A few weeks ago I wrote about ancestral weather. At that time I talked about how weather patterns and disasters would have affected our ancestors. This week I was reminded again of people's behaviour around a weather disaster. Typically that happens as incoming bad weather, like a hurricane, is predicted and people stock up so they can hunker down and weather the storm. In this latest episode, gathering supplies was happening after the event because supply chains were disrupted or perceived to be disrupted and people just had to get out there and gather food to hoard. These days we can accomplish that by visiting the local big box grocery stores. How did our forbears cope? It must have been difficult, particularly with perishable foodstuff before there was refrigeration.
That got me thinking not only about predicting the weather and the change in that technology, but about changes in the domestic sphere as well. The kitchen and other places in the home have changed a lot over the years. Invention has followed on invention until our homes look vastly different than those of our ancestors. That's part of the reason I and many others enjoy exploring old homes that are on display showcasing the way people used to live. I've explore many historic places from British castles to historic Canadian village settlements.
Which reminds me, I'm about to start profiling another ancestor to write about their life. This time it's a woman. I really should give a thought to what she would have had in her home and the tasks which would have been required to keep her household running efficiently. I know I have some resources on my bookshelves to help with that. She lived in Canada so I'm hoping that Much to be Done: Private Life in Ontario from Victorian Diaries by Frances Hoffman and Ryan Taylor will give me some ideas about her earlier years when she lived in Ontario. The Canadian Housewife: An Affectionate History by Rosemary Neering should help in my research too.
No comments:
Post a Comment