Friday, December 24, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A5
Ornaments: ‘I feel like they belong in a place like this’
Continued from Page A1
Wolford would spend the
next 45 years seeking more
to add to her collection.
She was particularly fond
of pre-World War II orna-
ments, and she’d frequent
antique stores in search of
them.
“For me, it’s exciting,”
she said of the long hunt
that yielded one or two orna-
ments at a time and even
antique store visits that
yielded none.
During that time, she also
investigated how and where
they were made. According
to her research, figural glass
Christmas ornaments orig-
inated in the small town of
Lauscha, Germany. Grad-
ually, other areas started
producing them as well.
T.W. Woolworth discovered
these glass ornaments on a
toy- and doll-buying trip to
Sonnenburg, Germany, in
the 1890s. He sold them in
his five-and-10-cent stores
in America, where they
became more affordable to
families.
A smaller bale — or open-
ing and top hat used to hang
the ornament—indicates it
is older. As years passed,
the bales on ornaments were
made larger. Some of Wol-
ford’s pieces date back to
the early 1900s. Along with
traditional glass ornaments,
she also collected antique
ornamental birds that could
be clipped on the boughs of
the tree.
Donating the
ornaments
In 2019, by which time
Wolford had moved to Sea-
side, she realized her col-
lection had grown almost
too large — especially since
it contained antique pieces
that didn’t quite resemble
those on her grandmother’s
tree.
“They’re not as sentimen-
tal to me, because they’re
not the like ones I remem-
ber,” she added.
Looking to downsize,
Photos by Katherine Lacaze
Rachael Wolford collected numerous antique ornaments that are part of the Christmas tree decorations at the Butterfield Cottage.
LEFT: Wolford shares about the history of the Butterfield-era Christmas ornaments that she donated to the Seaside Museum
& Historical Society. RIGHT: Wolford collected numerous antique ornaments that are part of the Christmas tree decorations at
the Butterfield Cottage.
she approached the Seaside
Museum & Historical Soci-
ety, where she was serv-
ing as a docent, and asked
if they wanted to cull from
her collection. She donated
about half of her ornaments,
many of which come from
the same era as the Butter-
field Cottage.
“I feel like they belong in
a place like this,” she said.
“This is perfect.”
The ornaments first
appeared on the tree during
the museum’s annual Gin-
gerbread Christmas Tea at
the Butterfield Cottage in
2019. During 2020, when
the tea was canceled because
of COVID-19, they stayed
in a box.
However, they were
brought back this year and
incorporated into the But-
terfield’s Christmas dress-
ing — designed by cura-
tor Robin Montero. As she
meticulously placed each
one on the tree, “I was thor-
oughly enjoying them,” she
said.
During 2021, Montero
designed a logo and sig-
nage for the cottage and put
together an exhibit depict-
ing the cottage’s life as the
House of Roberts Millinery
and Hat Shop, run by Mar-
ion Roberts from 1958 to
1972. Montero eventually
assumed the role of cura-
tor and started refreshing
the displays and rearrang-
ing artifacts throughout the
house, which is more than
100 years old and has had
“many lives.”
While decorating the
cottage for Christmas, she
wanted to capture a specific
style: “Simple, but elegant
and comfortable.” In other
words, she was thinking of
how the Butterfields might
have decorated their home
during the Victorian era.
“I wanted to take it back
to a certain point in time,”
she said. “The focus is the
ornaments and the feeling
you get when you walk in
the room.”
While the Gingerbread
Christmas Tea will not
take place again this year
because of COVID restric-
tions, patrons can visit the
museum from 10 a.m. to
3 p.m. Fridays and Satur-
days and view “Christmas at
the Cottage.”
Protege a quienes
nos protegen.
Vacúnate.
colpachealth.org/vax
Tras dos años de pandemia de COVID-19, es importante seguir
repitiéndolo: gracias a los miles de trabajadores de la salud que arriesgan
su vida para mantenernos a salvo. Vacunarte es la mejor forma que tienes
de cuidarlos y de demostrar gratitud. Protégete a ti, a tus seres queridos
y a todos los trabajadores de la salud. Vacúnate hoy mismo.