Lakeside 2008 Tour of Homes and Craft Show

Yesterday (Thursday July 24) was the Tour of Homes sponsored by the Lakeside Women's Club and the Craft Show on the lakefront. At the show I met photographer Roger W. Fair of Catawba Island who has two books about Lakeside available, Lakeside: Flags of our nation, and Chautauqua chairs. I looked through them, and he has really captured the community.

I also helped on the tour by pointing architectural features and history of Green Gables, the home of the Women's Club. Here I'm explaining about the technology used by American carpenters to achieve the fancy trim on the carpenter gothic cottages.

"Although this isn't the original, notice the "gingerbread" on the peak. By the mid-19th century, the steam powered scroll saw had been invented, and there were pattern books for homeowners to select the design and detail. The earlier Gothic Revival style used actual stone, but this was something the ordinary citizen could afford. Carpenter Gothic houses were constructed all over the nation during the mid-19th century, but especially in campgrounds and resorts like Lakeside. The original design of Green Gables lays out like a cross, and this wasn't only spiritual symbolism--with windows on all sides it was good ventilation. The windows look like chapel windows--there was a sense that this lifestyle was wholesome and spiritual. Carpenter Gothic homes are easy to add to at anytime. Steamboat Gothic is more elaborate and tried to imitate the wooden railings and columns on steamboats."

After saying this about 20 times I was losing my voice and stepped inside for some lemonade and cookies in the meeting room, the flat section that was added on to the original building.
Then in the evening, a near full-house at Hoover Auditorium enjoyed the fabulous and versatile Sandi Patty. Wow. What a voice. And her warmth and interaction with the audience were some of the best I've seen here. In the early 90s she was the highest paid CCM performer and then had a huge fall due to an adultery/remarriage scandal, but is quite popular again.