Monthly Archives: July 2014

A Wind Celebration

I am hot. Way too hot and I do not like it. So I am going to think about wind. The winds and breezes we felt in April and May. The sun was bright and the temperatures were just right and the breezes were perfect for flying kites and planes and throwing Frisbees.

If there is an organization, group or club looking to do a unique fundraiser please feel free to borrow as many of these ideas as you would like.

Have a spring fling! With games and clinics for Frisbee trick tosses. Pet catches and exhibits.

Don’t people fly kites anymore? Kites that fly high, that are decorated as pretty or scary or with long tales?

Remember blowing bubbles and how they floated away on a breeze? Did you ever make a giant bubble the size of one you could step in? Have you watched a feather float on the wind? Wouldn’t it be fun to sponsor a bubble or a feather blow for little kids?

Do they still have the balsa wood plane kits? How far and how fast can you fly yours?

There could be races on land and water for wind powered rafts.

Does anyone besides me recall the hot air balloons that would float across the Norwich skies on Saturday and Sunday mornings? How about a tethered ride in a balloon? Just up and down would be a treat for many.

Then there are all the vendors who could sell wind products. The things that we think of easily and the ones that require more thought. Glass blowers, wind chimes, whistles, flute and other instrument makers, wind socks, kites, weather vanes and whirling birds and pin wheels.

What about a movie or two about wind and breezes – Gone with the wind, Inherit the Wind, or Wind in the willows and I bet there are a whole host I can’t list.

Maybe there could even be a display of March-ing bands? I never claimed I would tell good jokes or that I was not full of hot air!

And this blog is proof I may only be amusing to myself.

Oh well, Comments on this blog should be e-mailed to berylfishbone@yahoo.com.

Tales of Blue Porch Ceilings

I love a good tale and I was reminded recently of the many Tales of the Blue Porch Ceilings.

Tale #1 – It was a symbol of high fashion – back in the day. No one has come forward to say when the day was.

Tale #2 – Bugs are fooled into thinking it’s the sky and won’t land or build nests on it.

Tale #3 – The original paint had properties when exposed to the elements turned turquoise blue as it aged.

Tale #4 – Blue gave the feeling of sitting under a blue sky to people sitting in the shade of the porch.

Tale #5 – In the southern United States the Gullah culture of the low country believe that spirits known as “haints” cannot cross water. Using light blue paint to symbolize water the Gullah people applied the shade to porch ceilings and doors to prevent evil spirits from entering.

Tale #6 – Traveling Gypsies said that the blue ceiling would bring “fair skies” to those who sought food and shelter beneath it and greater fortune to those who shared their own good fortune. (I wonder now if these were migrant workers passing through.)

I seldom hear tales anymore. It is so much easier and faster to click a few keys than to spin a yarn for an eager listener. But I do miss them. I miss the imagination. I miss hearing words that form pictures in my mind. I hope you do too and will start telling stories that paint pictures in the minds of others.

Stories and tales are not just for children. Adults like a good tale too!

Comments on this blog should be e-mailed to berylfishbone@yahoo.com.

USS Shetucket

In May 1941, the United States was neutral until a sturdy merchant ship the SS Robin Moor was torpedoed by the German Unterseeboot 69 1,200 miles off the coast of Freetown, Sierra Leone.

The SS Robin Moor was built in 1919 in the Hog Island Shipyard near Philadelphia. Her beam was laid as the SS Shetucket, named for the Shetucket River in Connecticut, completed as the SS Nobles, renamed the SS Exmoor and renamed again as SS Robin Moor.

The SS Shetucket aka SS Robin Moor carried a general cargo of  trucks, tractors, tin plate, rails, refrigerators and other commercial items. No airplane motors, ammunition or armament supplies of any kind. Captain Jost Metzler told Captain W.E. Myers he had 20 minutes to remove his crew before the ship would be sunk and warned the Captain not to use his wireless to call for help before leaving the ship.

After the sinking, the U69 came up to Captain W.E. Myers’ lifeboat, left him with four tins of bread and two tins of butter, and explained that the ship had been sunk because she was carrying supplies to Germany’s enemy. U-69’s Captain Jost Metzler reportedly promised the ship’s crew would radio their position. Yet nearly two weeks passed before any of her four lifeboats of survivors were discovered drifting 600 miles off the coast. The most hardy of the passengers was a two year old boy, traveling with his parents. He remained the most cheerful and enjoyed the hardtack as the adults grew to hate it over the 13 days adrift.

President Roosevelt reacted angrily to this event. He ordered all German and Italian Consulates in the USA to close. And demanded reparation. Part of his address to Congress said:

“In brief, we must take the sinking of the Robin Moor as a warning to the United States not to resist the Nazi movement of world conquest. It is a warning that the United States may use the high seas of the world only with Nazi consent. Were we to yield on this we would inevitably submit to world domination at the hands of the present leaders of the German Reich. We are not yielding and we do not propose to yield.”

Yes. There is much more to this story than I have room to write here. Please do read all about it!

In two years this German submarine was able to sink 69,000 tons of shipping, 137 souls on the New Foundland Ferry SS Caribou and 2 other American ships before being rammed and sunk with a crew of 46  in February 1943 by the destroyer HMS Fame.

