After considering my time commitments during the past several months, I have decided that, in order to devote time and energy to writing on my "relationship book," I need to suspend this travel blog. Specifically, I spend probably five times as long reading my beloved National Geographic Magazine articles AND writing about them, as I do on writing daily on my relationship blog (www.stoptwistedlove.blogspot.com).
What I plan to do is write on the travel blog WHEN I TAKE BIG TRIPS, especially out-of-the-country trips. I've got several in the planning stages - Germany, the Philippines - and I definitely will give daily reports about big trips. My friend, Peggy, and I, are concocting another lengthy driving trip also.
I will continue to read my "NGMs" and even will change that a bit, to read new articles as well as old. But write about them, I will not, at least for now. I SO appreciate those who have read and encouraged me about this travel blog! Thank you very much! It has been a source of great enjoyment! Check in from time to time . . . you never know where I might be!
Friday, October 24, 2014
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Diplomacy, Marriage Customs, and the "Tuan"
In 1933, the World War was 'brewing' all over the globe. Germany was threatening and Germans abroad were suspect. Mr. George M. Hanson, the former United States Consul at Sandakan, British North Borneo, was asked to replace the ousted German landowner as overseer at a rubber plantation in Borneo. He declined to be the "master" but he agreed to check the plantation's accounts weekly.
FYI: Borneo is a large island south of Vietnam and China, and southwest of the Philippine Islands.
Hanson reported, "Upon my arrival on the first pay day, the accountant, a Singhalese from Ceylon, brought to my attention a plea from Alus, the house boy, who needed an advance of $10, Singapore currency, for wedding expenses. Alus' prospective bride, the intermediary explained, was Canapa, daughter of Samat, the chief tapper (of rubber trees)," As the Tuan Had Said, National Geographic Magazine, p. 631).
Hanson was considered by everyone on the plantation to be the "Tuan," or master of the plantation, the one who made all decisions. Knowing of the native marriage customs in which children as young as eleven years were married, Hanson inquired about the age of the bride-to-be. "Eleven years old." The Tuan decreed that she could be married when she was twelve years old, at the next full moon (how years were measured by the native culture).
Meanwhile, one of the native Mohammedan Sultans, Jamalul Kiram II, was coming to the island for an official visit. "In Borneo, as elsewhere, the British are good colonizers. They believe it is wiser to placate the Sulus on the Borneo side of the Sulu Sultanate than to run risk of trouble; consequently they still pay tribute to the sultan and accord him military honors on his visit to Sandakan," (p. 631).
With great ceremony, the Sultan, ruler of 300 islands who was educated in America, came with his retinue of wives and officials. Hanson entertained him and had photographers take official portraits of the large group. The Sultan was highly honored and encouraged Hanson to visit him; a 'wife' would be given to him on that occasion.
Hanson considered that it would be wonderful and advantageous to all if the Sultan would marry Alus and Canapa. Thus it was arranged for the time Canapa would be twelve years old. When the time came for the wedding, the couple was nowhere to be found. Actually, it was a week past the full moon.
Hanson asked about the whereabouts of Alus and Canapa. He was told they were living in a small house in the back of the garden, that they were already married. Apparently, when Hanson, the Tuan, had decreed that they would be married when Canapa turned twelve, that was that. The full moon appeared, Canapa was then twelve, and the couple were now married!
Tuans learn something new every day!
FYI: Borneo is a large island south of Vietnam and China, and southwest of the Philippine Islands.
Hanson reported, "Upon my arrival on the first pay day, the accountant, a Singhalese from Ceylon, brought to my attention a plea from Alus, the house boy, who needed an advance of $10, Singapore currency, for wedding expenses. Alus' prospective bride, the intermediary explained, was Canapa, daughter of Samat, the chief tapper (of rubber trees)," As the Tuan Had Said, National Geographic Magazine, p. 631).
Hanson was considered by everyone on the plantation to be the "Tuan," or master of the plantation, the one who made all decisions. Knowing of the native marriage customs in which children as young as eleven years were married, Hanson inquired about the age of the bride-to-be. "Eleven years old." The Tuan decreed that she could be married when she was twelve years old, at the next full moon (how years were measured by the native culture).
Meanwhile, one of the native Mohammedan Sultans, Jamalul Kiram II, was coming to the island for an official visit. "In Borneo, as elsewhere, the British are good colonizers. They believe it is wiser to placate the Sulus on the Borneo side of the Sulu Sultanate than to run risk of trouble; consequently they still pay tribute to the sultan and accord him military honors on his visit to Sandakan," (p. 631).
With great ceremony, the Sultan, ruler of 300 islands who was educated in America, came with his retinue of wives and officials. Hanson entertained him and had photographers take official portraits of the large group. The Sultan was highly honored and encouraged Hanson to visit him; a 'wife' would be given to him on that occasion.
Hanson considered that it would be wonderful and advantageous to all if the Sultan would marry Alus and Canapa. Thus it was arranged for the time Canapa would be twelve years old. When the time came for the wedding, the couple was nowhere to be found. Actually, it was a week past the full moon.
Hanson asked about the whereabouts of Alus and Canapa. He was told they were living in a small house in the back of the garden, that they were already married. Apparently, when Hanson, the Tuan, had decreed that they would be married when Canapa turned twelve, that was that. The full moon appeared, Canapa was then twelve, and the couple were now married!
Tuans learn something new every day!
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Deep Into the Depths of the Amazon River Country, Part Two
Let us rejoin Mr. Ernest G. Holt deep in the Amazon jungle in Brazil, on his quest to locate the true boundary between Brazil with its neighboring Venezuela. We are following the trip in his article, A Journey By Jungle Rivers to the Home of the Cock-of-the-Rock: Naturalists Enter the Amazon, Voyage Through the Heart of Tropical South America, and Emerge at the Mouth of the Orinoco, National Geographic Magazine, November, 1933.
The party was already two weeks up the incredible Amazon River, now past the Rio Negro and on the Rio Branco at Santa Isabel, a small settlement. Joined by the second part of their group, they traveled 85 miles farther up the Rio Branco toward their goal, the Cauabury River. They were told to expect rapids, but not these rapids!
"Its first aspect is placid enough to reassure the most timorous. . . Within the hour we were brought up abruptly by a granite dike thrown across the stream in a jumble of rocks over which the river poured in a wild, beautiful cascade apparently impossible of passage. . . It was early morning when the fight began, and for two long, weary days, our army - there were about 75 of us all told - toiled like so many ants to get the boats through the rapids. . . The smaller craft were pushed and pulled by brute force through narrow channels between the rocks, but such methods could not be applied to the heavier boats. . . These had to be hauled with the aid of block and tackle, with logs for rollers, over dry granite," (p. 607).
On the third morning of their run up the rapids, "The engine chose a bad spot to become temperamental. . . She was saved from crashing on the rocks below only by the miraculous strength of the thin piassaba line at which the men were tugging," (photo caption, p. 608).
Onward to the next river! "From the Cauabury to the Maturaca was a leap from the frying pan into the fire! . . The narrow channel is a succession of hairpin turns, shallows, deep pools, and small but stiff rapids, so choked with logs and fallen branches that it was necessary to keep a gang of axmen ahead of the boats," (p. 614). Even in all this chaos, Holt managed to capture and preserve hundreds of native birds and gather plant specimens at every nightly stop for camp. All cooking was done aboard the main boat.
During a lunch break, Holt spotted a flock of unusual birds on the ground. He ran into the jungle to chase them and the worst happened: he got lost, by himself, without a clue as to which way back was the rest of his expedition. "I had no matches with which to raise a smoke, even if it could have been seen, I did fire a signal with my gun, but knew as I did so that I was too deep in the forest to be heard."
"I detail this for the benefit of those who may never have paused to consider what it means to be lost, with no traffic policeman handy to direct the way. The conventional terrors of the jungle - ferocious wild beasts, huge snakes darting swiftly from ambush to crush out one's life in their relentless coils or to deal a slower, more horrible death by poison - meant nothing to me, for I knew them to be dangerous only in the imagination of fanciful writers," (p. 615).
Holt's biggest fear was to slowly starve to death. Somehow, he made it back to the river, recognized a part of the river they had passed earlier, and followed it upstream to reach his group. Crisis over! "I threw down my bag of birds with a nonchalance that fooled even our keen-eyed Indians. I hope they never learn to read!" (p. 616).
At last they reached their destination, the falls of Salto de Hua, beyond which was Venezuela. "Though we had come 1,500 miles from the ocean, we had climbed only 279 feet above its level. Despite its lack of altitude and the fact that we were almost astride the Equator, the temperature was pleasantly cool . . . but the relative humidity was often 98%!" ( p. 617).
There is a huge granite rock in the upper Rio Negro in Venezuela called Piedra del Cucuy which marks the boundary between that country, Brazil, and Columbia.
The task of the men was to find a key hill "from which the international boundary follows the watershed of the Cordilheira, then survey and mark the divide," (p. 617). The engineers among them had to climb mountains and fell trees in their quest. Meanwhile, Holt set about capturing more unusual bird, bat, and plant specimens. His dream came true and he accidentally encountered several of the rare, elusive Cock-of-the-Rock birds which, of course, he captured and preserved. His excitement knew no bounds. "All too soon came the time to depart; but the rivers were steadily falling and we were in danger of being marooned in the forest," (p. 626).
Their return trip was filled with adventures and dangers probably exceeding the previous trip due to them now "shooting the rapids" with their boat. At last, the boat was beat up beyond repair. "On no other trip had I been so often on the ragged edge of disaster and come through without a scratch or the loss of a specimen. It was getting to be uncanny," (p. 626). Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Holt and the others, the government had changed at Rio de Janiero, Brazil.
Holt's group did not return by the way they came but continued to the Orioco River and on to the Atlantic coast. "Entering one of the mouths of the Amazon, we had voyaged 3,000 miles of continuous inland waterways through the greatest jungle on earth, and would soon depart by one of the 36 mouths of the Orinoco," (p. 629). On the final steamship bound for home, "The low fringe of mangroves receded into the general blackness of the tropical night, and, our last tie severed, we turned sadly into our bunks," (p. 630). Sigh.
The party was already two weeks up the incredible Amazon River, now past the Rio Negro and on the Rio Branco at Santa Isabel, a small settlement. Joined by the second part of their group, they traveled 85 miles farther up the Rio Branco toward their goal, the Cauabury River. They were told to expect rapids, but not these rapids!
"Its first aspect is placid enough to reassure the most timorous. . . Within the hour we were brought up abruptly by a granite dike thrown across the stream in a jumble of rocks over which the river poured in a wild, beautiful cascade apparently impossible of passage. . . It was early morning when the fight began, and for two long, weary days, our army - there were about 75 of us all told - toiled like so many ants to get the boats through the rapids. . . The smaller craft were pushed and pulled by brute force through narrow channels between the rocks, but such methods could not be applied to the heavier boats. . . These had to be hauled with the aid of block and tackle, with logs for rollers, over dry granite," (p. 607).
On the third morning of their run up the rapids, "The engine chose a bad spot to become temperamental. . . She was saved from crashing on the rocks below only by the miraculous strength of the thin piassaba line at which the men were tugging," (photo caption, p. 608).
Onward to the next river! "From the Cauabury to the Maturaca was a leap from the frying pan into the fire! . . The narrow channel is a succession of hairpin turns, shallows, deep pools, and small but stiff rapids, so choked with logs and fallen branches that it was necessary to keep a gang of axmen ahead of the boats," (p. 614). Even in all this chaos, Holt managed to capture and preserve hundreds of native birds and gather plant specimens at every nightly stop for camp. All cooking was done aboard the main boat.
During a lunch break, Holt spotted a flock of unusual birds on the ground. He ran into the jungle to chase them and the worst happened: he got lost, by himself, without a clue as to which way back was the rest of his expedition. "I had no matches with which to raise a smoke, even if it could have been seen, I did fire a signal with my gun, but knew as I did so that I was too deep in the forest to be heard."
