Bare Necessities: How our Ancestors Survived the Winter

Warning this is not a soup tureen! 

Knowing history can be a valuable tool. It can save you embarrassing moments. The item shown above is a chamber pot and when properly used in the past would have saved you a cold walk through the snow to the privy. We will come back to this later, and until then I will leave it to your imagination.  

I am indebted to our volunteers Alyssa and Owen for taking many of the photographs used in this blog. 

This blog continues a thread from a previous blog about winter entitled "candlemas" here, I ended that blog by saying "In a future blog we will look at ways in which they kept themselves warm during the winter..." So that is our focus now. 

The underlying theme of this season is survival and the appreciation of life during a period of darkness and cold. It comes from a time when most people were farmers and life was hard and uncertain. The question implied in the title of this blog is how our ancestors survived the winter. Part of the answer is that many of them did not survive the winter. 

Understanding this annual challenge should be a significant part of researching family history and genealogy (something we do a lot of at the Conway Public Library's Henney History Room). Those photos and heirlooms of your ancestors become more meaningful when you understand their personal struggle. That is hard for us today with all the technological comforts we have now. 

To help you really understand the past, the Conway Public Library's Henney History Room offers free, hands-on programs to local schools and community groups 

Light

winter also season of darkness 

light brings joy 

Canhwyllbren Frwyn or Rush Lamp

On display at the Conway Public Library is our official "mascot" Canhwyllbren Frwyn. 

FMI see our previous blog here. 

cpl mascot, rush lamp 

see season of light blog (at least draft) here. 

in 1999, we did display, y2k life without electricity - again? 

exploring the possibility that the so called y2k computer virus would shut down 

exhibit we did, pics of that 

survivalism

zombie apocolypse 

candles, 

pics candle making kit (we can do for you) 

etc. 

Crusie Lamp

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Cruisie lamp burned fish oil or fat trimmings and had wicks of twisted cloth. They were eventually replaced by the Betty lamp. 

add 

candle mold

other lighting objects from CHS 

We also use art as well as artifacts to explore the past. Winslow Homer was particularly adept at capturing evocative slices of life in his illustrations.  The period from about 1300 to 1850 was known at "the little ice age" and you can see that in this picture. 

Note the wooden snow shovels. 

Warm

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other domestic artifacts how they stayed warm, happy to do free outreach program to local schools and community groups

included are objects some on display in circ case, including 

and previous exhibit y2k we did photos from that see vitae notebook 

starts with warm clothing, layers 

long underwear 

flannel 

hat with floppy ears 

good socks 

shoes, limner boots 

coats, slickers 

washing laundry that freezes 

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Bed Warmer

It is a lot easier to understand what this item is if you are able to touch it, open it, and see a video clip from the film Pirates of the Caribbean (FMI see search here). 

In cooperation with the Conway Historical Society (who loans the artifacts) we have been exploring daily life of common folk in the past and change over time. 

living history to do that, sleep in a rope bed on a corn husk mattress heated by a bed warmer and a chamber pot. 

start with hot water? 

basin, pitcher, 

Warm water basin and pitcher and even specific piece of furniture now obsolete wash stand
wide range of styles

heat water fireplace, then woodstove, set kettles, 

2 sink spigots, spouts, faucets, language 

ingenious tray charcoal brick foot warmer 

fmi on wicked good charcoal see previous blog here. 

some examples, fascinating example foot warmer. 

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Clark Charcoal Foot Heater (No. 7C) 

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publish to get date, but volunteers can research so we can add info and links here later

one link about a "living history" type experiment with one of these, in which the author found it to be very effective. You can read about it here. 

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An older, version here. 

Punched Tin Foot Warmer

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photo with the door open 

another type here 

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Soapstone Foot Warmer

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Padded Baby Bonnets

Community

painting Conway Public Library's history hall 

imagine horse drawn sleigh, feet warmed by one of the heaters above, 

gliding over the snow 

drive the team into the covered bridge 

the roof keeps snow off the floor of the bridge 

the runners scrape, dig into the wooden floor of the bridge 

what did they do? 

well the "snowed" the bridges 

and rolled the snow 

say what? 

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dump cart in snow at hobbs

receipt/s for snowing the roads 

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Rockwell Kent here. 

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displayed at local museum

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Frederick Robbins's etching The Snow-Roller Gets Through from the New Hampshire Historical Society drama and excitement of breaking trail. FMI here. 

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While each town had at least one, this one of few remaining, 

Freedom NH snow roller shed

NH historic preservation award x

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link to webpage/s on this award 

see vibe article here on snow rollers. 

Of course, perhaps the best was to survive the winter was (and is) to follow in my grandparent's footsteps and spend the winter in Florida ...

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where the hibiscus bloom in February. 

They hold a lot of interesting events in the winter. You can read more about the history of "snowbirds" here and the history of Sunken Gardens here and here.