The 19th century kitchen in America

This is a waffle iron from the 19th century. This was not a common appliance in the American home at the end of the 19th century seeing as it consumed time and was expensive.

This is a dipper with a wooden handle from the between 1800-1900's. It now has a value of $7-$15. It was something of not great expense although tin dippers were more common at this time.

This is a stove from the 19th century. This particular stove known as the the Grand Windsor Stove was one of the high end stoves of this century.

The image shown above is that of a stove kit. It is encased with everything needed such as pots, pans, cooking utensils, and measurements. It would have a value of $145-$165 now.

These are measuring cups from the 19th century. It now has a value of $15-$30.

This is a Potato Fryer from the 19th century that first debuted in 1879. It now has a value of $15-$25.

Music and Everything in Between

Genisis Balico Music and Everything in Between Music for me is more then just music. It’s an extension of myself and has truly help shape how I view the world. Since I can remember music has stood out to me more then anything else. What I’ve recently come to love the most about music is its ability to transcend language. Good music whether in a language you understand or not is good music. This past summer I began to grow weary of listening to the same sound over and over again. Not that I don’t love the music I hear on the radio or the older stuff from Bob Dylan to Clubhouse, but I felt as if my music broad span was becoming more of a cycle. So the most logical thing to me was to start exploring different types of music. I was already open -minded about all types of music in my language, so why not listen to something perhaps out of my comfort zone? This perhaps one of the most rewarding decisions I’ve made. I started with going back to my roots and listening to more Latino music and was surprised to find how much I liked certain songs. This not only taught me more about my culture but it brought me closer to members in my family who had more knowledge and a love for Latino music. From here I branched off to listen to different types of music that my friends suggested in other languages such as music in Japanese and found a singer whose work I greatly admire, Utada. Of all the music I listened to I came to love Korean music the most. Although there is no particular artist that I like the most this cultures music has captivated me the most. It is through my venturing of different music that has led me to also look into different cultures mostly using media such as Facebook or an app called Viki that is an Asian entertainment outlet. It’s amazing. I’ve found that countries with media similar to ours have many similarities to us. At the end of the day we all have the same basic human feeling and in retrospect our thoughts are similar. Before my adventure through music I didn’t realize how much I viewed the world through our borders. This is just one of many things that music has given me. As of late it has been the inspiration to add more places on my list of places to see, and has taught me more about people in general. It is a passion that will never die because it is a source of inspiration and comfort, for that I’m grateful.

Assessing the Sweet Briar Slave Cabin

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Genisis Balico

Professor Rainville

INTD108

10 October 2012

                                                Sweet Briar College Slave Cabin

            The Sweet Briar Slave Cabin although small in size is significant in its history. The cabin has a history that not only connects it to American history but to the history of Sweet Briar. The Sweet Briar Slave Cabin is dated back to 1825 and Sweet Briar is the only college to have a slave cabin on its campus, making the college even more distinctive. The slave cabin is part of the few slave cabins left in Virginia; there are four or five slave cabins left in Amherst County, Virginia (Recycling a Campus Relic Ann Marshall Whitley 2). It first belonged to Logan Anderson; the overseer of the plantation while Indiana Fletcher Williams owned it. The house then went to Sterling Jones Sr. an employee of Sweet Briar who made the bricks that make up Sweet Briar; it eventually became the Alumnae House, then the student wreck room, and eventually a shack/museum.

Before coming to Sweet Briar I had absolutely had no knowledge of slave cabins, except knowing that they were small and didn’t really care to learn much about them. I would have fallen into the category of people who could’ve cared less about whether or not this small structure, part of an abhorrent time in American history, was maintained. Being from the north I looked at this subject and everything associated with it objectively, because who remembers something if it isn’t constantly present. It wasn’t until I came to Virginia and learned of the history of the cabin and through the discussions in American Economies in the 19^th century that I realized how significant this seemingly insignificant cabin really was.

              It is only a small one-room cabin that hasn’t been significantly remodeled, just fitted with electricity and the essentials for heating. Detailed like this it might just seem like a small insignificant structure but there is more to this cabin. It is its history that is part of what makes Sweet Briar distinct and it adds to the value of Sweet Briar. Not only is it because it is a rarity for a college to have an actual relic like a slave cabin but because it is part of Sweet Briars identity. It is a reminder of Sweet Briars roots. It was a piece of land that was founded on the backs of others forced labor. Now it is a college, which supports women from all walks of life and ethnic background in getting a degree. This part to me is perhaps the most personal. To know that when this cabin originally went up it would have been unthinkable for a young Latino woman to go to college is something that I can barely imagine; it makes me proud to see that this country has come such a long way and that it can bee seen and represented by this one small building on the Sweet Briar campus. This cabin is a reminder of just how far we’ve come. Its history and what it represents can’t have a price tag attached to it.

            This leads into what I think should be done with the cabin. I believe the cabin should be made into a museum and a place where students of Sweet Briar can excavate to find the still unanswered questions associated with the topic of the slave cabins on the Sweet Briar campus. Such as where the other cabins were located, where was the road for the slaves, and what did the slaves of Sweet Briar and the owners’ value, questions like these. From an observation of mine since the cabin is behind the house of the original owners and the owners after that, there must have been a great deal of trust because of its close proximity. One wouldn’t have a house put so closely to one’s home if there was distrust. It is questions and observations like these that are still unanswered and that the cabin may still be able to provide an answer for.

The museum aspect of my idea is that it should be opened to the Sweet Briar community and its visitors as a source of knowledge on what slave cabins were like. In the cabin there would be some of the artifacts that were originally found there to help entice visitors to come visit the museum. Perhaps in order to generate interest in the cabin there would be more opportunities for students to explore the cabin as opposed to now where there isn’t really a chance to do this. That is why turning the cabin into a museum would be a great idea. It would allow students and visitors a chance to learn the history of the school and to have a primary source, themselves, of what these cabins were like.

 As I mentioned it is a part of not only American History and but it is also part of Sweet Briars identity. I truly believe that this cabin will never be left to decay because I believe that others believe and see the cabin in a similar light as I do. I believe that we should never forget. To forget the past or shove it into the corners of our memories is just as bad as acting as if it never happened at all. Which is why this cabin should be turned into a museum.

            As a northerner who tends to forget the ugly truth I am grateful that there is the Sweet Briar Slave Cabin. Now that I am at Sweet Briar this cabin has become more personal. I am now apart of Sweet Briar and it’s history. It is for this reason that I can look at the cabin and all it represents and feel pride in not only my school but in my country. There is still so much to be discovered and discussed with this cabin. Now that I know more about this historical eighteen by fifteen foot cabin I find it amusing that it has much more value then its size would let people believe.