This weekend! Not to be missed.
Victorian House Christmas Tour
30 Wednesday Nov 2011
Author Archives:
A Red Letter Day in Fall River
20 Sunday Nov 2011
Posted in "Lizbits", "Lizzie Folks", After the Trial, August 4th, Borden Family, Borden House Interiors, Borden Spaces and Places, Case Personalities, Fall River, Fall River families, Fall River Historical Society, Fall River Now and Then, Famous Massachusetts Cases, Famous Victorians, In the Marketplace, In the News, Just Plain Lizzie, Lectures & Exhibits, Lizpix, Lizzie Borden in the Marketplace, Lizzie in Print, Maplecroft, Mills, Parallel Lives, Potpourri, Read All ABout It, Stop the Press, Victoriana
Christmas came early this year for those who enjoy Fall River history and have an interest in the Borden case and the enigmatic Miss Lizzie. Parallel Lives was released this morning to the public. By 11: 30 a.m. a long line snaked its way down the pavement toward Maple Street and there was a feeling of restless expectation in the air as the noon hour approached. . A man came around the corner bearing two copies of the coveted tome as heads swiveled to catch a glimpse. A spontaneous outburst of appreciation went up from the crowd followed by many comments as to the SIZE of the massive tome.
No preview copies were released for reviewing to anyone, so it was with enormous excitement today’s release was anticipated. Beginning on Friday, the benefactors of the publication enjoyed a special gathering, followed by Saturday night’s annual Christmas Open House for members, and capping off an extraordinary weekend with today’s public release of the book, viewing of a special exhibit of materials featured in the book (cards, letters, gifts Lizzie presented to friends, etc.) and a tour of the Christmas decorations, always an annual treat.
The authors held court in the front parlor at a beautifully decorated table with a red rose Christmas arrangement, signing autographs and having photographs taken with visitors. On the lawn, on the stairs, and anywhere one could sit, people clutched their volume, looking eagerly through the pages. From all corners came appreciative little shrieks of excitement as never-before-seen photos were discovered, especially those showing Lizzie herself. Even those who vowed not to ruin the surprise until they could sit at leisure soon gave way to overwhelming curiosity and were soon leafing furiously through the pages. Some had driven hours to pick up their copies.
It would be presumptuous to attempt any sort of review of this major work until the whole was digested, therefore the Warps & Wefts review will be forthcoming in the near future. Suffice it to say, Parallel Lives is as plummy a Christmas pudding as anyone could ever wish for, chock full of juicy morsels, delicious facts and photos, fascinating history, surprises and many hours of enthralled reading. To reveal too much would be to ruin your own Christmas surprise- so-
Just spring to your sleigh, to your team give a whistle,
To Rock Street fly like the down of a thistle.
Parallel Lives is the gift sure to please, so take heed,
Happy holidays to all, and to all a good read!
Come and Get It!
17 Thursday Nov 2011
Posted in "Lizbits", "Lizzie Folks", Borden Family, Case Personalities, Fall River, Fall River families, Fall River Historical Society, Fall River Now and Then, In the Marketplace, In the News, Just Plain Lizzie, Lizzie in Print, Museums & Exhibits, Parallel Lives, Potpourri, Read All ABout It, Victoriana
Put on your best bonnet and race to the corner of Rock and Maple Streets on Sunday, November 20th between noon and 3 p.m
It’s Here!
Have your copy of Parallel Lives autographed. Pre-ordered your copy? Not to worry, pick it up Sunday at the Fall River Historical Society Book Signing! Don’t let your friends beat you to the punch! 1000 pages and over 500 photos. You just may have to take your vacation next week! Come back over the holidays to see a very special exhibit of ephemera and other items discovered while researching for the book: notes, cards, letters and more from Lizzie’s own hand. Who could ask for anything more?
Emma’s Alibi-The Brownells of Fairhaven
13 Sunday Nov 2011
Read Part I of The Brownells of Fairhaven at http://lizziebordenwarpsandwefts.com/brownells-of-fairhaven-pt-i/
It’s good to have an alibi and good friends who will swear to it!
A Reprieve for Lizzie’s Old Church
27 Thursday Oct 2011
With a wrecker’s ball looming over the spire of the historic Central Congregational Church, today’s announcement in the Fall River Herald News brings a sigh of hope to city preservationists. The Ruskinian Gothic structure of red and white brick, designed by the prestigious firm of Hartwell & Swazey, was, until recently a culinary arts school with an attached restaurant, The Abbey Grille. The business went into foreclosure, the edifice was boarded up and weeds set in. The scenario looked bleak for the church, once the bustling religious center for many of the city’s society families from The Hill section. Andrew Borden paid for a pew in the vast sanctuary, although it was primarily Lizzie alone who attended regularly.
