Hazel Katerina Meets Miss Mie

Apologies to my faithful followers for being so long without posting. My current more-than-full-time job, along with caring for my elderly mother, leaves little time and energy for sewing and writing. I have had a post in the works now for many months on the topic of hand-sewing for dolls. It is on hold until I get my hand-sewing project finished.

In the meantime, I would like to show you Hazel Katkin’s amazing journey to Nebraska, and her unexpected visit with Miss Mie, one of the fabulous Japanese Ambassador dolls who came to America in 1927, and who now lives at Morrill Hall in Lincoln, Nebraska. Hazel is a 12 inch BJD made by Connie Lowe. She accompanied me on my trip to take my mom to visit her sisters. Hazel had bundles of fun, but the highlight (aside from getting the four sisters together after 15 years!) was getting to spend time with Miss Mie, who was, unexpected to us, on display!

University of Nebraska Lincoln Campus

Ice cream made at the U of N dairy store.

The story of the Japanese Friendship or Ambassador Dolls is amazing. The many photos that I took of this exhibit will go a long way for showing the story.

This is a miniature tea set that belongs to Miss Mie.

The artistry of creating these elegant dolls is evident in every part of their construction, including their face sculpting and painting, their elaborate furisode kimono, and their dainty accessories.

Hazel Katerina had an amazing summer holiday traveling to Nebraska. She was so pleased to visit with Miss Mie, and is happy to share this visit with you. May your summer hold happy surprises.

Ningyo: An Overview of Japanese Dolls, Part 2

Notice the ichimatsu dolls on the right side by the boy in this circa 1900 photograph.

Ritual, Guardian, and Festival Ningyo

Hina-ningyo for Hina Matsuri (Girl’s Day or Peach Blossom Festival): Hina-ningyo, depicting the imperial court, are probably the best known to Westerners of all Japanese dolls. Hina Matsuri, celebrated on March 3rd, had its origin in the Heian Period (794-1192). It is a traditional custom to display ceremonial dolls on tiers of shelves covered with scarlet carpet. This is an auspicious day for purification, and parents celebrate their daughters’ happiness, growth, and good health.

Dairi-bina (Imperial Couple) and Court Ladies from author’s Hina Matsuri Display. The Imperial Couple are about 3 1/2″ tall.

In the years 1000-1600, there is intermittent evidence that paper dolls were made to play with or to give as gifts on the third day of the third month, the festival associated with nagashi-bina purification rituals.

By the 17th century, the dolls were probably being made professionally using rich cloth instead of paper, with complex heads, but by the end of that century, commoners also made the dolls so that their daughters could celebrate the third day of the third month with doll play.

Author’s Hinakazari (Hina Matsuri Display), purchased, already vintage, in Japan in 1989 and recently brought home from Connecticut to Oregon City.

Modern families often buy a new dairi-bina, or “imperial couple,” pair when the first daughter is born, adding to the display each year, while others pass down hinakazari (Hina display sets) from one generation to the next. In the past, it was common for new brides to take their set with them when they married. Many old  hinakazari still remain and hold importance to broader society as cultural treasures.

Tachi-bina pair Kyoto National Museum

Tachi-bina (Standing Hina for Hina Matsuri): Tachi-bina can be made of paper at home. They are considered to be the earliest form of the dairi-bina displayed on Hina Matsuri. They represent a man (large, with outstretched protective arms) and a woman (smaller, armless), and are thought to echo the contrasting shapes of the amagatsu and hoko doll (shown below).  When made of paper or inexpensive materials, these ningyo are appropriate for the nagashi-bina purification ceremony, (also below) which is the ancestor of Hina Matsuri, in which dolls are touched or rubbed to absorb one’s sins, and then thrown into a river.  A single doll, used as a kind of proxy for the person being purified, is used for this ceremony in the Tale of Genji, (10th century classic Japanese literature) but modern nagashi-bina usually use pairs of dolls.

