Debby was our driver. She was able to borrow her daughter's van for the trip. Thanks Jill!
The Huckleberry Tea House was wonderful! Lace table cloths everywhere, every plate and cup was different, nothing matched, so charming! There were hats, scarves, boas, jewlery to wear for tea. Even hats and neckties for gentlemen!
Helen and Janice try on hats. It was so fun to choose the one we liked best.
Even the ladies restroom was decorated! There were lots of cards from previous guests exclaiming their thanks to the hosts.
Debby's hat was decorated with a little bit of everything: flowers, lace, even feathers!
Janice, Helen, Rosemary, Debby, me, Caryn - all dolled up and ready for tea!
My fabulous lunch. Began with cold strawberry soup - delish - chicken salad on croissaint with a small (just right!) salad and two little slices of huckleberry bread - double delish!
The dessert tray brought oohs and aahhs from all of us! I settled on the fruit cobbler with vanilla ice cream - triple delish!
There were "all things tea" to view and purchase. I bought a cute little blue and gold cup and saucer to add to my collection. I brought a mini loaf of that delicicous huckleberry bread home to Rich.
Even a "freebie" to bring home to the birds we feed - a safflower seed "cake" shaped like a butterfly.
Then in just a short distance was the National Orphan Train Complex. There's a little visitor's center and museum in what was a Union Pacific train depot, built in 1917. The museum houses excellent exhibits that tell the story of the Orphan Train Movement. Between 1854 and 1929 an estimated 200,000 orphaned, abandoned, and homeless children were placed out in rural communities across the country, to all of the lower 48 states and parts of Canada. I first heard of this movement in a newspaper article sometime after moving to Kansas. It was a part of our nation's history that was kept pretty quiet until recent years when some of the riders and/or their families began telling their stories.The gals in my Bible study and I knew of this movement and found it held fascinating stories and we wanted to learn more. What we learned was that most of the children came from immigrant families in New York City. Families were large, food was scarce. If a mother died in childbirth the father wouldn't be able to care for children and so many ended up in orphanages. The living conditions were horrible. This is really the sad part of the story!
In 1853 the Children's Aid Society (CAS) was formed by Charles Loring Brace, in an effort to aid the homeless children of New York City. Another organization that helped in placement of children and infants was the New York Foundling Hospital, a Catholic organization. CAS hired Anna Laura Hill to help in the placement of children. She accompanied the children on the trains and made yearly visits to them in their placement homes. Twice a year the children were required to write CAS and tell of their progress. Even with these policies in place, not all of the stories ended well. Siblings were separated, some reunited, some not. Some of the children were placed in homes where they used more as laborers and housekeepers. Many, however, went to homes where they were loved and cared for. This period of mass relocation of children in the U.S. is widely recognized as the beginning of documented foster care in America.
You can learn more at http://www.orphantraindepot.com/.
The depot is now on the National Register of Historic Places. Much of the woodwork and crown moulding are original to the building. There's a small amount of furniture in the master's office that is original. In the freight room, the old freight scale still sits in the floor.
It brought back memories for me of the Rock Island train depot in my hometown.
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