A Night In The Village

Greenfield Village.

In all of its finest holiday glory.

For those lucky to live in Michigan,

we have a 90 acre living museum,

which features actual homes from the 1600,

1700, 1800 and early 1900's.

It is also home to Menlo Park,

which was Thomas Edison laboratory,

which was moved from New Jersey.

The Firestone farm is a working farm,

This home was Harvey Firestone's grandparents.
 (founder of Firestone Tire)

 The home was moved from the Columbiana, Ohio area.

Bob and I went to the village Friday night for my birthday.

Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village

features the homes that were brought to the village

all decked out in Christmas for their time period.

The homes either have candle light,

or replicas of the Edison bulb lightning.

Some do have regular lighting for safety purposes.

We can thank our German ancestors for bringing

the Christmas tree to the U.S.

Table top trees were the first trees to be brought 

into homes.

Santa and two of his reindeer also

made an appearance.

Did you know that reindeer keep their antlers 

all through the Winter months and shed them in Spring.

Model T car rides and early cabs were available

to those who wanted to stand in line for the ride. 

Some of the homes Bob and I saw had covelets for rugs.

I put my flash on to show this gorgeous one off.

The Wright Bros. family tree is now a part of their

holiday home. The village came upon an actual

photograph of the family tree and replicated it this holiday.

Near the tree was the actual black and white photo enlarged

for all to compare. It was amazing how they were able

to pull this off. 

We visited the Susquehanna plantation.

This home was moved from Maryland and was built in 1860.

65 slaves provided the original labor for this

700 acre plantation which grew tobacco, and wheat.

Here the plantation was setting up for a Christmas wedding.

The menu was bean soup and ham with biscuits.

Slaves would have occupied the kitchen at the time.

The plantation daughters wedding dress & veil on the chair.

This rug was amazing as well!

Another home was ready for a fancy Christmas feast,

with red and green paper bells above.

This was a replica of Noah Webster's library.

He created the first dictionary.

A child's sled and skates lie on the floor.

Noah Webster's sitting area.

A rope bed with a bed warmer on top of the coverlet.

We were told by the reenactor in this home,

that if the handle of a pitcher were to break,

it was normal for the tinsmith to create a make do one.

Wish I had this blue and white beauty.

Another bedroom.

Orange pomanders were made to keep the home

smelling nice in the Winter as families lived in close 

quarters during the cold months.

The reenactor's had most of the fireplaces lit,

and those in the kitchens had meat cooking in them.

The smells of beef, turkey and ham were wonderful! 

This one room home is the oldest in the village.

I wanted to take everything here home with me.

Gorgeous early red paint furniture.

This dessert table was the bomb.

We spent 3 hours strolling around.

Lanterns lit the way along the roads.

They even had a large outdoor movie screen

playing the silent movie of a Christmas Carol.

We watched it for a few minutes..reading the subtitles.

There was even a police officer dressed from the 1930's

in the center of Main Street.

When a model T was coming, he would blow his whistle

for everyone to get out of the street.

For those of my friends who live here,

I strongly recommend you to go.

It is an amazing experience, and we never tire of visiting.

Do any of you have a similar place in your home state

to visit like this?

Christmas Village Blessings To All!

Janice