I see I have got behind again! This is largely because we haven't been skiing, so there is less to write about.
On Saturday we booked ourselves for another historic tour, with tea this time. It was a warm and sunny day and there was almost no snow in town. I got another photo of the horse and buggy
You can see there is no snow in the streets.
The tour began by being somewhat similar to my first one, but I did get some different, and charming details. Our guide took the character of Katie Briggle, a 'leading lady' in Breckenridge in 1910, so we learned some specifics about life in 1910. We viewed one shop which had been a boarding house in 1910, and were delighted to know that the landlady was very particular, so she insisted on no more than 5 to a bed!
We saw more of the old buildings. These two were originally a saloon (the one on the left) and a pharmacy (on the right).
We were recommend to the pharmacy for our laudenam and other opiate requirements! Of course, in 1910, people believed this stuff was a medicine and good for you.
After looking at a some of the historic buildings on Main Street and Ridge Street, we walked up the hill to the historic houses which we could go inside. The first one is called the Alice Milne house.
The first two rooms were built in 1880, and it was enlarged by 2 more rooms in 1886, but it is still very small.
Alice Milne had 4 children and her husband was a railway man, so they weren't wealthy. Part of the house is wallpapered with newspapers.
The expensive furniture and elaborate stove came from a different house. Every house in Breckenridge needed a stove, preferably in every room.
There was a cold cupboard in the kitchen, cut into the thickness of the wall.
There was only a screen dividing it from the outside, so it was considerably colder than the interior of the house.
The Briggle house next door was considerably larger because William Briggle was chief cashier at the Exchange Bank (the photo of which is in last Saturday's post). However, it was hard to photograph from outside on account of the large trees. The Briggles were leaders of society in Breckenridge. The house was built in 1896 as a one roomed cabin. The Briggles bought it in 1898 and immediately enlarged it by six rooms downstairs and three rooms upstairs. It has been restored to its original Victorian style.
There is some wonderful Victorian furniture, like these button backed chairs. Below is the morning room
Please notice the wonderful old telephone on the wall. The old sewing machine is there because dresses were made here, usually by a seamstress rather than by Katie Briggle herself.
Through the door, you can see a trunk which is in the dressing room, just outside the bedroom.
This is the main bedroom
Note the stove for warmth. Through the door is the dressing room, which had closets full of period dresses and boots.
The kitchen was very interesting, with a wonderful old cooker and a huge cold pantry.
This is part of the original kitchen with the cold pantry beyond.
After we had explored the house thoroughly, we sat in the dining room to have tea, with cakes and scones, which were delicious.
On Sunday, it started to snow again! We still couldn't ski, as we weren't sure whether we were insured to ski, not having heard back from the insurance company. We stayed indoors keeping warm, reading and using the computer. In the evening, our friends at the Inn had invited us to dinner. This time I managed a better photo of the other dog, Angua.
We had a very pleasant evening, playing silly games and chatting after dinner until it was quite late. The pavements were covered with snow again when we walked home.
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