What would you expect to find if you went into a thrift store in California? Maybe some clothes, salt and pepper shakers, boots, or maybe some furniture? If you were Margarete Miller- a collage artist, podcaster, and author- looking for collage material, what you would find would be an 1860 friendship album all the way from Waterford, VA! This friendship album belonged to Maranda Stewart, and is coming home to Waterford to be donated to the archives. This incredible journey back home to Waterford is called the Maranda Project, and you can be a part of it too this year at the Fair! Below, learn more about this story and how you can be involved this year during the Waterford Fair:
The Find
First off, what is a friendship album? A friendship album is a book commonly used like the back of a yearbook today- where friends and family would sign notes, names, drawings, and even poems for the person who owned it. This friendship album belonged to Maranda Stewart, who started her album during the Civil War here in Waterford and continued it through 1885.
The album found its way across the country to a thrift store Savers store in California, where it was found by a collage artist Margarete Miller. She researched the album, and invited the public to be a part of the story- from talking about her research to inviting people to mail in their addition to a friendship album much like Maranda’s. Margarete is going to be here during the Fair this year to donate the friendship album to the archives (to be on display this year at the Fair!) along with a companion album! You can learn more about Margarete’s on her blog linked here.
How You Can Experience the Maranda Project:
This year at the Waterford Fair (October 2-4), make sure to drop by the Craft School tent on the Old School lawn for all things Maranda Project!:
- The Friendship Album will be on display for you to see (weather permitting)!
- Kids (and kids at heart)- make your own friendship album to take around the Fair and back home with you!
- On Saturday at 12:30pm, Margarete Miller will be at the Craft School tent giving a tent talk about the Marnada Project! Hear the story about this incredible discovery from her! Tent talks are included in your fair ticket, but make sure to book in advance to reserve your spot!
To learn more about the Waterford Fair and to purchase your tickets, check out the Fair website linked here. We hope to see you there!