|
East Bedroom
This bedroom for the Gilbert girls was the first to be restored
and equipped in period furnishings when the Museum acquired the
house. Under the direction of Pat Erickson, a group of volunteers
scraped off old wallpaper, cleaned the walls, applied new wallpaper,
painted woodwork, and sanded and grained the floor. The furniture,
toys, dressing table equipment for hair care, and period items have
been donated or brought from the Museum to create what would have
been an appropriate room for the four Gilbert girls. They were fortunate
to have a large walk in closet which was not a common facility in
farm homes at the turn of the century.
The closet joins the sleeping porch which was open at first, then
screened, and later closed in with glass windows. The siding on
the wall was the original outside siding for this part of the house.
Screens were added during an epidemic of typhoid fever in 1914,
and the city ran a campaign to control the fly problem. The cupola
joins the south end of the porch, and it was here Mrs. Gilbert enjoyed
sitting and reading in a rattan chair she had brought back from
the Philippines on their trip around the world in 1913.
|