"I detail this for the benefit of those who may never have paused to consider what it means to be lost, with no traffic policeman handy to direct the way. The conventional terrors of the jungle - ferocious wild beasts, huge snakes darting swiftly from ambush to crush out one's life in their relentless coils or to deal a slower, more horrible death by poison - meant nothing to me, for I knew them to be dangerous only in the imagination of fanciful writers," (p. 615).
Holt's biggest fear was to slowly starve to death. Somehow, he made it back to the river, recognized a part of the river they had passed earlier, and followed it upstream to reach his group. Crisis over! "I threw down my bag of birds with a nonchalance that fooled even our keen-eyed Indians. I hope they never learn to read!" (p. 616).
At last they reached their destination, the falls of Salto de Hua, beyond which was Venezuela. "Though we had come 1,500 miles from the ocean, we had climbed only 279 feet above its level. Despite its lack of altitude and the fact that we were almost astride the Equator, the temperature was pleasantly cool . . . but the relative humidity was often 98%!" ( p. 617).
There is a huge granite rock in the upper Rio Negro in Venezuela called Piedra del Cucuy which marks the boundary between that country, Brazil, and Columbia.
The task of the men was to find a key hill "from which the international boundary follows the watershed of the Cordilheira, then survey and mark the divide," (p. 617). The engineers among them had to climb mountains and fell trees in their quest. Meanwhile, Holt set about capturing more unusual bird, bat, and plant specimens. His dream came true and he accidentally encountered several of the rare, elusive Cock-of-the-Rock birds which, of course, he captured and preserved. His excitement knew no bounds. "All too soon came the time to depart; but the rivers were steadily falling and we were in danger of being marooned in the forest," (p. 626).
Their return trip was filled with adventures and dangers probably exceeding the previous trip due to them now "shooting the rapids" with their boat. At last, the boat was beat up beyond repair. "On no other trip had I been so often on the ragged edge of disaster and come through without a scratch or the loss of a specimen. It was getting to be uncanny," (p. 626). Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Holt and the others, the government had changed at Rio de Janiero, Brazil.
Holt's group did not return by the way they came but continued to the Orioco River and on to the Atlantic coast. "Entering one of the mouths of the Amazon, we had voyaged 3,000 miles of continuous inland waterways through the greatest jungle on earth, and would soon depart by one of the 36 mouths of the Orinoco," (p. 629). On the final steamship bound for home, "The low fringe of mangroves receded into the general blackness of the tropical night, and, our last tie severed, we turned sadly into our bunks," (p. 630). Sigh.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Deep into the Depths of the Amazon River Country, Part One
Imagine a country where all travel between cities is done only by boat. You would be in Brazil, in 1933, where travel was on rivers only. Ernest G. Holt will lead us up part of the great Amazon River to explore the boundary between Brazil and Venezuela, a place unknown and unmapped at that time. The National Geographic Society had been invited to accomplish this. Holt's report is A Journey by Jungle Rivers to the Home of the Cock-of-the-Rock: Naturalists Enter the Amazon, Voyage Through the Heart of Tropical South America, and Emerge at the Mouth of the Orinoco, National Geographic Magazine, November, 1933.
In most articles in the magazine, a map of the area is included. In this article, I notice something new. In all maps I've seen previously, the place where the river empties into an ocean is call "mouth" of the river. The Amazon River delta is so extensive, it is labeled, "Mouths" of the Amazon.
Mr. Holt includes a photo of a bird he labels as "the most beautiful bird in the world." It is the Cock-of-the-Rock, "so wary it is and so dark the fastnesses in which it lives," (photo caption, p. 588), that the photo is of a stuffed specimen in the National Museum in Washington, D.C. The bird has a very large crest from the top of its head to the tip of its beak.
The journey from the first city of Para, at one of the mouths of the Amazon River, by steamship, to their destination would take longer, Mr. Holt admitted, than it would to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Frequent stops had to be made on the trip to take on more wood for the steamer boilers.
At first, it seemed the journey would be boring. The river was so wide and hazy, shore could not be easily seen. Due to the mosquitoes, days would be spent mostly indoors. Even though the cries of monkeys and birds could be heard, the jungle was so dense that "animals in a forest a mile away might as well be on the moon!" (p. 593). Then the explorer noticed the change in the different kinds of trees, that dwelling huts would be built not on shore but on stilts in the river itself, and many other details. Holt ate alligator tail with reluctance, but admitted that it wasn't too terrible, tasting like mild fish.
There were a few towns and settlements on the Amazon. "At Obidos, a small town perched on a north-bank bluff, the mighty river rushes through a single channel less than a mile and a quarter wide. The significance of this is plain when one recalls that the Amazon is estimated to carry a fifth of all the running fresh water in the world, drained from 2,722,000 square miles, to form the largest system of inland waterways on the earth," (p. 596).
This part of Holt's trip took eight days and ran 900 miles. At the city of Manaos, the steamer left the Amazon and turned into the Rio Negro, a startling sight where the black waters of the Rio Negro joined the brown waters of the Amazon. Mr. Holt and the expedition left the steamship and were able to spend the night at a hotel. Manaos was in its glory years before when the boom due to rubber trees' popularity was at its height. In 1933 wild rubber was dead commercially.
Holt had to find another suitable boat for transportation up the Rio Negro. He found the necessary supplies and a smaller steamship for the party to proceed. It was amazing that Manaos was plopped on the edge of the jungle and boasted electric lights, roads, and other trappings of 'modern' life.
Farther up the Rio Negro, another mixing of the waters occurs. "Two hundred miles above Manaos, the Rio Branco, pouring its white waters into the dark flood of the Negro, reproduces on a gigantic scale the phenomenon that occurs when cream is poured into coffee," (p. 601).
After five days, the steamer's journey ended at the important settlement of Santa Isabel, important but having only three houses. Holt and his party had to wait for the rest of their team. Meanwhile, since Holt was a Naturalist, he set to work at night to capture specimens of birds. Apparently the birds hid during the daylight hours but came out to feed on insects at night. He had brought with him a battery-powered light to startle them.
Joined by the rest of their party, the group set out for an 85-mile trip up the Rio Negro to enter yet another river, the Cauabury. This is very close to the rapids and very close to finding their goal. Let's break here at mid-point of the article.
In most articles in the magazine, a map of the area is included. In this article, I notice something new. In all maps I've seen previously, the place where the river empties into an ocean is call "mouth" of the river. The Amazon River delta is so extensive, it is labeled, "Mouths" of the Amazon.
Mr. Holt includes a photo of a bird he labels as "the most beautiful bird in the world." It is the Cock-of-the-Rock, "so wary it is and so dark the fastnesses in which it lives," (photo caption, p. 588), that the photo is of a stuffed specimen in the National Museum in Washington, D.C. The bird has a very large crest from the top of its head to the tip of its beak.
The journey from the first city of Para, at one of the mouths of the Amazon River, by steamship, to their destination would take longer, Mr. Holt admitted, than it would to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Frequent stops had to be made on the trip to take on more wood for the steamer boilers.
At first, it seemed the journey would be boring. The river was so wide and hazy, shore could not be easily seen. Due to the mosquitoes, days would be spent mostly indoors. Even though the cries of monkeys and birds could be heard, the jungle was so dense that "animals in a forest a mile away might as well be on the moon!" (p. 593). Then the explorer noticed the change in the different kinds of trees, that dwelling huts would be built not on shore but on stilts in the river itself, and many other details. Holt ate alligator tail with reluctance, but admitted that it wasn't too terrible, tasting like mild fish.
There were a few towns and settlements on the Amazon. "At Obidos, a small town perched on a north-bank bluff, the mighty river rushes through a single channel less than a mile and a quarter wide. The significance of this is plain when one recalls that the Amazon is estimated to carry a fifth of all the running fresh water in the world, drained from 2,722,000 square miles, to form the largest system of inland waterways on the earth," (p. 596).
This part of Holt's trip took eight days and ran 900 miles. At the city of Manaos, the steamer left the Amazon and turned into the Rio Negro, a startling sight where the black waters of the Rio Negro joined the brown waters of the Amazon. Mr. Holt and the expedition left the steamship and were able to spend the night at a hotel. Manaos was in its glory years before when the boom due to rubber trees' popularity was at its height. In 1933 wild rubber was dead commercially.
Holt had to find another suitable boat for transportation up the Rio Negro. He found the necessary supplies and a smaller steamship for the party to proceed. It was amazing that Manaos was plopped on the edge of the jungle and boasted electric lights, roads, and other trappings of 'modern' life.
Farther up the Rio Negro, another mixing of the waters occurs. "Two hundred miles above Manaos, the Rio Branco, pouring its white waters into the dark flood of the Negro, reproduces on a gigantic scale the phenomenon that occurs when cream is poured into coffee," (p. 601).
After five days, the steamer's journey ended at the important settlement of Santa Isabel, important but having only three houses. Holt and his party had to wait for the rest of their team. Meanwhile, since Holt was a Naturalist, he set to work at night to capture specimens of birds. Apparently the birds hid during the daylight hours but came out to feed on insects at night. He had brought with him a battery-powered light to startle them.
Joined by the rest of their party, the group set out for an 85-mile trip up the Rio Negro to enter yet another river, the Cauabury. This is very close to the rapids and very close to finding their goal. Let's break here at mid-point of the article.
Monday, October 20, 2014
New York State, 1933 Style, Part Two
It is 1933. We're going back in time. Mr. William Joseph Showalter is helping us with his National Geographic Magazine article, New York - An Empire Within a Republic, November, 1933. Want to go to Coney Island? It is a New York City neighborhood with a huge amusement park on the ocean.
"Coney Island, the Mecca of Millions: During the long summer season this world-known amusement area is daily and nightly invaded by huge crowds seeking escape from the hot city. Excursions by water from New York began about 1840. By 1875, steam railroads were operating, giving way later to fast electric lines. The extensive beach is covered not with bowlders (boulders), but with humanity at play," (photo caption, p. 545).
FYI: Robert Fulton invented the steam engine. He navigated his first steamboat up the Hudson River from New York to Albany in 1807. In 1933, all but 2% of shipping was done by steam power.
In this article there is a second 8-page color photograph section, a visual treat of New York scenery which starts with a spectacular show of a rainbow over Niagara Falls. No wonder it was and continues to be such an international tourist attraction!
One industry that is nearly obsolete now was flourishing in New York in 1933: making film for cameras. "The Eastman Kodak works at Rochester also make 200,000 miles of motion-picture film annually - enough to make eight bands of film around the waist of the earth. Cotton from the sunny south, saltpeter from Chile, sulfur from Texas, wood alcohol from Tennessee, hides from the Argentine pampa, silver from Mexico, and potassium bromide from the salt brines of the Great Lakes are brought together in the manufacture of film," (photo caption, p. 565).
There is yet another, a third 8-page section of color photographs in this article, featuring sports to be enjoyed in the snowy winter New York mountains. History abounds in this state: "The restored South Platform at Fort Ticonderoga: Built by the French in 1755, this old fort changed hands repeatedly during the quarter of a century that followed. Crown Point and Ticonderoga were the keys to New York from the days of Champlain to those of Washington," (photo caption, p. 576).
Schenectady, New York boasted of a large General Electric research facility in 1933. Predictions were that "Household air-conditioning plants constitute the next step beyond household electric refrigeration, and will follow the telephone, the radio, and the electric refrigerator into your house and mine," (p. 577). Amazing now that telephone land lines will soon be in danger of obsolescence!
