As a special thank you to all of our social media supporters, we're releasing a BOGO coupon for Daniel Smith Days! All you have to do is mention the ad at the gate to take advantage of this great deal!
Thank you for your continued support!
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Sugar Chest To Be in Upcoming Silent Auction!
Pictures by Haley Carter/For Historic Rock Castle
This year's Silent Auction at the Membership Booth during Daniel Smith Days will feature a truly one-of-a-kind piece--a handmade sugar chest! The sugar chest featured in the pictures below was made by local historian and master woodworker, John Garrott. Mr. Garrott, who founded the Sumner County Museum in 1970s and who is a great friend to this site, has donated this beautiful piece to our site to be sold in this year's Silent Auction at our site's biggest celebration of the year, Daniel Smith Days!
Sugar chests were popular and quite attractive pieces of furniture, featured primarily in the South, during the 18th and 19th centuries. A sugar chest is essentially a large wooden box, with four legs that provide a standing base to the piece. The box itself primarily held sugar; however, it also held some spices (provided there was a drawer on the bottom to accommodate them).
Sugar was a highly prized commodity during this period, and thus was a great expense to working families. Because of this reason, sugar was, of course, kept under lock and key (thus the key hole where the upside-down tear drop is on this particular chest) to insure its security. While the wealthier could afford such luxuries as sugar, the less-affluent would use honey, molasses or maple syrup as a supplement. The majority of sugar used in the United States during this period was imported from the West Indies region. Processed in a cone-shape, clay molds would remove the syrup from the raw sugar and produce sugar crystals. The housewife would purchase the cone of sugar and cut it into small lumps for use.
If you have ever been able to tour the interior of Rock Castle, you may recall seeing a sugar chest in our historic home (not pictured) during your tour. The sugar chest we have on display in the house is an original to the family. It is the sugar chest that belonged to Sarah Smith, Daniel's wife, while they lived here, at the Castle.
The starting bid for the John Garrott handmade sugar chest will begin at $300, so be sure to come prepared if interested!
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Rocking With Our Staff: Exec. Director, Sara Beth Gideon!
Pictures by Haley Carter/For Historic Rock Castle
We receive many questions about the people who help to run Historic Rock Castle behind the scenes and we'd like to introduce them to you in a new segment we call "Rocking With Our Staff"! Each week we'll post a profile for one of our staff, board members, or volunteers, highlighting the person and their contributions to our site. We're excited to be able to show you all the heart of this site and introduce to you some new and old faces along the way!
For this first week's segment, we chose to highlight a very important member of our staff, our Executive Director, Sara Beth Gideon! Sara Beth came to work for us in May of this year and since then, has become essential to the operation and execution of many important aspects of this site. We're extremely fortunate to have her on our Team and excited to introduce her to you all!
We began by asking Sara Beth a few questions about herself:
What is your (full) name? Sara Elizabeth Gideon
When is your birthday? August 19th
What starsign does that make you? Leo
What is your favorite color? Blue - MTSU Blue Raiders!
What is your degree in? I have my Masters in Public History with a concentration in Museum Management
Do you have any pets? Two cats. Their names are Mo & Cairo.
Where are you from? Nashville, Tennessee
How many pairs of shoes do you own? Too many...
If you were a super hero, what powers would you have? The ability to fly, so I can avoid traffic.
What hobbies do you enjoy? Reading, singing, outdoor activities--I'm a new stand up paddle boarding convert! I love it!
Are you a good public speaker? I still get nervous, but I think that helps keep you on your toes when speaking in front of others.
What types of holidays do you prefer? Family holidays, particularly Thanksgiving because of the fall weather, good food, and the emphasis on family.
What is the furthest point to which you have traveled? Western Europe--I went in high school on a seventeen-day tour of six countries, and I studied abroad in college in Florence, Italy.
What type of music do you prefer? Really anything classic rock, country, bluegrass is good with me. I love a lot of the American classics, too. Cole Porter is one of my favorites!
Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets? Sunrises, I like the beginning of the day better than the end.
Do you prefer blue or black ink pens? Blue ink. I think in color.
What would be your dream car? A 1929 Bugatti (a car which is currently on display at the Frist's Art Deco Automobiles exihibit now through September 15). Cars of the 1920s were definitely big, bulky, and beautiful!
What was the last book you read? Snobs by Julian Fellows. What a great novel! It was very interesting to read about British culture.