Hoko and Amagatsu pair

Hoko and Amagatsu (Talismanic forms to protect infants): The use of katashiro, or substitutes, in spiritual practice as stand-ins to take on the brunt of a person’s sins or misfortune played a role in the creation of hoko or crawling baby dolls. This is a guardian doll type, made by sewing a rectangle of cloth in such a way as to form four limbs, all of which point in the same direction. Hoko dolls have round stuffed heads, sometimes with long hair attached. They were traditionally given to pregnant women to protect the mother and unborn child. The dolls could be made for both boys and girls and were given to babies either at birth, or on special days shortly after birth. Boys’ dolls would be given up and “consecrated” at a shrine when boys turned fifteen, while girls would give up their dolls at marriage. Traditionally, hoko dolls were made of silk and human hair, and stuffed with cotton. Tiny hoko dolls remain a popular craft.

Amagatsu, or Heavenly Child doll, is mentioned in the Tale of Genji as a guardian doll for newborns, kept at all times with the child. The reference is thought to be to a cross-shaped figure, made by fixing wooden or bamboo rods in a T-shape to form a body and arms, with a cloth-covered head attached. The doll functioned as a kind of twin to the child, meant to distract evil spirits (meaning diseases) from its living counterpart. It would be burned when the child came of age.

Nagashi Bina

Nagashi-bina is an event that involves dispelling impurities and misfortunes by floating dolls away on water. In earlier days this rite took place all over Japan, but the practice has died out in most areas. Only in Tottori City and Mochigase-cho in Tottori Prefecture does nagashi-bina survive today.

Nagashi-bina Festival in Mochigase-cho

In this rite, dry straw is woven into a boat, which carries a pair of male and female dolls to be cast adrift in the river.

Koi nobori

Musha-ningyo for Gogatsu no sekku or Tango no sekku, Boys’ Day: Boys’ Day (the fifth day of the fifth month) has a more complicated status than Hina Matsuri and does not require a doll display. The most important festive item is a banner or windsock in the shape of a carp (koi nobori), which is flown from a pole near the home; one fish is raised for each boy child. The carp is equated with virility because of the strength with which it swims upstream.

Musha-ningyo Warrior Dolls

However, there are many dolls available to displayed on this day: Soldiers and great generals, legendary rulers, spiritual guides, and boy heroes with outrageous activities.

Daruma with one eye painted

Daruma dolls represent the Buddhist saint Daruma or Bodhidharma, who according to legend brought Zen enlightenment, and tea, to China and Japan. Legend has it that Daruma sat for years meditating, during which time his arms and legs atrophied, as well as his eyelids.

Daruma, Vintage Gold-White Doll, Japan

These Japanese dolls are paper-maché roly-polys which one buys with blank eyes so as to paint them in as one accomplishes some task (the first eye when one has formulated the goal, the second eye when it is achieved).

Daruma burning

Afterwards, Daruma are typically burned in a special ceremony. This custom may have originated as a thank-offering to the god for good Spring and Fall harvests; if he did not send a good harvest, he would remain blind or one-eyed. These dolls still perform a significant cultural function, and are purchased particularly at New Year’s, to assist in making resolutions.

Hagoita

Hagoita is not really a doll, but the padded images on it belong to the construction method of oshie-ningyo, or “padded-painting dolls.” Hagoita, like Daruma, are associated with the New Year. They are richly decorated game paddles, traditionally given as new year’s gifts to girls. The  game of hanetsuki is played with a feathered  large seed for a shuttlecock and a pair of hagoita. One side is painted, but the other side of the paddle is usually decorated with elaborate padded cloth faces of geisha or kabuki actors. As with Daruma, the old year’s paddles are supposed to be burned at the end of the year.

Okiagari Koboshi

Okiagari Koboshi can be translated as “priest who gets back up.” They are considered a lucky symbol of resilience. Traditional Japanese roly-poly toys date back as far as the14th century.

. . .

In Part 3 of this presentation on ningyo, Dolls for Display will be on focus.

