Just got back from SW Va a couple of hours ago and am still all keyed up from driving at high speed for 5 hours. Had a few hours to kill today, so I took a leisurely stroll around a public park on the banks of the New River. Paused to read a sign that explained that the park was the site of a prehistoric Native American village and that artifacts of an archaeological excavation there were on display at a nearby local museum. So from there I drove to the museum, which was housed in the stately home of a former general in the Confederate Army. As museums go, it was small potatoes, but I did very much enjoy the extended personal tour I had with the matronly lady who acted as my tour guide and saw some interesting things. One room was devoted to artifacts recovered from the prehistoric Indian village and burial grounds, and my personal guide and I spent a long time in that room, viewing and discussing the artifacts. (I dare say I taught her as much, or more, about the artifacts as she taught me.) Other rooms of the house were devoted to other historic eras. My guide pointed to one old photo of two local ladies (circa early to mid 1800's), noting the sublime differences in the ages of the two women, as evidenced by their different hair styles and dress (eg, the somewhat older woman's longer, floor-length dress so as not to expose her ankles, which would have been scandalous in that era). On this same note, in another room my guide pointed out what appeared to be a foot stool, only its purpose was not to rest one's feet but to elevate the sitting woman's feet so that her ankles would be covered by her dress. Another display was a yellowed wedding dress from that same era--yellowed not from the passage of time but from being soaked in tea after the marriage was consummated because the lady could not then wear a white dress.
I'm glad that times have changed and there's no longer any social stigma about a woman exposing her ankles...or anything else...in public.
