be making its way into the shop later this week. I have been more selective in my shopping and trading lately and am really stoked on these pieces- each so unique and distinctive- and am very much looking forward to photographing them and sharing them with you all soon :-)

We have always only had one car, and it was pretty much okay because Graham worked at home a lot. But for the past few months he has had full time work outside the house, which means that me and the girl are sittin’ at home a whole lot. Going. Crazy. And not getting much needed errands run.

But that all, wonderfully and unexpectedly, changed a few days ago when Graham’s dad Frank called to tell us that he and his wife Annie had decided to give us their Toyota Previa! It was the most relieving news, a huge exhale escaping an almost disbelieving body.

My dad has had a Previa since I was in high school, and I have driven that thing up and down the 5 and all over this state, so I am very familiar with it. They are roomy, great for camping, safe in the snow, and overall quite dependable. And this one has less than 100,000 miles on it even though it is 16 years old. We are so lucky, and equally grateful and STOKED.

So here is Mycie on our first outing in the new car. She wore this sweet little pink dress that I had thrifted the day before, with large vest-like pockets and sweet little pineapple buttons. (Every old lady in town loved her). We went to the library and got some celebratory ice cream in Nevada City.

And as we were wandering around I noticed that the beautiful poster- designed by Stephanie of Elevation 49- for the Renegade Craft Fair is up in the large window of a vacant downtown building. Peep Sasha’s recent blog and the Facebook Event Page for more info and, please, if you are nearby- join us there! (To sign up for a booth go here to the Miner’s Foundry site).

I have posted before (though you probably already knew, at least if you grew up an American girl) about the awesomeness of Dover paper doll and sticker books.

The other day I was in downtown Grass Valley at my favorite place- Booktown Books. Where I found a fan-freaking-tastic vintage paper doll book from the late 60s (blog coming soon) as well as this one…

I’d like to think that if it weren’t for the fact that I have an almost-four-year-old daughter I wouldn’t be buying, playing with, meticulously making folders for, and generally getting myself lost in the world of paper dolls. But such things are not for me to know.

Meet ( from left to right) Ruth, Thomas, Sarah, Benjamin, their parents Prudence and John, and their grandparents Hannah and Samuel.

Lest you think this is all just silly girly frippery and a way for me to avoid housework, I assure you, it’s educational!

In this book the family’s clothing is divided into four categories based on time period and economic status, with each outfit thoroughly described and placed in the context of what the typical American’s life was like at this time. It is obvious that a lot of research went into its making. I have chosen one page from each category to show you just how much Mycelia and I are learning about the sartorial experiences of our pioneering ancestors (and to indulge your love of very vintage fashion):

In traditional working class garb we see that “Prudence is dressed as a farmer’s wife in an outfit showing German influence. Her bodice is attached to the corset and decorate with ribbon; elbow-length sleeves have shaped cuffs. Her gauze apron is for “dress up” and is held on by a cloth belt. Her red turned up shoes are highly prized by rural folk. John work clothes are of homespun cloth in dark colors; the shirt has a dropped shoulder, popular well into the 19th century; there is probably a ruffle at the cuff which is won folded inside for everyday wear. He wears a flat felt hat and carries a powder horn and a shoulder patch containing shells.”

For a middle class family during the revolution (description is for the outfits on the left page)… “During the Revolution, Samuel calls upon his experiences as a young sailor to become a privateer for the new Continental Navy. Although there are no official Navy uniforms, privateer officers dress in the formal uniforms of military officers. Hannah is wearing a linen dress with a divided skirt; the front opening is bordered along each side with crewel-embroidered panels. The bodice is laced over the chemise in a zig-zag pattern. The sleeves of the bodice are quite short, revealing fitted chemise sleeves. The petticoat is quilted and decorated with crewel embroidery; quilted petticoats are popular because of the lack of central heating in homes.”

For an upper middle class family toward the end of the revolution (description is for the outfits on the left page)… “Prudence wears a dress of imported silk. The bodice is worn over a matching corset and and joins at the center front with concealed hooks; the elbow-length sleeves have a ruffle that is worn turned back. Her hair is “creped” and powdered (to crepe, the hair was tightly curled with an iron, then teased out until it stood quite high); the back of her hair is worn in large spiral curls. She wears a small cap, or fontage, of ecru and white lace. John’s formal suit is of blue satin with silver trim buttons; the waistcoat is of pale blue silk taffeta with elaborate ribbon and silver embroidered trim. His shoes have a modified tongue treatment, but he wears the ubiquitous silver buckles that are a status symbol.”