A Maiko (apprentice geisha) with large Hina Matsuri Dolls, 1890’s

 

 

 

 

Ningyo: The Significance of Japanese Dolls

Early this month, I had the honor of presenting a program at the 2019 Mensa Annual Gathering in Phoenix, Arizona. This was an especially exciting event for me! Not only was it my first time to attend a Mensa Annual Gathering, or any event of this caliber, it was also my first time to stand up with a microphone in front of an audience to present! It was definitely a thrilling and gratifying experience. (And sometime I will make it to a UFDC {United Federation of Dolls Clubs} National Convention!)

My presentation was headed by an account of my experience living in Japan and seeking for a particular type of doll, as portrayed in my blog post, Beyond Oceans and Decades: In Search of Ningyo. The main body of the presentation was based on a program that I gave for my doll club, Antique Doll Study Club of Oregon, last summer.

Though the dinner-time audience was not a large one, the presentation was well received, and several attendees followed me to the Hospitality room, when we had to vacate the presentation room for the next program, so that they could view the dolls and reference books further and speak with me more.

 

One whole suitcase of dolls and books came with me for the display. They certainly added to the interest of the topic.

Now that the tension and excitement of this event are behind me, I am looking forward to sharing this program, Ningyo: An Overview of Japanese Dolls, Their Significance in Japanese Culture and History, and Their Influence on the Development of Western Dolls, with you. In the coming days, I will share this intriguing aspect of doll culture and history here, in several chapters of blog posts. Thank you for your interest and attention! Arigato gozaimasu!

Giving Thanks: Food for Thought, and Thought for Food

My china ladies have prepared their home for a festive occaision.

Are you cooking in or dining out for Thanksgiving? This question is loaded with more than gravy and cranberry sauce! Our national holiday of Thanksgiving is traditionally a day of feasting and community with extended family. (Yes, I am purposely ignoring the televised sports aspect.) Ideally, there are sufficient family members who contribute and share in the preparation for the festivities. These days, though, more and more restaurants offer catered dinners for the day and are open for dining in. A good thing? Maybe.

I am a strong believer in the essential goodness of food prepared at home, and of the community building aspect of sharing food and conversation around the dinner table. However, my reality does not always live up to my beliefs. I am a single “head of household” with two jobs. The two family members who live with me are not willing or able to prepare meals. The third family member with whom I often share holidays chooses not to cook. This usually leaves me in a position of wearing myself out as the sole planner and preparer of the festivities and not able to enjoy the gathering, or of choosing restaurant dining with its attendant foibles. Why is restaurant dining a less desirable meal? Here are some deeper thoughts on this issue.

Hazel offers cream of celery soup made with homemade chicken bone broth.

Deng Ming-Dao says in 365 Tao: Daily Meditations:

In cultures where personal contacts are more meaningful and closeness to the earth is a way of life, it is no surprise that people are interested in a complete relationship with their food. They buy it or raise it, they harvest it, they clean it, and they cook it–all before they eat it in gratitude. They don’t become sentimental over their food–practicality is to understand that we kill to survive–but they do give thanks for what has died to sustain them.

Today we have a very incomplete relationship with our food. We don’t see where something grows, we eat foods out of season, we buy prepared foods made by someone we don’t even know. There is a great power in knowing your food, knowing where it came from, preparing it with your own hands. This food, whether vegetable or animal, died for us. The least we can do is partake of it thoroughly and with respect.

Nowadays it is quite common for people to feel isolated. They lament not having friends, not having genuine experiences, not having a sense of who they are. If even the food that we eat and the way that we eat is lacking in wholeness, then how will we feel completion in the rest of our lives? (Tao #277)

At least one of my sons has a differing opinion. He believes that with the work-away-from-home structure of our modern lives, it makes more sense for food preparation to be centrally prepared in large quantities for purchase, rather than for individuals or small families to have to spend time in food preparation on a daily basis. This plan frees the limited time we have around work for other activities. (Lucky for him, his wife has a job in a natural foods store that includes a generous deli department. This connection adds an element of locality to their prepared food purchases.) And all three of my sons have a preferred other activity–playing board games! As they proclaim, sharing in playing games builds community, as does sharing a meal.

