The Museum, World War I, Peace, Starvation and the Maria Dolens!

History is a mystifying seductress to some of us.  Everywhere we look we find a piece of history that we are curious about.  Myself  I am continually looking into the history of everything and many times finding that I know very little of the history of things at all..

Every year we all set goals for the next and this morning as  I am sitting drinking a cup of coffee I am doing just that, I have struggled, poured much energy and money into keeping the museum open and with this year's pie sale that was pulled off with a struggle and made a success in part on
Sunday sales... with local support, the question that came to my mind was,...”should I continue after more than 20 years?”  

I thought about the new year as most of us do and I tried to find something that would guide me.  I asked myself if you didn’t work on the museum...what would you do?  The answers were pretty simple since I try to do them now… 1. Help wipe out poverty!  2. Work to end all War and Hatred..

I am adamant that we are in a terrible time of class separation, I remember a line from a song…”The hands of the have not’s have fallen out of reach!”  They have and are becoming more so everyday...even though we are in the middle of a supposed boom economy here in the USA. We are also in a time of world war, causing starvation of millions and skirmishes that are killing thousands of innocent people...and for what....Religion and Power....Riches?

So with the recent celebration of the 100th Anniversary of WWI..."The War to end all Wars" I went online to find out what  has been said in the past...   Pope Francis...who signs everything just Francis…in his  New Years message a few years ago for the 48th anniversary of the Day of World Peace spoke in front of a screen that had the Maria Dolens bell ringing in the background.  The Maria Dolens? And so I was off on my newest history quest.

The Maria Dolens is the name of a bell that was cast from the bronze of many of the cannons - 19, one from each of the countries that participated in WWI.  It sits in Roverto, in today’s northern Italy and it rings 100 times each day in the evening to honor the fallen and to many to act  as a symbol for peace and an end to war.

The Bell was the idea of Don Antonio Rossaro,  called the Bell of the Fallen.  It was given the name Maria Dolens and placed on the Malipiero tower of Castello di Rovereto.  It has been recast many times because of fractures from ringing 100 times a day no doubt... but it has always been recast and returned to the tower where is nightly reminds the world of the price of war.  The latest recast was blessed by Pope Paul VI and on November 4^th, 1965 was placed on the Colle di Miravalle where it today rest above the city of Roverto.

On the bell, which is the second largest swinging bell in the world, were added at its recasting the statements of the Pontiff Pius XII "With peace nothing is lost. Everything is to be lost through war." John XXIII: "In pace hominum ordinata concordia et tranquilla libertas."

Today, as always, it rang 100 times at midday...in Italy as I am writing this..... just as it  was shown on the large screen in St. Peter’s square that day.

It is said that it tolls in the hope that Man, in the memory of the Fallen of every war and every nation in the world, may find the path that leads to Peace….

I say AMEN to that…!

A cold Sunday of reality in this World of sadness and tears...Let us Pray for the ones they call the Children of today!

Sometimes I wonder what is wrong with people today.  I think some have never had real hardship in their lives.  Can we have compassion for animals but not for other people?

This weeks news headlines set off a whole flood of feelings I did not want to let into my mind right now.  I have been following some Italian news because of my 500 year ago cousin and the 150^th Anniversary of the Italian Red Cross, when I can across an article on the plight of Libyan refugees trying escape in rafts and boats  across the Mediterranean to the various posts on the European side.

A policy of trying to pick them up and saving them from drowning has been called foolish…”that it is encouraging them to try it”.  In other words if they pick them up and save them from drowning they are causing this problem to escalate.  So we as humans should let them drown?  The reality is they should not have to take such extreme methods to save themselves and especially their children from starvation and war.

On line, via the web, the global warming people are screaming about climate change causing these extremes in weather…while the disbelievers are screaming back that this is all hype and just a way for some to make more money… Some say that we need more oil…OIL?  They say that we have given too many subsidies to “green energy” a source that has produced little energy? 

Mean while people in our own country are freezing and we are cutting programs to our own poor, disabled, or elderly and don’t recognize the marginalized poor that have lost their homes that have become “our boat people” living in tents and shelters?

We are a crazy lot….”War”, greed and religion, has wrought all of this…”Men fighting with GUNS and hatred”.

I guess we have forgotten too soon the price of WWI and WWII.  Herbert Hoover was the man in charge of the rescue of millions of starving people after and during both conflicts.  He had an unbelievable job considering the food had to be brought in because war had devastated the land and infrastructure…not to mention the men and animals lost! Countries unable to feed themselves.

Not good thoughts…

I am stuck here in old Eaton this year trying to save and find homes for a few cats…”dump offs”…I can’t stand to see an animal ill, injured, starving or hurt. I try to help everyone I can and …for the life of me… I can't understand why men go to war for power or religion…and how anyone could condone just letting people drown while they are just trying to save themselves and their children. 

