I know that there are a lot of Laura Ingalls Wilder or Little House on the Prairie fans in the Recollections community. I am a fan myself and reading the books as a child is one reason I am so interested in women’s history still today. As I was writing my post about holidays on [...]
Christmas on the Frontier must have been a very special time. Daily life for the entire family was a grind and a struggle. Scarce resources meant that everyone was used to life without frills and pretty low expectations about material goods. Living off of the land meant that a strict routine must be followed day [...]
I have always been quite intrigued by Mrs. Claus and the work that she does behind the scenes. She is the perfect example of “beside every successful man is a strong woman.” I also think that there is an opportunity for more exposure for Mrs. Claus so that more young girls will get to see [...]
Whether or not you wear bikinis, July is the month most commonly associated with the tiny garment. Have you ever stopped to wonder about how we got from swim machines and wearing tights on the beach to a suit that can fit in a coin purse? There is a lot more to the shrinking of [...]
We love to celebrate Christmas in July! This is an especially fun summer to do it, as many of the traditional summer vacation activities aren’t taking place or are looking a lot different from what we are used to. Why not put on a Christmas in July pandemic party to mix things up a bit [...]
Happy 4th of July! To get things started, we thought it would be fun to provide you with some conversations starters, some stories of brave Revolutionary women, and some of our own content that we love. Whether you are gathering for family BBQs, enjoying a long solo weekend, or simply enjoying a few days off [...]
I remember pictures of Betsy Ross in my American history textbooks in elementary school and 184 years after her death many still know her as the seamstress who created the first-ever American flag. While I am glad that she is remembered, the image that many have of Betsy Ross undermines her real accomplishments as a [...]
Last week I wrote about Edwardian depictions of women and the threat that many men felt about women claiming more and more independence in the early 1900s. One of the common depictions was of a wife heading out of the house with the husband forced to stay at home and attend to the laundry. This, [...]
By the end of the Victorian Era, society was changing so fast that some people had a hard time keeping up, much less accepting it. From a cultural standpoint, the first two decades saw advances for women that were more rapid than the Western world had ever before seen. The status quo held on tight [...]