Have you heard of "Woolworth's" stores? These were the five-and-dime stores that were the precursor of "Dollar Stores" and "Wal-marts." It was in Watertown, New York that Frank Woolworth persuaded a local merchant to let him set up a five-cent table in the former's department store," (p. 579), Unfortunately, none of the younger generation (born in the 1960's and later) know about Woolworth's. Picture all kinds of merchandise without being encased in plastic packaging, just lying in bins on tables. Picture all wooden floors. That was Woolworth's.
One October, when I was about eleven years old, I wanted to try on the black wigs in the Woolworth's store nearest my home in Louisville, Kentucky. The movie actress, Elizabeth Taylor, was very popular and I wanted to see how I would look in black hair (I had really light blond hair). In the store, I happened to be the only customer and there was only one sales clerk. I went to the Halloween costume section and took a black wig. I looked into the mirror and put on the wig. I started laughing out loud! The black wig was such a stark contrast that it looked like my pale face disappeared! The sales clerk came over and politely asked, "Is anything wrong?" I said, "No," replaced the wig on the counter and left. I enjoyed my Elizabeth Taylor paper dolls (if you don't know what these were, just ask the nearest grandma!)
Mr. Showalter begin this long article about the State of New York with lavish, well-deserved praise and ends it in the same manner: "New York! A Redskin dominion before becoming a Paleface empire; land upon which pivoted world issues in colonial times and the fate of the United States during the Revolution and the War of 1812; devoted friend of Washington in guiding the destinies of a nascent nation . . . the traveler leaves you with regret, but with a new appreciation of your past and present and of the destiny toward which you move!" (p. 584). I couldn't agree more. This was an amazing presentation of the greatness of a State!
"Coney Island, the Mecca of Millions: During the long summer season this world-known amusement area is daily and nightly invaded by huge crowds seeking escape from the hot city. Excursions by water from New York began about 1840. By 1875, steam railroads were operating, giving way later to fast electric lines. The extensive beach is covered not with bowlders (boulders), but with humanity at play," (photo caption, p. 545).
FYI: Robert Fulton invented the steam engine. He navigated his first steamboat up the Hudson River from New York to Albany in 1807. In 1933, all but 2% of shipping was done by steam power.
In this article there is a second 8-page color photograph section, a visual treat of New York scenery which starts with a spectacular show of a rainbow over Niagara Falls. No wonder it was and continues to be such an international tourist attraction!
One industry that is nearly obsolete now was flourishing in New York in 1933: making film for cameras. "The Eastman Kodak works at Rochester also make 200,000 miles of motion-picture film annually - enough to make eight bands of film around the waist of the earth. Cotton from the sunny south, saltpeter from Chile, sulfur from Texas, wood alcohol from Tennessee, hides from the Argentine pampa, silver from Mexico, and potassium bromide from the salt brines of the Great Lakes are brought together in the manufacture of film," (photo caption, p. 565).
There is yet another, a third 8-page section of color photographs in this article, featuring sports to be enjoyed in the snowy winter New York mountains. History abounds in this state: "The restored South Platform at Fort Ticonderoga: Built by the French in 1755, this old fort changed hands repeatedly during the quarter of a century that followed. Crown Point and Ticonderoga were the keys to New York from the days of Champlain to those of Washington," (photo caption, p. 576).
Schenectady, New York boasted of a large General Electric research facility in 1933. Predictions were that "Household air-conditioning plants constitute the next step beyond household electric refrigeration, and will follow the telephone, the radio, and the electric refrigerator into your house and mine," (p. 577). Amazing now that telephone land lines will soon be in danger of obsolescence!
Have you heard of "Woolworth's" stores? These were the five-and-dime stores that were the precursor of "Dollar Stores" and "Wal-marts." It was in Watertown, New York that Frank Woolworth persuaded a local merchant to let him set up a five-cent table in the former's department store," (p. 579), Unfortunately, none of the younger generation (born in the 1960's and later) know about Woolworth's. Picture all kinds of merchandise without being encased in plastic packaging, just lying in bins on tables. Picture all wooden floors. That was Woolworth's.
One October, when I was about eleven years old, I wanted to try on the black wigs in the Woolworth's store nearest my home in Louisville, Kentucky. The movie actress, Elizabeth Taylor, was very popular and I wanted to see how I would look in black hair (I had really light blond hair). In the store, I happened to be the only customer and there was only one sales clerk. I went to the Halloween costume section and took a black wig. I looked into the mirror and put on the wig. I started laughing out loud! The black wig was such a stark contrast that it looked like my pale face disappeared! The sales clerk came over and politely asked, "Is anything wrong?" I said, "No," replaced the wig on the counter and left. I enjoyed my Elizabeth Taylor paper dolls (if you don't know what these were, just ask the nearest grandma!)
Mr. Showalter begin this long article about the State of New York with lavish, well-deserved praise and ends it in the same manner: "New York! A Redskin dominion before becoming a Paleface empire; land upon which pivoted world issues in colonial times and the fate of the United States during the Revolution and the War of 1812; devoted friend of Washington in guiding the destinies of a nascent nation . . . the traveler leaves you with regret, but with a new appreciation of your past and present and of the destiny toward which you move!" (p. 584). I couldn't agree more. This was an amazing presentation of the greatness of a State!
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Leaf Peeping!
After church this morning, my friend, Peggy and I decided to check out the fall scenery around our own area. From Lexington, we traveled out Old Frankfort Pike past many horse farms. We enjoyed a very nice lunch at Wallace Station, a place new to me. They had an extensive menu; we chose their bean soup and corn bread, ordinary Kentucky fare, a bargain at $5.30, including a drink. It felt good to eat on the patio in the crisp, sunny air.
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| Fall Trees of Many Colors! |
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| This country restaurant is very popular and was very crowded today, but it was worth it! |
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| Barn behind the restaurant. |
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| Yellow trees everywhere, sometimes forming a canopy over the two-lane road! |
On this Sunday, there were not many businesses open, but we visited them all: clothing stores, antique stores, a toy store, and several art galleries. There were also several restaurants. All were unique - none had generic merchandise. The shopkeepers were very friendly, and helpful when we had questions. All along the way, I made mental notes of who I would be bringing back to Midway: my almost 4-year-old grandson, Xavier, who loves trains, all my book-loving friends, the list extended to nearly everyone I know.
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| Railroad tracks split Main Street in half but there are plenty of crossing points. Also: trains rarely come through! |
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| Peggy. |
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| Me/Jan. |
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| The architecture was quite unusual and picturesque! |
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| There was a group of teens sitting on the tracks, not too worried about a train coming around the corner. |
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| A very nice Irish store, in Central Kentucky! The merchandise was varied, and all lovely. |
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| Closed today, we plan to definitely visit the Darlin' Jeans Apple Cobbler Cafe soon! |
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| Yes, the Railroad has played a very prominent role in Midway, Kentucky! |
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| Golden yellow trees everywhere in the town, in the country! |
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| Of all the trees this afternoon, this row of red trees on my own street is my favorite! |
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| Don't know when we'll have the first freeze this year, but it is October 19th and the roses in my front yard are still blooming! |
Saturday, October 18, 2014
New York State, 1933 Style
As far as physically being in New York State, I can only claim that opportunity three times. When I was a wee girl of four years, Mother drove my brother and I to New York City in our brand new '47 Chevy. My only memory is that Mother must have been confused by all the road signs pointing in many directions. She pulled right in front of them and stopped, barely off the road. While she was figuring out which way to go, a car pulled up beside us, with windows down. A man yelled out, "Kentucky Hick!" Oh well, perhaps some of our reputation for being "backwoods" is deserved!
The three of us, mother, my brother and I, were to board a ship to cross the Atlantic, bound for Germany where my Army Dad was stationed after World War II. Two years later, we entered the United States at New York City. I have memories of the big ship, rolling ocean waves with no sunshine, but not going through NYC again.
My last memory happened in 1990. My daughter #5, Mary, needed to go to orientation at the college which she would attend, Boston University. Daughter #2, Carole, and I drove Mary there, up Interstate-95. It was a very pleasant trip, except while going through New York City in the middle of the night.
We were driving straight through, with no overnight stays, from Kentucky. Periodically, of course, we had to stop at the Rest Stops on the Interstate, to use the facilities. All was well until we stopped at one in New York. The building was poorly lit; trash and graffiti was everywhere. Carole and I went in. Mary declared, "I'm not going in that dump. I'll wait till the next one."
Wellllllll, the next rest stop did not exist! There were NO rest stops from New York City onward. We reached the city of Boston around 2 a.m. Everything was shut down tight. We tried at the few gas stations we could find, unsuccessfully. At one, there was an Oriental gentleman in this glass-enclosed space. He didn't speak English and we didn't speak anything else. We tried gesturing to indicate our needs. He gestured back, "No way!" Finally we waited in a parking lot at a fast-food place near Boston University until they opened at 6:30 a.m. Mary was in misery, poor dear! And we won't let her forget it!
Oh, dear, I have digressed a long way from this even longer article in the November, 1933, issue of National Geographic Magazine, New York - An Empire Within a Republic, William Joseph Showalter, Sc.D., LL.D. Judging from the tone of the article, America in general, and New York, in particular, must have been a wonderful place to live in 1933. Mr. Showalter's praise is lavish and endless. "Statistics seldom sparkle, but once in a while some of them tell so eloquent story that they are actually dramatic. Their measure of New York's place in our country's economic situation discloses that the State, with only one-sixtieth of the nation's land and only one-tenth of its population, contributes five-eighths of its bank clearing; earns one-third of its taxable income; possesses one-fourth of its bank deposits, produces one-seventh of its manufactures. In scores of other ways they add to this brilliant record of human achievement," (pp. 513, 515).
Showalter reports on the tremendous impact that the Erie Canal had in pre-railroad days. After that time, most commerce and travel was done by motorcars and trucks, and also airplanes. The Erie Canal served its use and was replaced by the Barge Canal. They both were links between the Hudson River to Lake Erie.
In 1933, New Yorkers were very proud of their extensive park system, in many of their mountain and lake areas. The eight-page color section of photographs show such areas with several beautiful and tall waterfalls. They hosted the 1932 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid. "The arena built for the Olympic Games in 1932 stages beautiful spectacles in ice pageantry. The children take to skiing and figure skating as naturally as ducks take to water, and it is a sight to see a three-year-old acting like a veteran on skis that are as long as he is high," (p. 528).
There was a black-and-white photo of the Manhattan area. It bears no resemblance to the New York City of today with its mountains of skyscrapers reaching 'fingers' into the sky, as seen from airplanes today.
A piece of trivia from 1933: "Girl operators sew glove fingers at Gloversville. The manufacture of leather gloves and mittens in America centers in Fulton County, New York, with Gloversville as the hub of the industry. The county produces approximately three-fifths of the Nation's output," (photo caption, p. 544). This is a good place to end today and save the rest of the article for another day!
The three of us, mother, my brother and I, were to board a ship to cross the Atlantic, bound for Germany where my Army Dad was stationed after World War II. Two years later, we entered the United States at New York City. I have memories of the big ship, rolling ocean waves with no sunshine, but not going through NYC again.
My last memory happened in 1990. My daughter #5, Mary, needed to go to orientation at the college which she would attend, Boston University. Daughter #2, Carole, and I drove Mary there, up Interstate-95. It was a very pleasant trip, except while going through New York City in the middle of the night.
We were driving straight through, with no overnight stays, from Kentucky. Periodically, of course, we had to stop at the Rest Stops on the Interstate, to use the facilities. All was well until we stopped at one in New York. The building was poorly lit; trash and graffiti was everywhere. Carole and I went in. Mary declared, "I'm not going in that dump. I'll wait till the next one."
Wellllllll, the next rest stop did not exist! There were NO rest stops from New York City onward. We reached the city of Boston around 2 a.m. Everything was shut down tight. We tried at the few gas stations we could find, unsuccessfully. At one, there was an Oriental gentleman in this glass-enclosed space. He didn't speak English and we didn't speak anything else. We tried gesturing to indicate our needs. He gestured back, "No way!" Finally we waited in a parking lot at a fast-food place near Boston University until they opened at 6:30 a.m. Mary was in misery, poor dear! And we won't let her forget it!
