Make Sure Your Dress Is Right Before Stepping Onto The Saline’s Summerfest Trolley For Tour Guide Duty This Year

What comes to mind when you think of Saline’s Summerfest? Or its car show? Or, in this case, its trolley? [1]

Sometimes it’s nice to pull back the curtain and show a bit of the process that goes into the seeming effortlessness of delivering wonderful substance. Sometimes it’s the littlest things — things you might never notice, unless they weren’t there. Other times, they’re bigger. Last month, for example, we told one such story as it related to Saline Celtic Festival, involving all that went into bringing Millie to life and keeping the smoke breathing from her nostrils. [2]

I started working in earnest with Bob Lane of the Saline Area Historical Society for my part in serving as a tour guide on the 2018 Saline’s Summerfest trolley. The casual observer might mistake the host vehicle from Tecumseh Trolley & Limousine Service as maybe a gussied-up parking shuttle. But the fact is that it’s your invitation to get into character for a free journey into our city’s past, stirring memories of “Old Maude” as a starting point. [3,4,5,6,7]

It may seem odd that this icon of a “downtown” event would load people up and take them on a twenty-minute trip well-outside the limitations of Saline Main Street. Yet we mustn’t forget that without everything around it proving support, there’d be no downtown. “It’s important to bring people downtown for the businesses,” Mr Lane further explained to Saline Journal. [8]

It’s just as important that the historical buildings remain intact to preserve the character of Saline. Trolley tours are one way to support that understanding.

For my part, I will ride that trolley and tell the story of many landmarks as we pass them along the way. My study guide surely isn’t as exacting as the Saline Rotary Club enactors will use in September, but hopefully it will aspire to the high standards they’ve set. I also needed to look the part. [9,10]

Armed with an opportunity for my Bachelor’s Degree in Fashion Merchandising and Textiles to provide further return on investment, I hit the Internet in search of period wardrobe options. Unfortunately, everything online looked too new — very much not what I wanted. So I took a page from our own advice here and started making the rounds to our wonderful local thrift stores. [11,12]

The Salvation Army story was great for basics, with lots of women’s clothing and shoes. This is where I found the perfect straw hat with flowers, timeless for both today and, in my case, reminiscent of Saline a century back. Goodwill was my go-to for more one-of-a-kind items, things you’d least expect, like the stockings I needed to accentuate a look for my legs in my “granny boots.” Final stop: Nu2U. They are great for antique jewelery and they have a craft section. This is where I purchased lace fabric to make a shawl, also where I found an old-fashioned handkerchief. [13,14,15]

With all these fundamentals in-hand, it didn’t seem right to complete final preparations using just any sewing machine. Thankfully my grandmother’s White electric sewing machine from the 1920s is still up to supporting my efforts — with a flair toward authenticity in process. [16]

To see the final result of this story, you should plan on taking the trolley tour some time between noon and 4:00pm on Saturday, August 11.

References

1. Saline’s Summerfest (home page).
2. “Mill Pond Mechanical Loch Ness Monster At Saline Celtic Festival Is A Blend of Engineering And Fantasy” Dell Deaton (July 13, 2018) Saline Journal.
3. Saline Area Historical Society (home page).
4. Tecumseh Trolley & Limousine Service (home page).
5. “Historical Trolley Tour” Saline’s Summerfest.
6. “Old Maude Electric Line to Ypsilanti” Saline Historical Photos, University of Michigan Library.
7. “Second Image, Same Event: ‘Old Maud’ Was Part of US 12 Reconstruction Story” Janet Deaton (November 21, 2016) Saline Journal.
8. Saline Main Street (home page).
9. Rotary Club of Saline (home page).
10. “You Should Get to Know former Saline Resident Webster Ruckman at Some Point in Your Memorial Day Schedule” Dell Deaton (May 28, 2018) Saline Journal.
11. “National Thrift Shop Day Highlights Expanded Giving, Shopping Options” Janet Deaton (August 17, 2017) Saline Journal.
12. “We May Have Near-Term Problem With Recyclables Collection Rates, But That’s Not The Real Problem Here” Dell Deaton (July 19, 2018) Saline Journal.
13. Salvation Army (home page).
14. Goodwill Industries of Southeast Michigan (home page).
15. Nu2U Resale Store (home page).
16. “White Sewing Machine Company” ISMACS International.