My first Trove Tuesday post since the beginner of December is a gem of social history! It is a fascinating section from the Ladies' Column of the Bendigo Advertiser in 1898 which deals with some of the same issues we deal with today (anyone else without house help find laundry a burden, or is that just me?).
But, my favourite bit is:
Almost all women are fond of good china, and yet in a great many households there are only the most ordinary dishes put upon the board for the use of the people themselves. This is a mistake, and one that all well-to do establishments aught to avoid whenever it is possible. It is very unwise to bring children up to feel that every fine and costly and beautiful article in the house is for the use of company and outsiders. There should be no one who is more worthy of consideration, courtesy, and the best the house affords than the parents who by their industry and painstaking have accumulated the means to keep up the home, or the children who are the most precious of their possessions. From their earliest years the little ones should be accustomed to some of the good things of life.
And so my completely non-genealogical challenge for you is to dig out your "good" china and serve dinner on it tomorrow night - even if you get pizza! Who is more special than family? Why wait for "good" to use your special things, when you can enjoy them today? Who knows, tomorrow, they might be gone in a bushfire. I'll try to remember my own challenge and put a photo up tomorrow! Maybe we can all dig out some heirloom china and share with one another a photo of us using and enjoying items that our ancestors "by their industry and painstaking have accumulated".
The list of Trove Tuesday blogs is updated every week (usually) and can be found here. What have you found on Trove? Why not join in next week and share what you've found?Labels: Trove, Trove Tuesday
