Titantic Tea at The Stegmaier Mansion and Jimmy Carter's Visit

The Frederick Stegmaier Mansion


As many of you may have read in my previous post, our area was honored with a visit from President Jimmy Carter and the First Lady, Rosalyn Carter last week.

They were in town for a local auction where they donated over 100+ personal items to be auctioned off and all proceeds would go to the Historic Restoration of buildings in their hometown of Plains, Georgia. Since the auction was held in our local town of Plains, it was entitled "Plains helping Plains".

The President and First Lady were given several options of where they could stay overnight and they chose The Frederick Stegmaier Mansion in Wilkes Barre, Pa. Owner Joe Matteo told me they chose the Stegmaier Mansion because President Carter said "this is what we want to do in Plains". So it was only fitting that the President and First Lady stay in a completely Restored Gilded Mansion.

Below are pics taken from our local newspaper showing the Carter's with the staff of the Frederick Stegmaier Mansion.


President Jimmy Carter, First Lady Rosalyn Carter and owner Joe Matteo


The wait staff with President Carter, Rosalyn Carter and Chef Jody Klocko ( next to Rosalyn Carter) who studied under the Carter's Chef while they were in the White House.


Chef Jody Klocko serving President Carter

To read the article in our local newspaper about owner Joe Matteo's comments on a Former President staying in his beloved mansion, Please Click HERE

I think you will enjoy the article especially when you read that Rosalyn Carter took Joe Matteo by the hand and asked if she could hold onto him as he took them through the mansion!!

Below is the newspaper photo of the Amelia Suite. This is where the First couple spent the night!

These are some of my pics of the Amelia Suite...



This is looking into the Bathroom....

This is looking into the wonderful Sitting Room off of the Bedroom of the Suite...


The magnificent Stained Glass Windows in the Sitting Room.......

The sofa in the Sitting Room...
Picture yourself cuddled up with a good book as sunlight streams through those stained glass windows......

I have always wanted to stay in this suite and now for sure I do because I want to sleep in the bed that they slept in. I mentioned this to Joe Matteo , when we attended the Titanic Tea on Sat. at the mansion and he said that it was the first thing that he did after they left!!! LOL!!

We are so very happy for our friend, Joe Matteo, who has painstakingly restored this mansion to it's former glory!!
Joe also mentioned that the Carter's were so impressed that they plan a return visit in a few months!!

Way to go , JOE!!


On Saturday, my friend, Anne Marie and I had the pleasure of visiting the mansion again for a Titantic Tea.
We were greeted at the door by our dear friend, Lisa Lewis, Victoriana Lady, who is the Tour Guide and Hostess for the Mansion and were given our Boarding Pass!

Joe Matteo also greeted us with a hug and a kiss as we congratulated him on having the Carter's stay at the mansion!

We were assured that even though it was pouring buckets outside and the wind was blowing everything around in it's path, that we would not sink! LOL!!

We were seated in the Dining Room of the mansion this time. It was crowded so I didn't get to take many pics of the room then but I will show you some of my pics taken on my other visits to the mansion.

Amazing stained glass windows.....

Silver Service.....


Stunning lamp shade that I would love to have in my home.....


The mantle on the fireplace....

We started out with picking our flavored Tea Bags.......


Then came the first course....


And it was so yummy....


Then the salad....


Most of the dishes were in French and there is no way I could tell you exactly what they were but they were taken from actual menu's from the Titanic and recreated!

Our soup was a farmer's soup with vegetables...


Sandwiches were a rubin sandwich, chicken salad, egg salad and a corned beef sandwich. These , as you can see, were not your ordinary Tea Sandwiches and they literally melted in your mouth!


Then came dessert......
The ice cream was fantastic!


The chocolate on the side was mixed with a bit of parsley and sprinkled with gold dust!!!


And then more dessert, which we took home because we were so full!!

As each course was served, owner Joe Matteo would come and tell us the names of everything and what it was and how it was served on the Titanic.


Lisa Lewis, Victoriana Lady, also came around. This is when she is reading exerpts from actual survivors from a book in her own collection that was published in 1912.

Can I tell you a secret??? Do you see the pretty embroidered placemats on the table???
You can click on the pic to enlarge.
They are actually pillow covers from the Dollar Store!! I know because I bought the same ones and I flipped them over and sure enough, there was the zipper. No one else would have known and what a great idea from Joe Matteo in tablescaping!!!

I just want to point out the reflection of the magnificent ceiling in the huge mirror on the wall where the fireplace is!!!
And the chandy!!

Here is Lisa showing us momento's from her visit to the Titanic Exhibit in New York City a few years ago. Lisa dressed for the Exhibit in one of her authentic ( no reproductions) Edwardian dresses. They allowed visitors to have their picture taken with the Titanic in the background. Lisa said that by the time she made it through the Exhibit, the management had asked for her permission to post her pic in the exhibit!! The only other person that attained that honor was Matthew Broderick!!

