For all the Lizzie Borden house friends out there, please send positive thoughts and prayers to Fall River as we wait to hear how house mascot, Max, is doing. He was hit by a car this evening and we are all sad and holding good thoughts for his recovery. He is sedated now and resting comfortably. He has been a great favorite for many years of the thousands of visitors to Second Street.

It’s always fun to find just the right thing to add years to the Borden house.  Co-owner LeeAnn Wilber haunts the antique shops and auctions on a quest to find just the right object to bring the 1890s feel to the house on Second Street.  Here are some new finds which will greet you on your next visit to Lizzie’s home. The dead pigeons and pears print in the “Death in the Dining Room” genre is typical Victorian decor and is especially fitting for the Borden dining room for those who know the significance of pears and pigeons!  The kitchen refrigerator has received a face lift in the form of oak panels to evoke the old ice box once found at the house in the sink room. Lizzie loved blue and pansies and this charming Eastlake footstool is just the ticket for Lizzie’s own room.  Lizzie’s room also boasts a wonderful Sailor’s Valentine made of shells on the south wall. Rhode Island Antique Center in Pawtucket was the place to unearth a delightful summer fireplace screen for the sitting room.  In the Eastlake, ebonized and gilded style, the canvas is hand – painted with blue summer blooms. Little touches can add so much age and charm to period settings.

You never know what you may find in an auction box stuffed full of odds and ends.  Recently Lizzie Borden B&B co-owner, LeeAnn Wilber inherited an interesting document signed by Abby Borden’s half-sister, Sarah Bertha Whitehead. Case historians will tell you how important the Gray-Whitehead house on Fourth Street figured in the further decline of warm family feelings among the Borden sisters and their stepmother when Andrew Borden bought out and deeded over this property to his second wife without informing “the girls”.

This 1901 document grants right of way for septic hook-up on the property until such a time Spring Street pipes were installed, and is signed by Bertie Whitehead.  At the time of the murder, Spring Street stopped at the corner of Second Street. Later on the Gray-Whitehead house was shifted onto a new foundation on the continued Spring Street where it rests today.

The temperature is rising, the pears are getting ripe and attention turns once again to the doings of August 4. 1892 in Little Old Fall River.  The Pear Essential (PEP-PY) Players welcome two new members this year in the roles of Alice Russell, the Borden sisters’ bosom friend, and Dr. Dolan, medical examiner, played by husband and wife team of Ted and Loretta Sisco. The couple have been vistors at the house for several years and will take the plunge this year on August 4th!  The Usual Suspects will be making a return this year in the old familiar roles and a few undertaking new character roles.  Advance tickets may be reserved beginning on July 5th for the Monday, August 4th schedule of eight performances at 10:30, 11, 11:30, 1, 1:30, 2, 2:30, 3.  Call the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast Museum at 508-675-7333 to reserve tickets.  Reservations are recommended as performances sell out early every year.   Miss Carol Ann Simone will reprise her role as Miss Lizzie for her third year running.  Did she do it?  You decide!!

CAST FOR 2014

The FRHS announced an exciting donation to the Borden archive today.  The following appears on the FRHS Facebook page and is very exciting.  How can we wait until August 4th?

“Lizzie Borden’s home: Extremely rare photograph discovered! Lizzie Borden had this green and gilt “Maplecroft” seal made for use on her correspondence — a rare example of her personal style during her years in that residence. Now we are excited to report that a truly unique photograph taken inside the French street mansion while Lizzie lived there has been given to the FRHS! It’s the only suchphoto ever to have surfaced, and anyone with an interest in Lizzie will find it fascinating. For the first time, we have a partial but revealing glimpse of the interior of her home. And the subject of the photo – something Lizzie apparently cherished — helps to debunk one of the biggest myths perpetuated about her.

Donated by a descendant of Lizzie’s personal maid, Ida S. Carlson, the photo came to us with impeccable provenance. Lizzie hired a professional photographer to capture the compelling image and had it mounted in an ornate frame, and around 1899 she gave it to Ida, who displayed the treasured piece in her home until her death, at which time it was acquired by a relative.

The photo will make its debut at the FRHS at a special exhibit opening on August 4, 2014, where it will join a collection of other recently acquired Borden-related items of note. Mark your calendar, and be sure to come and take our informative tour about the life and trial of Lizzie Borden!”  (Posted April 22, Facebook).

There is cause for rejoicing in Lizzieland!  Sarah Miller’s upcoming book, Lizzie Borden & The Trial of the Century is a winner.  Aimed at the young adult demographic, this is a page-turner for anyone wanting to get the facts on the infamous Borden double homicide of 1892.

Miller has an appealing you-are-there style which engages the reader from the start, but best of all, this is a work based on the source documents in the case without all the speculations, theories, rumors and misinformed myths which mislead and muddy the case .

Thoughtfully organized by chapter from the events of August 4^th through the inquest, preliminary, trial and aftermath, this is a sensible read which enlightens and frankly,  – entertains.  The text is studded with inserts of useful knowledge set off in gray which provide useful background information on everything from the jury, Lizzie’s dresses to places and people.  These enrichments, along with a Who’s Who of all the important players in the story help to expand the reader’s  understanding of the finer points of the case.

The author’s aim to create a balanced view of the case, along with painting a truer picture of Lizzie as a real human being, not an axe-wielding caricature, as so often portrayed , has been amply realized.  It’s refreshing to see Lizzie in a neutral light while considering the possibility that she may have been innocent. This is a thinkers’ book which engages the reader from the very  first page and kicks those little gray cells into overdrive.

A cold winter ‘s night, a cup of hot cocoa and Miller’s, Lizzie Borden  & The Trial of the Century- nothing could be better for the true crime reader.  Just be warned, it will be a long night as you will not want to put this one down! (Shelley Dziedzic for Lizzie Borden, Warps and Wefts)

Over the years the Second Street Irregulars and the Pear Essential Players have been fortunate to be able to visit Maplecroft on many occasions, either individually or as a group. Photos allowed to be taken of the interiors were promised to be viewed privately until such time as the owner sold the house. Now these may be shared. The most remarkable feature about Maplecroft is the wood – floors, paneling and woodwork, especially the fireplace mantels. The stonework in Lizzie’s hearth in the back bedroom over the porch and the big stone chimney are memorable. It was very exciting to see her own dining room wall paper choice and the tin ceiling in the kitchen. Here is a sampling of the interiors and exteriors, from the entry to the third floor. It was thrilling to see the window seat in the front second floor room and imagine Lizzie watching out.

Lizzie was not a redhead as is portrayed on merchandise and media.  According to her passport application, she was five feet three inches tall and had light brown hair.  Her eyes were gray, but her preference for the color blue in her wardrobe may have given her eyes a bluish tint. The red hair story may just have been connected with the association with a hot temper!