ST. ALBANS — The Civil War era ancestors of today’s St. Albans lived by a code steeped in long-held traditions and social customs. These, melded with deeply held religious values provided a moral compass that in retrospect can be just a bit difficult to understand.
This was the age of modesty and refinement, yet the courting ritual sometimes included plunging ball gown necklines.
The flower was off the rose, so to speak, once a woman reached 25. The pursuit of a suitable husband, however, could not employ the use of makeup. It, after all, was the gateway to a woman’s moral ruin.
Lynn Sawyer, a Champlain Valley Historical Re-enactor and president of the Cambridge Historical Society, guided a group of about 50 people on a venture into the past here on Saturday, Jan. 18. Her two-hour presentation, billed as the St. Albans Raid Civil War Clothing Workshop, was a reprise of a similar program held last May, also in the Bliss Room of the St. Albans Historical Museum.
Click here to learn more about the previous 1860’s clothing program.
Sawyer has lent a hand, and her considerable knowledge, in local efforts to encourage area residents to dress in period garb during the Sept. 18-21, St. Albans Raid 150th Anniversary Commemoration.
Joined by four girls attired in period clothing and Bob Bushnell and Harry Knowles in men’s apparel, Sawyer’s talk provoked questions, laughter, and at times, some astonishment. It was a captivated audience that watched as Sawyer, wearing only the essential undergarments of 150 years ago, struggled with a corset and giant hoop and skirt as she dressed right on stage for an evening ball.
Northwest Public Access Channel 15 will broadcast the presentation in its entirety (date and time to be announced in the Messenger). Anyone wishing further information regarding period clothing resources, whether making their own or wishing to purchase items, may write to stalbansraid@gmail.com.