Jerry and son Chris Donovan have restored and rescued other properties in the city, most notably the old Eagle on North Main Street, now a center for performing arts. The historical commission is back in business and it looks like great things are in the works! Good news indeed.
The Eagle on re-opening night.
The Face of Lizzie Borden
25 Tuesday Oct 2011
The sweet-faced lady on the piazza holding her pet is a far cry from the caricature of the raging homicidal spinster so often portrayed as being Lizzie Borden. The bobbleheads, tee shirts, and cartoons may have to undergo a re-do. Parallel Lives, the long-awaited biography of Lizzie and her times has released this amazing photograph of Lizzie with one of her Boston bull terriers (Laddie Miller), said to be taken around 1916 on the back porch of her French St. home, Maplecroft.
Followers of the Borden case will be drinking in every detail of her dress, her furnishings, her expression. A picture is worth a thousand words. The thick volume, studded with over 500 photos may be pre-ordered from the Fall River Historical Society. For the full story and link to order click on this link http://www.heraldnews.com/features/x464394189/Historical-Society-announces-first-true-biography-of-Lizzie-Borden
So will this photo and new bio change your mind about Lizzie?
Lizzie Reigns in October
21 Friday Oct 2011
October has always been a 4 star month for all things Lizzie, but this year as Halloween draws nearer, the case is everywhere. Tonight Ghost Adventures showcases their investigation at Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum (Friday,Oct 21) at 9pm and Saturday Oct.22 12am or midnight on the 21st. The crew from CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood visited Lizzie’s last weekend (the same day Aron Houdini (relative of the famous Harry) came to entertain staff and guests. That segment will air on October 30th at 9 a.m.
But most thrilling of all, the long-awaited tome published by the Fall River Historical Society which will feature amazing new facts about Lizzie and her times is now launched and can be pre- ordered on the site.(November 21st availability). The anticipation for this thick volume, chocked-full of photos(over 500), some new ones of Lizzie, is going to fly off the shelves. Visit the website for all the latest information and content and order form. It’s going to be an exciting time ahead for all of us! http://lizziebordenparallellives.com/welcome/
Also visit the Facebook site https://www.facebook.com/pages/Parallel-Lives-A-Social-History-of-Lizzie-A-Borden-and-Her-Fall-River/217117611686628
Looks like more of the same
12 Wednesday Oct 2011
There’s always a silent hope among Borden case fans, when a new Lizzie film is announced, that somebody might get it right this time. Most know that sticking to the thrilling TRUE story of the crime will not be enough for Hollywood. Box office is the prime motivator, sad but true. Too bad that the “suits” feel they must dumb down the real deal and offer schlock that follows a tried and true formula. Audiences are underestimated. Even diehard “cheesy horror fans” deserve first class special effects, good casting and costuming and a decent script. There are surely elements in the Borden saga that would work very well for the horror movie genre, put in the hands of capable horror-thriller writers. Sadly none of these writers have been brought on board and the newest schlock-shocker in the arena, Lizzie The Movie, promises to be no improvement on the last endeavors, Curse of Lizzie Borden and Prom Night.
The trailer has been released, and pretty much says it all. Nothing new here. The web site and blog are still in development but have a little information to check out. Gary Busey and Corbin Bernsen are the “names” to draw the audience. Busey has had some brilliant onscreen moments, and Bernsen has good acting chops on TV and some big screen. Actors have bills to pay- that must be the reason for taking on the role in this latest Lizzie flick.
Someday, somebody will get over using black and red, hatchets, dripping blood, and other cliche tricks and see the real potential of the Borden case. Hold out hopes for the proposed Chloe Sevigny-Tom Hanks project. Maybe NEXT time. . . .
