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| Joined: | Tue Sep 19th, 2006 |
| Location: | Oakton, Fairfax County, VA |
| Posts: | 321 |
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After reading about the collections the rest of you have posted, I must join in with my astounding and amazing CW memorabilia.
In the kitchen, a framed print of a pen-and-ink drawing of a Norfolk & Western Railroad steam locomotive, ca. 1946, hauling a load of coal through Lynchburg, VA. How's that related to the Civil War? A lot, in my opinion. It was given to me by the artist, who is a volunteer CW artillery reenactor with the NPS in the Richmond area. He's a member of the Richmond model train club. I'm very proud to have John's drawing. We met at Tredegar Iron Works, and a couple of times at other living history events in Petersburg and Yorktown.
Taped to a kitchen cabinet: a poster announcing Bob Macomber's book signing party in Fairfax in October. (He's PHP, as ks mentioned.) It has an enlargement of his same picture as on his website, robertmacomber.com. An Affair of Honor is the fifth in his series of novels about a Civil War US Navy officer and his later career around the world.
Also in the kitchen, on the little cork board above the wall phone, are two tiny clear plastic bags.
- One holds a piece of hardtack, given to me by a member of my Bull Run RT, who is a great-grandson of Longstreet (maybe great-great-grandson).
- The other has an unused percussion cap, given to me by a reenactor. It also has two empty paper musket cartridges and two torn-off tails, which I picked up after a live-firing demo at an event at the Manassas Museum. I took both little bags with me to France over Thanksgiving to show my brother, who is interested in military history through the ages.
The rest of my wall stuff is pictures, wall hangings, sculptures, etc., from South America. My husband spent 16 years there, and later, after we got married, I had a two-year assignment in Caracas. Most of these things are from Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Guatemala.
- A preserved piranha from Brazil, which Dick got in Rio.
- A portrait of Simon Bolivar, el Gran Libertador (Great Liberator), considered the George Washington of Spanish America.
- A portrait of an old peasant man, picked up in an open-air art market in Buenos Aires by Dick's oldest daughter.
- A portrait of a Bolivian peasant with his little pan-pipe.
- A crudely hand-made coffee table made from the doors of a cathedral which was destroyed by an earthquake in Guatemala City 400 years ago.
- A brass plaque decorated with emerald chips, from Bogota.
- A poster of a Spanish bullfighter, advertising next Sunday's corrida, featuring the name of Richard Wheeler; the youngest daughter got it in Barcelona, and had his name printed on it as a gag.
- Wall hanging from Mexico, also from the youngest daughter.
- Wall hanging from Venezuela.
- Small oil paintings given to me by an artist friend in Caracas.
- Two plaques or sculptures or something from Cairo and Jakarta, picked up by Dick on his travels.
- Night photos of grass fires on the mountainside above Caracas, taken by Dick's son.
- Framed enlargements, taken by Dick, of our visit to Angel Falls, Venezuela, the world's highest waterfall.
- Snapshot of us at the Marine Corps Birthday Ball in Caracas, oh, he was so handsome in his tux, and I was so thin.
Family pictures, too, of course.
But most of the wall space is taken up with bookcases. I really have to do some serious removal. I don't want his science-fiction paperbacks when I need room for my CW books, for pete's sake!
Patty
la Viuda Wheeler
Last edited on Thu Dec 21st, 2006 12:30 am by Widow