Velya Jancz-Urban and Ehris Urban
The Not-So-Good Life of the Colonial Goodwife
Binge-watch Vikings, Turn, or Frontier, and you’ll see people being disemboweled, tortured, and decapitated—but you won’t see anything about menstruation, chamber pots, birth control, breastfeeding, or poopy babies. It’s 2019! Even though Google cars have been invented and women won the vote almost 100 years ago, these “unsanitary” subjects still make people uncomfortable. Perhaps women need to be reminded of how far we’ve come in order to see how far we still can go. Herstory unsanitized explores the engrossing “taboo” subjects that are omitted from history.
This presentation isn’t about spinning wheels or quilting bees. Velya’s gregarious personality and Ehris’ grounded energy enable this mother/daughter duo to connect with audiences. Funny and frank, their enthusiastic delivery invites audiences to laugh, grimace, and honor our foremothers’ journeys.
Velya Jancz-Urban (groundedgoodwife.com) is a teacher, author, and history nut who lives her life by the adage, “there is no growth without change.” Zany and gregarious, she is a teacher, author, former Brazilian dairy farm owner, and herstory unsanitized expert. Moving into a 1770 Connecticut farmhouse ignited Velya’s obsession with the colonial era, and led to her entertainingly-informative presentation, The Not-So-Good Life of the Colonial Goodwife. She has been married to Jim for 36 years and is the mother of two grown children. Velya has a few too many rescue dogs and cats, is happiest with a fresh stack of library books, loves thrift shops, and is passionate about alternative medicine.
Ehris Urban (groundedgoodwife.com) is a herbalist, holistic nutritionist, and owner of Woodbury, CT’s Grounded Holistic Wellness, believes, “if you’re grounded, you can navigate even the bumpiest roads in peace.” She grew up in a family passionate about holistic medicine. Ehris is a green witch, herbalist, holistic nutritionist, and graduate of the New England School of Homeopathy. Additionally, Ehris is a Flower Essence Therapy practitioner. She became interested in Reiki as a teenager and attained Reiki Master certification at age 17. Ehris is also a certified Ingham Method reflexologist. A graduate of Western Connecticut State University with a B.A. in Anthropology/Sociology, she is also a certified ESL teacher. Ehris enjoys beekeeping, tending her organic vegetable and herb gardens, and working in her apothecary.