Deng Ming-Dao continues his thought on food and place with Tao # 320:

Why were people of old so integrated with their surroundings?  Because the objects that they used, the food that they ate, and the activities that they engaged in were straight from their surroundings. They used sticks made from [native wood] as eating implements. They used vines to make baskets. They used gourds as vessels. For food, they grew plants, domesticated animals, and caught fish and game. Their social structure was built around the cycles of the sun, moon, and stars. Newborn babies were washed with waters of the nearest stream. The dead were buried in the same earth that provided sustenance.

Now our food is imported from distant places and elaborately processed. We have no idea where objects we purchase come from, thinking that their presence and convenience is all that is necessary. We have means of transport that can bring us to places faster than our minds can adjust. We abuse our wealth and use it to insulate ourselves from our surroundings.

That’s why being of modest means is not necessarily bad. When one is poor, one is forced to use what is at hand. . . . The closer we can be to the earth and to nature, the more integrated with life we shall be.

Okay, as much as I would like to return to rural 1840, I know that is unrealistic and that I have romantisized expectations of the time. So, is eating at a restaurant for Thanksgiving a bad thing? I think that like being poor in the passage above, we have to make use of what is at hand. I have made the best choice I can for a location for an enjoyable family dinner. I hope the wait is not so long, it is not too noisy, and I will mourn the lack of leftovers to provide additional meals. I will graciously thank the growers, producers, cooks, servers, and others involved in providing the meal for my family. I will greet others who I do not know as they partake of this holiday feast at the same location. I will appreciate the disorientingly fast transportation for reuniting far-flung family members. Perhaps my family will re-convene after our meal at one of our apartments for games. We will admire and appreciate the upgraded game pieces that were artistically handmade by one of our group. Perhaps we will even contemplate who manufactured the forks we take our delicious bites from, and where the plates originated.

Game upgrade painting and photo by Kendra Jackson

My gratitude goes to you, my readers and followers, for making my blog–my creative outlet–a successful one. May you enjoy food that satisfies your body and soul, and may you benefit from community with those you hold dear as well as benefitting unknown people in need of community.

My doll’s house Thanksgiving table. We know where the dishes came from!

Ming-Dao, Deng. 365 Tao: Daily Meditations: 1992, Harper Collins, New York.

 

A Journey for Miss Ruby, Chapter Six: Special Joys

After so many fun days in Maine, Ruby was glad to be back at her home-away-from-home in Connecticut. Miss Jennie was getting ready for her all-day antiquing trip to Brimfield Massachusetts, but Ruby wanted to stay home for that one.

Uncle David likes to shop for wooden boxes and burlap bags at antique fairs. (Photo by Dave Stewart)

Miss Jennie found a few interesting things at Brimfield including a wee Steiff bear, a rag doll, and some girls’ and ladies’ small clothes. She liked this sewing machine, but it was too big to fit in her suitcase to take home.

After Ruby was all rested up, she couldn’t wait to go to Special Joys Doll & Toy Shop! She had heard so much about it, and knew that it was a favorite with her cousins, the antique Izannah Walker dolls. She put on her best red dress, her silk stockings, her red leather shoes, and her sunbonnet. She was ready to go!

Miss Joy shows Miss Jennie an auction report about a rare Izannah Walker doll which sold for more than the usual amount of many, many dollars.

Inside the shop, Joy Kelleher met them, and they made introductions. Ruby felt warm in her heart when Miss Jennie introduced her to Miss Joy, and Joy took a special interest in her. Joy had met Paula Walton, Ruby’s birth/artist mother who also lives in Connecticut. Joy said that Ruby was one of the best Paula Walton Izannah dolls she had seen. My, was Ruby proud! She stayed with Miss Joy and got to know her better while Miss Jennie explored the shop and all of the special dolls who lived there.

Miss Jennie especially liked these early 19th century dolls in Miss Joy’s personal collection, including the papier mache Lydia hairstyle on the left.

Many of the dolls had amazing old, old dresses, including the brown and blue cotton dress on this large early 19th c. Voit Pauline type doll with teeth!

Can you tell that Miss Jennie is especially fond of the early papier maches?

