The beginning of our Plantation Tour ... which was just magical! This is Oak Alley, the most photographed Plantation. It was very interesting. Oak Alley did not allow us to take pictures inside the house ... so the following pictures are not ones I took.
SOME CULTURE/ HISTORY:
This is called a Counting Candle. It was used the 1800s, if a young man would come to visit a young lady. The Father of the young lady would set the candle at a height he felt appropriate for the young man to stay. When the candle burnt down to the top of the metal, it was time for the young man to leave. For example, if the Father liked the young man he would set the candle all the way to the top, but if he did not like the young man he would set it much like it is in the picture so he would have to leave soon.
The Pineapple was a sign of welcome. Guest were often presented with a Pineapple when they arrived. Yet, if you woke up one morning to find a Pineapple placed at the end of your bed ... it was a polite way of saying you had over stayed your welcome.
This is Oak Alley's Dinning room. If you notice the large, harp-like object hanging in the middle of the table ... this object is attached to a string that a young slave boy would swing during dinner to keep the guest cool. Sometimes a block of ice was placed in the middle of the table, so cool air was being fanned. Yes, they had ice in the 1800s. It was cut from lakes in the north, packaged, and floated down the Mississippi (very expensive ... they have records that show an average of $300 - $500 spent on ice for one party thrown by Jaques Telesphore Roman). The young slave boy had to be very precise and careful because he was expected to keep the guest cool, but not blow out any of the candles on the table!
In the 1800s it was not lady-like for women to drink Rum with the men, but as you might suspect the Southern women before us found a way around this. They soaked peaches in rum and ate those while the men drank!
