“The Simple past”: a refuge for yesterday’s tools and utensils

A very pretty name for a commune museum that has opened in Crésantignes, right in the heart of Pays d’Othe. It’s a warm and inviting place that exhales the gentle perfume of a simple past: that of craftsmen of former times (coopers, harness-makers, clog-makers, etc.), washerwomen,  milk fetched from the farm, everyday country life.

A thousand or so objects, from a woodcutter’s axe to a pair of boots, including a game of skittles, have been collected here in a cheerful muddle which exudes a reassuring odour evoking a return to one’s roots.

Two of Crésantignes’s inhabitants who, with the help of the local authorities one day decided to unveil their passion: a collection of everyday objects that are not used anymore but which inhabit our memories.

The idea of our two collectors: to turn this small museum into an organized attic. You come here like on a Sunday afternoon visit to a grandparent’s house, hunting for objects that meant something at a given moment in our life.

There are no glass cases here; visitors must be able to pick up and touch the objects on display.

Visits are always by appointment and are guided: in this way there is an opportunity for dialogue with visitors.