Of course, she likes china dolls so much, too. Especially when they are wearing old appropriate cotton dresses and have kitties who sit next to them!

Miss Joy seemed as delighted to have them there in her shop as they were to be there! She especially enjoyed getting to “play dolls” with someone who knew about and appreciated the older dolls the way Miss Jennie did.

The wax-over-papier mache doll in the blue dress blinked at Ruby when Miss Joy pulled on a lever that opens and closes her eyes.

Now, which one of these early 19th c. papier maches with Apollo knot hairstyles will come home with us. Both so lovely . . . Of course Miss Jennie chose the one with the old cotton print dress! (And also a wooden body Lydia china!–but that is a different story.)

Ruby was basking in the attention given her by Miss Joy. Joy said in the kindest way that Ruby was a country girl, and that she would be better served with dark stockings rather than her fancy silk lace ones. Joy didn’t find black or brown or red striped socks that would fit her, but she did find blue stockings for Ruby.

Miss Joy gets to know Ruby better.

Ruby admires her new blue stockings.

“Now you are a bluestocking!” Miss Jennie told her. “What is a bluestocking?” asked Ruby. “She is an educated, literary, and intellectual woman who preferes to wear worsted blue stockings rather than the more formal black ones.  There were even Blue Stocking Societies in the 18th and 19th centuries.” “Oh. I think that means that I’m smart, like you!” Miss Jennie blushed politely.

Miss Jennie found so many things to take home to the dolls in the bedroom, and dolls were chosen to come home with them. After the purchases were made, it was time to leave. They were so glad to have finally visited Miss Joy and her astonishingly charming shop. Everyone hoped that they would be able to come back again during another visit to Connecticut.

Now that all of the special planned events were over, they could enjoy the company of family who they came to visit, and have fun being in Connecticut!

To be continued . . .

Girls like large papier mache dolls when they are new, as well as when they are old.

 

A Journey for Miss Ruby, Chapter Five: Lobsters and Moccasins

What do you mean. I can’t take my whole chocolate lobster catch home with me?

When Ruby woke up Friday morning, the sky was grey and the hotel parking lot was wet. They visited Max, the omelet chef, in the dining room again; then they were travelling in the Salsa Red Pearl van north from Portland just a little way to Freeport Maine, home of L.L. Bean.

L.L. Bean was like a shopping center all on its own with five different stores. It has been in Freeport for over a hundred years! They went in the door of the Hunting and Fishing store first where they saw racks stacked high with canoes, and racks and racks of rifles standing in rows on the floor. Then they looked at taxidermy animals under an open staircase. The animals were so still in their make-believe forest. Ruby thought that they should get their taxi and go back to the real forest.

“Look, she’s dressed like me! Can I go to that beach?”

Next they went into a corridor with lots and lots of pictures of L.L. Bean catalog covers through the years. Ruby found the ones she liked best–the ones without guns.

At the other end of the corridor was the clothing store. Miss Jennie tried on pants, shirts, and pajamas. Ruby became very bored. There were no clothes her size, not even dungarees. They looked at the gigantic L.L. Bean boot outside the Clothing Store entrance. It was so big that Ruby didn’t want to have her picture taken there.

When they were finally outside again, there was an ice cream shop, but they didn’t go there. Instead, they went across the way to the L.L. Bean Home Store. “Oh, no!” thought Ruby, “I’m going to be bored for longer!”  But just inside the door, she found something fun–toy log cabins, just her size.

“Looky, looky, a whole log cabin village!”

Then there were more things that caught her attention!

“I could take a bath in the bowl with the pretty blue fishes, but I would be afraid in this one with the lobster claws.”

“I didn’t know they would have boots my size!”

“What do you mean I have to choose just one pair?”

“All right, I choose the moccasins. They are sooo soft inside!”

After the L.L. Bean stores, there were more fun shops to explore. Ruby didn’t have to wait too much more for the big people to look at clothing. They went into a fabulous art store called Abacus, where they found sea shell art, recycled broken glass made into pottery dishes, and tiny cars and trucks made out of tin cans.

“I think I could drive this one!”

