Quilt Tea Party

Some crazy night hours the last three days meant I crawled out of bed at the last possible moment this morning before work and it never dawned on me to take pictures for the blog...instead I'll "take" you to the tea party I attended last weekend.

Near my hometown is Silver Lake which is populated with summer (second) homes and a few year-round homes. One area around the lake is called The Silver Lake Institute and was started as a Methodist "cultural" center eons ago, similar to Chautauqua Institute. There are a lot of cottages in the area as well as Hoag Art Gallery and Epworth Hall. Epworth, built in 1892, is a 3 story building built into a hill. The main area is 2 stories and the upper floor has stadium style seating. In the recent past, there are summer church services and weekly concerts and presentations. This was the first time I had been upstairs in Epworth.

I went to the tea with Mom and 4 friends and we had a blast. We started at Hoag for a small quilt show and then moved to Epworth for the tea. Two local quilt stores had some wares for sale and the upper railings were layered with quilts, old and new.

Our table hostess Sharon (an adopted family member as my grandmother and a relative of hers came over as Aussie war brides) and my quilting friends Nadine and Noel.




Sarah, Michele and Mom

 Food was plentiful as was the hot and iced teas. The almond clotted cream on cranberry mini scones were probably my favorite. The cherry bing tea was to die for. It was a Celestial Tea and I plan to look for some in the grocery store.

A hostess was chosen from each table to bring the table settings. Center pieces of hydrangea blossoms and rolls of fabric strips were provided by the planning committee. Table numbers where inserted into spools of thread. Our table had glass plates shaped like apples but others had willow ware or even green depression glass. I wish I had thought to look at more table scapes.

Michele in front of an old Grandmothers Flower Garden quilt

These show you an overall shot from upstairs. You can see the stage to the right. Some of the 100 ladies at the tea had offered to tell 2 minute stories about their chosen quilts and they were seperated into categories of dreams, prayer, etc. The programs were made into fans and listed the speaker and name of their quilt.

I love the rafters - this is a summer only building as there is no insulation but also no AC on a warm summer day. I did find little bamboo fans at Pier 1 for my table mates, not knowing the programs would be fans as well.

I do believe this was a very successful sold out tea and at my table, we are waiting very impatiently, hoping there will be another next year!

PS - Don't forget to vote in the poll to your right!

Loss in the name of Progress

It's always sad when historic buildings are torn down. It's even sadder when the building was so far beyond repair due to neglect of an owner that there was no other choice. And so ends the era of the Castile Sanitarium. 

The very front has been removed - it was originally a (wooden) tavern

 The Sanitarium, or "Water Cure," was founded by Jabez Greene in 1849 as a hydropathic institution. His daughter, Dr. Cordelia Greene, took over after his death. Cordelia was one of the early women doctors, an active member of Women's Suffrage and the founder of our local library. On Cordelia's death, her niece Dr. Mary Greene took over. In all, the Greene family ran the facility for 108 years.


Demolition started in the center section.
The front building (left) was originally 2 stories but a third was later added.
You can see the various bricks and sections to the building.

Within my own lifetime, I can remember senior apartments and a restaurant in this great old building where the ladies were cured by sitting on the front porch and eating onions in the freezing cold. (Ok, there was more to the "cure" but that's all I remember). It's second to last owner lived there with her animals. Use your imagination: the place was a mess and not safe to be in.



It was originally hoped that the gymnasium could be saved and a kitchen added for dinner functions.

It is now slated for demolition as well.



Most recently the Castile Community Club bought the 5 acre parcel with plans to remove the remaining buildings and build a new community center. The graceful old pool has already been backfilled, old architectural elements were salvaged, the asbestos was removed and the demolition finally began this week. Rumor has it that the site will be cleared in only 2 weeks and some kind of new building will be constructed by summer's end.


Cordelia's legacy lives on in the Cordelia A Greene Library, despite the demolition across Main Street.



Goodbye dear lady - you are gone but not forgotten...