By Maggie Fellows
MHM Volunteer
From the beginning of my time with the Monrovia Historical Museum, I have found myself continuously pulled back to the dusty rolling racks of the museum’s clothing closet. There is a certain wonder, a bit of nostalgia for unknown memories, as you brush your fingers against the fabric of a jacket, its owner now long gone. There are stories that were lived between those panels of fabric, hand-stitched hemlines, pen-inked name tags.
Some stories are joyful, like a little girl’s silk dress owned by Polly Packard, whose father was a prominent civil rights lawyer in Chicago, and whose mother was an active organizer in the Suffragette movement in the early 1900s. The dress is sky blue with green and pink ribbons down the side. Surely they twilled when she spun, and surely the silk shone when she walked in the spring sun.
MHM Volunteer
From the beginning of my time with the Monrovia Historical Museum, I have found myself continuously pulled back to the dusty rolling racks of the museum’s clothing closet. There is a certain wonder, a bit of nostalgia for unknown memories, as you brush your fingers against the fabric of a jacket, its owner now long gone. There are stories that were lived between those panels of fabric, hand-stitched hemlines, pen-inked name tags.
Some stories are joyful, like a little girl’s silk dress owned by Polly Packard, whose father was a prominent civil rights lawyer in Chicago, and whose mother was an active organizer in the Suffragette movement in the early 1900s. The dress is sky blue with green and pink ribbons down the side. Surely they twilled when she spun, and surely the silk shone when she walked in the spring sun.
There are also many military uniforms donated by the people of Monrovia. One wool green uniform is tagged manufactured by M Fine & Sons in 1944 and worn by Tim Lueders. This would be during a time when drafted soldiers of America would have come from every walk of life, and every town to contribute to the war effort. The shirt features the three grey stripes of a sergeant, and a golden patch stitched to the breast. This Ruptured Duck as it was called, appears as a small diamond with a golden eagle breaking free from a golden circlet. The patch was awarded by the War Department between the years 1925-1946 for all honorable discharge - a symbol of a job well done.
And finally, there is the black lace, so much black lace. I lay out the fragile cloth on acid-free tissue paper, which is then carefully formed to hold its shape in place of the owner now long gone. A funeral dress, a party dress? Black can mean so many things. Clothes can hold so many meanings. I do my best to honor and tell their stories. Right now, there are over 700 artifacts of clothing, hats, shoes, and accessories stored at the Monrovia Historical Museum. Many need updates and corrections made to their database, as well as their physical preservation stabilized and re-photographed. The volunteers of Monrovia Museum are hard at work completing this and many other important tasks. The shared love of history and community drives us forward to preserve and tell the stories of the past.
And finally, there is the black lace, so much black lace. I lay out the fragile cloth on acid-free tissue paper, which is then carefully formed to hold its shape in place of the owner now long gone. A funeral dress, a party dress? Black can mean so many things. Clothes can hold so many meanings. I do my best to honor and tell their stories. Right now, there are over 700 artifacts of clothing, hats, shoes, and accessories stored at the Monrovia Historical Museum. Many need updates and corrections made to their database, as well as their physical preservation stabilized and re-photographed. The volunteers of Monrovia Museum are hard at work completing this and many other important tasks. The shared love of history and community drives us forward to preserve and tell the stories of the past.
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