They did finally go in an ice cream store, and Ruby especially liked the chocolate lobsters (with soft claws) and chocolate blueberries at Len Libby Chocolate Store.

Ruby thought of Little Davie in her room at home in Oregon City, and about how much he liked his toys. She brought home a little tin can car for him.

“Thank you, Ruby! I’m glad you’re home.”

Touring and shopping in Maine for four days had been the best of times! It would soon be time to return to Uncle David and Aunt Lynn’s home in Connecticut. And there was a very SPECIAL shop that Ruby was looking forward to visiting there, where she would feel right at home.

To be continued . . .

Girls having fun

 

 

A Journey for Miss Ruby, Chapter Four: Tall Ships on Casco Bay

Miss Ruby on board The Wendameen, July 5, 2018

After a busy morning seeing all the lighthouses, Ruby and her family rushed back to the hotel just in time to catch the shuttle bus to downtown Portland. The bus was definitely the way to get there because there would be nowhere to park the Salsa Red Pearl van. The bus driver was from Boston Massachusettes and now lives in Portland Maine. Miss Jennie told him the story about the coin flip to name the new (in 1845) Oregon town Boston or Portland. Then he said, “That is a fabulous story! I’m going to tell it to my friends!”

“What do you mean I have to share!”

Once they were in Portland, there was plenty of time to have lunch at Flatbread Company, right beside the dock where the big ferry boats chugged in and out of the bay. The oven fired pizza was delicious, but Ruby liked her bottle of Maine Root Blueberry soda best of all.

One of the ferry boats on Casco Bay

Then they went out to the dock where the schooners were moored to get their boarding passes. Ruby was so excited about going on the ship, she could hardly be still in line. “I thought a schooner was a wagon that took people on the Oregon Trail to Oregon and California,” she said. Miss Jennie told her that she was right; Prairie Schooners did roll across the prairies on the Oregon Trail. Those wagons were smaller than the great Conestoga wagons, and with their white canvas covers or bonnets, they looked, from a distance, like smaller tall masted schooner ships, sailing across a sea of grasses.

Timberwind (1931) in Casco Bay as seen from Wendameen, July 5, 2018

The Portland Schooner Company sails three tall masted schooners for two hour tours and charter trips. Ruby and her family would sail on Wendameen, the oldest of the three ships. “Goody, goody, I like old things,” said Ruby. Wendameen is a two-masted schooner, built in 1912 by the noted naval architect John G. Alden, and is 67 feet in length. She is the 21st recreational schooner built by Alden, and is one of the oldest to have survived. She sailed on the Great Lakes for 20 years, then languished on land until 1985 when she was fully restored and began her life of “windjamming” cruises in Maine. Wendameen was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

Wendameen (Stock Photo)

Miss Ruby at the helm of Wendameen

When Ruby leaped on board Wendameen from the dock, she went right to the helm. “Can I steer?” Then the captain came aboard and said to her, “What kind of voodoo is this?” Ruby just looked at him with big eyes and said, “No voodoo, sir. I’m just Miss Jennie’s travel companion.” That seemed to satisfy the captain, and he paid her no more mind on the cruise.

They followed Bagheera as Wendameen’s motor pushed them away from the dock. Then they were in the bay and the sails were unfurled by the two-woman crew. What a lovely evening to be out on the water on a tall masted ship!

Portland skyline from Wendameen on Casco Bay

Miss Jennie especially loved being on this historic tall ship, and sailing! (Photo by Dave Stewart)

There were lots of things to see out on the bay. There was a Civil War fort named “Fort Gorges” that is on an island, and they could see the other two schooners, Timberwind and Bagheera, sailing around the bay. Ruby looked and looked at the varnished wood, tall masts, sails, and rigging, on the ship she was on. She was amazed at how the crew members climbed right onto the mast to adjust the sail! “I want to do that!” she said. “Can I have a schooner for my birthday?”

Octagonal shaped Fort Gorges, finished in 1864. No troops were ever stationed there because it was obsolete before it was completed, being replaced by iron clad ships and long-range guns.

