Slifer House
Slifer House Museum Awarded Union County Commissioners' Tourism Fund Grant
December 19, 2007
Gary Parks, Slifer House Museum Director, has recently received word that the museum has received a grant in the amount of $6,143 from the Union County Commissioners’ Tourism Fund. The money will be utilized to mount an exhibit, Gone, But Not Forgotten: Mourning and Death in Victorian America. The grant will also facilitate an accompanying lecture series. The exhibit will open in April 2008. Funeral director, Galen Betzer of Muncy, will serve as the guest curator of the exhibit.
The Victorians elevated the practice of mourning to a science, with strict rules in place concerning the costume and customs of grieving for a lost relative. In deepest mourning after her husband’s death, a widow would remain dressed in black with little embellishment for six months to a year. Social intercourse was restricted to attendance at church. After that time had passed, she was able to dress in subdued colors, such as grey or mauve.
Jewelry made from human hair was extremely popular during the 19th century. First produced as early as the 17th century, a lock of human hair set in a ring or a pin was given to the favored individuals at a funeral. When the Victorians learned of this practice, they embraced it warmly. Instructional guides were published for hair jewelry production at home, or a family could send the hair to a commercial establishment. A bracelet, watch fob, brooches, pins, or lockets would be sent back with the deceased loved one’s hair incorporated into the design. The hair of Mrs. Slifer’s mother and grandmother is featured in a brooch at the museum. Hair wreathes were made to honor a whole family.
Post-mortem photographs and a child’s hearse will be featured in the exhibit. Most poignant perhaps are the images of children, perhaps the only image of the child ever taken. A tombstone with a lamb situated atop it is often an indicator that a child was buried beneath. By the 1850s, a national cemetery movement was influencing the landscape of the country. Park-like settings were becoming increasingly popular as sites for burials. A family would often picnic on a Sunday afternoon, paying homage to their deceased relative while enjoying the fresh air and ‘green space’. The Lewisburg Cemetery is an example of a park-like setting. Ginny Meixell Wheeler, a direct descendant of Eli Slifer, recently remarked that Eli Slifer visited his wife’s grave every day. He was returning from decorating her grave when he became involved in a carriage accident and ultimately succumbed to the injuries.
Administered by the Susquehanna Valley Visitors’ Bureau, the Tourism Fund is derived from a tax imposed on hotel and motel rooms, and bed-and-breakfast establishments. The Fund is distributed to not-for-profit organizations which encourage visitation from beyond a fifty-mile radius. This year, total funds requested equaled $134,792.21 and the available grant monies equaled $73,685.03. Previously, the Museum has received monies for the production of a booklet on architect Samuel Sloan (builder of Slifer House) and the reprinting of the booklet, and support for our exhibit and lecture series Murder, Mayhem and Medicine (2007).
To learn more about the Slifer House, contact us by e-mail or call (570) 524-2245.
|