Oh, dear, I have digressed a long way from this even longer article in the November, 1933, issue of National Geographic Magazine, New York - An Empire Within a Republic, William Joseph Showalter, Sc.D., LL.D. Judging from the tone of the article, America in general, and New York, in particular, must have been a wonderful place to live in 1933. Mr. Showalter's praise is lavish and endless. "Statistics seldom sparkle, but once in a while some of them tell so eloquent story that they are actually dramatic. Their measure of New York's place in our country's economic situation discloses that the State, with only one-sixtieth of the nation's land and only one-tenth of its population, contributes five-eighths of its bank clearing; earns one-third of its taxable income; possesses one-fourth of its bank deposits, produces one-seventh of its manufactures. In scores of other ways they add to this brilliant record of human achievement," (pp. 513, 515).
Showalter reports on the tremendous impact that the Erie Canal had in pre-railroad days. After that time, most commerce and travel was done by motorcars and trucks, and also airplanes. The Erie Canal served its use and was replaced by the Barge Canal. They both were links between the Hudson River to Lake Erie.
In 1933, New Yorkers were very proud of their extensive park system, in many of their mountain and lake areas. The eight-page color section of photographs show such areas with several beautiful and tall waterfalls. They hosted the 1932 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid. "The arena built for the Olympic Games in 1932 stages beautiful spectacles in ice pageantry. The children take to skiing and figure skating as naturally as ducks take to water, and it is a sight to see a three-year-old acting like a veteran on skis that are as long as he is high," (p. 528).
There was a black-and-white photo of the Manhattan area. It bears no resemblance to the New York City of today with its mountains of skyscrapers reaching 'fingers' into the sky, as seen from airplanes today.
A piece of trivia from 1933: "Girl operators sew glove fingers at Gloversville. The manufacture of leather gloves and mittens in America centers in Fulton County, New York, with Gloversville as the hub of the industry. The county produces approximately three-fifths of the Nation's output," (photo caption, p. 544). This is a good place to end today and save the rest of the article for another day!
Friday, October 17, 2014
The Tiny, Hidden Country
Andorra: this is a country between France and Spain, independent, hidden in the Pyrenees Mountains. In October, 1933, Lawrence A. Fernsworth wrote Andorra - Mountain Museum of Feudal Europe,National Geographic Magazine. He visited Andorra by hiking over and around the mountains. Prior to reading this, I thought Andorra was just a region in Spain. Not so!
This tiny (468 sq km) country gained independence from Spain in the 1200's and has fiercely maintained it even now. Andorra continues to be ruled by a triumvirate of the current French President, the current Bishop of Urgel in Spain, and a representative elected by representatives of the six parishes of Andorra. In 1933, the great majority of transportation was by donkey or by walking; the mountain rivers are much to fast for boats. There were no taxes.
The mountain land was nearly all unsuitable for agriculture except for raising a small amount of tobacco and hay, and for grazing sheep, goats, donkeys, and cattle. "To an Andorran his little patches of earth are more valuable than gold. . . A man's wealth consists first in his land, and then in his mules. His philosophy is that land never runs away, while gold does, and sometimes even the mules!" (p. 506).
As for women, "She has achieved, or had thrust on her, equal rights with men for hard work. Only a few valley towns along the main highway know such conveniences as automobiles, farm machinery, or electric light," (photo caption, p. 506).
Mr. Fernsworth worried that Andorra probably would lose its independence and charm after being modernized from the outside. Not so! The republic of Andorra still thrives, more than ever, in 2014!
For many centuries, the chief occupation of Andorra was smuggling. Now their economy is dependent upon the tourist trade. With all the mountains, it must be a wonderful area for winter sports!
This tiny (468 sq km) country gained independence from Spain in the 1200's and has fiercely maintained it even now. Andorra continues to be ruled by a triumvirate of the current French President, the current Bishop of Urgel in Spain, and a representative elected by representatives of the six parishes of Andorra. In 1933, the great majority of transportation was by donkey or by walking; the mountain rivers are much to fast for boats. There were no taxes.
The mountain land was nearly all unsuitable for agriculture except for raising a small amount of tobacco and hay, and for grazing sheep, goats, donkeys, and cattle. "To an Andorran his little patches of earth are more valuable than gold. . . A man's wealth consists first in his land, and then in his mules. His philosophy is that land never runs away, while gold does, and sometimes even the mules!" (p. 506).
As for women, "She has achieved, or had thrust on her, equal rights with men for hard work. Only a few valley towns along the main highway know such conveniences as automobiles, farm machinery, or electric light," (photo caption, p. 506).
Mr. Fernsworth worried that Andorra probably would lose its independence and charm after being modernized from the outside. Not so! The republic of Andorra still thrives, more than ever, in 2014!
For many centuries, the chief occupation of Andorra was smuggling. Now their economy is dependent upon the tourist trade. With all the mountains, it must be a wonderful area for winter sports!
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Of Pampas and Gauchos, Part Two
We left the pampas of Argentina, with the author, Frederick Simpich, mentioning the windmills in the article, Life on the Argentine Pampa, National Geographic Magazine, October, 1933. Next, he tells how settlement of the vast plains by European farmers changed the area. "Scarcely any small animal life was here before the advent of the Spaniards' horses and cattle. As for the puma and jaguar, they came after the herds. They moved to the pampa from Andean foothills simply to prey upon these new meat-bearing animals. With the colonists, too, came new kinds of rats and mice, as well as cats and dogs, from Europe," (pp. 471-473).
There were few roads in the pampa in 1933, and virtually no motorcars, due chiefly to the many and efficient railroads but also the fact that there were very few trees or rocks in the fields, which were usually deep dust which turned to mud in the rain. So then, can you picture this?: huge wagons that looked like the American historic cloth-covered wagons which transported many a family to the West, not using four ordinary wagon-wheels, but using only TWO giant ten-foot tall wheels, one each placed in the center of the sides of the wagon. "High-wheeled covered carts, drawn by SIX or more horses abreast, haul grain, wool, hides and baled hay," (photo caption, p. 474). This was developed as the only vehicle which could be pulled in the dust or mud successfully.
My Uncle Robert was a fine dairy farmer and cared for many animals. I never saw him feed his half-dozen or so hogs in the manner of the South American pampa: they turned hundreds of pigs loose in the alfalfa fields to save labor! No need for pens! No need to bring feed to the pigs: bring the pigs to the feed! (One time I asked Uncle Robert if he would let me watch when the pigs were slaughtered. He said, "No, that's no place for children!")
As is true for farmers everywhere, the severe lack of rain in droughts is very much dreaded. Another pestilence are swarms of locusts. "Coming in clouds, from the direction of Brazil, they cover ground, trees, fence posts, barns, corncribs, sides of houses, people's hands and faces. They devour not only every green thing; they eat wood, bark, clothing, stripping the country clean. A man who has not seen a locust army in action cannot even imagine its appalling magnitude and powers of destruction. . . But it is hail - not wind, lightning, or torrential rain - which wreaks havoc. . . Yet these are but variations, trifling and evanescent, in the steady, vigorous expansion of pampa life," (p. 476).
Mr. Simpich reports that, "More than ever the Midwest American feels at home here when he looks at the familiar farm implements. So many are "made in Chicago," (p. 482). In addition, "Though the crop may vary from year to year, the pampa is the world's chief exporter of corn," (p. 483).
In 1933, Argentina was a nation of immigrants, much like the United States, full of hope and promise. "But, as with us, immigrants of many races came early. They found a new land without a past, hindered by no traditions or old habits of thinking. So Argentinians grew up, a bold, restless race, audacious, like pioneer Americans, daring anything. When at last consolidated, the nation enjoyed a growth which is one of the economic marvels of the century. Older nations were amazed," (p. 488).
Unfortunately, Argentina has been held back since the time of this article by their series of political revolutions. There always seemed to be Communists lurking, trying to wrest control of the country. Some of the rulers of Argentina have been dictators with lavish lifestyles, like kings and queens. Somehow, the people survive!
There were few roads in the pampa in 1933, and virtually no motorcars, due chiefly to the many and efficient railroads but also the fact that there were very few trees or rocks in the fields, which were usually deep dust which turned to mud in the rain. So then, can you picture this?: huge wagons that looked like the American historic cloth-covered wagons which transported many a family to the West, not using four ordinary wagon-wheels, but using only TWO giant ten-foot tall wheels, one each placed in the center of the sides of the wagon. "High-wheeled covered carts, drawn by SIX or more horses abreast, haul grain, wool, hides and baled hay," (photo caption, p. 474). This was developed as the only vehicle which could be pulled in the dust or mud successfully.
My Uncle Robert was a fine dairy farmer and cared for many animals. I never saw him feed his half-dozen or so hogs in the manner of the South American pampa: they turned hundreds of pigs loose in the alfalfa fields to save labor! No need for pens! No need to bring feed to the pigs: bring the pigs to the feed! (One time I asked Uncle Robert if he would let me watch when the pigs were slaughtered. He said, "No, that's no place for children!")
As is true for farmers everywhere, the severe lack of rain in droughts is very much dreaded. Another pestilence are swarms of locusts. "Coming in clouds, from the direction of Brazil, they cover ground, trees, fence posts, barns, corncribs, sides of houses, people's hands and faces. They devour not only every green thing; they eat wood, bark, clothing, stripping the country clean. A man who has not seen a locust army in action cannot even imagine its appalling magnitude and powers of destruction. . . But it is hail - not wind, lightning, or torrential rain - which wreaks havoc. . . Yet these are but variations, trifling and evanescent, in the steady, vigorous expansion of pampa life," (p. 476).
Mr. Simpich reports that, "More than ever the Midwest American feels at home here when he looks at the familiar farm implements. So many are "made in Chicago," (p. 482). In addition, "Though the crop may vary from year to year, the pampa is the world's chief exporter of corn," (p. 483).
In 1933, Argentina was a nation of immigrants, much like the United States, full of hope and promise. "But, as with us, immigrants of many races came early. They found a new land without a past, hindered by no traditions or old habits of thinking. So Argentinians grew up, a bold, restless race, audacious, like pioneer Americans, daring anything. When at last consolidated, the nation enjoyed a growth which is one of the economic marvels of the century. Older nations were amazed," (p. 488).
Unfortunately, Argentina has been held back since the time of this article by their series of political revolutions. There always seemed to be Communists lurking, trying to wrest control of the country. Some of the rulers of Argentina have been dictators with lavish lifestyles, like kings and queens. Somehow, the people survive!
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Of Pampas and Gauchos, Part One
Our most familiar and interesting writer, Frederick Simpich, compares Argentina to Texas, "We don't eat armadillos in Dallas or race our horses after ostriches; otherwise this flat Argentine pampa, with all its wire fence, windmills, and cow music around the water troughs, looks, smells, and sounds just like Texas. Even the pampero windstorms blow like our Texas northers," Life on the Argentine Pampa, National Geographic Magazine, October, 1933, p. 449. Note: "pampa" translates, "plains."
In comparison to other South American countries, Argentina was not settled 400 years ago when the first Spanish explorers came on the scene. "No glittering pagan cities, no rich gold mines or Inca treasure were here to lure the Conquistadores. Also, Europe then lived from its own farms. It had not yet grown so thickly peopled or so highly industrialized that, as later, it had to look overseas for more bread and meat," (p. 449). The plains of Argentina, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Andes Mountains, were a vast fertile area. In 1933, this area had seen millions of settlers from the European countries. They were farmers and cowboys.
"While the pampa was still as empty as Oklahoma in 1870. . . there was the same Indian menace," (p. 451). Thus, many forts developed along the trails for defense, as in the American Wild West days.
