| NORTHVILLE VICTORIAN CELEBRATION DAY
SEPTEMBER 16, 2005
The 2005 Victorian Festival festivities for the Northville community’s third grade students were forced indoors this year because of rainy weather for only the second time in the past 17 years. Despite the weather and through the efforts of 140 Northville High School students; over 100 Northville Public School staff (principals, teachers, food service, transportation, operations and central office) along with hundreds of community volunteers and parent chaperones, 638 public and private elementary school students were safely guided through their morning activities.
We sincerely appreciate the following businesses and community organizations that were essential components of the morning activities by providing facilities and community support in very many ways: City of Northville (DPW & City Hall staff), First Presbyterian Church, Genitti’s Little Theatre, Northville Historical Society, Northville District Library and Northville Senior Community Center/Parks and Recreation. Together we provided students with a wonderful glimpse into the history of Northville through an experience they will remember for many years. 
As any child of the Victorian age would have told you, amusements came hard fought; there wasn't any television or cable, no music on CDs, no
Internet or computers, and certainly no video games. Today's child has a myriad selection of passive diversions that are specifically aimed at their leisure time. Not so for the Victorian. Back then, the number one tool of any child seeking escape from their rigid lifestyle, was their imagination. So let us to do as the Victorian child would do, when faced with a rainy, mucky day, and
change plans. Let us pretend inside, shall we? Gone, in an instance, are the empty, cold, dark streets of today. Gone are the umbrellas, struggling against the wind and drizzle. Gone, too, are the many puddles that seem to seek out dry shoes and socks, and that splash the elegant finery of our genteel, charming ladies.
Instead, let us pretend there's a delightfully warm breeze, bringing a late summer heat that surely everyone knows can't last much longer. Let's also pretend the light is that glorious yellow light of approaching fall, that softly comes in through the trees, slanted low, dappling the sidewalks and buildings with shifting patterns of shadow. And let's pretend there are the sounds of excited talk, and the clicks of many heels on the hard stone walkways, and the sound of laughter, much laughter, of children at a festival. To scramble around like a bear, or to play
"The Hoop Game," a young child doesn't need the dusty
streets of Victorian Northville; the Senior
Center
gym will suffice today. Of course, the children are well
behaved, and listen quietly and respectfully (as Victorian children
are wont to do) as their elders instruct them in their games, but no
amount of strict Victorian restraint can quell their peals of
laughter during their spirited fun, nor should it.
continued
on next page (click here)
|