And finally, this is after the war when John and Prudence and the kids decided to move West (again, description is just for the left page) …”Sarah wears a simple dress with fitted sleeves, and a pinafore with a lrage pocket for carrying herbs and berries she might pick as she walks. Her stole is a keepsake quilt she made from scraps of material given to her by her friends and relations from home. Benjamin wears his farmer outfit with the addition of full length Indian leggings and moccasins. The younger children are dressed in simple homespun attire. Ruth carries a precious scarf given to her by her grandmother. Thomas carries a small bow and arrow.”

You can check out other great Dover paper doll books here and more in their American Family line here.

But whatever you do, don’t do what I just did and start searching for paper doll books (vintage and/or handmade) on Etsy, or you’ll get your blog posted much later than you’d planned!

]]> http://violetfolklore.com/2010/07/paper-dolls-of-the-american-revolution/feed/ 4 http://violetfolklore.com/2010/07/inside-the-cuckoos-nest/ http://violetfolklore.com/2010/07/inside-the-cuckoos-nest/#comments Mon, 05 Jul 2010 20:14:53 +0000 admin http://violetfolklore.com/?p=1806 As promised, the follow up to my most popular blog ever- The Cuckoo’s Nest: Portland’s Original Bohemian Boutique. These shots were taken in the early 70s and feature different spaces inside the shop as well as some more of the folks involved.

Oh, and awesome news! Julie’s friend James Kiehle is now working on a book about The Cuckoo’s Nest :-)

The famous men’s Western shirts handmade by Georgia Drummond.

I’ll take that one and that one and that one and that one…

Susie Carlson pretties up the racks.

The entrance.

The home of Bill & Sam (named after the Naito brothers- see original post).

John Stockert arranging flowers.

Four of the shop’s seamstresses.

Georgia Drummond, head seamstress.

Jody Sterne, Marilyn Thompson, and Susie Carlton have fun with Raggedy Ann.

Jody behind the register.

Ric Young sketching a design. He is now, as Julie says, “designing costumes and directing Storefront Theatre productions for angels”.

Ric and Jody being fabulous.

Robin Chilstrom, personal seamstress to Ric.

Leather craftsman Rik Ehmann.

The Native American jewelry booth.

The shop stocked a large inventory of jewelry made by the Hopi, Zuni, and Navajo tribes.

All the rest of the jewelry was handcrafted by local artists, one of whom was Dyke Vandenburgh who now owns a beautiful jewelry store in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

Handmade pottery by the late Joel Cotett of Portland and Michael Zametkin of Astoria.

The natural foods cafe, managed by Susie Carlton. As with the other hand carved signs, this one (missing the “i” in juice!) was made by Roger McKay.

The menu. Julie recalls that the most expensive item was an avocado, sharp cheddar cheese, tomato and sprout sandwich on wholegrain bread for 85 cents.

There were private dining booths which were wallpapered in antique sheet music. Julie says that customers would spend hours inside.

The natural cosmetic and body bar where customers would bring their own containers and buy in bulk (Julie was so ahead of her time!).

Nooks and crannies in the natural body care section.

Okay and I still have one more Cuckoo’s Nest blog to post, all about the musician associated with the shop and some of the AMAZING posters and marketing images they created!

I spent the last Friday through Tuesday with my family in South Lake Tahoe, California (where I was born and raised) and Gardnerville, Nevada, just over the hill from South Shore and the town in which my mom and dad (now divorced) both live.

Luckily for me my sister Lacey still lives in Tahoe, so I still have a place to land when I go to visit my home land. The smell of Tahoe in summertime is my favorite in the world. At 6,000 feet elevation in the High Sierras, there’s nothing like it.

Day One: Speaking of sisters… before we got to Tahoe we stopped in Placerville at the Cozmic Cafe to meet my friends Heather of Moonshine Junkyard and Adrienne of Windows To Green. Although I am lucky enough to know these darling sisters in “real life” the hour and a half distance between Placerville and Grass Valley means that we hardly ever get to see each other (and actually have only hung out in person one or two times). But we definitely stay in touch online, and I totally love everything about them, their family, their sartorial tastes, and the way they live their lives. It was awesome to connect in person, even if only for an hour.

Heather had just won my giveaway for the amazing Love Is Now book, and I was happy to get to deliver it to her in person!

