Antique Characters & The History Corner With Eric Huebner

Antique Characters

I was in Indianapolis this past weekend. On Monday after lunch, my daughter said to my hubby and I, “I’m going to take you to this cool antique place on the east side of town.”

It was hot ~ 103 that day to be exact. I really wasn’t up for antiquing. My daughter guided us from the circle downtown, down several blocks, under I-70, to a remote area with only one big warehouse around.

“That’s it!” she announced.

“What?  This is it?  Are you sure about this?”

“Yes. You’re going to love it.”

We drove through the gate and parked the car. As I got out of the car, I looked up at this huge building. It stood 3 stories. I felt like I was going to a secret hideout or something. The doors to the warehouse were open wide. You could hear the giant fans blowing inside. We weren’t even to the steps when my daughter turns to me and says, “Can’t you just smell the old?”

On her words, a chill ran down my spine. Goosebumps zipped up and down my arms and legs ~ even in the 100 degree heat.

I could smell the old.  It smelled old and musty, but at this point I was game. I love antiques.

Inside, they had stuff from every decade going back centuries. I loved seeing the 60’s dining room table that I could picture in an episode of The Partridge Family or an Austin Powers movie. The backs of the walnut chairs were like that of a figure eight, with royal blue fabric in the circles and on the seat. I wished I would have taken pictures.

In each area, I felt a different spirit…ghosts of the past. Suddenly, characters were coming alive in my head.

I began to picture the people who may have owned some of these strange and unusual objects. I picked up a very old jewelry box and imagined it belonging to a pioneer woman. The box kept all of her personal treasures, letters, and love tokens…What’s this? A hidden compartment? I could write a story from there…

I found some old tin types. I held one picture of a man to my heart. We live in a world of so many pictures and images of loved ones. I wondered what if this was the only picture of my loved one to carry? I imagined the woman who held it to her heart in the 1800’s…Who was she? His daughter? A love? His wife? Yep. I could write a story from there...

My husband held up a pair of large tongs that the ice man used to bring ice to your house. I imagined his cart pulling up to a house. His biceps bulging as he carried the heavy block of ice. He got to the door. What did he find inside? Uh huh. I could write a story from there…

This went on for an hour or so. We didn’t make it all the way through the antique warehouse. It really was quite hot. I was exhausted after the first floor.

I plan to go again on my next trip down to Indy. This place took me totally by surprise. Among the antiques, I found some characters there - one’s that I didn’t know I knew.

How about you? Where do you find inspiration for characters? Ever be surprised at where they appear from?

I would love to hear from you.

Between you, me and the gatepost,

Loree

And now...

THE HISTORY CORNER 

The Devil's Den ~ Gettysburg, PA
Photo by Loree Huebner

On June 28, 1861, the NY Tribune published the following headline:

THE NATION’S WAR-CRY
Forward to Richmond! Forward to Richmond!
The Rebel Congress must not be allowed
to meet there on the 20th of July!
BY THAT DATE
THE PLACE MUST BE HELD BY THE NATIONAL ARMY!

The newspaper and the North clamored for action to avenge Fort Sumter.  President Lincoln's generals told him that the army was not ready.  The men could not rapidly execute the complicated maneuvers bringing a unit from marching column into line of battle and back.  The President, however, was insistent, saying to General McDowell, "You are green it is true. But they are green also. You are all green alike."
    

McDowell's 35,000 man army was the largest force ever fielded by the United States.  The minuteman tradition of the volunteer soldier still ran strong.  Regardless of the hasty preparations, the National army could surely thrash the impudent Rebels.  The resulting July 21, 1861 battle of Bull Run was a hard fought affair that turned into a rout as the undisciplined Union army came apart after nearly achieving success.
    

The Confederates were able to bring reinforcements to the battle by rail at the critical moment.  Due to the use of railroads, telegraph systems, machine guns, reconnaissance balloons, submarines, steam-powered metal warships, and mass production, many historians call the American Civil War the first modern war.  After the defeat at First Bull Run, the North prepared greater combinations for a sterner contest.  Oddly, this early defeat may have prepared the way for eventual victory, but not before another four years of warfare and hundreds of thousands of casualties.  The Southern people conducted a heroic defense of their homeland and historic institutions.  The martyred abolitionist appears to have been correct when he said, “I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land can never be purged away but with blood.”

Until next month - Three cheers and a tiger!

Eric