Digitized Newsletters Series Each Friday this summer, the Putnam History Museum is excited to share an assortment of articles from our collection of newly digitized newsletters. These newsletters are a fantastic local history resource, assembled by dedicated museum volunteers, local historians, and community members. These articles are not only useful historic narratives, but also provide us with a glimpse of the important historic talking points of the era in which they were written, commemorating anniversaries, important dates and people, and community events.   A special thank you to our team of PHM Summer Interns for transcribing these articles!

“Reminiscences: A Lady in Orange” by Tinky Frazier, Fall 1996.

The October 4 celebration of the 90th anniversary of the Society will be, appropriately, on the annual occasion of the Laura Spencer Porter Pope memorial evening. It was an endowment from her estate that helped open the Foundry School and museum. Our main display area, the Pope room, was dedicated Oct. 6, 1962. Following is a reminiscence of her by Tinky Frazier, a member of our Board of Trustees.

“Above all things in the world, children love to be held in the notice and esteem of others.” My godmother, Laura Spencer Porter Pope, wrote that in the preface to her reminiscence of childhood, The Little Long Ago. As far as I was concerned, she lived up to that thought my childhood and beyond. Mrs. Pope was a gentle lady, very soft spoken and much fun to be with. She encouraged me to tell her all about what I was doing and thinking from the time I was a very little child and made me know that what I said was really special. She had my complete trust. If she said, “Tinky, you would like such and such a book,” I would read it and liked it. When she said to go to see something or other, as she did about the Folger Library in Washington, D.C., I did and liked it — although I wondered why she thought I would like a Shakespeare institute. She knew how to share what she loved in such a way that I loved it too.

Survey Map of Property of Laura Spencer Porter Pope. PHM.

Mrs. Pope was also fascinating to visit. Her Garrison home, Brookwood, was orange. She dressed in orange and frequently had orange decorations around. I especially remember a vase of Chinese Lanterns in the living room. She wore an orange sort of scarf-like thing around her head. She also wore orange clothes, often orange over black. Her dresses were long and with lots of flowing material.

I asked her once about how she happened to paint her house orange. She told me that one day when she was walking across the Brooklyn Bridge she saw some workmen painting with a beautiful orange paint. She called up to them, asking them what it was. Eventually, they descended and told her about red lead paint. When she got home, she bought some and her house and outbuildings were orange from then on. The neighbors referred to that shade as Pope Orange.

Known as red lead paint, minium is a bright red-orange color. The powder above is likely the same color as Porter Pope's house.

I came home from a visit with Mrs. Pope one day and said to my mother how wonderful she was to visit. My mother, who had been a friend of Mrs. Pope’s for years, said she couldn’t imagine a nicer gift than to have Mrs. Pope as a godmother. Tinky Frazier

Latest addition to the Museums from Home resources: Step inside the Putnam History Museum Kitchen and 19th Century Objects exhibition! Each week we will post different item groupings and individual descriptions to pique your curiosity. What items are still in your home today? What items are more historic? You get to decide as you interact and explore the items in the Putnam History Museum from the comfort of your own home. Many thanks to PHM Summer Intern Lexi Echelman for preparing this virtual exhibition! This exhibition is made possible in part by a grant from The Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley.

Your support helps us to continue to preserve, research, and share local history. Please consider donating to the PHM or becoming/renewing your membership today. Thank you for your support!

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