Written by Alicia
As a passerby, I might be amazed at the maintained old-fashioned house featuring pointed rooftops and all-around windows. But only when the museum tour ended did I finally understand the historical value this house conveyed and the whole story about the Roedde Family.
Roedde House is a typical architectural structure of the Victorian Era. With the help of the Roedde House Preservation Society, formed in 1984, the house was preserved and restored after the fire, and we can visit it today. The house is one of the most genuine museums I have ever seen. Different from traditional ones that display exhibits inside locked glass windows in newly built venues, Roedde House Museum is where the whole family once lived, making visitors empathize with the lives of people at that time.
When I stepped into the house, the unique lifestyle of the Roedde Family, a German immigrant family, unfolded and was presented to me. Our warm-hearted guide talked about the story tirelessly and vividly, linking the family history and the house decoration. I could just imagine the everyday life of the family. Mr. Roedde carefully and patiently adjusted the lens and took photos of his children through the old but well-made camera. After that, he turned on the phonograph and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon. Mrs. Roedde sat upstairs, supervising the children to do their homework. At night, the family put coal or hot sand into the bed warmer and used it to run under the cover. Although life back then was far from being as convenient as it is today, it had warmth, coziness and leisure everywhere in the house.
At the same time, I was amazed by the ingenious devices of the era. What impressed me most was a fantastic photograph displayed in the corridor, composed of the original translucent photo and the randomly painted colour blocks. Just like how we post-process images, I was amazed when I saw the picture and colour block layer were put together. The colours overlaid on the back of the photo made it constantly come to life as if a black and white television had finally gained its long-awaited hues. Seemingly unrelated things were magically connected. That was the most intuitive explanation of image layers.
Well, thanks to the tour, Roedde House Museum, for me, is no longer just a well-preserved construction standing beside the road but a microcosm of the era, offering a glimpse of the mysterious stories that took place at that time.