In the early 1900's and beyond, literally millions of cattle and hogs were exported to Europe from Argentina. The wheat crop was so large that an extra big crop would affect world prices of wheat. The chief reason for the farming success was a great network of railroads built by Mr. Wheelwright from Massachusetts, U.S.A. Every farmer in the pampas was only a few miles from railroad service. Otherwise, the distances would be too great for practical transportation to the coast and chief Argentina city, Buenos Aires, in the north.
The South American cowboys, or "gauchos," are legendary in movies, always portrayed as romantic and courageous. Simpich describes them as "adept in love as in war, with his lavishly comparisoned horse, his own elegant costume, his raven locks, swarthy skin and gleaming teeth. Daring, hot-headed, virile, violent and reckless, yet gallant, with the blood of Moors, Spaniards, and native Indians coursing in his veins - what a man of another day!" (photo caption, p. 458). There was a particularly beautiful eight-page section of color paintings by the artist de Quiros depicting ordinary gaucho life.
In addition to cows, hogs, and wheat, other products of that era included sugar, wine, oil, wool and mutton. The Pampa Indians had plenty of llamas and alpacas but had never seen a cow until 1552 when "seven cows and one bull" arrived from Portugal. . . "Think what a feat that was, to crowd enough fresh water and fodder on a small sailing ship, already loaded with animals, to keep them alive on so long a voyage!" (p. 463).
Windmills are used to supply the ranches and the gardens, but mostly for the cattle, as there are few flowing rivers in the pampas. These are not the huge and decorative windmills such as are used in the Netherlands; they are strictly utilitarian. "Now windmill towers dot the prairie like castle turrets," (p. 471). This seems like a good place to close this for the evening and leave the rest of the long article for another day.
In comparison to other South American countries, Argentina was not settled 400 years ago when the first Spanish explorers came on the scene. "No glittering pagan cities, no rich gold mines or Inca treasure were here to lure the Conquistadores. Also, Europe then lived from its own farms. It had not yet grown so thickly peopled or so highly industrialized that, as later, it had to look overseas for more bread and meat," (p. 449). The plains of Argentina, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Andes Mountains, were a vast fertile area. In 1933, this area had seen millions of settlers from the European countries. They were farmers and cowboys.
"While the pampa was still as empty as Oklahoma in 1870. . . there was the same Indian menace," (p. 451). Thus, many forts developed along the trails for defense, as in the American Wild West days.
In the early 1900's and beyond, literally millions of cattle and hogs were exported to Europe from Argentina. The wheat crop was so large that an extra big crop would affect world prices of wheat. The chief reason for the farming success was a great network of railroads built by Mr. Wheelwright from Massachusetts, U.S.A. Every farmer in the pampas was only a few miles from railroad service. Otherwise, the distances would be too great for practical transportation to the coast and chief Argentina city, Buenos Aires, in the north.
The South American cowboys, or "gauchos," are legendary in movies, always portrayed as romantic and courageous. Simpich describes them as "adept in love as in war, with his lavishly comparisoned horse, his own elegant costume, his raven locks, swarthy skin and gleaming teeth. Daring, hot-headed, virile, violent and reckless, yet gallant, with the blood of Moors, Spaniards, and native Indians coursing in his veins - what a man of another day!" (photo caption, p. 458). There was a particularly beautiful eight-page section of color paintings by the artist de Quiros depicting ordinary gaucho life.
In addition to cows, hogs, and wheat, other products of that era included sugar, wine, oil, wool and mutton. The Pampa Indians had plenty of llamas and alpacas but had never seen a cow until 1552 when "seven cows and one bull" arrived from Portugal. . . "Think what a feat that was, to crowd enough fresh water and fodder on a small sailing ship, already loaded with animals, to keep them alive on so long a voyage!" (p. 463).
Windmills are used to supply the ranches and the gardens, but mostly for the cattle, as there are few flowing rivers in the pampas. These are not the huge and decorative windmills such as are used in the Netherlands; they are strictly utilitarian. "Now windmill towers dot the prairie like castle turrets," (p. 471). This seems like a good place to close this for the evening and leave the rest of the long article for another day.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
The Chosen Land
All we Americans know about Korea is probably that the north has been ruled by Communists for many years and that we went to war in the 1950's to free South Korea. We know all about the young, pompous ruler of the north that hasn't been seen by the world for quite some time. We see the TV ads for Korean Airlines. Yet, as in all Communist countries, there was a Korea before the Communists.
Ms. Mabel Craft Deering yearned to visit Korea. Chosen - Land of Morning Calm, National Geographic Magazine, October, 1933, is the report of her visit. At that time, since 1910, Korea was 'possessed by' and ruled by JAPAN! "Chosen" is the name Korea was known by then.
Korea is geographically very close to Japan, and shares a border with China in the north and Russia in the northeast. The whole of Korea, north and south, together with its islands, is slightly larger than the U.S. State of Minnesota. I'm getting a wonderful education in geography by reading these articles and learning how the various countries are placed on the Planet Earth.
I've come to think of the Japanese of 100 years ago as modern Romans. After they conquered a nation, they set about modernizing it with an extensive network of railroads, roads, and agricultural development. This certainly happened in Korea after 1910, including large areas of reforestation of barren land.
Ms. Deering enjoyed the big city of Seoul but wanted to visit the mountains and the countryside. Most interesting were the 'free-form' houses in the mountain villages. "Some of the mud-walled, thatched-roof houses in this maze are shaped like horseshoes, the letter "L", or the figure "5;" some follow other fantastic styles. The Koreans seem adverse to having rectangular floor plans," (photo caption, p. 439).
The Koreans were ruled for centuries by a series of native dynasties with their kings and queens. In 1933, much of their former magnificence was gone. "True enough, several of the old palaces and pavilions are still standing, but their closed doors and lack of paint leave them as somewhat sad reminders of their departed glory," (p. 448). There is a price paid for modernization!
Ms. Mabel Craft Deering yearned to visit Korea. Chosen - Land of Morning Calm, National Geographic Magazine, October, 1933, is the report of her visit. At that time, since 1910, Korea was 'possessed by' and ruled by JAPAN! "Chosen" is the name Korea was known by then.
Korea is geographically very close to Japan, and shares a border with China in the north and Russia in the northeast. The whole of Korea, north and south, together with its islands, is slightly larger than the U.S. State of Minnesota. I'm getting a wonderful education in geography by reading these articles and learning how the various countries are placed on the Planet Earth.
I've come to think of the Japanese of 100 years ago as modern Romans. After they conquered a nation, they set about modernizing it with an extensive network of railroads, roads, and agricultural development. This certainly happened in Korea after 1910, including large areas of reforestation of barren land.
Ms. Deering enjoyed the big city of Seoul but wanted to visit the mountains and the countryside. Most interesting were the 'free-form' houses in the mountain villages. "Some of the mud-walled, thatched-roof houses in this maze are shaped like horseshoes, the letter "L", or the figure "5;" some follow other fantastic styles. The Koreans seem adverse to having rectangular floor plans," (photo caption, p. 439).
The Koreans were ruled for centuries by a series of native dynasties with their kings and queens. In 1933, much of their former magnificence was gone. "True enough, several of the old palaces and pavilions are still standing, but their closed doors and lack of paint leave them as somewhat sad reminders of their departed glory," (p. 448). There is a price paid for modernization!
Monday, October 13, 2014
Discovering an Old Empire, Part 2
Let's continue to explore the ancient digs in Persia with Charles Breasted in Exploring the Secrets of Persepolis,National Geographic Magazine, October, 1933. One important 'find' was an aqueduct dating from 700 B.C., "But this is now proved to be the oldest surviving aqueduct of which we have knowledge," (p. 403).
The expedition had to employ dozens of local workers to help in the painstaking digging operations. "Workers at Persepolis are recruited from villages scattered through the valleys. . . These workers have no understanding of what all this digging is for, now do they realize that they are helping recover their own family and national history. . .Ordinary workers receive ten to twenty-five cents a day; the foremen sometimes get thirty cents. In Egypt little boys who carry the earth from our excavations to the dump cars receive sometimes two and a half to five cents a day. . . For most of these people this is regarded as prosperity, and so it is, for their wants are simple and they otherwise seldom see any money at all," (p. 403).
There are many photos of beautiful carvings in stone or adobe brick. These show how the people, kings, nobles, and peasants alike, lived. "Many carvings are as sharp and clear as though done yesterday," (photo caption, p. 404).
In addition the the grand palace grounds excavated, the leaders of the expedition noticed a nearby mound. "At a distance of only two miles from the palace terrace, he had observed in the plain a low mound some 600 feet long and half as wide. This little mound, when excavated, proved to be the oldest Stone Age village excavated in the Orient. It dates from about 4,000 B.C. Its walls, six or seven feet high, contain the earlier windows of which we have knowledge," (p. 409). They found beautifully painted pottery, the oldest painted pottery found thus far, in 1933. Their dinner dishes still had the bones of food in them!
Why was this particular area of the world being studied so intensely? It is believed that the original humans originated from this area. Thus civilization began there, in the now deserts of Arabia. "The Oriental Institute is a vast laboratory established for the study of how man rose from savagery to civilization," (p. 410). They worked from the northern part of Turkey to Egypt.
Personally, I think of these countries as mostly deserts filled sparsely with nomadic peoples, barely subsisting. In the cities are the wealthy, from world sales of oil. I had little knowledge of the former nobility, wealth, and learning of the peoples who had lived there before my time. An exhibit at the local Kentucky Horse Park, "A Gift From the Desert," in the summer of 2010, enlightened me. It displayed centuries of incredibly intricate metal work in brass, gold and silver, weavings, paintings, clothing, rugs, scientific discoveries. The desert culture centered around the Arabian horse. It was wonderful! I actually went to the exhibit twice.
Mr. Breasted concludes his account, "Here at Persepolis, guided with a vision and a courage which changed the whole course of history, Persian civilization, the heir to long ages of Oriental culture, rose to become the supreme manifestation of the finest things in oriental genius," (p. 420). With hundreds of mounds in the Arabian desert still unexplored in 1933, we are sure to again visit the area in the pages of the National Geographic Magazine.
Addition on 10-14-14: What is the value of digging up crumbled stone ruins, essentially digging up the garbage of the past? What is the value of the expensive archeology expeditions that result in museums full of really old objects that hardly anyone sees unless it is from Egypt? This morning, I was reading the beginning of the Bible Book of Zechariah: "In the second year of Darius, in the eighth month, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo. . . " Aha! Just last night I was reading about the finding of Darius' temple in the Middle East, built 2,500 years ago! There were lots of photos. This article and others have made our Judeo-Christian Bible so much more real to me! That is the personal value of archeology to me!
The expedition had to employ dozens of local workers to help in the painstaking digging operations. "Workers at Persepolis are recruited from villages scattered through the valleys. . . These workers have no understanding of what all this digging is for, now do they realize that they are helping recover their own family and national history. . .Ordinary workers receive ten to twenty-five cents a day; the foremen sometimes get thirty cents. In Egypt little boys who carry the earth from our excavations to the dump cars receive sometimes two and a half to five cents a day. . . For most of these people this is regarded as prosperity, and so it is, for their wants are simple and they otherwise seldom see any money at all," (p. 403).
There are many photos of beautiful carvings in stone or adobe brick. These show how the people, kings, nobles, and peasants alike, lived. "Many carvings are as sharp and clear as though done yesterday," (photo caption, p. 404).
In addition the the grand palace grounds excavated, the leaders of the expedition noticed a nearby mound. "At a distance of only two miles from the palace terrace, he had observed in the plain a low mound some 600 feet long and half as wide. This little mound, when excavated, proved to be the oldest Stone Age village excavated in the Orient. It dates from about 4,000 B.C. Its walls, six or seven feet high, contain the earlier windows of which we have knowledge," (p. 409). They found beautifully painted pottery, the oldest painted pottery found thus far, in 1933. Their dinner dishes still had the bones of food in them!
