The day started out with a pancake breakfast. It was your
'standard' pancake breakfast of pancakes (2) sausage patties, and orange
juice. My wife and I both paid the $5, got our plates and sat down to
eat. Well, the top side of our pancakes were slightly burnt- but the bottom
of all 4 pancakes was completely scorched. I'm sure that they were just
trying to pass these pancakes off on some un-suspecting person, which
they did. But I'd like to tell everyone that for the future: Okay- now that I got that out of my system- let's move on.
During the Stroll, Main Street ,and a lot of the side streets are closed to cars. So it's really a great time to walk around Main street and see what's going on. They've got a bunch of old cars, tractors, 'things for sale' and other booths open. This is probably the most festive, and relaxed time I have had downtown- it was really nice (except for the pancakes).
Of these cars, the white convertible on the bottom right was the coolest. It was a Packard, and it was the smallest car from that era I've seen. It looked like it would be a ton of fun to ride in.
There were also a lot of 'historical re-enactments' like these suffragettes. Here's a little history of the Suffragettes- It was first seriously proposed in the United States at Seneca Falls, N.Y., July 19, 1848, in a general declaration of the rights of women prepared by Elizabeth Cady Stanton , Lucretia Mott , and several others. The early leaders of the movement in the United States—Susan B. Anthony , Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Lucy Stone , Abby Kelley Foster , Angelina Grimké , Sarah Grimké , and others—were usually also advocates of temperance and of the abolition of slavery. When, however, after the close of the Civil War, the Fifteenth Amendment (1870) gave the franchise to newly emancipated African-American men but not to the women who had helped win it for them, the suffragists for the most part confined their efforts to the struggle for the vote. The National Woman Suffrage Association, led by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, was formed in 1869 to agitate for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Another organization, the American Woman Suffrage Association, led by Lucy Stone, was organized the same year to work through the state legislatures. These differing approaches—i.e., whether to seek a federal amendment or to work for state amendments—kept the woman-suffrage movement divided until 1890, when the two societies were united as the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Later leaders included Anna Howard Shaw and Carrie Chapman Catt . Several of the states and territories (with Wyoming first, 1869) granted suffrage to the women within their borders; when in 1913 there were 12 of these, the National Woman's party, under the leadership of Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and others, resolved to use the voting power of the enfranchised women to force a suffrage resolution through Congress and secure ratification from the state legislatures. In 1920 the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution granted nation-wide suffrage to women. So rock on ladies!
Speaking of rocking- this woman (with the right to vote) was really belting out some songs. She sounded very good. This stage was right next to the burnt-pancake distribution area.
There were a few booths selling different types of items. Candles, soap, painting, some 'antiques' and this booth selling different types of asian art. There were a lot of things here I would have liked to buy, but it was expensive. I really did like the stuff though.
If you have not ever been to the cemetary during the Stroll Through History- you are missing the best part of the whole day. There were probably 15-20 graves that had 'characters' near them. These were people dressed up as the person in the grave they were standing near. They had a lot of knowledge of the people's lives, and they were able to tell some good stories. I could have easily spent a few hours in the cemetary, but I wanted to get moving before it got too hot. By the way, the cemetary stuff was absolutely free.
This was Amelia Jackson- wife of Byron Jackson. Her story was all about Byron:
Okay- I'll be honest with you. I don't remember if this guy represents the Spanish-American war, or the Civil war. I apologize!
Interestingly enough, these girls were actually dancing
on the grave of this guy.
These were the Gable boys. Amos and Harvey Gable were prosperous Yolo County farmers.
George Hecke.
Gunfight with a shoe-shine-boy.
One room in this house (bottom left as you are looking at this) made the whole visit worthwhile. They've got some interesting stuff, but the fact that the house smelled of cigarette smoke was a real downer. Cigarettes kill!
Very nice house, with some cool features. The phone in the upstairs hall is neat. This house is in generally great shape, but it is the backyard and pool that I liked the most. Also, the little servants house out back could come in handy. I don't know why, I don't have any servants - but it would just be nice.
This house was pretty small, but it had a lot of really nice built-in cabinets. They were getting ready for some sort of party, which I was unfortunately not invited to. Probably the most disappointing part of this house was that the dogs were not in the backyard. They had food in the laundry room, but no canines to be seen. I think a 'home and pet tour' would be a great idea.
Okay- I'll go on record as saying that this is one of the most super-fly houses I've seen around here. Who would have ever thought that marble columns could actually work in a house in Woodland. Every piece of this house was totally cool- down to the decorative hinges they used on all the doors. The painted ceilings, the tin ceiling. All of it very cool. If you ever get invited to a party at this house, you should go. And to the owners of the house...if you ever need someone else to invite to your party, I'm available. I'll even bring my Xbox.
This was a nice house- and actually the people dressed up inside and outside had some of the best costumes this side of the graveyard. This house seemed to be the least 'decorated' of all the houses, and I'm sure it has something to do with the 17 or so kids that live there.
I've been looking at this house for years, wondering if it was a house, an office building, or what. Finally, I got the answer- it's a house, but not a regular old house at all. This was a very, very neat house. Damn thing has 3 kitchens! (Or really, a kitchen broken up into 3 parts). Thier pantry used to be a wine cellar. Just walking in there and seeing bags of chips on the shelves was a cool thing. There were just lots and lots of rooms, and neat things like a dumbwaiter, small balconies, and even a lava lamp.
These guys are Alexander and Christian. They were near one of the houses on the tour. One of them was playing the violin (well!) and the other one was handing out drinks. I came up and listened to a song, and asked how much the drinks were. They were free-! I usually really like to support young entrepreneurs, but even more impressive than a kid selling lemonade is a couple of kids giving a free concert and refreshments. And they really seemed to be enjoying it!
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