Audio By Carbonatix
In this day and age, it’s not uncommon to see some color instead of stark, unending black at a funeral or memorial service. But those who dared to don anything else at such affairs would have been socially ostracized in Victorian times.
And wearing black wasn’t the only rule of conduct to follow when you were in mourning. “There were very rigid standards,” says Aimee Pellet, director of special events at Four Mile Historic Park, 715 South Forest Street. Sickness and death influenced just about every aspect of life, Pellet adds, “from clothing to what they ate to how social they could be, sometimes for as long as two years.”
That’s the focus of this weekend’s Malady and Mourning presentation at the park. Special tours and decorations will discuss the rules of decorum, with the 1850s house taking on the topic of sickness and the 1890s manse representing death. Before or after the timed tours, informal activities will take place in the main building. Grave-rubbing, anyone?
Stop by the park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today or tomorrow; tickets are $16 for adults, $13 for students and seniors. For information, call 303-331-5646 or visit www.fourmilepark.org.
Nov. 4-5, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