Why was this particular area of the world being studied so intensely? It is believed that the original humans originated from this area. Thus civilization began there, in the now deserts of Arabia. "The Oriental Institute is a vast laboratory established for the study of how man rose from savagery to civilization," (p. 410). They worked from the northern part of Turkey to Egypt.
Personally, I think of these countries as mostly deserts filled sparsely with nomadic peoples, barely subsisting. In the cities are the wealthy, from world sales of oil. I had little knowledge of the former nobility, wealth, and learning of the peoples who had lived there before my time. An exhibit at the local Kentucky Horse Park, "A Gift From the Desert," in the summer of 2010, enlightened me. It displayed centuries of incredibly intricate metal work in brass, gold and silver, weavings, paintings, clothing, rugs, scientific discoveries. The desert culture centered around the Arabian horse. It was wonderful! I actually went to the exhibit twice.
Mr. Breasted concludes his account, "Here at Persepolis, guided with a vision and a courage which changed the whole course of history, Persian civilization, the heir to long ages of Oriental culture, rose to become the supreme manifestation of the finest things in oriental genius," (p. 420). With hundreds of mounds in the Arabian desert still unexplored in 1933, we are sure to again visit the area in the pages of the National Geographic Magazine.
Addition on 10-14-14: What is the value of digging up crumbled stone ruins, essentially digging up the garbage of the past? What is the value of the expensive archeology expeditions that result in museums full of really old objects that hardly anyone sees unless it is from Egypt? This morning, I was reading the beginning of the Bible Book of Zechariah: "In the second year of Darius, in the eighth month, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo. . . " Aha! Just last night I was reading about the finding of Darius' temple in the Middle East, built 2,500 years ago! There were lots of photos. This article and others have made our Judeo-Christian Bible so much more real to me! That is the personal value of archeology to me!
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Traveler Good-byes
Sometimes when there's traveling, it's not us doing the traveling, it's others coming to us. For the past several days, my daughter, Cathy, currently living in the State of Texas, U.S.A., and her fiance, David, transplanted from Australia to Texas, have been visiting all family here in Kentucky. It has been such a joy! Although everyone couldn't see them at the same time, as usual in our family, they managed to see everyone while here.
It's so fun to catch up on family news from those we don't get to see often! And they want to know our news, so it's non-stop chatting. Me, the Grandma of the group (and the photographer here!) particularly enjoyed having a brunch - something new for the family. It meant I could bake and cook something different - pumpkin bread, cinnamon coffeecake, a bacon quiche, a sausage-egg casserole with cut-up fruit and chocolate dip. They all ate and ate!
This brought back memories of me and my family visiting my Grandmother, Marie, in Louisville, many times over the years (she passed away in 1980). Whenever we left, Grandma had tears streaming down her cheeks. I felt so bad and didn't know what to say. Did she feel it was the last time she would ever see us?
My own good-byes are filled with cheer and plans to visit soon. So there are lots of hugs and kisses and good-bye waves!
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| The Largest Family Gathering this weekend, at brunch yesterday. |
This brought back memories of me and my family visiting my Grandmother, Marie, in Louisville, many times over the years (she passed away in 1980). Whenever we left, Grandma had tears streaming down her cheeks. I felt so bad and didn't know what to say. Did she feel it was the last time she would ever see us?
My own good-byes are filled with cheer and plans to visit soon. So there are lots of hugs and kisses and good-bye waves!
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| The very happy newly-engaged couple, Cathy and David, ready to depart for the airport. |
Friday, October 10, 2014
Discovering an Old Empire
We are so accustomed to ancient ruins - the Egyptian pyramids, Stonehenge, etc., etc., - all neatly excavated with appropriate information in many languages informing us of their origin, we can't imagine the sheer excitement when a ruin that was buried for thousands of years was discovered. Mr. Charles Breasted, author of Exploring the Secrets of Persepolis, National Geographic Magazine, October, 1933, gives us this sense of wonder right from the beginning paragraphs.
When I read the title, "Persepolis," I knew I had never encountered it. This is the name they gave to the city in ancient Persia, not knowing what the former inhabitants called it. Old Persia is the area in the Middle East conquered by Alexander the Great. This empire included all or part of the present countries of Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, with small parts of Egypt and India. Quite a piece of real estate by any measure! Persepolis was in the present country of Iran.
"For the first time since Alexander the Great looted and burned it 331 years before Christ, the wonders of the ancient city of Persepolis are being revealed. . . This we know, that 2,500 years ago it was built by Darius the Emperor, father of that Xerxes, as so vividly told in all our school histories, sat on a height near Athens and watched the Greek navy destroy his Persian fleet," (p. 381).
The city was being excavated by the Oriental Institute from the University of Chicago. One important cache was a depository of Persian kings containing some 20,000 inscribed clay tablets, awaiting translation by experts. There was evidence of ashes and charcoal that the city had been gutted by fire at one time.
"On Alexander's famous march into Persepolis. . . he butchered the people of Susa (Shush) in western Persia" and found so much coined money that "it took 10,000 pairs of mules and 5,000 camels to carry away the furniture and other wealth there," (p. 383).
Many of the columns of the king's palace were still standing, but most of the architecture was broken and underground. "Because it is written in the Koran that all graven images are offensive to Allah, the Caliph's warriors, when galloping through Persepolis (through the many centuries), smashed and defaced, with true Moslem zeal, whatever carvings remained above ground," (p. 388).
In 1933, there were few motorcars in the Middle East but oil wells were being drilled by crews from Texas and Oklahoma, U.S.A. The author relayed that transportation on the few roads was extremely difficult and challenging. Whereas there were not many cars in the desert, there were even fewer airplanes, and when the expedition came in a plane, it was a most curious object for the local peoples.
At that time there were still walled cities in the desert. "With sentry towers and massive gates that close against attacking enemies, these villages shelter tradesmen and townspeople, and also the herdsmen and small farmers," (photo caption, p. 393).
"In the course of the excavations which led to his discovery of the amazing array of relief sculptures, Dr. Herzfeld (the field director) came upon the entrance to a large stairway descending into the terrace. This passageway had filled up with debris, and when cleared it was found to lead into a vast and complicated system of huge sewers or subterranean canals, through which the drainage from all the palaces was carried away. One can walk for several miles through this labyrinth today. . . their presence proves one thing: the palaces . . . were all carefully constructed in accordance with plans carefully prepared in advance, which Darius the Great must have approved," (p. 401). And for how many centuries did most of the Europeans toss their garbage and sewage into the streets!!
Let's leave more of this long article to be mined at another date.
When I read the title, "Persepolis," I knew I had never encountered it. This is the name they gave to the city in ancient Persia, not knowing what the former inhabitants called it. Old Persia is the area in the Middle East conquered by Alexander the Great. This empire included all or part of the present countries of Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, with small parts of Egypt and India. Quite a piece of real estate by any measure! Persepolis was in the present country of Iran.
"For the first time since Alexander the Great looted and burned it 331 years before Christ, the wonders of the ancient city of Persepolis are being revealed. . . This we know, that 2,500 years ago it was built by Darius the Emperor, father of that Xerxes, as so vividly told in all our school histories, sat on a height near Athens and watched the Greek navy destroy his Persian fleet," (p. 381).
The city was being excavated by the Oriental Institute from the University of Chicago. One important cache was a depository of Persian kings containing some 20,000 inscribed clay tablets, awaiting translation by experts. There was evidence of ashes and charcoal that the city had been gutted by fire at one time.
"On Alexander's famous march into Persepolis. . . he butchered the people of Susa (Shush) in western Persia" and found so much coined money that "it took 10,000 pairs of mules and 5,000 camels to carry away the furniture and other wealth there," (p. 383).
Many of the columns of the king's palace were still standing, but most of the architecture was broken and underground. "Because it is written in the Koran that all graven images are offensive to Allah, the Caliph's warriors, when galloping through Persepolis (through the many centuries), smashed and defaced, with true Moslem zeal, whatever carvings remained above ground," (p. 388).
In 1933, there were few motorcars in the Middle East but oil wells were being drilled by crews from Texas and Oklahoma, U.S.A. The author relayed that transportation on the few roads was extremely difficult and challenging. Whereas there were not many cars in the desert, there were even fewer airplanes, and when the expedition came in a plane, it was a most curious object for the local peoples.
At that time there were still walled cities in the desert. "With sentry towers and massive gates that close against attacking enemies, these villages shelter tradesmen and townspeople, and also the herdsmen and small farmers," (photo caption, p. 393).
"In the course of the excavations which led to his discovery of the amazing array of relief sculptures, Dr. Herzfeld (the field director) came upon the entrance to a large stairway descending into the terrace. This passageway had filled up with debris, and when cleared it was found to lead into a vast and complicated system of huge sewers or subterranean canals, through which the drainage from all the palaces was carried away. One can walk for several miles through this labyrinth today. . . their presence proves one thing: the palaces . . . were all carefully constructed in accordance with plans carefully prepared in advance, which Darius the Great must have approved," (p. 401). And for how many centuries did most of the Europeans toss their garbage and sewage into the streets!!
Let's leave more of this long article to be mined at another date.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
The Glory That Was CUBA, Part 2
The author of Cuba - the Isle of Romance, National Geographic Magazine, September, 1933, has high praise for Cuban life in that era. Cuba was very progressive in transportation, even building a railroad in 1837 from one end of the island to the other a full ten years before Spain built railroads. In 1911, Cuba started air flights from Key West. There was good trolley service in the large city of Havana, Cuba, in 1933, as well as a good highway for motorcars along the entire length of the island.
"Havana abounds in strange contrasts - modern, up-to-the-minute customs and old habits clung to through the ages. An observant visitor will note them if he wanders around quietly off the beaten tourist track. The older houses have automobiles parked inside the front door. In days gone by, homes were built so that a carriage could be driven into the wide entrance hall and heavy, iron- or brass-studded doors swung to behind it, thus offering protection from man and the elements. So the present built-in garage is really nothing new!" (p. 379).
"In the evenings, cafes are busy places. Many of them, continental style, spread out over the sidewalk. . . One never sees an intoxicated Cuban, despite the fact that they drink much wine and beer," (p. 380).
There were plenty of photos of the island, a lighthouse, an old fort, the people and the Spanish architecture. Cuba of 1933 was worth visiting. I wouldn't want to visit any country under Communist rule, would you?
"Havana abounds in strange contrasts - modern, up-to-the-minute customs and old habits clung to through the ages. An observant visitor will note them if he wanders around quietly off the beaten tourist track. The older houses have automobiles parked inside the front door. In days gone by, homes were built so that a carriage could be driven into the wide entrance hall and heavy, iron- or brass-studded doors swung to behind it, thus offering protection from man and the elements. So the present built-in garage is really nothing new!" (p. 379).
"In the evenings, cafes are busy places. Many of them, continental style, spread out over the sidewalk. . . One never sees an intoxicated Cuban, despite the fact that they drink much wine and beer," (p. 380).
There were plenty of photos of the island, a lighthouse, an old fort, the people and the Spanish architecture. Cuba of 1933 was worth visiting. I wouldn't want to visit any country under Communist rule, would you?
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
The Glory That Was CUBA, Part 1
This next National Geographic Magazine article will indeed be interesting, Enrique C. Canova will describe a Cuba probably few alive today would have known. To refresh our memories, Fidel Castro and his band overthrew the dictator Batista in 1959. I, a teenager, remember how betrayed I felt when Castro declared Cuba would be a Communist state, aligned with Russia.
