Calling all Rustics!

[Idledame]

I guess the answer to your original question must be no...there is no one even on FL who is as passionate and dedicated to the past as you are. But you are an inspiration to anyone who would like to live like you do but thinks they can't do it. I'm always impressed by how perfect you look from head to toe and when I see you it's obvious how much you enjoy it and I can't help but smile.

 

[Paisley]

Why the Change to "Rustic"?

When I saw the title of this thread, I thought of people living in a log cabin. My dictionary defines rustic (n) as 1. A rural person. 2. A crude, coarse, or simple person. The Latin root (rus) means country. A purist is "One who practices or urges strict correctness, esp. in the use of words."

 

[Forgotten Man]

When I saw the title of this thread, I thought of people living in a log cabin. My dictionary defines rustic (n) as 1. A rural person. 2. A crude, coarse, or simple person. The Latin root (rus) means country. A purist is "One who practices or urges strict correctness, esp. in the use of words."

Well, the things I own and use are crude, coarse and simple in construction and to understand. Also, some of my itemes are rusty lol

 

[Amy Jeanne]

Well, my dedication just comes from love of the era, it's never a chore or I never feel tied down to it... people some times say I'm "stuck" in the past... I reply that if I was unhappy doing what I do, I'd be stuck! I'm happy and I do not feel I am stuck.

Sounds like you’re kinda like me in many respects… I haven’t bought a new item of clothes in many years… and even my mother has been shopping at thrift shops now since so many new styles aren’t very modest and she ops for the more conservative/modest dresses… she’s upset at the way style has turned!

Like I have mentioned in earlier posts, I have always had a draw to other time periods other then my own. I was a most interesting kid at age 9 knowing about the TITANIC disaster and also interested in the California gold rush. I recall being at a field trip in Monrovia Canyon... and this old timer had some old mining tools... he picks up this rusty hook with a candle holder... he asked us kids what it was... I raised my hand and said a candle holder! I saw one like it in a photo in National Geographic! The man's jaw dropped! Everyone was dumb founded how a 9 year old kid knew what that was! lol

Mad at the modern world? Well, in some things I am... I will not go into them because it would make this post too long and boring... and I don't want to rant. lol But there are things in this world I really could do with out... and I will say that having no beautiful train travel like we did back in the 30s -50s makes me sad... since I love to travel by trains. Oh to go cross the country on a Pullman and sit out on the observation platform in a chair with a wool blanket around me watching the country side whiz by... and that haunting sound of a steam whistle... Sigh!

When I was a small child I LOVED old movies, and I would stay up nights watching them. I was eerily attracted to them. One of my favourite things to do was read the TV Guide, find the oldest movie I could and tune in I also used to play dress-up "flapper" style. I had a black wig that I used to wear and I'd shape it in spit curls on my cheeks; I'd paint on really tiny lips and high, thin eyebrows. I didn't know I was being a "flapper" at that time!

I also had a thing for old buildings and cornerstones when I was a child. Again, I was eerily attracted to them -- almost scared, but fascinated at the same time. Now that I'm all grown up old movies and buildings are two of my favourite things in life!

All the modern stuff we own at least has a vintage "look" to it. Our couch kind of looks 1930s ultra art moderne, but it's 2006 Ikea! Thrift shops in Southern New Jersey practially GIVE AWAY awesome 30s and 40s furniture in really good shape, too. I scored a huge 1941 buffet for under 100 and a 1934 Philco for $35!!!! I was confused when I saw THAT price tag. I actually had to ask the owner if it was correct.

A lot of modern stuff doesn't do it for me, either. I hate the modern "aesthetic" and I don't have a clue about modern popular culture!! I go on about Dick Powell and Al Bowlly like they're the hottest singers around today lol And don't even get me started about old movies!!!! I'll never shut up. Now I have a new obsession, which is sewing. I LOVE that I can wear vintage styles with modern durability. I plan to RARELY buy items in the malls ever again!

 

[reetpleat]

I think the purist thread should have read" Romantic" that seems fitting to the way you feel FM.I am 57yrs old and have been around the block many many times raised a wonderful daughter,tried to follow the straight and narrow,but it is difficult today and all the days before.I understand how you feel and admire that,but purist can`t happen, sorry to burst your bubble but it is just dreaming.Advice from my grandfather the good old days were not that good,he went through WW1 the dust bowl,the depression,chopped wood to heat the huge house that my dad and 7 other brothers and sisters lived.Tough life he lead,he was no purist,a rustic yes(look it up)never drove,took a train to work(steam),grew many of the things that they ate,made the odd piece of furniture now and then,raised chickens,honey bees,and saved everthing.He is long gone now and I have fond memories of that cantankerous old coot.

Well, isn't it great we live in a time when someone can take the best of the past and make it their life. True, it wasn't always so great, but we can take the best and leave the bad stuff behind.

Perhaps, Forgotten Man will agree that the best trying about the present is he can live his life this way, afford it, find info and accouterments and like minded souls on line, and not be sent to an asylum for it.

So, hooray for modern life and hooray for living in the past.

 

[RBH]

.... Also, some of my itemes are rusty lol

Are they rusty or Rusty's ?

 

[LizzieMaine]

I go on about Dick Powell and Al Bowlly like they're the hottest singers around today lol

Well, they *are!* (Art Jarrett's pretty good, too!)

 

[Forgotten Man]

Oh, and not to forget the great young Bing Crosby or Rudy Vallee... or even Gene Austin! And wait, there's more... RUTH ETTING!!! Can't forget her!

 

[MrNewportCustom]

A great thread, FM.

