The George S. Clayson House, on most days a repository of local history dating back to the early days of Palatine, came alive recently when 33 people—many of them ladies dressed in flowery or feathered hats of days gone by, sipped tea and dined on finger sandwiches.
The occasion was the Palatine Historical Society’s annual Victorian Tea, which brought together ladies to honor the past with a time honored tradition of sipping tea and munching on light fare around mid-day.
As period music played softly in the background, a greeter, dressed in a frilly outfit popular in the 1850s, and a butler wearing a black suit, ushered guests into the ornate museum, outfitted this day with tables and chairs.
“It goes with the house, an 1870s house,” said Marilyn Pedersen, director of Clayson House. “They had high tea back then so we have this now."
