Date: Fri 06-Dec-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDREA

Quick Words:

Civale-history-colonial

Full Text:

Blending The Past With The Present - Sheila and Cosmo Civale Keep Colonial

Traditions Alive In Newtown

B Y A NDREA Z IMMERMANN

Next to their VCR, Cosmo and Sheila Civale might display a simple pewter

teapot or a hole-punched tin lantern. But somehow, objects of bygone days and

modern pieces fit together in their Newtown home.

"They are all part of who we are," said Mrs Civale who, along with her

husband, have a keen interest in how our predecessors lived. "The past is just

as important as what we do now."

Each began a love affair with history early in life. Cosmo was "hooked" when

his fifth grade teacher took the class to Sturbridge Village. "It was just the

best thing I ever did," he said with great animation. "I've always found old

things fascinating - their history, who they belonged to, what they were used

for."

Sheila remembers being greatly impressed when she studied history in

elementary school. Her advanced studies and personal research continued to

echo her interest in history. She is fascinated by the tales that quilts

impart. Colonial quilts, for instance, are documentation of what women of the

time went through. "There are mourning quilts, birth quilts, and friendship

quilts," she said. "[Starting in the Colonial Era], a girl had to have 12

quilts made before she could get married. That's where the quilting bee

started."

Sheila began quilting in 1981, and helped create the St Rose and Sandy Hook

School quilts. She prefers traditional patterns, colors, and quilting designs.

Quite impressed by Eric Sloan's, Diary of An Early American Boy , ("I cried,

it was so beautiful"), Cosmo tried to recreate a leather book cover similar to

that of the original diary. He made a pattern from a file folder and tooled a

plain design around the border, and made a leather lace with which to tie it

closed.

The Civales met in 1991, when Sheila began work as a biology and chemistry

teacher at Darien High School. She had taught at St Rose prior to that. Cosmo,

now district technology coordinator for the Darien public schools, had been

working for the school system for many years. Sheila has lived in Newtown

since 1988; Cosmo moved here when they were married this April. They have four

children - Sean, 13, Noreen, 16, Matthew 20, and Christopher, 21.

The couple was married twice the same day - once in Stamford with family

present, and later at the restored River Wind Inn in Deep River. They wore

reproductions of clothing worn in 1820, and were married in front of the huge

stone fireplace by one of the owners of the inn, Justice of the Peace Barbara

Barlow.

The Civales went to their first reenactment last year at Putnam Park in

Redding. They had period clothes made because the event focused on a wedding

of one of Cosmos' high school friends. The friends had an authentic ceremony,

late 1700s dinner, and celebration with a gentlemen calling the reels. The

bridegroom arrived in full military regalia on horseback; the bride to be, in

a buggy.

The Civales have participated in muster weekends in Deep River, which includes

fife and drum corps from all over the country, and events hosted by the

Stratford and Newtown historical societies. The connection between the two

towns is a very close one - the Newtown Historical Society is located in the

Matthew Curtiss House, the Stratford Historical Society in the Judson House;

Matthew Curtiss married Pheobe Judson.

This Sunday, the Civales will greet visitors to the Matthew Curtiss House

during the Family Life Center Holiday Festival. Sheila will give a quilting

demonstration; Cosmo is hoping to have a "surprise." Authors Mary Mitchell and

Al Goodrich will be signing their book, Touring Newtown's Past: The Settlement

and Architecture of an Old Connecticut Town , in one of the parlors during the

festival. And Historical Society President Sallie Meffert will give a cooking

demonstration on the open hearth. A "Colonial Dinner Experience" will be

raffled off.

"There is a tremendous interest in the community to understand how Newtown

was," said Sheila. "Young people are interested, too."

Cosmo and Sheila are planning events and educational programs for the spring

at the Matthew Curtiss House. They also want to attract town participation at

the restored one-room Middle Gate School House.

The clothing the Civales wear at historical events were created by Cindy

Kleynowski of Stratford. Sheila's outfit is an English polonaise - a "dressier

gown, not something they would have cleaned house in." Made of a blue coarse

cotton, the gown has boning down the front. Underneath she wears a chemise

(that Colonial women would have also slept in), and a petticoat. Although

breasts could be well displayed, "In the 1790s, you could not have your elbows

exposed - you would be considered a streetwalker," said Sheila. "And a lady

always had her head covered." Plain cotton stockings and boots complete the

outfit.

Cosmo wears a long cotton shirt, which would have also been used as a

nightshirt, boasting ruffles at the cuff. His linen breeches have pewter

buttons at the knee, and at the front and sides; in the back the garment is

laced. His vest is decorated with an exact reproduction of embroidery found in

Williamsburg. He also wears a tri-corner hat, and a cravat that ties around

his neck. He carries a matching haversack, which "a gentleman kept all his

belongings in," and a handcrafted walking stick.

One of the things the Civales have learned about life by studying the past, is

that it is important to "take time to think about things, talk about things,

and look at things."

And, they themselves are witness to the idea that everything has a story.