While studying Spanish in college (the first time), I met a young man from Cuba. He and his family had survived escaping Cuba the year before, in 1960. His English was not good and I was just beginning to learn Spanish, so we tutored each other. He said his dad was a teacher and they were killing teachers, doctors, and clergy so the family sneaked out of the island in a small boat, leaving everything they ever owned in Cuba.
This article, September, 1933, is titled, Cuba, the Isle of Romance. Let's explore it. "Like a gaily attired Spanish senorita, Cuba charms the eye, and the glamour of a lurid past, with its pages of piratical plundering, pomp, and high adventure with which it is so romantically linked, quickens interest from the moment it is sighted on the horizon. The island presents many contrasts. Sea defenses of time-mellowed rock are relentlessly attacked by jealous waves; yet within these stern barriers are green, rolling hills dotted with royal palms. Luxurious valleys bursting with verdure are shadowed by towering mountains where rock and jungle stand guard in secondary defense against man's onslaught. Even to-day, more than one-third its area remains primeval forest!" (p. 345).
"Of the larger Latin-American republics, the island is nearest to Europe, and, next to Mexico, nearest to the United States. It is the crossroads for shipping between many ports of Europe or the United States and Central or South America," (p. 346). Cuba is a long island, over 600 miles, with the widest point at 124 miles, and only 90 miles off the coast of Florida, U.S.A.
"To most people Cuba of course suggests sugar and tobacco. While these two commodities are the chief products, yet by no means unimportant are the mining districts, oil fields, asphalt deposits, and numerous other natural resources, including a delightful climate," (p. 365). Very well-known even now are the Havana cigars from Cuba.
Let's leave it at that for tonight and resume our story tomorrow!
While studying Spanish in college (the first time), I met a young man from Cuba. He and his family had survived escaping Cuba the year before, in 1960. His English was not good and I was just beginning to learn Spanish, so we tutored each other. He said his dad was a teacher and they were killing teachers, doctors, and clergy so the family sneaked out of the island in a small boat, leaving everything they ever owned in Cuba.
This article, September, 1933, is titled, Cuba, the Isle of Romance. Let's explore it. "Like a gaily attired Spanish senorita, Cuba charms the eye, and the glamour of a lurid past, with its pages of piratical plundering, pomp, and high adventure with which it is so romantically linked, quickens interest from the moment it is sighted on the horizon. The island presents many contrasts. Sea defenses of time-mellowed rock are relentlessly attacked by jealous waves; yet within these stern barriers are green, rolling hills dotted with royal palms. Luxurious valleys bursting with verdure are shadowed by towering mountains where rock and jungle stand guard in secondary defense against man's onslaught. Even to-day, more than one-third its area remains primeval forest!" (p. 345).
"Of the larger Latin-American republics, the island is nearest to Europe, and, next to Mexico, nearest to the United States. It is the crossroads for shipping between many ports of Europe or the United States and Central or South America," (p. 346). Cuba is a long island, over 600 miles, with the widest point at 124 miles, and only 90 miles off the coast of Florida, U.S.A.
"To most people Cuba of course suggests sugar and tobacco. While these two commodities are the chief products, yet by no means unimportant are the mining districts, oil fields, asphalt deposits, and numerous other natural resources, including a delightful climate," (p. 365). Very well-known even now are the Havana cigars from Cuba.
Let's leave it at that for tonight and resume our story tomorrow!
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Wooden Shoes, Windmills and TULIPS!
FYI: The tulip, the beautiful flower we all look forward to seeing emerge every spring, is fairly new, say, compared to the rose or hyacinth or peony. So reports Leo A. Borah in Some Odd Pages from the Annals of the Tulip: A "Made" Flower of Unknown Origin Took Medieval Europe by Storm and Caused a Financial Panic in the Netherlands, National Geographic Magazine, September, 1933. The tulip is "an upstart whose ancestry is untraceable before the 16th century and whose most striking family records are written in the ledgers of the counting houses," (p. 321).
In 1555, an Ambassador to Turkey brought back to Vienna tulipans. "The tulip has little or no scent, but it is admired for its beauty and the variety of its colors," (p. 321). Botanists thought it was just a chance mutation of an unknown flower.
"The flowers became popular immediately, probably because of the amazingly varied colors and their tendency to unexpected changes of hue. . . elaborate rules for planting, fertilizing, and caring for choice varieties were written before 1700," (p. 324).
Tulip bulbs were highly sought after by the nobility of Europe. Great fortunes were made on tulip sales alone in short periods of times in the 16th and 17th centuries. Bulbs were all 'named' with elaborate names that resembled royal persons. The tulip trade is still alive and well in the Netherlands.
In this article is a beautiful sixteen-page section of color photographs with scenes from the Netherlands of 1933: buildings and windmills along canals, citizens in their native village costumes (their ordinary dress at that time), and, of course, immense fields of spectacularly blooming tulips. "Tulips burst forth in splendor, only to yield to the sickle. To the Dutch cultivator, the bulb is the thing. The blossoms are merely indicators of the health of the plants. However gorgeous, the flowers must be mown down and used as fertilizer for the beds. Roots are shipped throughout the world, and new varieties often bring large sums of money to the producers," (photo caption, p. 329).
With regards to transportation, I don't think bicycling caught on in America - ever - the way it has been used in other countries for a family's chief mode of transportation. "Bicycles outnumber motorcars in the Netherlands. People of all stations ride to work, or shop or go calling on them. One reason for their popularity is the flat country, where a hill is as much of a curiosity as a windmill would be to most Americans," (photo caption, p. 337).
The view of the countryside from an airplane resembles English or Irish rectangular plots of land except, instead of fences, the plots are bordered by canals. There were no roads for trucking or automobiles. Products and people were transported by canal in boats and barges. The city of Amsterdam, like the city of Venice, Italy, is built on islands with canals separating them. "With the dam at the center, the principal canals (grachts) are built in concentric circles. Streets radiate in all directions, crossing the waterways on stone arches.
In 1555, an Ambassador to Turkey brought back to Vienna tulipans. "The tulip has little or no scent, but it is admired for its beauty and the variety of its colors," (p. 321). Botanists thought it was just a chance mutation of an unknown flower.
"The flowers became popular immediately, probably because of the amazingly varied colors and their tendency to unexpected changes of hue. . . elaborate rules for planting, fertilizing, and caring for choice varieties were written before 1700," (p. 324).
Tulip bulbs were highly sought after by the nobility of Europe. Great fortunes were made on tulip sales alone in short periods of times in the 16th and 17th centuries. Bulbs were all 'named' with elaborate names that resembled royal persons. The tulip trade is still alive and well in the Netherlands.
With regards to transportation, I don't think bicycling caught on in America - ever - the way it has been used in other countries for a family's chief mode of transportation. "Bicycles outnumber motorcars in the Netherlands. People of all stations ride to work, or shop or go calling on them. One reason for their popularity is the flat country, where a hill is as much of a curiosity as a windmill would be to most Americans," (photo caption, p. 337).
The view of the countryside from an airplane resembles English or Irish rectangular plots of land except, instead of fences, the plots are bordered by canals. There were no roads for trucking or automobiles. Products and people were transported by canal in boats and barges. The city of Amsterdam, like the city of Venice, Italy, is built on islands with canals separating them. "With the dam at the center, the principal canals (grachts) are built in concentric circles. Streets radiate in all directions, crossing the waterways on stone arches.
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| My tulips in bloom at the corner of my house, April 2014. A lovely spot of spring color! |
Monday, October 6, 2014
Wooden Shoes and Windmills
Memories of the Holland (the Netherlands) from my pre-school days include windmills and wooden shoes. Mother bought me my own little pair of carved wooden shoes, painted yellow and a red tulip emblazoned on the 'toe' part. They were dreadfully uncomfortable and are long lost! And I remember fields of red tulips, as far as you could see. There were tall, large windmills scattered about the land.
J. C. M. Kruisinga, the author of the next National Geographic Magazine article, A New Country Awaits Discovery: The Draining of the Zuider Zee Makes Room for the Excess Population of the Netherlands, September, 1933, insists that the country consists of much more than what I have mentioned above, the usual touristy enticements. He proposes that this "Artificial Holland is far better known, since it includes the bulb fields, the windmill-drained dairy-producing districts, and the six largest towns - Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Haarlem, and Groningen," (p. 293).
The "Zuider Zee" was an inland lake that would annually flood, fed by rivers, reshaping the land area, killing many people. The inhabitants decided they would build a "dike," a dam, that cut off the Zuider Zee from the North Sea, and reclaim the land. In the 1930's, this was an incredibly ambitious project. It was an earthen dike that was built! In 1932 the dike was completed. "It was a triumph won with difficulty to close the last openings in the wall; but Dutch engineering genius has learned how to conquer the sea. Were it not apparently for frail ramparts of clay, nearly half the country would go back into the ocean," (photo caption, p. 298). The author reports that the Dutch had been conceiving this plan for five or six centuries!
The dam was twenty miles long and 90 yards wide. It is indeed amazing that such a dam held, with few breaks, for many years, the fierce North Sea!
What were all the windmills used for?: "From Alkmaar to Zaandam extend the revolving sails which furnish power for sawing wood, grinding grain, and, most important, for pumping water from the fields," (photo caption, p. 308).
Why did the Dutch people wear wooden shoes?: much of the land was below sea level, and hence, very damp. They removed their shoes before going into their houses.
What was the land reclaimed from the sea used for?: mostly farming, growing grain or food, with lots of cattle grazing fields. It land was extremely fertile.
In the reclaimed land are many canals, a water system both for transport and for irrigation of the fields. "Hardly had the water disappeared from Wieringermeer when the first turning of the soil began, and sea bottom became farmland. Sometimes a farmer will unearth the bones of an old ship," (photo caption, p. 312).
When a farmer want to use a field for agriculture, usually he must first clear away any trees and/or rocks. In the Netherlands on the land reclaimed from the sea, farmers had to clear away the seashells!
What is a "terp?" It a very large hill. "As an additional safeguard against the infinitesimal chance of the Big Dam's breaking, a terp, large enough to afford standing room to the entire population of the city of Amsterdam, has been dumped down in an inaccessible place near the center of the reclaimed land," (p. 320).
What did the reclaimed land not enjoy?: Trees! In one year after the dam was built, the few trees that were planted had died due to the high salt content of the land.
Why did the Dutch want to go to the great expense of draining this land? Their population was outgrowing their land and they didn't want to invade their neighbors! What does reclaiming land from the sea remind Americans about?: the great dam that broke due to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 in the New Orleans, Louisiana area and the land that had to be reclaimed.
This article was particularly interesting to me since I had a few but vivid memories of the area from a visit 60+ years ago!
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| These two pairs of ceramic "wooden shoes" were found in an antique shop in Washington State during a visit 2 years ago. The embroidered piece in my dining room shows a Dutch scene with windmill. The blue and white designs are hundreds of years old, called "Delft," from Holland. |
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| The windmill actually turns! A ceramic replica of the real thing. |
J. C. M. Kruisinga, the author of the next National Geographic Magazine article, A New Country Awaits Discovery: The Draining of the Zuider Zee Makes Room for the Excess Population of the Netherlands, September, 1933, insists that the country consists of much more than what I have mentioned above, the usual touristy enticements. He proposes that this "Artificial Holland is far better known, since it includes the bulb fields, the windmill-drained dairy-producing districts, and the six largest towns - Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Haarlem, and Groningen," (p. 293).
The "Zuider Zee" was an inland lake that would annually flood, fed by rivers, reshaping the land area, killing many people. The inhabitants decided they would build a "dike," a dam, that cut off the Zuider Zee from the North Sea, and reclaim the land. In the 1930's, this was an incredibly ambitious project. It was an earthen dike that was built! In 1932 the dike was completed. "It was a triumph won with difficulty to close the last openings in the wall; but Dutch engineering genius has learned how to conquer the sea. Were it not apparently for frail ramparts of clay, nearly half the country would go back into the ocean," (photo caption, p. 298). The author reports that the Dutch had been conceiving this plan for five or six centuries!
