Autumn (also called Fall in this article) has always been my favorite season. I’m fond of saying that’s because I was born in October. The brilliance of the yellows and reds and their various levels of hues make this year’s fall season in and around my home area of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, one of the best most of us who grew up there can remember.
I wonder what the autumns of the 1800s and early 1900s were like for the people who lived on the Geneva Lake shoreline in the historical mansions I’ve highlighted on this blog the past several years. Without the benefit of the cameras we have today, it’s difficult to know for sure how their fall seasons would compare with ours. Back in the day, photographs were often enhanced by artists by adding a ‘wash’ of color to the photo. I have several color postcards from a few decades ago with a tinted wash added over the top of the picture to give a suggestion of emerging fall hues. The postcards here display how this was accomplished.
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| Boat Docking near Fontana |
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| Green Gables P.K. Wrigley's Estate |
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| Estate owned by Sydney Smith |
The current-day photos below were taken by Neal Aspinall, a professional graphic artist who lives in Lake Geneva. Included are photos of the entries to some of the estates I've highlighted in previous blogs.
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| Green Gables entrance(former Wrigley Estate) |
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| Rosegate Estate |
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| The Narrows Estate |
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| House in the Woods Entrance |
I like to think if the people who lived on the lakeshore back in time had the same camera equipment we have today, their pictures would have been as wonderful as Neal’s photos are now.
Savor the beauty because it will soon give over to a winter landscape, which has a certain beauty all its own.
Do you live where the leaves turn colors in fall?
Resources:
Note: All postcards are considered Public Domain.
As noted, the photographer of the beautiful autumn scenes around Geneva Lake is:
NEAL ASPINALL STUDIO & ASPINALL POSTER STORE
http://www.nealaspinall.com
http://www.nealaspinall.com
Pam Meyers is a native of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. As a young woman, she ventured far from her midwestern roots and spent a brief time in New York City before moving on to the West Coast, where she spent time working in advertising. She then came to her senses and returned to her Midwestern roots, settling in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. About an hour's drive south of her hometown of Lake Geneva.
She's written a number of novels, including a few contemporaries and a four-book historical series set in the Lake Geneva area.
Her main involvement now is working in women's ministry at her church by co-leading a weekly Bible study. She shares her condo with her two rescue cats, who keep her on her toes.
If you are reading this on November 4th, you have a chance to get a FREE Kindle copy of the fourth book in Pam's historical series, but you must order it today, 11/4/2022. You don't have to have read the first three books of the series to enjoy this World War II homefront story. Order it at scrivenings.link/roseharbor
Thanks for posting today! I too have an October birthday and I love the beginning of fall, but not so much the end of it.....when the branches are bare. We have had a brilliant fall in the Northeast as well. No one was sure with the extreme drought whether there would be any color but it was wonderful. And Maine was especially pretty this year. Originally from Vermont where the sugar maples reign supreme I usually miss the brilliant oranges and scarlet, but Maine did really well this year.
ReplyDeleteHappy October birthday to us!
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