The Emilie Loring Collection

“You never can tell at sunup what you’ll bump into before sundown…”

Here Comes the Sun

Since my last post, I have torn out carpet, rejuvenated wood floors, patched and painted walls, scrubbed just about anything that would sit still long enough, cooked meals, hung curtains, sorted books, rescued an antique dresser, shopped for furniture and household appliances, pulled weeds, planted groundcover, fixed a garage door–in short, very little to do with Happy Landings and very much to do with arranging for my mother’s care and assuring that her surroundings are as nice as she deserves.

When I was a kid, my friends and I would take great big breaths at the deep end of Tempe Beach, our city pool, and swim underwater as far as we could go, toward the shallow end where we could stand. I remember coming up and gulping in air, a little thrilled by the effort I’d just made. This stint at my mom’s has been like that, submerged in work and only now coming up for air.

Let’s catch up.

Beacon Hill Books & Café

Beacon Hill Books & Café supplied the books for my signing at the Boston Athenaeum. The next morning, I finally had a chance to visit their new store on Beacon Hill’s Charles Street. There is a café on the lower floor, two floors have books for adults, and a cute suite of children’s rooms are on the fourth floor.

It took only moments for me to find Happy Landings on their table of new releases. Perhaps I’ll get used to it, but for now, it still feels a little unreal–and quite special–to have Happy Landings in stores.

Wellesley Hills

Wellesley Free Library: Hills Branch

I had a few hours before my talk at Wellesley’s Main Library, so I went to Emilie’s former neighborhood. The Hills Branch of the Wellesley Free Library is right on Washington Street, less than a mile from her house. A fun fact about the library is that it grew from a book exchange begun in 1912 and sponsored by the Wellesley Hills Woman’s Club, of which Emilie was both a member and an officer.

I looked for Emilie Loring in the fiction section. Lloyd…Locke…Lombardo… Lupton. Alas, no Loring. I bet her novels were there when the library opened in 1928 and for a long time beyond.

Wellesley Hills Congregational Church

Across the street was the Wellesley Hills Congregational Church which the Lorings attended. Emilie gave her slide show on Alaska here, and Victor taught Sunday school for years, even coming back from Boston on Sundays, long after they had moved to Beacon Hill. I had a nice conversation with the assistant pastor who told me that the pastor had been a history professor. I signed a copy of Happy Landings for them and hope to hear back from them.

67 Longfellow Road

I had visited the Lorings’ home on Longfellow Road some years ago. It speaks well of the home’s design that so much of the original 1895 home remains, owner after owner.

The present residents include four preteen girls with impeccable manners that Emilie would have appreciated. The house is fresh and light, and I was allowed to explore areas beyond the main floor. When the Lorings lived there, the back stairs led from the children’s second-floor nursery to the maids’ quarters on the third floor. Throughout the home, fireplace mantels have pretty wreaths and adornments.

An addition since the Lorings’ time is an actual stage in the basement. Emilie’s sons gave plays in that basement, so the addition is especially well suited to the home’s history. I love the idea of that tradition continuing.

What I wanted most to see was Emilie’s former bedroom, on the second floor, above what is now an enclosed porch and was then an open porch. Her granddaughter Eve had told me about secret drawers hidden behind bookshelves in that room, and that detail always entranced me. Think of designing a home with secret drawers. What did Emilie hide in them? Did they survive the home’s many changes of ownership?

The bookshelves are still there, behind cupboard doors, as Eve remembered. Eagerly, we looked.

Sadly, no, there were no drawers. But the openings for them may remain behind what appear to be boarded-over areas in the backs of several shelves. Oh, I would so love to have discovered those drawers. If I build another home, I will definitely plan secret drawers somewhere.

Wellesley Free Library Presentation

The audience for my book talk at the library was… shall we say, “intimate?” As often happens with small audiences, though, this one was especially engaged. Two were sisters who had read Emilie Loring since their teens. We continued a full half hour beyond our scheduled time, and all departed with signed books.

Home again, home again

I have often said that we live multiple lives in our lifetimes. Emilie surely did, as we see in the five “acts” of Happy Landings. In my case, I seem to be living multiple lives all at once. This summer, I am juggling the roles of biographer, caregiver, and grandmother–every one delightful, every one capable of fully filling my days. Before I submerge again in urgencies of the moment, let’s put a marker on our calendars.

Save the Date: Emilie Loring Tea, Monday, July 31st, 4:00 p.m. (your time zone)

The time is drawing nigh for our annual Emile Loring Tea. I have more to announce about it–a special feature this year!–but for now, please put Monday, July 31st on your calendar and start thinking creatively.