Lizzie: The Movie trailer at http://lizziethemovie.com/
Cooling Board
29 Thursday Sep 2011
Among the fascinating photos taken by hired photographer Mr. Walsh, on the day of the murders is this one below of Andrew Borden reclining post mortem on a caned autopsy board(sometimes called a cooling board). Cooling boards came in many patented designs. Air had to circulate through in the styles which had no ice drawer beneath, so wooden ones were frequently drilled with holes in elaborate patterns. Cane was naturally open-weave. In this photo, Mr. Borden has an incision from sternum to abdomen which was needed in order to extract his stomach. The same procedure was done on Mrs. Borden in the diningroom while Mr. Borden’s took place in front of the black horsehair sofa in the sitting room. A portion of the sofa may be seen in the background as well as the arm of the sofa. The doorway in the center of the photo goes into the kitchen.
After a long search, the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast museum has procured an 1890′s autopsy board which is strikingly similar, if not exact, to the one on which Mr. Borden reclines. This model folds in the middle so as to make it easy for the medical examiner or mortician to transport it.
The term “cooling board” also refers to another type of solid wooden board upon which the body is laid while in transit, awaiting transit or awaiting attention from the mortician. The body literally goes from a warm state just post mortem to “cooling” on the flat surface. Vintage cooling boards are quite collectible and can easily fetch a sum between 400- 1000 dollars.
Oak Grove Facebook Quiz Tonight at 10!
15 Thursday Sep 2011
Need more excitement in your life? Nothing good on T.V.?
Tune in tonight,( September 15th) at 10 p.m. for the first ever (but not the last) So you think you know Oak Grove Cemetery? Jeopardy- style online quiz.
Questions and photo identifications will be posted in rapid fire, each going up after the previous one has been correctly answered. There will be one winner, with difficult brainbusters in case of a tie. Join us at Friends of Oak Grove Fall River tonight. A prize will be awarded to the winner- and the competition will be fierce! How well do YOU know Oak Grove?
* Contestants will need a free Facebook account to post answers.
Amelia Dyer, Evilest Woman in England
14 Wednesday Sep 2011
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For many who study the Borden case, the first introduction to Lizzie comes by way of the famous ditty,
Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother 40 whacks, etc.
The jurors at the trial had a difficult time believing a lady could be capable of murdering her elderly father and stepmother. The pages of true crime are filled with such ladylike criminals who committed heinous acts upon the sick, helpless, young, and infirm, while at the same time projecting the very image of genteel propriety to the public. England’s most famous baby-killer, Amelia Dyer, must surely go down in history as one of the most evil women who ever lived. As for Lizzie, a song was soon made up about the devious woman some thought might be “Jill the Ripper”.
The old baby farmer, the wretched Miss Dyer
At the Old Bailey her wages is paid.
In times long ago, we’d ‘a’ made a big fy-er
And roasted so nicely that wicked old jade
Dyer, although raised in a comfortable middle-class home, was taxed with the care of an invalid mother who was the victim of severe mental illness. This and other factors set Amelia on a turbulent life path of destruction and violence and murder of young innocents and hapless women who found themselves pregnant and unwed. Dyer spawned a veritable cottage industry in “baby-farming.” Most infants never lived to see their first birthday. There is no tally of the number of murders which could be laid at the door of Amelia Dyer, but her last, in 1896 resulted in being apprehended after a turn of bad luck, tried, and convicted in less than 5 minutes. Amelia was hanged on June 10, 1896, at 9 a.m. after filling notebooks with her confession. “I have nothing to say,” said Dyer, as the noose was tightened. The scope of her crimes still boggles the mind. It is entirely likely that Lizzie Borden knew about The Ogress of Reading as her killing spree was fodder for the press on both sides of the ocean.
For more on Amelia Dyer, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/index.html?curid=11443817
Harvest Moon over Second Street
11 Sunday Sep 2011
As the evenings close in earlier and earlier, thoughts of Halloween and things that go bump in the night are in the thoughts of overnight guests at the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum. Halloween Night always sells out well in advance, some rooms a year ahead. The orange glow of the street lamp casts an eerie light on #92 Friday night at 2 a.m. as guests returned from a night time tour of the city. The house has a jack-o’- lantern look as golden light pours through the windows in the dark.
On the way to the mill
07 Wednesday Sep 2011
Posted in Borden Spaces and Places, Fall River, Potpourri, Victoriana
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A recent W&W purchase from Ebay shows a great vintage photo of bales of cotton in transit to the mill to be spun and woven. Guessing on just where this photo was taken, and going by the GLE on the sign in the background, this looks to be North Main Street in front of the old EAGLE building. Can anyone confirm this? There are many wonderful Fall River photos to be bought at a bargain on Ebay at the moment.
