My aunt’s perfume I remember. On a trip to Norway, relatives wore that same fragrance. Aunt Beulah spent time in Norway during the 2nd World War. Family reunions at Mom’s home farm in summer attracted the Larson relatives once a year. Aunt Beulah and others congregated at the farm north of Amery, WI, for an […]
History
Thanksgiving Poem from 1920
Thanksgiving Poem from 1920
The Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving has been part of the study in American schools for a century and a half. This poem is titled “The Pilgrims Came” by Annette Wynne. The Pilgrims came across the sea, And never thought of you and me; And yet it’s very strange the way We think of them […]
Wooden Chain to Grand Nephew Parker: Final
Wooden Chain to Grand Nephew Parker: Final
Gave a wooden chain to a little fellow, our grand nephew Parker. Cut the chain with him in mind, and when I gave it to him he was surprised and a little entralled. My great uncle carved a wooden chain that I spotted at a 6-year-old in the 50s, and I always wondered how that […]
A History Class Reading Nostalgia by Candlelight
A History Class Reading Nostalgia by Candlelight
Nostalgia was a popular topics in history class. When students came back to talk to me after years away from our junior high experiences, they’d often say they recalled with good feelings the time we all read by candlelight. Nostalgia was an emphasis I developed for the end of the year holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas. […]
It Began with a Manual Typewriter
It Began with a Manual Typewriter
My first typewriter was a treasure and an ally. When I first attended college at UW Superior after graduating from high school in 1966, my parents bought me a desktop full sized Royal typewriter, a heavy and solid model that didn’t slide around on the desk when I typed. It was a well designed machine, […]
Pea Shooter Wakes Up Workers: true history
Pea Shooter Wakes Up Workers: true history
Peashooter as a job. Waking up shift workers in industrial England became a profession, a way to earn money. Using a variety of methods, they woke up people who had contracted with the “wakers”. Early attempts at waking people up meant knocking on room doors, but neighbors complained about the noise in the hallway. The […]
Irish Tribute in New York City near World Trade Center
Irish Tribute in New York City near World Trade Center
Tribute to the Irish. On a trip to New York City on our way to the World Trade Center site, we drove by this tribute to the Irish who emigrated to the US in the 19th century. This was built to look like a house in disrepair that dotted the landscape of Ireland, after so […]
When Peace Like a River . . . . (Hymn)
When Peace Like a River . . . . (Hymn)
The hymn: actual name is “It Is Well with My Soul,” above is the first line of the song. Written in the mid-1870s, it’s a song of comfort and reassurance but came from an unimaginable family tragedy. Horatio Spafford lost much in the 1871 Chicago Fire, and about that time also endured the loss of […]
The Basic Soda Cracker
The Basic Soda Cracker
Crackers meant one of two events was happening: illness or soup was served. The crackers that came with soup in a restaurant were great snacks before the regular meal arrived It also provided sustenance in the case of stomach flu and other illnesses when the stomach was queasy. And great for pregnant women in times […]
Chopin’s Heart–A Journey: Update
Chopin’s Heart–A Journey: Update
Frederic Chopin arranged to have his heart removed after his death because he feared being buried alive. His body lies in a Paris cemetery, but his heart went elsewhere. Taphephobia is the fear of being buried alive, Chopin’s fear and obsession. When he died at age 39 in France in 1849, he wanted his heart […]
Vermont Adventures–Ice Cream and the Capital City
Vermont Adventures–Ice Cream and the Capital City
Burlington, Vermont, is our base of operations, and today we traveled to Montpelier as well as to Ben and Jerry’s. Lovely mountains and colorful tree cover, great day weather-wise, an unhurried and enjoyable day. Ben and Jerry’s The stop in Waterbury was almost accidental because I had to make a pitstop, but then we saw […]