Here is our friend, Sue who came in period dress. All from the Salvation Army!! Way to go, Sue!!


Chef Jody Klocko had created a Presidential Seal out of chocolate for President Carter.

Unfortunately, my pics of it came out blurry but I wanted to show you it anyway so you can get a glimpse of this masterpiece!


It was displayed on the Baby Grand Piano in the Ladies Parlor.


Well, I hope you enjoyed coming along with me to the Titanic Tea at The Stegmaier Mansion.

They are holding more Titanic Tea's, a Mother/Daughter Tea and a Magic Tea in the future. They are also hosting several more " Last Dinner on the Titanic " events because of the extreme popularity causing sellouts of this event.
For more info , please visit www.stegmaiermansion.com

And to visit Victoriana Lady Lisa Lewis's blog, please click HERE
to see more pics of Titanic events at the Stegmaier Mansion!

Also, you can see Lisa Lewis on the TV show Oddities on Saturday, April 23 @ 10:00pm on The Science Channel. Lisa's segment is on Victorian Mourning Traditions.

I am linking up to these great parties:

Amaze Me Monday

Tea Cup Tuesday

Tea Time Tuesday

Tea Pots and Tea Things Tuesday
Table top Tuesday

WOW Us Wednesday


Thanks for stopping by today and every day that you take the time to do so!

Hugs,
Debbie

Remembering my Mom

Seven years ago, on March 29, 2004, my Mom passed away.

She was 84 years old. This year, she would have been 92 years old.

I realized soon afterward that my sister and I were now the oldest living generation of our family.

Having lost both of our parents, we were now orphans.

My Mom was 19 years old when this pic was taken.
She was an only child. Her father had wanted a boy to name after himself. He still named her after himself, naming her Pauline since his name was Paul.

She then met the love of her life, my Dad, Frank.
What a handsome couple they made.....


They were married in 1942 on June 6th.




Shortly after they moved to Spartansburg, S.C. to so my Dad could be trained to be deployed in World War II. My Mom lived off the base.


He would be gone overseas for nearly 5 years. She lived with her parents until he returned.
They built a home next door to her parents and then they had their first child, my sister Barbara , in 1947.

My Mom was told that she would not be able to have any more children.

In Jan., 1958, over 10 years later, she gave birth to a second daughter...... Debbie.

This is my Mom and me in 1960. She was 41 years old in this picture.

My Dad and my Mom did everything together.

Picture was taken in 1974.....

They built another home in 1962 and they would live there until 1987.

Mom, with a rose given to her by my Dad from their garden, and my childhood dog, Ginger.

They had 6 grand children and another that my Dad would never see as my sister was pregnant when my Dad passed away in 1987.

Mom on the Santa Express with my Jimmy and Joey in 1986.

On Feb. 26, 1987, My Sister and I would find my Dad dead. He was retired but my Mom was still working in a Dress Factory in the mornings. He was 67 years old. I did the hardest thing I ever had to do in my life that morning.....go to where my Mom worked and tell her that her Frankie was gone.....


She would never be the same.

She sold their dream home 3 months later and moved into a Senior Citizen Apartment. She could not bear to live in that house without him.

She went on with life and enjoyed her grandchildren.

But there was a sadness in her eyes that never went away.

Mom and my Joey and Jimmy at the airport when we were waiting for our flight to Disney World.

She would see grandchildren graduate high school, college, marry and have children of their own....

Mom and my Jimmy at his High School graduation in 2002


She enjoyed her family and the friends that she had made while living in her apartment but something was missing from her life.


In Feb. of 2004 , when she entered the hospital with pancreatitis and sepsis, I knew she would never return to her apartment.

She lived for another 8 weeks during which my sister and I visited the hospital twice a day and watched her die a little bit every day.

Finally, on March 26, 2004 , we were able to move her from the hospital to an Inpatient Hospice unit. She had been in a coma since Sat., March 27. On March 28, I was the last one visiting but before I left her, I told her it was okay to go, that Barbara and I would be okay and that it was finally time to return to my Dad's side, where she so desperately wanted to be for the 17 years that she had lived without him. When I whispered this to her, she opened her eyes and looked at me one last time. I knew she had heard and understood me.

I left her at 11 pm , went out and sat in the car in the parking lot, called my sister and told her what I had said and that Mom had opened her eyes and I believed that she understood me.

At 1 am, 2 hours later , on March 29, 2004, I received the call that my Mom had passed away quietly in her sleep. Peacefully, pain free and with the utmost dignity.

She was finally with the only man she ever loved........her Frankie.

The last picture taken of my Mom in Feb. 2004

It is fitting that , in this last photo of her, she is wearing the necklace that my Dad gave her as a wedding gift.

I know that they are both watching over my family and my sister's until the day when we will be together again.

Thanks for visiting me today.

Hugs,
Debbie

Chocolate Lover's Tea at the Mansion!

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending the Inaugural Tea, A Chocolate Lover's Tea, at the Frederick Stegmaier Mansion.