In America we are raging against immigrants…but in reality we are raging against ourselves… as almost all of us except the “First Natives” were brought here for a better life or for religious freedom by our forefathers and mother’s.  So on this Sunday in the blog...I pray for all the “children” of the world….”The ones we call the Children of Today!”

With that thought I whipped out my guitar and sang this old Gordon Lightfoot tune...listen to the words…understand the meaning!

Valentines Day surprises, the weather and an armchair trip to Florence, Italy!

Emma Messere Elena Branca

What a year so far…Mother Nature has been throwing all kinds of terrible things at us from snow, sleet, wind, blizzards and record breaking cold.  For Valentine’s Day I am stuck here in Eaton staring outside and sitting by the woodstove trying to keep it chuck full of wood. 

For Valentine’s Day getting a card was as far from my mind as possible…who in the world would send me a Valentine?  Then came a knock on the door…the mailman???

He handed me some mail, one piece I had to sign for… my curiosity was peeked.

One was a card from Rascal my cat….I opened it and sure enough it was signed Rascal and it even read as if Rascal had picked it out…”You do a lot to keep me happy and healthy and in return,  all I do is sleep, shed, and complain about the food! So since it is Valentine’s Day, I want you to know---I’M WORTH IT!”  I immediately suspected Sarah Curtis…

The second piece of mail was a donation to “Rascal’s Find homes for the Cats”  fund I have been working on…from Florida…Thank You Bob Sherburne!

The third was from Italy…my 500 year ago cousin Emma…(a genealogist said we were related 500 years back) I tore it open and to my surprise it was a book on Florence where she had gone for a special seminar and celebration of not only World War I, but of the Italian Red Cross.  It was research she and a friend, Elena Branca, had been doing on the woman doctors who served in that war…some research that I had tried to help them with.

The book titled “Americans in Florence” is a complete guide to the city and the places associated with Americans past and present…a great “History Book”  filled with information that proved to be a most interesting read on this 35 below zero weekend.

The book is “cock-full”  of information on the famous Americans from James Fenimore Cooper, the Browning’s, Henry James, Mark Twain and anybody who was anybody… describing where they stayed, what they thought about this fabulous city, a city that was indeed “The Birthplace of the Renaissance”.

One story that I found most interesting was the story of the Ponte Santa Trinita Bridge over the Arno after WWII.  The retreating Germans blew up the bridge just before the Allied Forces liberated Florence.  To the great honor of the citizens of the town, who sought to rebuild it exactly as it once was, and with the donations of wealthy American’s like Samuel Kress, and collectors like Peggy Guggenheim,  it was rebuilt using the original plans and using the original material.  To accomplish this… the stone quarry where the original stone came from was actually reopened. 

The statues and artifacts were repaired and replace on the bridge.  One interesting story is that the head of one of the “Seasons” statues was not found and many believed an American GI took it.  The President of the Parker Pen Company offered a $3,000 reward to find it using its advertising outlets. 

Parker put out a WANTED poster stating - Age; 350 years, Size; 20 inches; Color; marble white; Weight; about 120 lbs with a previously damaged nose!  This produced nothing, it wasn’t until years later it was discovered after the dredging of the Arno,  where it had rested all along! 

Great book…I think Emma is trying to lure me into visiting Italy….  No Emma, but you should come visit me here in boring old Eaton, New York…but a word to the wise…not in the winter!!

The book is available on line ISBN 88-09-03157-1 at Barnes and Noble I bet…and worth it if you or someone you know is going to Florence … It is complete as a guide with walking tours, where to eat, galleries, what  to see…everything!

Sunday, a hero cat named Faith and a new Facebook page!

Faith a Hero

So its Sunday Blog time again…on a cold and snowy morning in Eaton.  I have been working on a Facebook page in my efforts to find homes for some strays that have been dropped at my door.  

So this morning when I settled into my usual position on the sofa trying to think of something “blog-able” to write about…one of the cats that I have not named showed up.  So I took that as an inspirational sign and decided to search for the perfect name for her. 

I humorously thought of “Old Possum’s Books of Cats” and the theory that cats have the name we give them… and they have their own “cat” name, and  I wondered what hers would be.

The cat I was naming was a stoic as well as a great mother cat.  She was also interested in what was going on all of the time.  She would often come forward and listen intently to what I told her. She was attentive and even watched another mother’s kittens.  So...I googled… cat names.  One search brought up a story on a cat named Faith! She was called "the famous cat of London"…hmmmm… So I was once again off on another  “history quest”.