Bagheera (1924), as seen from Wendameen

Spring Point Ledge Light as seen from Wendameen

The captain and one of two crew members aboard Wendameen, July 5, 2018 (Photo by Dave Stewart)

Mast and rigging, Wendameen

Ruby was sad as the sun sank lower and Wendameen followed Bagheera back toward the dock. She thought she could sail aboard a tall ship for days and days. This had certainly been an experience that she would remember for all of her life.

When Ruby was home again, she took out her copy of Avi’s The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, which is a Newbery Honor high adventure story about a tall masted ship and a 19th century girl who sailed on her. This helped keep Ruby’s sailing adventure alive for her.

This beautiful Thursday evening had been the perfect time for Ruby’s sailing adventure. Now it was time for dinner (grilled scallops! Yum!) and another cozy night at the hotel. The morning would bring rain–the perfect day for shopping!

To be continued . . .

So much to sea!

 

A Journey for Miss Ruby, Chapter Three: Four Lovely Lighthouses

Miss Ruby at Portland Headlight Lighthouse, Cape Elizabeth, Maine on July 5th, 2018

The hotel room had a soft bed with lots of pillows for resting on. Everyone woke up in time to have a delicious and nourishing breakfast, including custom-made omelets made by Max, the professional omelet chef. Most of Ruby’s family appreciated coffee to start the morning, but Ruby declined.

Ruby liked the stack of soft pillows, too.

This would be a full day of touring, including visiting three lighthouses in Portland, and a schooner cruise! The first thing that Ruby noticed along the seacoast was the wild beach roses. Unlike the cultivated roses in Portland Oregon, the petals of these roses grew in a single layer around the flower. They were bright and beautiful with the sun on them.

Beach roses at Portland Lighthouse

A little way down the path, though, the roses were all but forgotten as the most iconic lighthouse in the world came into view!

Such a clear, sunny, day, the sailboats don’t need the light right now.

Portland Head Light was first lit on January 10, 1791. It is taller now than it was then, and no longer burns whale oil as did the original 16 lamps in its tower. Ruby had to look up and up and up to see the top.

Miss Jennie enjoyed walking all around the lighthouse park just as much as Ruby did.

Miss Jennie at Portland Headlight, July 5, 2018

After looking at seaglass earrings and a whale shaped mirror in the gift shop, it was just a short drive to the next lighthouse, the Springlight.

Spring Point Ledge Light in South Portland Maine, constructed in 1897

This is what the breakwater looks like with the gaps between the stones. (Photo by Dave Stewart)

Spring Point Ledge Light in South Portland Maine, constructed in 1897, is listed on the national register of historic places. It is called a sparkplug lighthouse because it’s structure rests on a concrete or metal caisson. People can walk out to it on the breakwater made up of very large stones with big gaps between them. Ruby decided to just look from the shore.

Portland Breakwater Lighthouse with Corinthian columns

The third lighthouse that Ruby visited that morning was the Portland Breakwater Lighthouse, which is also called The Buglight. Built in 1875 of curved cast iron plates, it is decorated with six Corinthian columns. Its design was inspired by the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates in Athens, Greece.

Ruby was quiet and thoughtful in the van after visiting these lighthouses and learning about their history. Before leaving Maine on saturday, she visited one more lighthouse with Miss Jennie.

The Cape Neddick Light or the “Nubble” at York, Maine

Driving south to return to Connecticut was more summertime splendor as they meandered past Old Orchard Beach and Wells Beach. The sun was beginning its late descent in the summer sky as they pulled into the lot at Cape Neddick. They felt fortunate to find a parking spot. The nearby ice cream shop was just as popular as the lighthouse on this day! Cape Neddick Light, also known as the “Nubble,” was built in 1879 at York, Maine, and is still in use today. It is on an island which can be reached by boat or by cable car.

Miss Ruby’s artwork of “Portland Headlight” by Kris Kristiansen

Lighthouses, as Ruby learned, have a very important purpose to protect ships by warning them to stay far enough away from the coastline, which can be dangerous for them. She would have much to contemplate and share with the other dolls when she returned home. Yet the adventures of this vacation Thursday were just beginning, for Ruby had booked passage on The Wendameen, a 1912 schooner with tall masts and sails!

