Photos: Living the old ways
The Enterprise — Melissa Hale-Spencer
Maintaining tradition, Phyllis Rosenblum sleeps in her mother’s bed, a bed so grand that, for her entire childhood, she never saw the top of the headboard. The ceilings in her childhood home weren’t tall enough to accommodate it, so the top was stored in the attic. Now the parts are reunited. At the foot of the bed, in its own cradle is Rosenblum’s childhood doll.
The Enterprise — Melissa Hale-Spencer
“This is Dad’s highchair,” says Phyllis Rosenblum; the family keepsake was used by her own children. Her father was born in 1894.
The Enterprise — Melissa Hale-Spencer
Hands-on history: Phyllis Rosenblum has identified some of the beams in her early 1800s back room as having come from a hay barrack. She has diagrams of the barracks and has deduced the notches match those in her cozy study.
The Enterprise — Melissa Hale-Spencer
“I’m pretty much in the garden if it’s not raining or not dark,” says Phyllis Rosenblum. She is walking from her pond, having retrieved a wayward floating flowerpot, and is heading to her house with her garden shed and the Helderberg escarpment on the horizon.
The Enterprise — Melissa Hale-Spencer
The garden of her dreams: Phyllis Rosenblum designed her vegetable garden after being inspired on a trip visiting gardens in England that were both productive and beautiful. The big beds, edged with hefty timbers, are arranged geometrically around a metal obelisk where she plants Grandpa Ott morning glories. “My grandparents are Otts,” she said.
The Enterprise — Melissa Hale-Spencer
Tools of her trade: From the windows of her garden shed, Phyllis Rosenblum can gauge the day’s weather by looking at the Helderberg escarpment. “If you can’t see the mountains, it won’t be a good day,” she said.
The Enterprise — Melissa Hale-Spencer
Surveying the scene: Phyllis Rosenblum likes to sit here to watch the moon come up. At the far end of her pond is the branch of a fallen black willow tree that continues to grow.