Presented by Marge Harding, local historian and author
The nineteenth century was full of secrets. Undergarments, women’s and men’s, most certainly were included in those secrets. This leaves us to ask, did they really wear that on the trail? Using a light and sometimes humorous living history presentation, Marge will display and describe the who, what, where, when, why and how of these original garments. Also the purpose and importance of the items from the “Trail” time period (1840s – 1860s) will be “exposed” and the secrets “beneath it all” will be made public.
About the Speaker:
Marge Harding is the author of her new booklet series, Images Revealed: Identifying and Dating by Fashion and Photography. She is a collector and preservationist of original clothing, jewelry and accessories, but her passion is researching, finding and “telling the story” of original items and time periods. As a home economics teacher, Marge completed graduate studies in Family Living and Women’s Studies and Textile and Historical Clothing Preservation. Marge is the Heritage Consultant. for the Clackamas County Historical Society, a member of the Costume Society of America, Oregon-California Trail Association and other living history and museum organizations.
Marge started Civil War Era re-enacting with her husband in 1990. For her, it was as if coming full circle, connecting her teaching and studies of women with the real women of the past. She teaches period clothing and trims construction and works with museums and the National Park Service as teacher and curator, identifying and preserving original clothing and textiles. Marge is a regular speaker and living history presenter on various subjects concerning women, at conferences, workshops and seminars as well as re-enactments. She performs first person representations of several historic women figures such as Mary Todd Lincoln, Abigail Scott Duniway (1st Lady of Oregon’s Women Suffrage) and Women of the Oregon Trail and early Oregoon. Marge and her husband live in Oregon City, Oregon (“The End of the Oregon Trail”), and are involved with museums and active in heritage tourism, events and activities.
About Wilsonville Old Church History Pub
These monthly, free events are open to everyone interested in Oregon and Pacific Northwest history. Co-sponsored by like-minded historical and civic organizations, we bring you experts, scholars, first-person experiencers and historians who expound on topics from Lewis and Clark to shipwrecks, hop growing to women pioneers and far, far beyond. It’s like being back in the classroom – except this time you get to settle into comfortable seats and enjoy a drink or two with dinner while you listen and learn.
This event is eligible for a History Pub Stamp
Source: Wilsonville Public Library & McMenamins. 4.10.19