To be continued . . .

Blake Henry, Lighthouse Keeper. Nantucket Museum

A Journey for Miss Ruby, Chapter Two: Independence Day at Ogunquit, Maine

 

Miss Ruby at Perkins Cove, Maine

At the airport, Ruby was excited to see the jet planes from the big airport windows. She watched as the plane she would board was fueled with a long hose and had luggage loaded. Once on the plane, she asked for a window seat so that she could see all that was happening.

During the hours of the flight, Ruby asked Miss Jennie about where they were going and what they would do there. She thought it was rather funny that they were leaving Portland Oregon on the West Coast, then would be at Portland Maine on the East Coast. Miss Jennie told her a story about the founding of Portland Oregon, which was named in 1845: One man (Asa Lovejoy) who founded this new town was from Boston Massachusetts, and the other founder (Francis Pettygrove) was from Portland Maine. Each man wanted to name the new town after his home town. They flipped a coin to decide, and “Portland” was the winning name. So, Portland Oregon is named after Portland Maine.

Perkins Cove looking out to sea

The plane landed in Connecticut late at night, and Ruby was glad to find a bed ready for her at Uncle David and Aunt Lynn’s house. When she woke up the next morning, it was Independence Day! That day they drove in the Salsa Red Pearl van to Ogunquit Maine and Perkins Cove. The cove was beautiful with many pristine boats, and a drawbridge to let the boats in and out of the bay.

The open drawbridge at Perkins cove with sun setting behind it (Photo by Dave Stewart)

Miss Ruby on The Marginal Way, Perkins Cove

After looking in some of the shops at seashell art, mugs with lobsters and mermaids on them, and sweatshirts in pretty colors that were way too big for Ruby, they walked on The Marginal Way along the Atlantic Ocean. Ruby took a rest to contemplate the beautiful landscape around her while she waited for twilight. Then, the fireworks took Ruby’s breath away!

Fireworks from The Marginal Way, Ogunquit, Maine (borrowed image)

When all was quiet again and all the people walked back along The Marginal Way to their cars, Ruby and her family left, too. They drove to Portland, Maine where they had a very late dinner, and had a snuggly bed waiting for them in a hotel there. It had been a most satisfying day. Time for a good sleep in preparation for more fun on the morrow.

. . . To be continued

 

 

 

A Journey for Miss Ruby, Chapter One: Preparations

“Hooray!” Ruby shouted, and clapped her hands. She was going on a journey! And this was to be a very special journey, all the way from the Pacific Northwest where she lives, to Connecticut in New England, which is the land of her birth. She tried on so many outfits deciding what to pack, that she hurt her arm and had to have stitches! She was a brave girl. It didn’t hurt much and all was well again.

Miss Ruby is a great girl now, almost five years old. Her friend, Miss Jennie, has helped her find many pretty dresses, bonnets, and coats that are her size. She couldn’t take them all! She is packing play dresses for the beach, pretty dresses for outings and visiting, bonnets to protect her from summer sun, and of course a teddy bear, a rag doll, and a book for long hours travelling. She is a little nervous about riding in an airplane, and has lots of questions. “Did you ride in an airplane when you were five?” she asks Miss Jennie. “Not a jet plane,” Jennie replies, “But my Daddy did take me flying in a little two-seater plane when I was six. Our car below, and the people, looked like toys from up in the air!”

Then, one morning, it was time to go. Ruby put on her travel coat, shawl, and straw hat. She said goodbye to all the dolls in her room who would stay behind. Then, rag doll and suitcase in hand, she was on her way!

This story that Miss Ruby would like to share with you about her travels this summer will come in chapters. She appreciates your patience in waiting for the “serial” chapters because Miss Jennie is not taking a computer along. May you enjoy summer adventures of your own until Miss Ruby adds more chapters to her story.

This is an antique family photo taken by my grandmother in 1926. The man is my grandfather, who I never met because he died when my father was young. The little boy is my father.