The dam was twenty miles long and 90 yards wide. It is indeed amazing that such a dam held, with few breaks, for many years, the fierce North Sea!
What were all the windmills used for?: "From Alkmaar to Zaandam extend the revolving sails which furnish power for sawing wood, grinding grain, and, most important, for pumping water from the fields," (photo caption, p. 308).
Why did the Dutch people wear wooden shoes?: much of the land was below sea level, and hence, very damp. They removed their shoes before going into their houses.
What was the land reclaimed from the sea used for?: mostly farming, growing grain or food, with lots of cattle grazing fields. It land was extremely fertile.
In the reclaimed land are many canals, a water system both for transport and for irrigation of the fields. "Hardly had the water disappeared from Wieringermeer when the first turning of the soil began, and sea bottom became farmland. Sometimes a farmer will unearth the bones of an old ship," (photo caption, p. 312).
When a farmer want to use a field for agriculture, usually he must first clear away any trees and/or rocks. In the Netherlands on the land reclaimed from the sea, farmers had to clear away the seashells!
What is a "terp?" It a very large hill. "As an additional safeguard against the infinitesimal chance of the Big Dam's breaking, a terp, large enough to afford standing room to the entire population of the city of Amsterdam, has been dumped down in an inaccessible place near the center of the reclaimed land," (p. 320).
What did the reclaimed land not enjoy?: Trees! In one year after the dam was built, the few trees that were planted had died due to the high salt content of the land.
Why did the Dutch want to go to the great expense of draining this land? Their population was outgrowing their land and they didn't want to invade their neighbors! What does reclaiming land from the sea remind Americans about?: the great dam that broke due to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 in the New Orleans, Louisiana area and the land that had to be reclaimed.
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| Several more blue and white ceramic objects in my National Geographic Magazine cabinet. |
Friday, October 3, 2014
All That Glitters. . . Part Two
Let's return to the world of silver in 1933. Author Frederick Simpich is informing us about all things silver in Pieces of Silver, National Geographic Magazine, September, 1933. Silver had been used for money in most parts of the world for centuries but was abandoned in most countries for "the gold standard." Silver was also used for making decorative items such as jewelry, eating utensils and dishes.
Most interesting was the use of silver in photographic processes. In our digital age, it is not common to develop actual film in the various silver solutions needed, but it is still done on a limited basis. Here are the percentages: "Using about 40 percent (of the silver supply), sterling manufacture led in silver consumption in 1932. Photography was next, using 30 percent, while only 5 percent was used for jewelry and coinage," (photo caption, p. 277).
FYI: "Forks were not generally used until the early 16th century, when Italian nobility started the fashion," (p. 275).
FYI: Did you know that in American Colonial times, our "Paul Revere, famous rider and dentist, also was an engraver and silversmith"? (photo caption, p. 281).
Mr. Simpich details all the many uses of silver and concludes, "This is the saga of silver. From that one ancient Greek mine, man's quest and use of silver have spread, till now this metal reaches every nook and cranny of the civilized world. Hardly a man in the world's two billions but knows its touch," (p. 292). As for our story of 2014, perhaps a hundred years from now someone will write of our love affair with plastic!
Most interesting was the use of silver in photographic processes. In our digital age, it is not common to develop actual film in the various silver solutions needed, but it is still done on a limited basis. Here are the percentages: "Using about 40 percent (of the silver supply), sterling manufacture led in silver consumption in 1932. Photography was next, using 30 percent, while only 5 percent was used for jewelry and coinage," (photo caption, p. 277).
FYI: "Forks were not generally used until the early 16th century, when Italian nobility started the fashion," (p. 275).
FYI: Did you know that in American Colonial times, our "Paul Revere, famous rider and dentist, also was an engraver and silversmith"? (photo caption, p. 281).
Mr. Simpich details all the many uses of silver and concludes, "This is the saga of silver. From that one ancient Greek mine, man's quest and use of silver have spread, till now this metal reaches every nook and cranny of the civilized world. Hardly a man in the world's two billions but knows its touch," (p. 292). As for our story of 2014, perhaps a hundred years from now someone will write of our love affair with plastic!
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
All That Glitters. . .
Now that I've been 'into' reading all (hopefully!) my old issues of the National Geographic Magazine, beginning with the November, 1927, issue, for more than a year, I'm starting to develop recognition for some of their frequent writers. The author of the next article, Pieces of Silver, Frederick Simpich, is the one most familiar to me, and is also one of the best.
In the September, 1933, issue, Simpich begins: "Through its long, glittering career silver has swayed the destiny of men and nations. In the romance and adventure of mining, man's bold quest for silver led to war, to daring exploration, and to conquest of savage lands. First of metals widely used as money, silver slowly turned primitive barter into buying and selling," (p. 253).
Historians and archeologists surmise that silver was first mined somewhere in the Mediterranean vicinity. An ancient mine near Athens, Greece, shows evidence of mining from 600 B.C. to 300 B.C. Records show that taxes on this silver was collected beginning in 500 B.C. In 2014 United States, we are bombarded with TV commercials urging us to put our money into silver, not into banks! Silver was officially 'demonetized' in our country in 1873.
"Through the Dark and Middle Ages, men mined silver in many parts of Europe. German mines were opened when teamsters hauling salt in 1160 found silver ore along a road through the Harz Mountains. In one Saxon mine, the St. George, miners found a 20-ton chunk of ore. The Duke of Saxony gave an underground banquet, using this ore block as a table!" (p. 255).
Roman mines in Spain employed 40,000 men and yielded Rome 40,000 drachmae daily. "Yet all this paled beside New World riches." When the Spaniard, Cortez, conquered the Incas, he was astounded at all the gold and silver riches. "For 300 years, from 1521 to 1821, Spain ruled over Mexico. In that time a steady stream of silver floated to Spain. . . After Mexico became a republic the output doubled and trebled. . . For more than two centuries Mexico has been the world's greatest source of silver, mining in that time more than five billion dollars worth," (p. 255). If you've seen the latest version of the adventure movies, "Zorro," you know the price many Mexican natives paid: enslavement, life and death in the silver mines.
In 1933, Mr. Simpich reported, "In our Western States (of America), where we now mine the bulk of our silver, most of it is found mixed with other metals. Our greatest straight silver mine is the Sunshine, near Kellogg, Idaho," (p. 261).
In the mid-1800's, silver was discovered in Nevada. What ensued was a rush similar to the Gold Rush in California in 1949: "Once more city merchants shut up shop, sailors deserted their ships, and clerks quit their desks, swelling the army that rushed pell-mell to Nevada, where new towns bloomed like mushrooms, with the saloons, quick lunch stands, dance halls, and dives that made life lurid in the hectic, roaring camps," (p. 264). Now many of these once-thriving towns are abandoned, 'ghost towns.'
How much silver was circulating in the world in 1933? "Stores of bar silver in the world are not accurately known; they are estimated at eleven or twelve billion ounces, most of which is in India. Since Columbus came to America the world has mined about 14 times as much silver, by weight, as it has gold," (p. 267). Most silver mined then was, as is now, a by-product of mining for other metals.
In my home State of Kentucky, U.S.A., there have been coal mines in the eastern, mountainous section. Many years ago, I lived briefly in a small Kentucky mountain town, Hazard, in the middle of heavy mining operations. If we took a ride in the country, we would always pass a smouldering 'slag' heap. We would encounter many soot-covered miners in the small downtown area. Miners received very high wages but it was incredibly dangerous, as you can imagine! In 2014, it is a depressed area with many of the mines gone out of business due to government environmental regulations. It is estimated that there is over 300 years usage of coal in American mines now.
Two summers ago, my friend, Gail, and I traveled to Eastern and South Central Kentucky to visit dialysis clinics. Gail mentioned she had never seen a coal mine. Then I was determined that she would see a coal mine. They are not on the main highways. Finally, when we were nearly out of the Pikeville area, we passed a mine. We turned around and headed into the narrow road leading to the mine. Immediately a man with a rifle emerged from a guard station. Gail and I made a quick exit! But she had seen a coal mine!
The next blog will continue with this long article on Silver.
In the September, 1933, issue, Simpich begins: "Through its long, glittering career silver has swayed the destiny of men and nations. In the romance and adventure of mining, man's bold quest for silver led to war, to daring exploration, and to conquest of savage lands. First of metals widely used as money, silver slowly turned primitive barter into buying and selling," (p. 253).
Historians and archeologists surmise that silver was first mined somewhere in the Mediterranean vicinity. An ancient mine near Athens, Greece, shows evidence of mining from 600 B.C. to 300 B.C. Records show that taxes on this silver was collected beginning in 500 B.C. In 2014 United States, we are bombarded with TV commercials urging us to put our money into silver, not into banks! Silver was officially 'demonetized' in our country in 1873.
"Through the Dark and Middle Ages, men mined silver in many parts of Europe. German mines were opened when teamsters hauling salt in 1160 found silver ore along a road through the Harz Mountains. In one Saxon mine, the St. George, miners found a 20-ton chunk of ore. The Duke of Saxony gave an underground banquet, using this ore block as a table!" (p. 255).
Roman mines in Spain employed 40,000 men and yielded Rome 40,000 drachmae daily. "Yet all this paled beside New World riches." When the Spaniard, Cortez, conquered the Incas, he was astounded at all the gold and silver riches. "For 300 years, from 1521 to 1821, Spain ruled over Mexico. In that time a steady stream of silver floated to Spain. . . After Mexico became a republic the output doubled and trebled. . . For more than two centuries Mexico has been the world's greatest source of silver, mining in that time more than five billion dollars worth," (p. 255). If you've seen the latest version of the adventure movies, "Zorro," you know the price many Mexican natives paid: enslavement, life and death in the silver mines.
In 1933, Mr. Simpich reported, "In our Western States (of America), where we now mine the bulk of our silver, most of it is found mixed with other metals. Our greatest straight silver mine is the Sunshine, near Kellogg, Idaho," (p. 261).
In the mid-1800's, silver was discovered in Nevada. What ensued was a rush similar to the Gold Rush in California in 1949: "Once more city merchants shut up shop, sailors deserted their ships, and clerks quit their desks, swelling the army that rushed pell-mell to Nevada, where new towns bloomed like mushrooms, with the saloons, quick lunch stands, dance halls, and dives that made life lurid in the hectic, roaring camps," (p. 264). Now many of these once-thriving towns are abandoned, 'ghost towns.'
How much silver was circulating in the world in 1933? "Stores of bar silver in the world are not accurately known; they are estimated at eleven or twelve billion ounces, most of which is in India. Since Columbus came to America the world has mined about 14 times as much silver, by weight, as it has gold," (p. 267). Most silver mined then was, as is now, a by-product of mining for other metals.
In my home State of Kentucky, U.S.A., there have been coal mines in the eastern, mountainous section. Many years ago, I lived briefly in a small Kentucky mountain town, Hazard, in the middle of heavy mining operations. If we took a ride in the country, we would always pass a smouldering 'slag' heap. We would encounter many soot-covered miners in the small downtown area. Miners received very high wages but it was incredibly dangerous, as you can imagine! In 2014, it is a depressed area with many of the mines gone out of business due to government environmental regulations. It is estimated that there is over 300 years usage of coal in American mines now.
Two summers ago, my friend, Gail, and I traveled to Eastern and South Central Kentucky to visit dialysis clinics. Gail mentioned she had never seen a coal mine. Then I was determined that she would see a coal mine. They are not on the main highways. Finally, when we were nearly out of the Pikeville area, we passed a mine. We turned around and headed into the narrow road leading to the mine. Immediately a man with a rifle emerged from a guard station. Gail and I made a quick exit! But she had seen a coal mine!
The next blog will continue with this long article on Silver.
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