Another photo, a favorite of mine:

And no wonder! It's a great shot, very Hollywood.

I'm getting some new strobes in a couple months. Let me do some like this for you after they arrive.


Lee

 

[Forgotten Man]

Sure! Just let me know!

THANKS!!!

 

[MrNewportCustom]

I expect to have them by late February. I'll PM you then.


Lee

 

[MEDIUMMYND]

It has to be a balance for me, for starters i live in a 1960"s house and it does not lend its self to older furniture and fittings,i feel it has to be a blend of the best of the the new and i stress the best along with classic older or vintage items.This is the way i try to balance it out in all aspects of the way i live,i hate the attitude that everything was always better in days gone by.Get the balance there are some great things about a modern lifestyle but set it off with the style and class of a bygone age.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I tend to think of rustics as wearing jeans and having tractors... at least that's the way they used the term in the 40s. My grandfather was a bit of a rustic.

Either way, I think you guys are vintage enthusiasts, though go further than most when it comes to looking authentic to the past... I have to ad that we are all heavily into the computer culture, then again nobody can truly live in the past (accept for Jeff Beauregard -- at least he comes to 1984 now and again).

 

[Solid Citizen]

Forgotten Man/Living Historian

Rob, when I signed here at the FL over three years
ago it was based on your total period immersion at
that time under the Wildroot handle that attracted
me. You left for awhile & I'm glad you came back.

In Civil War Living History we had Rob Hodge. If you've
seen the book "Confederates in the Attic" he's on the
cover. Once again complete period immersion that
probably 99% couldn't achieve. Like what your doing
with 30's/40's just putting on the threads is not enough.
Please keep posting your pics they inspire!


Solid Citizen

 

[Frankie Lamb]

Being there

I guess I may as well fling my Farthing into the ring on this subject. Forgotten Man, every time I see you at an event I get the distinct feeling you're deeply embedded in the period you speak of. It's a lot more than the correctness of your clothes, which by the way are always spot-on, but the ease with which you wear them. I suppose another way to say it would be that I cannot imagine seeing you in "modern" clothes ie; shorts, tee-shirt with sports logo, futuristic looking tennis shoes, and all topped off with a stupid "one size fits all" baseball cap. Many of the Loungers I've met have a passion for the 20's, 30's and 40's even though they've never experienced them and I applaud that, but in my case I'm old enough to have grown up in the forties and fifties, and with me it's more a case of "re-living" than "re-enacting". Like you, I too feel disgust and disdain for many of the things which exist in the current period, and more and more I find myself finding places to go to that remind me of how things were when I was growing up in Burbank, Glendale, and San Fernando. I prefer listening to old radio programs as I drive, and when I'm home. I use rotary telephones when possible, and period kitchen appliances. I seek out restaurants and coffee shops that fit that mold, and even prefer a good silent film over most all of the current films. I didn't intend to go on such a "babble-on" here, so just let me say that I agree with you one hundred percent, and I promise if ever get that time machine up and running you're my co-pilot. Nostalgia rant mode off.
Frankie Lamb.

 

[vitanola]

I guess the answer to your original question must be no...there is no one even on FL who is as passionate and dedicated to the past as you are. But you are an inspiration to anyone who would like to live like you do but thinks they can't do it. I'm always impressed by how perfect you look from head to toe and when I see you it's obvious how much you enjoy it and I can't help but smile.

I don't think!

Our life-style here is similar to that of FM, I believe.

In the morning we are awakened by an Ironclad alarum clock, we bathe in a footed tub, and shave with cup soap, a brush, and a Valet Auto-Strop, make our coffee in a 1916 Hot-Point El-Perko, toast our (home-made) bread in either an El-Toasto or a Universal 715, cook our oatmeal or soft-boiled egg over the gas ring. We listen to the news on either the Atwater Kent in the dining room or the Jackson-Bell in the kitchen. When the telephone rings we answer the line on either a Western Electric 51-AL desk stand or a type B-1 hand-set mounting.

We do have television, a 13" portable in an upstairs closet, and a 1949 RCA T-100 in the library. Also in the library is a (concealed) video projector and roll-down screen, which we use when we watch pictures. Otherwise for entertainment we read, listen to the radio (including 2 of our own AM channels, one of which is an NPR feed), or play one of the Victrolas.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Well, I haven't checked in here for a wile, I see some very nice posts! I'm glad to get a feeling of what some of you others feel about this stuff and for those who I have impressed... I just do what I love and I'm glad others appreciate what I do.

Funny thing has been goin' on here at the Farm House... My light fixture in the bathroom has gone on the blink... sad to say it's a stupid fluorescent fixture like the kind you see in schools or public places but, the ballast has gone out AGAIN! And I haven't had the time to bother my land lord to have him fix it. So, last night I was getting ready for a get together at a friend's place and I had forgotten to shave earlier yesterday... so, it's dark out and no lights in the bathroom. I dig out an old kerosene Dietz Hy-lo lantern and hang it by the mirror... I shave by lantern light... and I got a nice shave to tell the truth! I'm going to get that fixture replaced some day... maybe somethin' along the lines of incandescent fixtures... I'm tellin' you guys, fluorescent is the devil! It don't last as long as incandescent, not by a long shot!

 

[gtdean48]

In 1981 after graduating from college, a childhood friend got me to volunteer at Andersonville National Park, which is in my home county, as a living history Confederate Guard. That morphed into full out Civil War Reenacting for the next 8 years or so, fully into the period during weekends = authetic clothing, tenting, firearms, food, etc. I've also acquired a rig for Cowboy Mounted Shooting but have yet to convince my horse of participating... gtd