Do you have difficulty spelling certain words? Do you sometimes wonder why words that sound similar have different endings? For example why does Theatre end TRE and heater end TER? Do you often find yourself repeating what you heard in school such as “I before E, except after C.” The explanation is due to the word origin generally French or old English. No rules apply so you have to learn the accepted spelling.

I will admit that I am a bad speller. I find myself often pausing to think through the proper spelling of a word I have not used in some time. Lately there have been articles about misspelled words that have shown up on tee shirt orders and signage. Recently I came across one about a popular Naval Officer that credited him with being a graduate of the Navel Academy. You would think somebody would have had a gut reaction when they saw this and corrected it.

Recently I received information about Connecticut’s very own “wordsmith” Noah Webster, father of the American dictionary. His statue is on display in West Hartford, the work of the sculptor who did the famous Crazy Horse statue in South Dakota, Korczak Ziolkowski. Webster was born in West Hartford in 1758 and the dictionary was published in 1828.

Poor Noah, a mural on display stating that his parents were interred in”Old Center Cemetary” not tery. People noted that his facial expression was not the look of a happy man and perhaps it was due to the misspelling.

The statue has Webster’s pointing finger that has come under criticism as well attracting unwanted attention. It was stolen. The misspelling as been corrected and new finger replaced the stolen one. The statue is located in Blue-Back Square, a Shopping Center, and is named after the popular “Blue-Back Speller.”

My Mom would remind me when I was a youngster that”ain’t” is not a word and she would say it wasn’t in the dictionary. I would tease her and say “it Ain’t.” Alas, times have changed and ain’t is now in the newer ones.

Did you know there is a wooden fish, five feet long that is known as The Sacred Cod? It hangs in the State House in Massachusetts. It’s not the original one that was first hung in the Colonial State House in the early 1700’s. The original was created as a reminder of of the large and growing fishing trade, support for native people and the beginning of wealth for colonists. It was was destroyed by a fire that consumed the state house. Within a year a new one was carved and installed in the new State House.

The one hanging today matches the original, it’s five feet long and made of pine. This Sacred Cod has had a tough time of it over the years as the current one is the third. As noted the original was destroyed by fire and the others were acts of theft. The second was stolen and was never seen again. Number three met the same fate but with a different outcome. It was stolen and the thief soon realized it was too heavy for him to carry it out of the building so he deposited it in a closet and went his merry way.

Once found, the beloved icon continued to be hung until 1933 when it was stolen again. It took lots of detective work and local tips that said it may have been the work of someone at the Harvard Review. Finally in 1960 the Sacred Cod was dropped off on the lawn of the building inside a large flower box. It was rehung and that’s the one you’ll see today when you visit.

Over the years I have heard many fish stories but this one is the most unique of the lot. When I was first made aware I thought it was a little “fishy” but research showed how much loved the wooden fish is and what it means to legislators and common folk in our neighboring state. On a “scale” of one to ten, I give this a ten for being the best fish “Tale” I’ve heard. The thief who found it too heavy to get it out of the building turned out to be a real “fluke.” OK enough already. I’m FINished.

During a recent vacation with family who live in Voluntown we had the opportunity to discuss the town’s attempt to build a new library. Talk about coincidence, an avid reader of my blogs contacted me and informed me how some libraries functioned “back in the day.”

During the early 1900s in remote areas of Kentucky a group of women were known as the “Book Women” and “Horseback Librarians.” All that the names imply: they rode horses and delivered books to some of the remotest parts of that state. They were so  popular, and welcomed by folk, that in 1938 President Franklin. D. Roosevelt funded their efforts through his Work Progress Administration or WPA. Volunteers were solicited from local towns with most of the jobs going to women who were then paid a salary and most used their own horses and mules.

The WPA helped to bring the nation out of the 1939 Great Depression. WPA funding did much to improve or build new roads and this assisted what were called Pack Horse Libraries. My research said these women averaged just over 120 miles on horseback per week. Some of the roads were nothing more than footpaths or wagon trails, when difficult, riders would dismount and go on foot. Books and other reading material was mostly donated and many of the riders would spend time reading to recipients who could not.

I’ve not heard of horseback librarians traveling through New England but I do know that the WPA certainly improved road access in many remote towns of New Hampshire and Vermont. Funding for the riders ended in 1938 when the WPA dissolved. It wasn’t until many years later that the mobile book service known as the “Bookmobile” started.

Hello again. I’m back from vacation on Cape Cod. I learn something whenever and wherever I travel. This time I read an interesting article about the Cape: The Shelling by a German U-Boat and sinking of a tugboat with four barges in tow, named the Perth Amboy.

If you recall I wrote a blog about the U-boat that sunk an empty cargo ship off the Rhode Island coast during WWII. This sub was eventually sunk and is located about 12 miles off Block Island. The Perth Amboy sinking was on July 21, 1918. The Perth Amboy was heading for the Chesapeake Bay around the tip of the Cape’s outer arm, rather than pay the toll that then existed to take a short cut through the Cape Cod Canal. She sank dragging four barges that capsized. The U. S. Life Saving Service launched a boat under heavy shellfire and rowed out to rescue the 32 sailors trapped aboard the tug and barges. Saving all aboard.

The attack on the shore of Orleans did little or no real damage except for holes where shells exploded. U-156 did more damage in nearby waters before heading north and is credited with sinking some 35 ships belonging to the US, Allies, and neutral countries.

So the next time you are on the Cape might I suggest a visit to Nauset beach where there is a suitable marker detailing this historical event that took place 99 years ago. Cape Codders refer to it as The Battle of Orleans.

An added note is that U-boat 156 met its demise when operating off the coast of Norway following the success it had off our New England coast.