Memorial Day Weekend

What does this have to do with Memorial Day Weekend? Well, not alot, but it will be explained below. I am still trying to figureout formatting, but these photos are some of the hand-colored black-and-white photography, that I learned to do while being a Civil War reinactor/photographer....read on.

In another life, a very long time ago, I was a Civil War Photographer....No, it wasn't 1863, but I was employed by the State of Virginia, to photograph various Civil War battlefields, and reinactments through out the Country. At the time, Disney wanted to build a themepark right next to the hollowed ground of Manassas, VA...also, know at Bull Run. I dressed in the grieving attire of a Civil War widow, "Widow's Weed's", and followed the various (there are 40,000 reinactors in the Country) reinactments, along with my dear husband, who set up our period Officer's tent, which weighed a ton, which I turned into a parlor, where the soldiers, families, etc., could visit, to see if they were in the photos. This was not a celebration of war, but rather, a living history, often showing how terrible that war was.

When I moved to Wisconsin from North Carolina, I opened a small gallery in an 1860's schoolhouse..."Widow Weeds" was not just the photography of war, but also, featured hand-tinted black& White photography, portriats of children, hand-painted glass, herbal vinegars, and much more. Those days are gone, but I still have some of the images, the hoop skirts, veils, etc...and memories of hot, Summer days, loping across a battlefield, (being the only woman allowed on), getting poisen ivy, and having a wonderful time....

Now, I live in Texas, and have continued my interior design career, but the "Etc" in my business name Jessica B. Schatz, Interiors, Etc. covers my latest efforts - I have copy righted these images, and am selling them, either as prints, or as greeting cards, and will be opening on Etsy very soon....under the name Jess Etc. - looking forward to it.

So, back to Memorial Day Weekend...let's all take a few minutes from our bbq's, boating, picnics, and remember and reflect as to what this holiday represents...the men and women, who have fought and fallen and continue to do so, so that we may be free.....

Peace out