Settling in Kansas Territory performance January 26th 6:30 pm

More information is available on the Emporia Public Library's website at emporialibrary.org

Free to attend.

Telling History - The Book by Dr. Joyce M. Thierer

Ever wondered how you could get involved in historical performance?  You're in luck!

It turns out there is a manual, written by Dr. Joyce M. Thierer of Ride into History.  Learn what sets historical performance and first person narrative apart from others.  Learn the story of the frustrating event that led Dr. Thierer to create her first character performance; Calamity Jane.

Available on amazon.com and from your local bookseller

New Historical Performance to debut on Sunday, September 13th

A brand new character will debut this weekend in Admire, Kansas!

Dr. Joyce Thierer will perform on Sunday, September 13th on their homestead place.  There is no admission charge.  Dinner will be served afterwards.  Donations accepted to benefit the Ride Into History Cultural Education Project with provides youth history camps each summer.

Flyer for RIHCEP 2015

Sunday will be all about Kittie Hays Houghton and the Santa Fe Trail

For me, that is.  I'll be performing three times on Sunday - small snippets from Kittie Hays' life as the adopted daughter of Seth Hays, trader on the Santa Fe Trail.

Kittie performs at:

10:45 am
12:30 pm
2:15 pm

Sunday, May 3rd at Wamego, Kansas at the Kansas Sampler Festival.

Saturday will be all about Nell Donnelly

At least, for me it will.  I'll perform short snippets of Nell's stories three times on Saturday.

11:45 am
1:30 pm
3:15 pm

And I'll be wearing her wardrobe all day and displaying the few Nelly Don dresses I have collected.  I recently acquired a Handy Dandy apron and it will also be on display.

Kansas Sampler Festival, May 2 & 3, Wamego, Kansas.

DIY Cleaning and Reshaping Vintage Hats

Making that long list of things that need to be done before I perform....one of those is steaming and reshaping my hats.  How do they get so catty-wompus?  I try so hard to handle them carefully.  Oh, well, it just takes a clean countertop (the biggest challenge for me) and a few minutes with my teapot.

The white tubes are index cards rolled up to fit inside the ribbon bow.  I leave the paper rolls in the hat even for storage.  The brush in my hand is what I use to clean my hats.  It's just a soft bristle little brush like you might use for hand washing or potato washing at the sink.  When the hat is steamy, the dry brush is perfect for cleaning off dust and grime.

This hat is wonderful but the shape is all wonky.  See the puckering across the front brim?  There is a matching pucker in the center back.  I've tried to wear this one a few times because it's so unique.  Today, I decided it was never going to fix itself.  I steamed it quite a few minutes hoping that it might soften up and pull itself back into the original shape?  I am not sure what that shape should be.  Maybe it knows.  We'll see what happens.  

 Ah, it did!  It's adorable!

These are my make-do diy forms.  Stuff that's readily available in my cabinets.  Something approximately the same shape and size as my head plus something to keep the hat up so the brim can hang naturally while everything dries and resets itself.

Let them set all day or even overnight.  They need time to rest and dry out without being handled.  Remember, you steamed them to make them pliable.  So, don't rush in and handle them while they're still in the pliable state.  Wait.  

Reminding myself not to CRAM both hats into the same hat box.  If you value your hat - it gets it's own hat box that is big enough so the hat doesn't touch the box in any direction.  I use a wad of newspaper inside a plastic bag as my filler (head shape) before I place my best hats in their boxes.   As you can see with the black hat, it would be best if the hat didn't rest on the brim.  Maybe I'll try storing this one upside down this time.   Wonder how the lady who first bought it stored it?

I'll try transporting both hat boxes with me to the event and using them!  One extra trip back and forth to the car will probably make a huge difference in keeping these antique hats in perfect shape for performances. Now to locate a few plume feathers......don't ya think?

Kittie Hays Houghton at the Admire Fall Festival, October 2014

Kittie Hays was the adopted daughter of Seth Hays; great grandson of Daniel Boone and prosperous trader on the Santa Fe Trail at Council Grove, Kansas.

Kittie shares stories of her childhood underfoot at the busy trading post, as well as her education at Westport, Missouri.  By the time of her eighteenth birthday, she learned her vast inheritance of the Hays estate had been spent and she found herself, again, a penniless orphan.

Kittie Hays Houghton is performed by Kitty Frank of Allen, Kansas.

The Kansas City Fashion Revolution of Nell Donnelly-Reed performs for Womens History Month

Nell Donnelly-Reed arrived at Emporia Public Library, Emporia, Kansas on the evening of March 26, 2015 to tell stories about her company and it's upcoming expansion.  Nell presented from the year 1947.  After the performance, it was discovered that one of the attendee's mother was a nurse for Nell in her later years.

Now that's history coming alive!

  The Emporia Gazette