Most of Adam's writings were folded in half lengthwise and secured together with paperclips. The pages of one essay in particular, entitled "Dress", were joined together in the top left-hand corner with this sewing pin. It didn't take me very long to realize that this pin would have belonged to Ellen.
Ellen's son, Horace, had written, "My Mother used to make our clothes, knit our
woolen socks, and in fact everything we wore, except a pair of red top boots
with which we were supplied in the fall for the winter. So
that we would not grow out of our clothes they were made very large, the sleeves of our coats would extend
several inches below our hands, then when we grew into them by that time they
were wore out and we started all over again. Mother would work hard all day and then darn, mend and spin after the
children had been put to bed."
My mother learned to sew from her mother. When my two older sisters became interested in sewing I didn't want to be left out and insisted I be taught as well. I was 7 years old. Mom would put a stack of Sears catalogs under the foot pedal of the sewing machine so my foot could reach it. Without any thread in the sewing machine, I would practice sewing straight lines by following lines on notebook paper. It wasn't long before I was making my own skirts, tops, and dresses. By the time I was in Jr. high school I was sewing for friends to earn extra money. And by the time I was in high school I had made a few wedding dresses, dozens of costumes for the high school theater department, practically all of my own clothes and did quite a bit of sewing for my mom.
I sewed constantly for my children, especially once my daughter was born. I made her blessing dress, her wedding dress, and everything in between. I mended and hemmed and sewed on more scout patches than I could possibly count. And now I sew for my granddaughter.
I have the original essays and speeches that Adam wrote. I have buttons from his Civil War uniform. I have newspaper clippings and photos and enough information about him and his life to fill multiple blog posts.
And I have Ellen's pin. Priceless.
All original content, images, commentary, etc. copyright © by Joy Denison 2015-2016. All rights reserved. All writings, poems, speeches, essays, images, scans, likenesses, etc. by Adam Ickes (b 1845) as well as personal histories, images, and all other content by all persons referenced and discussed within the pages and posts in this blog may not be copied, shared, or reproduced in any way without expressed permission by the owner unless included here from other referenced sources or are historical records already considered to be in the public domain.
No comments:
Post a Comment