Do you have any nicknames? S.B.
Do you prefer tea or coffee? Tea, most definitely.
If possible, what period in history would you go back to? I would love to hang out with the Lost Generation in Paris, or join the Women's Suffrage Movement.
What is your favorite thing about Rock Castle? The stories about the women of Rock Castle--They were a force to be reckoned with! I also love how it's impossible to take a bad picture of Rock Castle--every angle is beautiful!
Sara Beth does a bit of everything on a daily-basis for this site. She handles a great deal of our site's finances and advertising, as well as conducts research into future exhibits and information pertaining to future plans for the site.
Note from the Staff:
You really have to be a "Jack of many trades" to work around here, and Sara Beth definitely exemplifies the many qualities necessary in an Executive Director for the site. We are so fortunate to work with Sara Beth on a daily basis. She is truly amazing and we love her dearly!
Be sure to stop by and say "hello" to Sara Beth and the other members of our Staff during the week's regular business hours (listed at the top-left of this page)! We'd love to tell you a little more about our beautiful site and show you what makes our site such a great place to come and enjoy!
We receive many questions about the people who help to run Historic Rock Castle behind the scenes and we'd like to introduce them to you in a new segment we call "Rocking With Our Staff"! Each week we'll post a profile for one of our staff, board members, or volunteers, highlighting the person and their contributions to our site. We're excited to be able to show you all the heart of this site and introduce to you some new and old faces along the way!
For this first week's segment, we chose to highlight a very important member of our staff, our Executive Director, Sara Beth Gideon! Sara Beth came to work for us in May of this year and since then, has become essential to the operation and execution of many important aspects of this site. We're extremely fortunate to have her on our Team and excited to introduce her to you all!
What is your (full) name? Sara Elizabeth Gideon
When is your birthday? August 19th
What starsign does that make you? Leo
What is your favorite color? Blue - MTSU Blue Raiders!
What is your degree in? I have my Masters in Public History with a concentration in Museum Management
Do you have any pets? Two cats. Their names are Mo & Cairo.
Where are you from? Nashville, Tennessee
How many pairs of shoes do you own? Too many...
If you were a super hero, what powers would you have? The ability to fly, so I can avoid traffic.
What hobbies do you enjoy? Reading, singing, outdoor activities--I'm a new stand up paddle boarding convert! I love it!
Are you a good public speaker? I still get nervous, but I think that helps keep you on your toes when speaking in front of others.
What types of holidays do you prefer? Family holidays, particularly Thanksgiving because of the fall weather, good food, and the emphasis on family.
What is the furthest point to which you have traveled? Western Europe--I went in high school on a seventeen-day tour of six countries, and I studied abroad in college in Florence, Italy.
What type of music do you prefer? Really anything classic rock, country, bluegrass is good with me. I love a lot of the American classics, too. Cole Porter is one of my favorites!
Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets? Sunrises, I like the beginning of the day better than the end.
Do you prefer blue or black ink pens? Blue ink. I think in color.
What would be your dream car? A 1929 Bugatti (a car which is currently on display at the Frist's Art Deco Automobiles exihibit now through September 15). Cars of the 1920s were definitely big, bulky, and beautiful!
What was the last book you read? Snobs by Julian Fellows. What a great novel! It was very interesting to read about British culture.
Do you have any nicknames? S.B.
Do you prefer tea or coffee? Tea, most definitely.
If possible, what period in history would you go back to? I would love to hang out with the Lost Generation in Paris, or join the Women's Suffrage Movement.
What is your favorite thing about Rock Castle? The stories about the women of Rock Castle--They were a force to be reckoned with! I also love how it's impossible to take a bad picture of Rock Castle--every angle is beautiful!
Sara Beth does a bit of everything on a daily-basis for this site. She handles a great deal of our site's finances and advertising, as well as conducts research into future exhibits and information pertaining to future plans for the site.
Note from the Staff:
You really have to be a "Jack of many trades" to work around here, and Sara Beth definitely exemplifies the many qualities necessary in an Executive Director for the site. We are so fortunate to work with Sara Beth on a daily basis. She is truly amazing and we love her dearly!
Be sure to stop by and say "hello" to Sara Beth and the other members of our Staff during the week's regular business hours (listed at the top-left of this page)! We'd love to tell you a little more about our beautiful site and show you what makes our site such a great place to come and enjoy!
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