The mansion will now be hosting several Themed Tea's throughout the coming year. All of this is the idea of The Passion Projects.
The Passion Projects is the company formed by my dear friend, Lisa Lewis, Victoriana Lady, and John Grant.
To access The Passion Projects Facebook page, please Click HERE

Lisa and John


And to really add excitement to this new venture, one of our local TV stations, who has a show called Home and Back Yard, featured the Stegmaier Mansion and Victoriana Lady on Saturday evening's program! To see the show, please click HERE Play the video from 2/12

To see the Blooper that ocurred while filming the show, please click HERE
I think you will get a good laugh!



To read the article that appeared in the local newspaper, please click HERE



The Frederick Stegmaier Mansion, Wilkes Barre, Pa.
Photo Courtesy of John Grant, photographer


The event started with Victoriana Lady , greeting everyone at the front door of the mansion .
She then checked the seating chart and informed each guest where they would be sitting for the Tea. The Ladies and Gentlemen's Parlors, the Dining Room and the Library were all set with tables to acommodate the 50 guests that attended Saturday's Tea. There were such a response that a second Tea was added on Sunday and both Tea's sold out and each had a waiting list!!

Our Victorian Society Group would be seated in the Library.

This is what our tea cups and china looked like.
See the rose petals scattered on the table???


Here is the mansion's owner, Joe Matteo , serving the first course of our Tea.


Sorry it is a bit blurry but will you look at this?????
That is Devonshire cream in the crystal glass ( shot glass!) in the center of the plate. To the right is strawberry cream and to the left is apricot jam. There is a chocolate dipped chocolate chip and cranberry scone and what you can't see is a heart shaped cookie.


Then we were served a salad which I forgot to take a pic of.

This is the light streaming through the stained glass window that we were seated by....


This is the reflection of the ceiling and chandy is the mirror above the fireplace in the Library....


Next comes the soup which was a potato soup and our Tea Sandwiches....
Don't you just love how it was served on the silver platter.....


Okay, I am not sure of the exact names of the sandwiches but in front of the soup was a baked bread which various cheese on top. to the right was chicken salad ( which melted in your mouth) sprinkled with bacon on a heart shaped piece of bread. Behind the soup was a cucumber and butter sandwich and to the left was salmon salad rolled in chocolate bread.
All were to die for!



During our Tea, Victoriana Lady visited each room and first told us about the history of Afternoon Tea. Then she presented us with several items of the Victorian Era and we had to guess what they were used for.

Victoriana Lady is well versed in Victorian mourning and the glass vial that she is holding up is a Tear Catcher Bottle. You would catch the tears you shed for a loved one after they passed on. She also told us that they were used by the wives of soldiers who were gone off to war. When they returned, the wives would show their soldier husband's how many tears they shed for them...

Next on the menu came what essentially was a Chocolate mousse type creation topped with cream and shavings of chocolate served in a demitasse cup!!

Check out the chocolate covered strawberry....... wearing a tuxedo!!!


I love the pattern on the china!!


This 2 tiered silver caddy hold these delicious creations and served 2 of us. on the top tiers were 2 types of Chocolate Truffles.
On the bottom tier , were the strawberries and a Godiva Chocolate Pecan Caramel cookie.


Then we were served Spiced Hot Chocolate Tea!

Look at that beautiful Chocolate Pot!!


For the recipes for the Godiva Chocolate Pecan Caramel cookie and the Spiced Chocolate Tea, you can click HERE
This will take you to Chef Jody Klocko's site on the Food Network.com.

These recipes were his gift to us and when he visited each room after this last course was served , he received a huge round of applause!

Chef Jody Klocko also made two chocolate gift creations that we were free to buy to take home.
The boxes were filled with Chocolate truffles.


I bought a Chocolate Heart shaped box filled with truffles.


May I add that Chef Jody Klocko has been featured on the Food Network, worked for Godiva Chocolates and is an award winning Chef!

This is the amazing trio that make a visit to the Frederick Stegmaier Mansion such a fantastic experience!

Jody Klocko, Lisa Lewis and Joe Matteo, owner.
I am so proud to call them my friends!
Congrats to all of you, including John Grant, for a magnificent job of orchestrating such a wonderful event!!

The mansion is also a B&B. This is the Amelia Suite which has it"s own Sitting Room!

Photo Courtesy of John Grant, photographer

Upcoming Tea's at the Mansion will include:

A Civil War Tea

An Antique Appraisal Tea

A Titanic Tea

A Mother and Daughter Tea

I want to wish my good friend, Lisa, good luck as she is traveling to Manhattan this week to film for the Discovery Channel's Show Oddities. She is going to be featured in an upcoming show!!
How exciting!!

For info on the Stegmaier Mansion, please click HERE for the web site.

I am linking up to these parties:

Tea Cup Tuesday

Tea Time Tuesday

Tea Pot and Tea Things Tuesday

TableTop Tuesday

Thanks for stopping by today and every day that you take the time to visit me!

Hugs,
Debbie