LeRoy Pennysaver & News

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - JANUARY 27, 2019 by Lynne Belluscio The weather report this past weekend mentioned high winds and below zero tempera- tures so it was time to put up the bed hangings in the house and tack up the feedbags at the barn. The mission is to stop the cold drafts. I always wonder how our ancestors dealt with sub zero weather and high winds. I have read stories of people living in log cabins, trying to fill the holes between the logs with straw and old rags. Think of Valley Forge. Even at my grandmother’s house, because there was no insulation, the up- stairs rooms were freezing - lit- erally. There was a reason why we slept between the two goose down mattresses - even though I discovered that I was allergic to feathers. My uncle said that they applied layer after layer of wallpaper on the walls to keep out the drafts. I remember the windows completely frozen over. My house is well insulat- ed, and I’ve replaced some win- dows, but sometimes I swear I can feel a cold draft in my bed- room when the wind comes out of the north. I only have one dog, so Three Dog Night isn’t an option. When we bought an antique bed many years ago, I decided to make bed hangings. I found window curtains with creweled (embroidered) flow- ers and I cut them up to make the bed hangings that I put up for the winter. There is a huge piece that goes on top of the curved frame. There are two full length curtains on each side, and a piece that goes be- hind the headboard, and two more curtains at the foot of the bed. When all of the curtains are closed, it is like being in a tent. And that was the purpose in the 1700s - to totally enclose the bed with curtains. It was partially for privacy, since bed chambers were often filled with people and beds. In the early 1800s, there was a change in at- titudes to both curtains on win- dows as well as beds. It was suggested that it was better to have free circulation of air. In- stead of full length drapes that could be pulled closed – and collected dust , short window valences were encouraged. It was the beginning of the “min- imalist” movement even be- fore the word was in use. The upstairs bedroom of LeRoy House has a bed that probably at one time had a frame on top for bed hangings. At one time we had full bed hangings on it but decided that when the Le- Roy family lived in the house in the 1820s, they might have thought that it was better not to have bedhangings. The frame - called the tester - sits in the corner. For animals, it is important to keep them out of the wind. I put up plastic in the chicken house and that seems to keep the chickens happy. My fam- ily in Germany used to live in a house that included the barn for the cows. And I have seen similar houses in Japan. In the winter the animals could be inside away from the wind and cold, but they also added their heat to the building. Or at least that is what I was told. Putting up the feedbags in my barn helps to keep snow from blowing into the hallway. This year, the horse feed that I use, is packaged in lavender bags, which have provided a beau- tiful bright interior decoration in the barn hallway. I suspect the horses could care less, but the bags do stop the snow and wind from coming through the cracks. Many years ago, the Historical Society was given two large pieces of light-weight cardboard which were found on the interior wall of a barn in LeRoy. They had served their purpose to keep out the wind and normally it wouldn’t be of great interest, but they were large printed sheets of Jell-O boxes! It would have been cut into pieces at the factory on North Street, and then fold- ed into boxes and filled with Jell-O. They were not in pris- tine condition, but they were immediately accessioned and placed in the large drawer be- tween sheets of acid-free paper. They are the only examples of uncut printed Jell-O boxes that I know of. As for keeping warm at the Jell-O Gallery - it is a chal- lenge. The thick stone walls are not insulated and there is a constant draft around all the windows. And there are no storm windows. I suspect when the building was the school, the students were glad to have seats next to the radiators. We took out the radiators and replaced the steam heat with forced air and we only heat the main floor and the bathrooms. In fact we have said that during the win- ter, we ought to move our of- fices to the bathrooms because they are the warmest rooms in the building. So I am off to work - with thermal socks, three layers of sweaters, and a warm scarf. Draft Resistor Bed Hangings Cardboard sheet of Jello boxes used to cover cracks in barn wall