She, in turn, came bearing gifts. A darling little red prairie dress to add to Myceia’s collection of Vintage Dresses That Will Fit When She Is About Five, the cutest little figurine that includes three of my favorite things: pink, elephant, and accordion, and the most beautiful, perfect vintage summer dress for me! (Pictures way below).

We three snuck into the old caverns at the back of the restaurant to take some photos. Pretty dresses, pretty dresses, pretty dresses. We love ‘em. I had just scored this pretty off white lacy number a few days before. Some of the lace is ripped, there are some slight stains, and the lining is torn. Which means… I can actually wear and live in it without worrying about fucking it up too much! My trip outfits seemed to be dominated by white lace, as you’ll see.

Can I please be a Beatty sister?

Day Two: No, nevermind, I like being a Hill sister. And actually my sister was the reason for the trip anyway, as it was her 27th birthday. While she slaved away at her job that day Mycelia and I had some fun around town, starting at a rubber ducky race/fundraiser at the park in Meyers (in South Lake Tahoe) that Lace & I grew up playing at.

I saw some old friends there with their kids, including Brittan, who I have known since I was about 7. We had never met each other’s kids before and were thrilled to do so. (Oh, and here is the 2nd white lace piece that I wore on the trip, over a little black dress from Target that is actually a nightie but that I’ve been wearing all over town this summer).

Here are Mycelia Violet and Ramsey Rose (Ramsey is Brittan’s maiden name, isn’t that cute!?).

The little creek that runs through the park is so dear to me. We have a home video of my four year old self wading “nekkid” out into the shallow part of it and sitting down. When I stand up my butt is covered in sand and my parents try to instruct me to go deeper to wash the sand off, but each time I take about half a step and sit down again to try and wash it off, then stand up with more sand affixed to my little bottom, and on and on. (I told you this would be self indulgent).

Tahoe is beautiful.

Canadian geese in front of a manmade lake at the park. Did I already say that Tahoe is beautiful?

After the park we hit the lake! Mycelia takes in the scenery…

And adjusts to the cold.

And feels the joy. PS how beautiful is this lake!?

Mt. Tallac. This spot is famous in Tahoe because the t shape never loses it’s snow in the summer months.

View of the casinos from my sister’s work.

After the beach it was time to a) go to Cold Stone and drown ourselves in sugary sweet coldness and then b) go to sushi for my sister’s birthday! I wish I had gotten more photos- Lacey’s boyfriend’s entire family was there and it was awesome to spend time with them.

This was only the first of three birthday dinner celebrations Miss Lacey Maye had thrown for her!

Day Three: My dad took Mycelia to the park in the morning, and I gave them my sun hat in case she needed it. When they returned my dad had it on his head, and had seemingly forgotten about it. When he went outside to call his own dad I snuck this photo of him :-)

In the evening Lacey came over to my mom’s for her 2nd birthday dinner, and our grandma Claire and her best friend Ismay drove down from Sacramento to join us. Here are Lace & Myc lounging in the front yard.

And the fam in the back yard.

My mom’s husband Dave barbequeing and apparently being canonized by the gods of Unexpected Photographic Outcomes. I love how his joking face is almost identical to Ismay’s reading face. (One really interesting familial development lately is that my dad, whose name is Gary, and Dave have become BFFs. My mom and dad still get along great and we all get together for family events often enough that Gary and Dave have really gotten to know each other. And since they are both fairly new to Gardnerville they don’t have many friends, so they call each other up if there’s a game to watch or something. While my mom and grandma were preparing dinner in the kitchen on this evening I walked into them laughing. When I asked what about my mom told me that my grandma had said it was like having two husbands around, and my mom had to agree!).

And speaking of grandma and mom… my elephants make strawberry shortcake.

Day Four: We all go to this restaurant in Gardnerville for Lacey’s 3rd birthday dinner.

I had gone to Reno earlier in the day to do some vintage shopping and had gotten this adorable romper for Mycie (at Target).

Even though she was stoked to run through the sprinklers in her undies (we lost her bathing suit at the beach in Tahoe!) Mycie was very sad that she couldn’t come to Reno with me :-(

I wore my new dress from Heather on this day- featuring the third installment of white lace. This barn was right outside the restaurant and provided the perfect backdrop!

Scalloped lace trim, so so pretty!

Scalloped lace pocket, so so so pretty! I truly adore this dress and have already worn it a number of times. THANK YOU Heather! (I can’t believe you were willing to part with it!).

