Years ago, I visited Shirley Plantation, down on the James River in
Virginia, outside of Richmond.  It is still in family hands, but is open
to the public and staffed with guides.  I had one of the best historic
house tours I have ever had there.  The guide was a young woman who
vividly brought the house to life for my husband and me.  She talked about
the occupants, the type life they led, and then used furniture and
features of the house as a jumping-off place for anecdotes about some
members of the family.  (For instance, a short, jealous wife pulled a very
high chest on frame down on top of her while climbing up to find love
letters she was convinced her husband had hidden in the top drawer!)
It was wonderful, and gave us a sense of the Carter family that we would
not have had otherwise.  I have not had a historic house tour since that
could compare.

I don't know how much of this was the young guide's innate ability and
how much of this was scripted by the family.  But it certainly made the
place come alive for us.  It would be worth a call to them

Claudia Nicholson
Curator of Collections
South Dakota State Historical Society, Pierre

[log in to unmask]