To comment on this blog please e-mail berylfishbone@yahoo.com

A Day at the Mill

The mills were hot. The hours were long. Maybe on a special weekend visitors and residents to Norwich could be invited into one of the mills to learn about the lives of workers  or practice a new skill or trade. In Taftville visitors could learn to spin, weave, knit, crochet or sew.  At the mill in Yantic, maybe in the community room, people could learn how to make paper  in addition to knitting and sewing and crocheting.  Maybe there could be lessons in how to make your own buttons.

Shopping was not just in downtown. There were shops across town and stopping for a rest and a refreshing cup of tea or coffee was a planned activity. An entire day would be set aside to shop for fabric and notions at the mills in Taftville.  How about recreating that day with a twist of fun and invention?   What if those with an eye and a talent for fashion design prepared examples of their work  from sketches to samples for display and sale in one of the mills. Maybe a quick class in how to tailor old clothes to be more fashionable or how to hem or how to sew on buttons.  There was once a room set aside just for lace making and tatting but chatting was not encouraged.

Today, many children have never seen or petted a live sheep  or llama so perhaps a small petting zoo could be set up in a parking lot for the day as well. The possibilities are endless but all of the ideas are fun.

It is time to begin planning and getting in on the fun.  It is time to stop doing only the same old things but to change them up and continue the adventure with new twists, turns and laughter.

There is currently no sponsor for this program so please feel free to adopt this idea and adapt it to make it your own.

To comment on this blog e-mail berylfishbone@yahoo.com

Immigrate to Norwich promotion

“I love to drive through Norwich. It has such wonderful architecture!”

But I would like to get some visitors to stop. So here is a promotion idea with a twist. This could be on one day, one weekend or it could be done over time and through a number of time periods.

Visitors are invited to park their cars in ticket free zones in areas throughout the city.

At a central location visitors are “processed” into Norwich as if they were arriving through Ellis Island in the early 20th century. The visitors are provided with travel documents as immigrants who have moved to Norwich and a map to our different neighborhoods. Yes there is more to Norwich than Norwichtown and downtown.

“Welcoming Neighbors” in the different areas can show the “settlers” around and tell them how it used to be in its best days. It would be nice if these areas had been cleaned and made ready to be shown off. The “neighbors” can tell them stories of how it was. Where the residents worked (ex. stores, mills) where they relaxed (playgrounds, street games, bars, movies, stoops) where they got into trouble (bars, speakeasies, playgrounds). These “neighbors” are trained volunteers from or seeking careers in real estate, business, marketing, and public relations. Dressing in costume is optional. People who are accustomed to presenting people with dreams.  In some places though the best guide might be a fifth grader showing off a particular area through the eyes of a child or maybe a newsboy.

The visitors can also become acquainted with the economies of the day, fashions, foods, and drinks. Maybe coordinate with some of the churches for the food of the time. Not necessarily full meals but a light sampling that encourages people to try new things from new places and served in new ways.

I have not been able to find a sponsoring organization for this idea. So please feel free to adopt it, alter it and make it your own.

Comments on this blog should be sent to berylfishbone@yahoo.com

Part 3 of When did Norwich start bragging?

Who, When and why did Norwich begin touting its architecture and history? This was a long and substantial article from the Emporia Kansas Weekly News 11 July 1889 page 2. This is column three and last in the series of columns needed to present this one article entitled – Substantial Dwellings That Were Old Before the Herniation House In Which Benedict Arnold Learned to Be a Druggist and  John Trott’s Cider “Flips.”

The two story structure which was the residence of Gen. Jabez Huntington prior to and during the revolution is on land that was deeded to ancestors of Gen. Huntington by the Indians, and the mansion has been in the hands of the Huntington family for two centuries. The general and all his sons were prominent in the revolutionary war. Nearly opposite the Huntington place is another old house, built for Governor Samuel Huntington.
Surrounding Norwich town green is an endless chain of these venerable mansions, all 200 or more years old. One of the most notable is the old Trott place, which was occupied by John Trott as a tavern prior to and during the revolutionary war, and where Gens. Washington and Lafayette and others often enjoyed
his famous cider “flips.” The Tracy house, too, is quite conspicuous and quite well preserved , as are also the Sylvan Jones and the Lathrop places. – Con. New York Times

I looked to Good Food Stories.com for the following flip recipe –

Ale Flip

Special Equipment:

Boston shaker or 2 pint glasses

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 fl. oz. (3 tablespoons) rum
  • 1 tablespoon molasses
  • 1 large egg
  • 8 fl. oz. (1 cup) dark beer such as brown ale, porter, or stout
  • freshly grated nutmeg for garnish

Method:

Pour the rum and molasses into one of the pint/shaker glasses. Crack the egg into the other glass and beat well with a fork.

Warm the beer in a small saucepan over low heat just until it begins to froth and steam; don’t let it come to a boil.

Pour the beer into the glass filled with rum, then pour the egg into the beer. Continue to pour the drink back and forth between the pint glasses until smooth and well-blended, then transfer to a mug or other clean and heat-safe drinking glass.

Grate fresh nutmeg over the flip and serve immediately.

Please continue to read this blog. Thank you! berylfishbone@yahoo.com