Historical Society hosts Mad Hatter party
Mad Hatter Tea Party volunteers prepare to host guests. From left, are Abby O’Sullivan, Tweedledee Allison Guthrie, center Queen of Hearts Patty Lyons, center Alice in Wonderland Lindsey Guthrie, right Tweedledum Sarah DeJoy and right Jillian Guthrie. All the girls are from Templeton.
April Page Stundtner
News Correspondent
TEMPLETON “What’s your name,” asked the 89-year-old Shirley Peabody, of the 10-year-old waitress at the Mad Hatter Tea Party Saturday.
“You can call me Alice,” said Lindsey Guthrie of Templeton, who was dressed in a handmade pale blue dress with a white-apron covering. Ms. Peabody laughed and later said she was dressed as a tree. She wore a tall green- and white-striped hat and bright green shirt and pants.
“I’m a tree and I do bark,” said Ms. Peabody, of Baldwinville.
The tea party at the Narragansett Historical Society’s building in Templeton center celebrated the 150th anniversary of “Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland.” Local children and staff dressed up as characters from the famed Lewis Carroll book. The Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts, Tweedledee and Tweedledum and two playing cards served tea and welcomed guests.
“I just had no idea it was going to be like this,” said 6-year-old Templeton resident Isabella Currie, “I like it.” She looked around at the characters. “And…,” she said, “A dragonfly landed on my lemonade (glass). It was red, black with a little orange.”
Miss Currie was not the only young guest at the tea party; Moira Powers, 5, of Templeton, dressed as a ballerina. She and her mother, Maegan Powers, thought the tea party would be a nice way to spend the afternoon.
The party was also an opportunity for old friends and family members to spend a warm day together. Janet Carr, a longtime Historical Society member, met with an old school friend, Robert Henshaw, of Templeton, for tea. Mrs. Carr said she has not been to the Historical Society since she was 18 years old. She said she and her husband used to go to teas at the society.
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| News photos by APRIL PAGE STUNDTNER Alice in Wonderland Allison Guthrie of Templeton waits on Shirley Peabody of Baldwinville, who was dressed as a tree at the Mad Hatter Tea Party at the Narragansett Historical Society in Templeton on Saturday. |
Five of the Barnes family members sat at a table together. Shirley Barnes, 88, of Templeton, said her mother, Mildred Henshaw, was the last charter member of the Narragansett Historical Society. Mrs. Barnes was accompanied by her daughter Mary Barnes, her daughter-in-law Maria Barnes, and her son Charles Barnes and his wife, TJ, who were visiting from Alaska.
“I remember when we had to wear these Pilgrim-looking hats and aprons when I served tea here. I was just a young girl. This older woman told us how to set the tables and so I panicked that I would do it wrong,” Shirley Barnes said.
Saturday’s dining was much more casual. There were no place settings and guests could come to a serving table to choose their favorite sweet. Many of Saturday’s treats had tags attached to them that said, “Eat me” and plastic Kool-Aid bottles that said, “Drink me” in reference to the magical food and drink that would shrink or enlarge Alice’s size in “Alice in Wonderland.”
The society’s summer tea concluded with at least 25 guests attending. The proceeds of the tea parties go directly toward maintaining the Historical Society’s building and paying monthly bills.
This community function is one of many that the society hosts to support itself; the following is a listing of upcoming events.
Fly a Kite Day
Go Fly a Kite day on Sunday, Aug. 30, on Baldwinville Road across from Baptist Common. Check Facebook for more details.
Engine Show Sept. 26 on the common – featuring the Central Mass. Steam Gas and Machinery Association with tractors, cars, trucks, and the Wachusett Brewery Fire Engine.
Death Becomes Her Program and Exhibit A monthlong exhibit and program “Death Becomes Her,” highlighting mourning clothes, jewelry and hair wreaths during the Victorian era. An interpreter dressed as a Victorian widow will discuss mourning customs at 2 p.m. each Saturday in October.
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