One of the intriguing museums in Cheyenne is the Depot Museum. As you can guess from its name, it's housed in the Union Pacific depot, and the exhibits focus on the railroad and its impact on Cheyenne. While the first floor details the actual construction of the railroad, the second floor of the museum houses an ecclectic collection of items that travelers left behind.
Can you imagine forgetting to take your cheval mirror, your suitcases or even your music stand? As I wander through this part of the museum, I always find myself spinning stories about the people who once owned and then abandoned these objects. Who do you think once owned that mirror?
I can't imagine who owned it, but think something must have happened for her to leave this mirror behind. I have always wanted a mirror like this. Wish we had visited that museum when we were there.
ReplyDeleteMaxie mac262(at)(dot)com
I love to go into museums and spin stories about what happened. In 2011, my family and I visited Ellis Island (a place I have longed to visit since I was a little girl). During the tour of the old buildings I spun all kinds of stories.
ReplyDeleteSo, I think that the mirror was probably left behind by a woman who was on her way, along with her husband, to Alaska during the gold rush in the late 1800's into early 1900's. They had traveled to Wyoming to then board another train to take them to California and then by ship to Alaska. However, in Cheyenne they found out that they could only take so much with them. The woman was most distraught because the mirror had been her grandmothers. After settling her down and promising that someday they would send for the mirror, her husband led her toward their adventure. Of course, since the mirror is still there, the people never made it back because they never lived through the first hard winter of Alaska!
Maxie -- Isn't the mirror beautiful? I've always admired mirrors like that and thought they were more elegant than the ones you mount on the wall. If you come back to Cheyenne, let me know and we can meet for tea or coffee.
ReplyDeleteCandace -- I love your story. But maybe the reason the woman didn't come back for her mirror is that she loved Alaska so much that she didn't want to leave it, and she realized that the mirror was only a piece of wood and glass. In the past, she'd treasured it as part of her grandmother, but she learned that nothing could destroy her memories of Grandma, so there was no reason to go back to Cheyenne.
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