Paranormal Week at Lizzie’s August 21-30
30 Tuesday Aug 2011
“Abby & Lizzie” on the sofa during the filming for Ghost Adventures
The spirits were restless last week at the Borden house! My Ghost Story crew checked in on Sunday the 21st. This is a program featured on the Biography Channel. http://myghoststory.com/ Monday- Thursday morning, the well-known crew from Ghost Adventures were in residence with equipment for their “lock down”. Fans of host, Zack, knocked on the door of #92 and looked longingly through the windows hoping for a glimpse of the handsome host. Word has it that some interesting EVPs were captured by the team. This weekend, as hurricane Irene blasted the Northeast, Jeff Belanger, lecturer and author of paranormal books camped out for the weekend. http://www.jeffbelanger.com/ All in all, the old house on Second Street had an exciting time of it and weathered the hurricane without incident. Air dates for these programs featuring the Borden house have yet to be announced.
The air tight alibi
17 Wednesday Aug 2011
Joseph Wilmarth Carpenter, Jr. left the Borden & Almy business “under a cloud”, and with some hard feelings toward crusty Andrew Borden. That news was known about town. After Andrew Borden was murdered, Mr. Carpenter’s history with the victim made him a “person of interest.” He may have done better to stick around town and face the music. Still, he was off the hook with an air tight alibi.
Carpenter’s family monument and head stone is seen below in Oak Grove Cemetery.
(Top photo by Will Clawson)
Wade’s Market
13 Saturday Aug 2011
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For students of the Borden case, the name of Wade’s Market crops up several times. The little local grocery was located just to the south of Dr. Kelly’s house and had the number of 98 Second St. Newspaper story stringer and newspaper vendor, John Cunningham had just exited Wade’s and was heading north on Second Street when he overheard Adelaide Churchill telling Tom Bowles of the carnage on the Borden sofa. Cunningham subsequently headed to Gorman’s paper and paint store to telephone the police station, after first informing the newspapers of the sensational story unfolding at the Borden house.
It wasn’t long after the discovery of Andrew Borden’s body that news of the murder was heard in Wade’s store, where the lunch hour crowd got the details of the gruesome killing while awaiting their nickel’s worth of bologna lunch meat. Above Vernon Wade’s store lived Mary and Nathan Chace. Mary Chace was the lady who had seen a man stealing pears out of the Borden back yard earlier in the day. That man was soon run down and turned out to be an innocent party working in Crowe’s yard. It is probable that Abby and Lizzie Borden frequented Wade’s often.
Vernon Wade’s substantial and handsome stone is at the southernmost end of Birch Avenue very close to the Terry plot where Lizzie’s chauffeur, Ernest Terry is buried. If you stand in front of the Terry plot and look west, you will see the Wade monument.
Bad news day
11 Thursday Aug 2011
Posted in "Lizbits", "Lizzie Folks", August 4th, Borden Family, Borden House Interiors, Famous Massachusetts Cases, If Walls Could Talk, In the News, Just Plain Lizzie, Lizpix, Newspaper Coverage, Pear Essential Players, Read All ABout It, Second Street Happenings, Victorian True Crime, Victoriana, Violent Victorians
The front page of the Fall River Herald for August 4th featured a large colored photo of Kathleen Troost-Cramer and Barbara Morrissey as Lizzie and Emma Borden on the day of the infamous murders re-enacting the news about the killing of their father and stepmother. The front page also featured a headline of the Dow down to the lowest point since 2008 and news of bacteria levels in the Taunton River. At least one of the stories was old news from 1892.
Ray Mitchell as city marshal Rufus Hilliard. Story by Deborah Allard.
Congratulations to the Cast of 2011
07 Sunday Aug 2011
The Cast for 2011
Lizzie Borden: Kathleen Troost-Cramer
Detective Seaver: Ben Rose
Abby Borden: Shelley Dziedzic (flat on the floor)
Andrew Borden: Nicole (under the sheet)
Bridget Sullivan Suzanne Rogers
Emma Borden: Barbara Morrissey
Addie Churchill: JoAnne Giovino
Alice Russell: Kristin Pepe
Uncle John: Joe Radza
Dr. Dolan: Michael Shogi
Undertaker Winward Richard Marr-Griffin
Miss Manning from the Herald: Christina Lambertson
Internationally acclaimed world reporter, Nellie Bly- Katrina Shogi
Marshall Hilliard; Ray Mitchell
Mrs. Dr. Bowen: Ellen Borden
