Our visits to the Wylie house have been unlike prior visits in that
objects were placed in contexts of how they would or might have been used. Beds
were in bedrooms, the kitchen was arranged so you could cook a meal, and rugs
rolled out neatly on the floor. Everything is in great condition and gives
visitors insights into what life may have been like.
It is interesting to note what is normal now that even the wealthiest
people in the Wylies’ time did not have. For example, the house would not have
had heating or air conditioning. It didn’t have televisions or even running
water. At first, I did not even recognize the kitchen as a kitchen because
there was no sink to be seen.
I wonder what the Wylies would think if they returned to the house now.
Would they be happy that their house and some of their belongings and ways of
life are being preserved and communicated to the public around the university
they contributed so much to? Would they be honored that there are still people
who care so much about what happened in their lives? Would they be disgusted
and confused at how out of place and different everything was and how much
everything had changed? Would they not care about the changes and demand we
leave so they could move back in, having missed the house and good old
Bloomington so very much?
This place made me think about what I would want people to see if I had
a home that was preserved for decades or centuries after my death. I would not
want everything to be so very neat, but maybe not as messy as my room is in
real life—that could pose a hazard to visitors walking through. The things I
would want people to see would be difficult to show without people there.
When people see my house, I want them to see an oven used to bake
cookies for friends who are having bad days. I would want them to see Christmas
lights hung up all year to make the corners a bit brighter. I would want them
to see places of rest, places of work, and places of deep conversations had
late at night. I would want them to see couches worn from movie nights with
friends and carpets stained from many messy childhoods.
Then again, I don’t plan to live in a “mansion on a hill.”
When I think of what I would want people to see, I fear a house museum
wouldn’t cut it. Perhaps a scrapbook would be a better, yet not perfect,
representation.
I wonder how our positions and values in life change how we want to be
remembered. I wonder if the Wylies would feel the same.
The Wylie house is lovely. The furniture is beautiful and the period
pieces are very interesting and educational. I very much enjoyed visiting that
house, knowing that my own will never be used in that way.
