Did you know that Clara Barton was fifty-nine when she founded the American Red Cross? Now that I'm firmly in my fifties, I'm even more interested in women who were trailblazers in midlife, and I was delighted to learn a bit more about the famous Clara Barton. I was on the board of the local American Red Cross many years ago, and I continue to donate blood when one of their bloodmobiles rolls my way. The American Red Cross has a Facebook page where they've been sharing some good tips to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, and I'm especially intrigued that they are asking for blood donations from those who've had the virus and recovered, in hopes that others can be treated with this "convalescent plasma," as it's being called.
So what does all that have to do with tea? Not much, except that I was browsing the Library of Congress website this week and found this 1889 invitation to a "Five O'Clock Tea" that Clara and the General Field Agent of the Red Cross were giving in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The American Red Cross had been founded as a battlefield relief organization, and the Johnstown flood of 1889 marked the first
peacetime relief effort for the American Red Cross. I love how the invitation reads, "Your presence will be esteemed a favor." I may have to borrow that!
And finally, I thought you might enjoy seeing the Clara Barton Chapel in Glen Echo, Maryland, part of the Clara Barton National Historic Site. The home at this site is where she spent the last fifteen years of her life, and her home also served as the first headquarters of the American Red Cross. I'm looking forward to being a blood donor again soon, and afterward, I'll be sure to lift my cup in honor of Clara Barton!
(All photos courtesy of the Library of Congress)
That certainly is a great line from Ms. Barton's tea invitation! She really was quite an amazingly active woman. In addition to the Clara Barton National Historic Site in nearby Glen Echo, there is also the Clara Barton "Missing Soldiers Office" Museum in downtown Washington, DC. She did a tremendous amount of work in helping families of Union soldiers find out what had happened to their sons and brothers who did not return from the war.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! Thank you! I think 5 o'clock tea should be an everyday occurrence. :)
ReplyDeleteYou find the best little tid-bits of in tea information. I love that line too.
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