Day Five: My dad is awesome (and unemployed) and made the 5 hour- round trip- drive to get us both to and from Tahoe. On the day we were headed back he indulged my desire to go through South Shore again and around Emerald Bay on the Cali side of the lake, instead of the faster (from Gardnerville) Nevada side. We stopped for a smoothie at Sprouts Natural Foods Cafe and checked out some chipmunks.

Emerald Bay, the most photographed spot in Lake Tahoe. BEAUTIFUL! I can’t believe I was lucky enough to grow up here. Going home these days makes me both sublimely relaxed and happy and deeply, heart-wrenchingly sad. I think of the loss of my childhood home (after my parent’s divorce), my carefree days growing up, and especially of the friends who have died. I am reminded, more so than at other times, of how fleeting everything is. Of how everything changes and everyone dies. Jack Kerouac’s piece of writing advice “Accept loss forever” has been playing on repeat in my head. But I don’t know how to do it.

Speaking of those carefree days, my senior prom was held on the boat driving out of the bay here, the famous Tahoe Queen. Oh and did I mention that on this trip I was in Tahoe exactly one year after my ten year reunion? And that I got super sad about that too? Where are all my friends now? Why can’t we have a reunion every year? Why can’t everything be that fun?

Ah, well, the natural beauty of the world may not completely offset the grief of loss, but it does help, it does help…

and have I mentioned how beautiful Lake Tahoe is?

A few weeks ago my friend Jessica of Cast & Bind was over, and somehow our conversation turned to Tasha Tudor.

I had never heard of her but was very intrigued, especially when I checked out the website above.

I got the book The Private World of Tasha Tudor from the library last week, along with a couple of her childrens’ books, and I am smitten.

Ever since childhood she knew what kind of life she wanted to live- simple, homemade, self sufficient, and suffused with the spirit of old world goods and methods- and she did it. (She died two years ago at age 92).

The best part of the book for me was about her clothing collection. Here are some quotes:

“Why do women want to dress like men when they are fortunate enough to be women? Why lose our femininity, which is one of our greatest charms? We get much more accomplished by being charming than we would by flaunting around in pants and smoking. I’m very fond of men. I think they’re wonderful creatures. I love them dearly. But I don’t want to look like one…

When women gave up their long skirts, they made a grave error. Things half seen are so much more mysterious and delightful. Remember the term “A neatly turned ankle”? Think of the thrill that gentlemen used to get if they caught even a glimpse of one. Now women go around in their union uits. And what a multitude of sins you could cover up with a long skirt if you had piano legs… (<– I had to look this term up. In modern parlance- cankles).

My antique clothing collection is a great folly of mine. The majority are from the 1830s, but I have examples from every style and decade from 1770 to 1870. It’s very common for a friend who tries on one of my old dresses to feel transported to another time. It gives a different perspective on life…

I myself feel much more at home in an old frock. There’s no feeling of dressing up; they just feel right! I’ve collected everything: stays, corsets, bustles, hoops, parasols, gloves, wristers, muffs, bonnets, and even an Empire “barnyard cape” made of peacock and pheasant feathers, which was all the rage when Jefferson was president.” (<– If anyone can tell me what this is I would be most grateful. I have exhausted all search possibilities I could think of).

She had a special fondness for corgis. And pears.

This might be one of my favorite photos of all time. The Crone at Harvest Moon.

Braiding onions.

She illustrated by candlelight.

The parts about her doll house, puppet collection, and family rituals are so beautiful. Her four children were very lucky to have her as a mom.

“I’m perfectly content. I’ve no other desire but to live right here with my dogs and my goats and my birds.”

“I think I’ve done a good job of life, but I have no message to give anyone. If I do have a philosophy, it is one best expressed by Henry David Thoreau: ‘If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours’. That is my credo. It is absolutely true. It is my whole life summed up.”

(The book, of course, has much more information and many more photos and quotes from Tasha, I supremely recommend checking it out!)

]]> http://violetfolklore.com/2010/06/the-wonder-of-tasha-tudor/feed/ 14 http://violetfolklore.com/2010/06/lacy-webs/ http://violetfolklore.com/2010/06/lacy-webs/#comments Thu, 24 Jun 2010 15:46:04 +0000 admin http://violetfolklore.com/?p=1744

Take my black and rainbow striped beach cover up dress and favorite burgundy boots, throw some sort of black lacy crochet spider web looking piece over it, and you got yourself (or I got myself rather) two killer 100% thrifted going-out-on-a-summer-night outfits.

Now to find something to do…