Cooperative Living March/April 2014 - 15

Lomax's reenactment group does more
living history than reenactments, often putting
on demonstrations here at Cedar Creek as
well as at New Market (another battle marking
its 150th anniversary this year) further
south. So far, the Cedar Creek battlefield has
hosted 20 reenactments.
Speaking of the Civil War, do you ever
wonder where movie producers get all the
props for historic films like Steven Spielberg's
Lincoln? One of the sources is Vilnis Vitols,
owner of Vilnis & Co. Antiques in Strasburg,
just south of the battlefield at Hupp's Hill.
Vilnis, as he is known ( " That is what everyone
knows me by, " he remarks. " With a name like
that, Vilnis is enough. " ), says he leased about
25 period pieces for use in the Lincoln movie.
" Things in the movies are much more
exacting now, " he says. " They insist on pieces
being indistinguishable from the real thing. "
Vilnis shows me a circular Federal-style
mirror that made an appearance in Lincoln.
" Do you know why people used to have so
many mirrors? " he asks me. " Because people
didn't have electric light and needed them to
reflect light. " And this is a perfect example of
why Vilnis does what he does - he loves illuminating
the past through objects, finding the
story every piece has to tell.
" This is history I'm selling, " Vilnis
explains. " This is how we lived. I don't consider
myself a scholar, but I take a scholarly
approach. Why did this object exist? "
Vilnis, whose inventory is mainly what
he calls " city " antiques made in America,
Great Britain, and France pre-1830, has a
long personal history in the antiques business
in Strasburg. He admits he first became
interested in antiques because of girls - as
a young man he found he could acquire
quite a dapper fashion inexpensively by
purchasing vintage clothing. And then he
began selling vintage clothing he purchased
to friends, especially the young ladies.
He ultimately ended up going into
partnership with Strasburg's local king of
antiques, Leo Bernstein, who opened the
town's first antiques shop in 1978 and also
purchased the historic Hotel Strasburg.
Bernstein ultimately bought the now-famous
Strasburg Emporium, once a silk mill, and
Vilnis ran it for him until deciding to open his
own shop. " Bernstein knew antiques would be
a draw to the area, " Vilnis says.
He was right. Today, this Shenandoah
Valley town is loaded with antiques shops, not
the least of which is the 50,000-square-foot
Emporium, which a serious antiques enthusiast
could wander about in for a day or more.
Loaded with room after room of dealers, The
Strasburg Emporium has been the centerpiece
of Strasburg tourism for more than 30 years.
March-April 2014/www.co-opliving.com
Vilnis Vitols (above left), owner of Vilnis &
Co. Antiques in Strasburg, provided antique
props for use in the movie Lincoln, including
the mirror above. He loves illuminating the
past through objects, finding the story every
piece has to tell. " I don't consider myself a
scholar, but I take a scholarly approach. "
13
The Cedar Creek
Battlefield Headquarters,
Hupp's Hill
Civil War Park, and
trenches at the Hupp's
Hill site (clockwise from
upper left) provide
fascinating glimpses
into the rich history of
the area, where so
much Civil War action took place. Tom
Lomax (above), a former Secret Service
agent, is executive director of the Cedar
Creek Battlefield Foundation.
Cooperative Living March/April 2014

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