Seems Faith was a stray that was found and taken in by the rector of St. Augustine & St. Faith’s Episcopal Church in London about 1936.  The cat loved the Rector, Father Henry Ross, and would attend every service sitting at his feet when he preached or sit next to him when he sat in a pew. It was said that she attended every service at the church. Named Faith, she became like the mascot of the church throughout the horrible times in London...times of fire and bombing brought on by the War with Germany.

In September of 1940, she gave birth to just one kitten that was named “Panda” because of its black and white colorings.  All the church members celebrated Panda's arrival.... in his honor the churches choir sang “All Things Bright and Beautiful” at the Sunday service. 

The “Battle of London” was on and for some reason Faith insisted on taking herself and her kitten Panda to the basement of the church.  Father Ross tried to dissuade her... but she continually removed the kitten from her basket and would take it to the basement area.  So after a number of attempts back and forth, he finally gave up and moved her basket to the cold dark basement area she chose.

A few days later on the night of September 9^th, the German bombing of London struck St. Augustine’s rendering it a mass of rubble.  The following morning the air raid and civil workers asked the Rector if any people were in the church at the time…no…but he remembered Faith and went into the burning rubble, down to the basement where Faith was found meowing for help, laying over the top of her baby…Panda.  It is said that just a short time later,  just after her rescue, the entire building collapsed into the basement where the cat had hidden.

Faith’s story spread everywhere, even to the United States... to become part of the inspirational testament to the steadfastness of the Londoners and all who heroically survived the fire and bombing.  Faith became a star and symbol of Londoners heroics!

For her act of sheltering her kitten and her savvy she was awarded the Dickens Medal in Silver in London, and a medal from the Greenwich Village Humane Society of New York…and so in her honor I named the stray cat “Faith”.

My cat named Faith!

Great Sunday story don’t you think?  Here is a link to my new cat Facebook page...https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rascals-Help-the-Stray-Cats/362984687233739

The Battle of Britain and bombing of London

January, Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt- No Ordinary Time, Doris Kearns Goodwin and a reason to read history!

doris

Springwood at Hyde Park 

The cold of winter and the lure of the “ole woodstove” bring on my study of history as usual.  I have finished from this fall until now... a number of books going from the Great Depression on to the Neal Deal and WWII - from 5 by Churchill, two by Eisenhower, 2 on Johnson, and the gem of them all “No Ordinary Time” by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

With January 30^th coming this week – the Birthday of Franklin Delano Roosevelt,  I scheduled reading the book to coincide with it.  The book is a complete look at the Roosevelt years brought forth in an intimate way. It is the story of all the people surrounding the President and First Land as well as the story of a fight not only to end the “Depression” but also to end the world conflict.  Leaders like Winston Churchill, King, Hopkins, and Stalin come to life, as do all the characters involved both official and family life.  Doris uses a huge amount of research that weaves the story using the actual words via diaries, press articles, and personal interviews... as well as glimpses of the official record.

Seeing Eleanor as her true self is a stunning glimpse into a woman who drove herself and in part her husband to improve not on the United States but the world.  She often is called is eyes and legs in her travesl…but the book shows that she was also an antagonist that harped at him for causes he otherwise would have let go.

The title actually came from a speech Eleanor gave not the words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  The speech came when Roosevelt ran for an unheard of third term.  He maneuvered to get the delegates to put his name up for nomination without actually declaring to run or going to the convention.  The conventioneers resented the fact that he did not come in person and when he wished to have Henry Wallace nominated for Vice President... the convention erupted trying to push a number of other candidates beccoming quite an unsettled and raucous scene. 

So in typical fashion he asked Eleanor to go and speak to them.  Up until that time no other First Lady had addressed a Democratic Convention.  With noise and “carryings-on” they put her to the podium after all the names had been placed in nomination to speak.  As she spoke the convention quieted and she appealed to them to give the President the man he wanted…with the world at war  “this was no ordinary time”.  When she finished, Wallace was unanimously selected.

The book is a New York Times Best Seller, the winner of a Pulitzer Prize and a worthy study that should be read by all… especially the baby boomers and younger folk so that they can get a true picture of those days in America. A time of poverty, strife, segregation, New Deals, rationing, the industrial War effort, women to work, and most of all the intimate story of the man that held it all together.

Quoting the New York Times _”Men will thank God on their knees a hundred years from now, that Franklin D. Roosevelt was in the White House. “

Even if you don’t agree with his policies reading the book will give you the ability to see that his Presidency was a gift to the people of not only America, but the world at war!  Read or listen to it.  A rare history book that will have you crying with the Nation at the end.

Below is my video of Springwood at Hyde Park where you can visit the Presidents home, Library, and Eleanor's cottage at Val-kill....a day trip visit from CNY a great place to visit with the family.

