His politeness and manners earned him the name Uncle Isaac by tribal members as well as the new settlers who came there. He died 132 years ago and was the last full-blooded member of his tribe. His name is Isaac Church.

The Maneseans occupied the western side of Narragansett Bay and the Wampanogs the eastern side. History tells us that fish, both fin and shellfish, were diet staples and the new comers were taught how to fish and dig for them by the native Americans. The tribes were friendly and taught the Pilgrims how to cook meals using native ingredients, hunt for native game and stay warm.

Issac is buried in the in a section of the historical burying grounds reserved for people of color that is just east of where his home once stood.

The Wampanog tribe extended from Narragansett to Cape Cod. They may have witnessed the first wash day when the Pilgrims, after a long sailing, came ashore, built fires, and held wash day on the site now called First Encounter Beach. My family and I spent many enjoyable hours there. .

If you happen to arrive around sunset, buy or bring a coffee or cold drink, just sit for awhile and you will see a fantastic sunset as the bright yellow-orange ball sets into the ocean. The same site that native Americans would have observed and for a moment you might hear the echo of their voices raised in song.

Have you had any contact with the Smiley Face? The circle of a line drawing with eyes, nose and a broad grin? Are you one of many that believe it was the work of a fictitious movie character Forest Gump? Well you’re wrong. It was actually the work of a freelance Worcester man named Harvey Ross Ball

He was born and raised in Worcester and when a student at Worcester South High School he became an apprentice for a sign painter. Not long after he got a job with an advertising company. Apparently he felt he could do better on his own and started his own advertising business. By this time he was a student at the Worcester Art Museum.

Soon operating solo he was approached by the State Mutual Insurance Company who had recently purchased an Ohio Insurance Company and the merger did not go well as employee morale began to dip. The executives called Ball to see what might be done to correct the situation. My research shows that he, while jotting down some ideas, came up with a simple line drawing of a face with a broad smile. After some alterations he presented it to company executives who loved it and bought the drawing. The company had a few of the faces, about 100, made into pins and instructed employees to wear them as they felt a smiley voice while on the phone with clients would aid their goals. It worked. It became the company’s Friendship Campaign. By 1971 millions were made and circulated. The original company is now Hanover Insurance.

The face became popular worldwide as many were using it in correspondence and greeting cards from friends and loved ones. So popular that in England, BBC did a documentary called THE SMILEY PEOPLE.

Mr. Ball never copywrited the image. Too bad as I’m sure he would have profited handsomely. More than the $45 he was paid for his idea. But then again, research I have received tells that Ball developed the art after 15 minutes of sketching. Not bad for the time it was created.

His name is Theodore “Ted” Geisel. Born in Springfield, MA on March 2, 1904. He later relocated to California and died there September 24, 1991 in San Diego of throat cancer. He was a chain smoker not that we can positively say was the cause.

Ted attended Dartmouth College and Oxford University. He chose advertising for a career which helped him in later years with a series of political and advertising cartoons. His first book, “And to Think I saw it on Mulberry Street” was rejected 27 times before being accepted in 1937.

We know him today as the beloved author, Dr. Seuss. Fame came his way twenty years later, in 1957, with the still widely popular “The Cat In The Hat” book. Other great books include “Green Eggs and Ham,” and of course“ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” which became a beloved animated film.

Hie received a Pulitzer Prize in 1984 and three Academy Awards. During WWII he served as a informational film maker and later received the Legion of Merit. Ted has a Star on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame and the main library at the University of California bears his name “The Geisel Library.” A collection of more than 8,500 pieces of his work are stored there.

One could say his philosophy on life is recollected in his books and his many personal sayings. Here are a few: Don’t cry because its over. Smile because it happened. A person is a person no matter how small. Adults are obsolete children. Fun is good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one. Today you are you. That’s truer Than true. There is no one alive who is you-er than you!.

It has been reported that the idea for the Grinch story happened one morning as he was looking at himself in the mirror. He lived on a hill and had looked with disgust at the the holiday lights and the decorations on the houses below. He called them cheesy. As he reflected on his feelings he realized that he was the Grinch and so a story was born.

As the Grinch said “Maybe Christmas Doesn’t Come in a Store.”