Saving Tara

Saving Tara - Restoring the Famous Home from Gone With The Wind

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Ghost hunting at Tara!

Shutter showing "ghosts" of the hand made hinges
Shutter showing “ghosts” of the hand made hinges

Last night Sharon and I celebrated Halloween in Dallas, Texas  (she had a conference and I went along to keep her company) and since this morning will find us scurrying to the airport to catch our flight…I wrote this little “ghost” story just before I went to bed on All Hallows Eve.

A lot has been said over the last few years about ghosts. It seems now that everyone has had a ghostly  experience or knows someone who has. I doubt there is anyone that has not heard of the “ghost hunters” who take it upon themselves to chase down and identify these so called random spirits, but I doubt many will know that the word “ghost” means something other than just an ectoplasmic apparition of a former self. A ghost can be described as an outline or footprint of a past happening.

So in that vein my ghost story will deal NOT with the former selves of the actors and crew that created the book or movie. I will not conjure up any of the Mitchell’s, Selznick’s, Talmadge’s or a Confederate General or two. No instead I will spend a moment on the ghosts on the façade that help us to identify (as an outline or roadmap) where certain pieces were attached. Without these “ghosts” many of the pieces that have been assembled might still be in unidentified piles if not for the markings that have been used like roadmaps on our journey.

While I (and the crew) have been amazed that so much of Tara still exists, it is even more amazing that the ghost markings are still so clearly seen amid the dust and grime. In today’s photos of the shutter that covered the window behind Butterfly McQueen on the side porch as the soldiers were being fed, there are distinct dark outlines of the “handmade” strap hinges that were attached. These outlines are so exact that they match the slight differences in each of the hinges (since each hinge was handmade) and provide the assurance we look for as we reattach the many pieces of the puzzle.

So this morning as you sit at the computer enjoying a breakfast of candy corn and snicker doodles (yuk!) take a moment to thank those “other ghosts”,….the ones that don’t say boo! …but provide a roadmap to the preservation and presentation of Tara.

I’ll be looking for you up at the gate.

Peter

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