Veteran's Day, my dad and the Patriot's Dream...

National Cemetery in Elmira, NY

 On Veteran's day I always think of my dad Captain Domenic J. Messere who was a veteran.   Dad served in so many different capacities that it is unbelievable to me.  He was an original member of the 27^th Infantry that was a Federal National Guard started in 1940.  He then was assigned to the 108^th regular Army Infantry and Signal Corps in Europe, and then he went on to the 1301 Engineers with Patton and still on to the Pacific being in Japan’s waters when the surrender was signed. 

When he came back to the states he returned to the National Guard again.. this time with the 208^th Tank Battalion serving as second in command of the Armory in Syracuse (This is the one I enjoyed)  eventually ending up in the Reitred Reserve attached to the 10th Mountain Division.

As a child I would go with him to when he visited the different Armories (Oswego-Rome-Oneida) when they had special occasions.  From his office in Syracuse I can remember looking down to the large room below and watching them drill and practice.

My favorite "Army" memory was the time my brother and I riding in a jeep with his Sargent driving ...at a parade in Syracuse where the Guard had set up communications…  We couldn’t believe we were in a jeep!

Dad also took us to Arlington Cemetery and this trip I will never forget.  Visiting the graves of men who had died some in battles he fought in.  Thousands and thousands of white markers in rows lying in the gleaming sun.

We saw the changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers an occasion that brought tears and sadness to me.   To this day visiting a National Cemetery does the same thing.

Dad survived…but so many more didn’t.  600,000 died in the Civil War, thousands and thousands since… all in Wars to end all Wars, which of course can never end. 

It is human nature I guess.  People can’t get along with their associates or neighbors let alone with other countries and other cultures.

My dad’s ideas in spending time with us and in taking us traveling I think was not to make us rich… but to make us “Cosmopolitan”…  This word and view has been forgotten, but today it is a reality in our world that is shrinking because of media and fast transportation…Cosmopolitan – a person of the world – diverse – well traveled- cultured…  and understanding in depth the world around us not just our little corner of it.

Here is a video and a clip from a Gordon Lightfoot song I have always wanted to do a video of..maybe I will some day.. 

The songs of the Wars are as old as the hills, 

they cling like the rust on the cold steel that kills

they tell of the boys who went down to the tracks...

in a Patriot manner with the cold steel on their backs..

Listen to the words...it is a trilogy of sorts so follow it to the end..written during the Viet Nam era..it is a treasure telling the truth..straight out..not a protest...

Battle of the Bulge, Father's Day and "Nuts!"....

Domenic J. Messere

This has been a weather nightmare for a good portion of not only our country but of Europe and beyond with floods, tornados,  rain and hail.  Down here in old Eaton we escaped the big flood by a matter of a couple of hours more of rain.  The museum is fine even though the weather has prevented my rear section roofing plans from going forward…I assure you that after falling from two roofs I have learned…

Rule 1 -”Do not roof on wet days!”

Rule 2- “Do not use wet aluminum ladders!”

So I have been working on other projects that have finally come together.

Father’s Day always bring thoughts of my dad who I worked with as a helper as a child and who worked with me when he retired as an adult.  He never really swore in mixed company using his famous “NUTS!” as the expletive if something went wrong.  He was an ‘officer and gentlemen” as the old saying goes.

He had actually been with Patton at the Battle of the Bulge time and I guess he picked up the phrase “Nuts” from General McAuliffe who was the acting commander of the 101^st Airborne at the siege of Bastogne.  The general had quite a history..he had flown in on a glider before D Day.  When asked to surrender by the Germans who had his troops surrounded,  he sent back one of the most famous WWII replies…one word…”NUTS!” Some say it was because he didn't want to be remembered for a swear word..but whatever...

Dad taught me everything about construction and electricity - I remember his saying, ”If you are going to learn to drive a car, you should know how it works and how to fix it”.  If I had and older model truck I could still do it today.    I even rebuilt an engine in the dead of winter and repaired anything I could.

His motto was...”IF YOU CAN READ AND HAVE THE TOOLS YOU CAN DO ALMOST ANYTHING!”  You can!

My favorite story was the time I bought a house in Syracuse and we had to jack up the basement in one part because of a broken beam.  I came home from a job…contracting…and dad was in the basement.  He told me to hold this timber in place and he worked the jack.  We could not lift it…the timber came loose and hit me in the head. 

After much effort and two jacks we got it sort of up there.  One day I decided to hang a shelf on the wall above the bad area and “bam” I found the reason why we had such a hard time.  A former owner had taken a chimney out in the basement and on the outside but not in the middle…. He or she had walled it off! 

P.S.   The word he used when 

the beam came loose and hit me was “Nuts”.  I said something 
different!