Something I wrote about one of my worlds
Apr. 11th, 2004 02:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
taratemimaThe right history of Leith and its environs.
Leith is relatively easy to miss, very near Medford, and a drive away from Malden. It was first founded by Scottish and Scotch-Irish businessmen for the young girls who worked in the mills, so that they could have a house when they got married. Until World War II, it was mostly farmland, some houses, and a commercial district in the center, bordered by High, Wallace, Oak and Main.
Nearby, a garden and sports field was established, and called Carnegie Park. An escaped light-skinned slave named Oswell Livingston (he did not choose the name) with his wife Drusilla (the daughter of his second owner, who helped poison her father, smoothing the way for their escape) set up a store, specializing in pharmacy and dried goods. A former mill girl named Nelly (nee MacLeod) Innes specialized in 'medicinal spirits,' horrifying some of the Presbyterians. Fortunately, there were enough Catholic and Episcopalian hold outs to buy her wares.
The history of the town was unremarkable for the humans--the English and the Irish were the first to move out of Boston's different 'ends' into Leith. The growth was steady until after World War II, where new streets and houses were built, and people from other backgrounds moved in. Of course, their ancestral spirits moved in, their fae and part-fae relatives moved in. The nature spirits still alive in Leith are always there. Except when the humans overstep their boundaries or the fae overstep theirs, there is not much trouble. The families with the strongest connections with the fae are much like every other family, with its rivalries, rumors, fights, and reconciliations. The Scottish fae-connected families are trying to deal with families with other kinds of 'ancestors.'
I should note that there is a lot of euphemism when talking about the fae--they call them "the ancestors" or "the far-away relatives." Children with some gifts are called "ancestor-blessed." Of course, some of the Old Guard think it's all bunk, but tend not to tell it to anyone's face.
Among the places I developed so far . . .
Pie Palace: They specialize in pies and tarts, both sweet and
savory, with ample coffee refills. Run by a Corsican-Greek family.
Innes Spirits: Still going strong, has since expanded their wares to include micro-brews. During the Prohibition, sold home-made caramel candy and a limited supply of beer making kits (if I remember right, that was allowed, but I am not sure).
Livingston Pharmacy: Still sells over-the-counter medicine, also an ice cream fountain booth in store.
Robot Kingdom Comics and Sundries: It was opened by Lloyd Bevens, later owned by his son Timothy (masters in folklore, MBA), then passed on to Daniel Freedman. Comics, role playing games, toys, and sometimes a favorite fantasy or hard science fiction novel.
Wallace Street Clubhouse: a tavern that tries hard to look as grungy as possible, but serves too good a beer to pass. Often, a stop for groups involving middle aged men.
The High Street Mason Lodge: Scottish Rite?
Doctors offices: While they go to different hospitals, they do have private practices, like John Fergus, Arthur Dark, and Alexander Freedman. A dentist named Charlotte Wu has her own practice within Leith.
The major religious institutions are (from oldest) Saint Andrew Episcopalian, Pine Street First Presbyterian, Leith Unitarian Universalist, Saint Margaret of Scotland Catholic (also educated by Sisters of Saint Joseph), First Baptist on Oak, Congregation Beth Shalom (officially Conservative, although folks with different levels of observance worship there; Aviva Rosenthal, the daughter of the previous rabbi, runs a hauvoret for younger members), the Circle of the Ancestors (while some families have covertly practiced Scottish and Irish paganism and fae invocation, it was not until the early 90s that some of the younger members had been out about it), and the Northwest Islamic Center (small right now, recently dedicated a building). I have yet to figure on the other flavors of Protestantism, and I am wondering if any followers of Zarathrusta would settle.
Leith is relatively easy to miss, very near Medford, and a drive away from Malden. It was first founded by Scottish and Scotch-Irish businessmen for the young girls who worked in the mills, so that they could have a house when they got married. Until World War II, it was mostly farmland, some houses, and a commercial district in the center, bordered by High, Wallace, Oak and Main.
Nearby, a garden and sports field was established, and called Carnegie Park. An escaped light-skinned slave named Oswell Livingston (he did not choose the name) with his wife Drusilla (the daughter of his second owner, who helped poison her father, smoothing the way for their escape) set up a store, specializing in pharmacy and dried goods. A former mill girl named Nelly (nee MacLeod) Innes specialized in 'medicinal spirits,' horrifying some of the Presbyterians. Fortunately, there were enough Catholic and Episcopalian hold outs to buy her wares.
The history of the town was unremarkable for the humans--the English and the Irish were the first to move out of Boston's different 'ends' into Leith. The growth was steady until after World War II, where new streets and houses were built, and people from other backgrounds moved in. Of course, their ancestral spirits moved in, their fae and part-fae relatives moved in. The nature spirits still alive in Leith are always there. Except when the humans overstep their boundaries or the fae overstep theirs, there is not much trouble. The families with the strongest connections with the fae are much like every other family, with its rivalries, rumors, fights, and reconciliations. The Scottish fae-connected families are trying to deal with families with other kinds of 'ancestors.'
I should note that there is a lot of euphemism when talking about the fae--they call them "the ancestors" or "the far-away relatives." Children with some gifts are called "ancestor-blessed." Of course, some of the Old Guard think it's all bunk, but tend not to tell it to anyone's face.
Among the places I developed so far . . .
Pie Palace: They specialize in pies and tarts, both sweet and
savory, with ample coffee refills. Run by a Corsican-Greek family.
Innes Spirits: Still going strong, has since expanded their wares to include micro-brews. During the Prohibition, sold home-made caramel candy and a limited supply of beer making kits (if I remember right, that was allowed, but I am not sure).
Livingston Pharmacy: Still sells over-the-counter medicine, also an ice cream fountain booth in store.
Robot Kingdom Comics and Sundries: It was opened by Lloyd Bevens, later owned by his son Timothy (masters in folklore, MBA), then passed on to Daniel Freedman. Comics, role playing games, toys, and sometimes a favorite fantasy or hard science fiction novel.
Wallace Street Clubhouse: a tavern that tries hard to look as grungy as possible, but serves too good a beer to pass. Often, a stop for groups involving middle aged men.
The High Street Mason Lodge: Scottish Rite?
Doctors offices: While they go to different hospitals, they do have private practices, like John Fergus, Arthur Dark, and Alexander Freedman. A dentist named Charlotte Wu has her own practice within Leith.
The major religious institutions are (from oldest) Saint Andrew Episcopalian, Pine Street First Presbyterian, Leith Unitarian Universalist, Saint Margaret of Scotland Catholic (also educated by Sisters of Saint Joseph), First Baptist on Oak, Congregation Beth Shalom (officially Conservative, although folks with different levels of observance worship there; Aviva Rosenthal, the daughter of the previous rabbi, runs a hauvoret for younger members), the Circle of the Ancestors (while some families have covertly practiced Scottish and Irish paganism and fae invocation, it was not until the early 90s that some of the younger members had been out about it), and the Northwest Islamic Center (small right now, recently dedicated a building). I have yet to figure on the other flavors of Protestantism, and I am wondering if any followers of Zarathrusta would settle.
