Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
This weekend I enjoyed a most charming dance in Canton, Ohio! This was my second time attending, and once again had a fabulous time.
The ball is held once a year in Canton, at the McKinley Grand hotel, usually some time right around Valentine’s Day.
I went to the LINK: National First Ladies’ Library, Museum, and Saxton McKinley House, which is right across from the hotel. Luckily, tours are available (if you call ahead) Tuesday through Saturday. I was lucky and had the 9:30 tour all to myself, which means I got to ask a lot of questions!
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| Taken from across the street. This is the Saxton McKinley House, now a museum, with a tour guided by a costumed docent. |
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| As viewed from my hotel window (8th floor) |
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| And as viewed from my window on Sunday morning when a snow system came through! Really pretty fat flakes… |
Of course, while the museum was great, it was not the primary reason I had driven to Canton! I was there for a ball!
In the afternoon, though, as things were getting going, I helped out with the registration tables. To do that, I wore a day dress. A friend did my hair for me – a first, since I’m pretty picky about how it feels on my head! She did a fabulous job (thanks, Melissa!).
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| How my hair was done. A Y-shaped part, with my side hair being twisted under and pulled back across my ears, and my back hair being braided and coiled into a bun. The ribbon accent was pinned atop my head, then the side hair twists were wrapped around the bun in the back and secured with even more pins. It held beautifully the whole night! |
After my hair had been arranged, as I said, I manned the registration table for a bit, then glanced at the tables that the vendors had set up.
There were also some fun parlor games, like “Postman” and “Minister’s Cat”!
After the parlor games, there were refreshments, and before dinner, I went up to change into my ballgown! It is the LINK: silk one I posted about last November, which I also wore to LINK: Remembrance Day in Gettysburg.
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The only picture of myself in my dress that I have from this event. Bah! That’s what I get for having so much fun dancing for 5 hours that I forget I own a camera… which is fine, it’s not period correct (but that’s largely ignored. Cameras are less incongruous to see, for me, than last year when there were two Lincolns in attendance. Now that was strange!).
Note that I added the line of LINK: red ribbon trim (made the same way as my hair piece) across the bodice.
I still have a few minor adjustments I wish to do to this dress, and to the pattern before I make the next dress, but overall I am very pleased with how it turned out! |
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| On Sunday, when I headed home, it snowed royally. Not enough to snow me in, but enough for some beautiful pictures of snowflakes on the windowsills! |
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| Beautiful snow 😀 |
Most sincerely yours,
~ Sarah
Sarah, not to worry, I've seen several photos and videos posted on facebook that show you dancing the night away, your dress is so unique that it's easy to spot! Thank you again for your help & company! Karen
I'll have to look for those photos. The teaser of you in the hotel room isn't quite enough. Glad you had a good time at the ball though!