The Wren's Nest

By Laurie Bower Epps

When I had an interview down in Atlanta, I couldn't resist the temptation to find a hidden gem in Atlanta. Find a real gem, I did indeed. Since I started this blog modeling it after my friend Dana's fashion blog, I was hard pressed to find someplace she hadn't been. But due to my love of literature, the Wren's Nest was uncovered.

The Uncle Remus Stories was one of my first storybooks as a child. Much like Grimms Fairy Tales, most of the stories were originally based in oral traditions and also taught a moral lesson. But I loved the nutty stories of that kooky rabbit, Brer Rabbit. He was always getting into one scrape or another. Some of you maybe familiar with The Song of the South that was produced by Disney which was loosely based on the original stories.

Gift handmade in the Black Forests of Germany

  

History

Celebrating 100 years of storytelling, the Wren's Nest has its roots in the oral traditions of African-Americans who mostly came to this country as slaves. Many of them were ill educated because it was the desire of their owners that they remain so. The same fate also belonged to many women of the time...

The stories were written by a Joel Chandler Harris, who crafted his stories later in his life. You might be surprised to learn, that Harris was home-schooled by his mother due to the teasing he endured at school because he stuttered. Harris was born and raised without his father in the picture, at a time in history where that was rarely the case. His life is quite fascinating, and he ascended from being born a bastard, and was raised solely by his mother in the guest house of a prominent doctor. Being a tall man of Irish decent with the bright hair to match, it's no wonder that combined with his stutter, he was bullied by the other school children. But the African-Americans would treat him as an equal, so it stands to reason that he grew up hearing their stories.

Uncle Remus Stories weren't in the forefront of his mind, however. Harris actually started out as a newspaper man first at The Countryman and later at The Atlanta Constitution (1876). As his talent and reputation grew, the Atlanta Constitution gave him a column that started highlighting the Uncle Remus stories for the public. Harris was 52 years old before he started telling the now infamous stories of his youth. Harris died at the Wren's Nest just 9 years later.

Characters Depicted from his Uncle Remus Stories, a gift from Disney

J.C. Harris was no slouch in his connections either, and many of them even impressed me. Harris was friends with President Theodore Roosevelt, the Rockefeller's, and Andrew Carnegie. It was largely due to Carnegie's influence that the house was preserved at all. Carnegie was going around the country opening up libraries, and felt it'd be a tragedy if American school children didn't know who his close friend Joel Chandler Harris was, so we largely have him to thank for having the home preserved at all.Harris' work was widely respected in the writing community also. Harris' inspiration was influenced by Edgar Allan Poe, but managed to influence Rudyard Kipling in his own right. There were others mentioned on the tour, but those are two of the names that stood out.

The house itself has remained just as it was when Harris lived there. Everything from the stained glass windows given to his wife (since she was a devout Catholic) to the china hutch in the dining room given by President Theodore Roosevelt. There are also a few statues around depicting the beloved characters from his stories.  There's a story in every corner.

The Wren's Nest was given it's name because in the late nineteenth century when Mr. Harris still resided there, if someone was coming to pay J.C. Harris a visit, they'd direct them by the Wren's that nested in his mailbox every year. Still to date, wren's make their way back to the same location that they reside in every spring and summer. The flight pattern of these birds has obviously remained the same for over a hundred years. It's as if they never forgot who lived here and the enchanting stories of Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit.

To learn more about the history:
https://historyatlanta.com/the-wrens-nest/ 

For visitor information:
http://www.wrensnest.org/ 

Fashion

Black Southwestern Print Dress,
& Blue Textured Shrug
~ LuLaRoe, Carly dress & Lindsay Shrug

Black Two Texture Sandals by Ekko
~ Dillards

The tour was delightful, and my guide Jeri was engaging. She made me at home, and even took my picture for this blog. I don't think I've ever learned so much from a tour guide before. I even found that I related to J.C. as a writer. I'm sort of getting started with books later in life.

This was a very pleasant way for me to spend time in my home town. It's very few people in my life that realize that I'm just a girl from a little suburb of Atlanta. Remembering Brer Rabbit and his antics felt like a homecoming. I even followed up this tour with some soul food just two blocks away at Jeri's recommendation. Sometimes it's good to come home.

I rounded this visit out with a stop at the outlet stores in Commerce, GA on my way back to South Carolina. Till next time, fashion-loves...

Stay fashionable and be blessed.
Thanks for stopping by,
Laurie