Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/21768
Celebrate Christmas Victorian-Style at the Poe House by STEPHANIE CRIDER In all the hustle and bustle of the holidays it’s easy to yearn for simpler times when the gifts and decorations were more homemade and handmade than commercial. While the celebrations of the early 1900s in North Carolina were elaborate, they were less manufactured than what is common today. Through Jan. 9, the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex is showcasing winter themed decorations of silver and white, Victorian-style, at the Poe House. Just like in times past when families worked hard to make their home a special place for the holidays, the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex has decked not just the halls, but every room in this Victorian era home for the holidays. Based on articles and decorating ideas from early 1900s’ issues of Ladies’ Home Journal, the Christmas tree in the Poe House is adorned in garlands of silver paper chains, lace hearts, silver pinecones, icicles and other decorations. A hundred years ago in southern North Carolina, families used what was available to them to decorate their homes. They did this by bringing in a lot of the local foliage that they could fi nd out doors. Things like pine branches, holly, magnolia, ivy, mistletoe and nandina were used to make wreaths, swags and other festive decorations. The Poe House follows suit and has wreaths on the windows and pine swags on the porch railings — and that is just the beginning. Inside, look for holly and poinsettias along with red ribbons and magnolia Visitors enjoy Christmas decorations at the Poe House. blossoms as part of the home’s decor for the Christmas season. “This is something that so many people just love coming to the house and seeing,” said Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex 1897 Poe House Education Coordinator, Heidi Bleazey. “The Christmas decorations really add to the grandeur of the house. This really is the best time of year to come and visit the Poe house, if you’ve never been before.” It’s taken about a decade, but the staff has the decorating process down to a science. “During the early years, there was a lot of grueling research,” said Bleazey. “And then we had to translate that into what we could reasonably find and do to replicate the decorations of that era.” Now it takes about fi ve hours for four or fi ve staffers to put the home together, and every year, even though it is tough work, the results are just stunning. The historical complex is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call (910) 486-1330 or visit www.museumofthecapefear.ncdcr.gov. Tours are offered on the hour Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. STEPHANIE CRIDER, Staff Writer. COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com. Christmas Goes Green With the Grinding of the Greens by JHANA M. LEWIS Just before Christmas, my son and I are plagued with the same dilemma that I’m sure a lot of other families are faced with. We pride ourselves on taking care to protect our Earth and the environment at large. We recycle, drink from refi llable water bottles and walk instead of drive whenever we can. Despite all of our “green going” efforts however, we still cannot pull ourselves away from buying and dragging home a real Christmas tree ... every year. We love the smell of fresh pine throughout our home, love the beautiful lush leaves that hold ornaments handed down throughout the years, the glow of the colored lights greeting you as you open the door. We buy these beautiful little saps with ever increasing guilt that once the New Year is upon us, we will have no choice but to discard it. A burly trash man will carelessly toss it into a garbage truck and haul it to the city dump, where it will sit forlorn, knowing that its best days are behind it. My son and I have active imaginations. So this year, I was thrilled to hear about the “Grinding of the Greens” a Christmas tree recycling program run jointly by the PWC, Progress Energy, the City of Fayetteville and the Cape Fear Botanical Garden. Every January since 1994, these companies have gotten together in an effort to encourage NC residents to recycle their live Christmas trees. Employees from each organization come together after Christmas and grind the trees into mulch for use at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden off of Hwy 301 N. PWC acts as the coordinating agency in the effort, coordinating the marketing and operations of the event. Because of these efforts, each year thousands of trees have been put to good use at the garden rather than being sent to local landfi lls. (Wheew!) Beginning Christmas Day through January 7th, area residents are invited to drop their live Christmas trees off at the designated grinding area at Cape Fear Botanical Garden. The grinding event typically lasts about one hour, with 8 UCW DECEMBER 22-28, 2010 most trees ground by 9 a.m. “Grinding of the Greens is a neat event that ensures people’s “recycled” Christmas trees are put to good use in the Garden,” said Carol Fleitz, Director of Horticulture and Facilities. “We use the material as mulch, which seals in moisture and provides nutrients to the Garden’s plants.” The health of our area’s plants and trees has been the focus of the Cape Fear Botanical Garden staff since 1989, when a few Fayetteville gardening enthusiasts shared a grand vision. They believed our community should — and could — have a botanical garden of its own. Led by community members Bruce Williams, Martha Duell and Roger Mercer, these enthusiasts came together and established the Friends of the Botanical Garden. The Garden was conceived at Martha Duell’s kitchen table, in the print of Roger Mercer’s gardening column, and with the cajoling, laughing, and crying of dozens of committed supporters and volunteers. Cape Fear Botanical Garden serves this Mulch from recycled Christmas trees is used to better the com- munity. region as a center for: Enrichment, inspiration and enjoyment of nature; The collection, culture and aesthetic display of plants; Encouragement of environmental stewardship; Conservation, education and research; The preservation of our agricultural heritage; And engagement and involvement of the community. Go and visit them this holiday season or anytime, Monday through Saturday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sunday: 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. Their general admission is $6.00 (Military and AAA receive a $1 discount) Children ages 6-12: $1, Children 5 and under: free. For more information, be sure to visit www.capefearbg.org or the PWC’s website www.faypwc.com JHANA M. LEWIS, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM