Halley's Comet, Mark Twain & Elmira all related?

When you talk about landing on a comet or the Orionid Meteor Shower ...I think about Halley's Comet ...and I am reminded of one of my favorite people...Mark Twain...Samuel Langhorne Clemens.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens came in at birth with Halley’s Comet and left in death on its return trip…a man of high ideals, wit, and a man who has made history in our own backyard in Elmira, not Missouri!!

As many times as I visit Elmira, I always pay a visit to its cemetery and follow its well-marked trail to Mark Twain's grave. I found it by chance many years ago and since then it has become more landscaped and more signs enable the visitor to find it. I guess it is called "cemetery tourism".

Other signs take you to "Twain Country" and maneuver you to 1 Park Place, which is in the middle of Elmira College Campus in downtown Elmira. There in a park like setting is the steamboat captain shaped - gazebo like structure - built for him by his sister-in-law as a summer retreat. The structure once stood on a high hill above Elmira on her property called Quarry Hill Farm. Today it has been moved to the campus and inside is the desk that Twain used for 20 years to write many of his classic American stories like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

His wife Livy Jervis Langdon was from Elmira and in truth the Clemens family are all burred on her fathers cemetery plot! So it really it is "Twain Country" down there.

Twain considered himself "The American" and he truly was a part of the fabric of what makes us...us! His quips were so American humor and as funny and pertinent today as ever....Here are two I like....

“Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself.”

Another favorite of mine is, “It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly American criminal class except Congress!”

Not as well remembered however, were his continual efforts to promote equality and dignity for all of human kind. Twain was a member for almost 10 years of the American Anti-Imperialism League – he was the Vice President until his death.

This group opposed imperialism by America for any reason. They believed that by joining the rest of the world (at that time) in its conquests for commercialism or religious means, America would be abandoning the ideals of self-government and non-interventionism ideals expressed in the United States Declaration of Independence or in Lincoln’s precepts in the Gettysburg Address.

Twain was an interesting man...the quintessential "American"!

The Dalai Lama - What a great week for CNY

Well the Dalai Lama was in CNY this week and the 77 year old Holy Man managed to capture the hearts of all.  His message was especially interesting to me....for years since I was a child I dreamt of meeting the High Lama of Tibet and climbing to the city in the mountains where he lived.  I had all sorts of dreams then and to this day I often paint pictures of high peaks.  I laugh because my mother who slaughtered words sometime called him the "Deli Lama"...and I tend to do the same thing out of humor.

I would have loved to have been at one of his panel discussions or at the concert at the Carrier Dome..but unfortunately I could not...

In these weeks of debates and news stories on Iran, Syria and Afghanistan... talk of war was cheap and my feelings are that we like to talk about war in terms of helping people out... At a dinner recently when I mentioned the death toll of soldiers in Afghanistan one person said.."Well they are paid soldiers"....mercenaries..

Well we all too often forget the other deaths.."Collateral Damage" they are called.  So I went on line to find a figure of those civilian deaths in the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars ....go ahead type it into Google and be shocked!  Some estimates vary but one thing does not, the number of soldiers killed is minimal in comparison to the thousands of citizens killed by and trapped by war.  This does not mention the horror of these scenes to the children living in it..those children who will no doubt hate the invaders.....and not understand what it was about..Religion???Hate??? Or was it OIL???

So to me the Lama's message is like prayer sent out to the ether above....understanding and education and learning about one another, and excepting one an-others faith, institutions, culture and need - are the only ways to make peace in the world.... Hatred, bullying, rattling sabers and talking war only brings out the worst in people and in countries who also feel patriotic to their country, customs and beliefs.

I came from that crazy group of people called the "Love Generation".."Make Love not War"....  Where have we gone?  Have we forgotten Viet Nam.. Is it because soldiers join and are not drafted?  War is War!  But for War there must be better reasons than a boost to the economy or threats like.."Weapons of Mass destructions"- or OIL!

Let's all look at each other in this world that is growing smaller every day..in a different light... Let us teach our children to do it...let us reach out to others in a more peaceable way daily... Maybe in something simple like toning down the rhetoric on line on the different candidates for a start!

The Poor and Carl Sandburg: a man for all seasons..especially Presidential Debates

PresidentiaThe Presidential debates go on and the comments on them go on 
and on and yet what have we learned?

The only theme that has really bothered me lately is the theme of 
entitlement…social security…Medicare…unemployment…   
Humorously these are not really entitlement programs that come 
from the government, they are programs paid for by the people 
weekly and monthly as they work…and yes the people are the 
government.

Today we seem to think that people do not like to work, but many 
are working harder than ever before….working two part time jobs 
or three in some cases….jobs that have no retirement or health 
insurance.

As a People we have allowed factories and better paying city jobs 
to lure us into driving miles to work.  Cars and gas now humble a 
person who has to commute to keep a job, especially if the job 
does not have health-care or retirement benefits.

And what of the elderly who worked all their life at jobs and still 
have benefits that are not enough to live on because of the inflation 
in the cost of our daily lives.

I wonder?  Could we be headed to the second Great Depression…. 
That idea becomes more of a thought and reality as the dust bowl 
lingers in places out west fraught with drought, and as factories 
shut down to move overseas.  Have these companies moved 
because they can get better workers or merely because they can get 
cheaper labor and less regulation?

Companies have taken to hiring temporary part-time workers to 
allow them to side step requirements to keep good workers and to 
actually keep these workers from entitlement programs that the 
company contributes to.  So... we are now complaining about 
giving extra money and food stamps to people to replace corporate 
or business contributions.

And Rural America…now insurance and hiring labor is being by-
passed by the use of huge machines that do the work of 10 men.  
Family farms that keep 30 or 40 cows forced out by large corporate 
farms.

Ironically the debate made me think of Carl Sandburg.  With Obama 
from the Chicago area, a man  doing the thing Carl believed could 
happen…a self-made man who rose from a poor beginning to 
becoming President of the United States.  And there opposite him 
in the debate a wealthy man’s child and a big businessman.

I thought of this poem written in Chicago by Sandburg when he 
started out....simply titled 

                                 “The Poor”

AMONG the mountains I wandered and saw blue haze and red crag 
and was amazed;
On the beach where the long push under the endless tide 
maneuvers, I stood silent;
Under the stars on the prairie watching the Dipper slant over the 
horizon’s grass, I was full of thoughts.

Great men, pageants of war and labor, soldiers and workers, 
mothers lifting their children—
these all I touched, and felt the solemn thrill of them.

And then one day I got a true look at the Poor, millions of the 
Poor, patient and toiling; more patient than crags, tides, and stars; 
innumerable, patient as the darkness of night—
and all broken, humble ruins of nations.

A trip back to the past..and the memories linger!

Sometimes memories are a bit painful as well as wonderful and this weekend brought those emotions to the forefront for me.

Eaton when I first moved here was such a wonderful place filled with friends and good times.  Oh yes the going was tough since we bought this house before the wrecking ball got it and had to struggle to stay warm in Eaton's seriously cold winters...but the neighbors became family and we had fun.

This weekend I had a wonderful visitor from North Carolina named Jill.  I met Jill when she was just a young girl who came up to Eaton to stay with her grandmother for a few weeks every summer.  Her grandmother was my best friend and fishing buddy...and summers were made up of picnics, swimming in the little pool we had out back, and trips to pick cowslips..berries....and all the things that make country life so wonderful.

So in this dreary weather Jill and I set off to revisit a few of the old haunts....we laughed...and later when she left I cried....not a horrible cry but a painful cry because now all my dear friends and neighbors are dead ...and the street though filled with new young people ...that is still quiet and safe... is missing that wonderful older segment of the population that let you remember Eaton's past.

A past that included a closed atmosphere where everyone worried about everyone else and enjoyed life for its simple pleasures like just walking to the neighbors uninvited for coffee, having lunch on the porch listening to tales of the past....learning what the family and friends were up to....or sitting by the woodstove in winter chatting about the coming springs adventures.  We called ourselves "Back Door Friends"..but we were more like family...and unfortunately they are all dead and the young have moved away.

Well today we have Facebook..and although the new neighbors and I do Facebook with each other....its not the same.....and with the introduction of the internet...it will never be the same again...never I fear!

A trip back was fun!

So a toast to those good times and to those now gone....I still remember...!

Sad that we can only revisit those good times as memories.....and the summers seem to get much shorter as you get older...and the winters much longer!

Thanks for the visit Jill....

This museum junkie does Eaton's Churches....at the Old Town of Eaton Museum

I have been working non-stop on the Eaton Museum for weeks and finally have gotten to setting up the displays....finally.  I had begun to drag under the load of getting the museum repaired and painted and then.... two friends picked me up and we toured two museum....I am energized...now perhaps I can have some fun!

So today I started the Eaton Churches corner and realized what an unbelievable history old Eaton has. Most people do not realize that two of the original incorporators of the Eaton Congregational Church were also 2 of the 5 original incorporators of the Baptist Theological Seminary that became Madison University and then Colgate.  As a matter of fact the Eaton Baptist Minister at that time became the first President of Madison University!

Not impressive enough..well the first graduate of the school was Missionary Jonathan Wade of Eaton, Eaton also was the home of Andrew Bigelow Morse an American youth missionary to Burma, also it is cool that the Rev. William Dean - missionary to China, is currently being recognized for his missionary work there.  Eaton's Emily Chubbuck "Fanny Forester"married America's famous missionary Adoniram Judson and returned to Burma with him as a missionary!

In its "hay-day" Eaton had 3 churches with a population of about 450.  These churches remained in the community even though they became "Federated"as church going declined....

Eventually, the 2nd Baptist Church was sold and torn down by Arthur Yale, a postman.  Industrious to the cored he used the building to build three cottages on the Bradley Brook....I have a copy of one of the cottages using the wood, roofing, and pews from the church in the museum.

The Methodist Church is gone..tho many thought it to be the prettiest..and the the only building standing is the Congregational ...now the Eaton Community Bible Church..and what a history that has.

It was from that church in 1848 the Congregational Society of the Northeast met and declared their abolition stanza.  It's famous members included all of the the Wood, Taber and Morse Company, as well as the Landon Family whose son Melville made it famous in his book "Saratoga in 1901", and also included in its many pastors was Rev. William Cleveland.. the President's brother.

Today with in the structure is a rare Meneely clock built by Andrew himself and a world class Meneley Bell...something the Meneely Company keeps check on....so do I!

So if you get a chance visit me when we get the museum finished....and view an interesting piece of not only Eaton's history but the history of Madison County.  For more history and videos go to www.historystarproductions.com.

Take a tour.....

Saving Electricity..My newest method....Bulb Snatching

We all know all of the energy saving tips...Energy Star appliances (if you can afford them), use cold water to wash clothes with, turn off computers and TV's that have heater thingys to keep them ready to spring alive....turn off lights when not in use.....ahhh but I never seemed to be able to remember to do that...!

I have done them all..I am poor and need to save energy as my electric bill is high.  Down here in the country I have electric water pump, electric stove, electric water heater and in the winter electric fans and a space heater in the bathroom.

I have closed the house down to two rooms, cooked on a wood stove if possible in winter, and have little multiple outlets with interrupters on them attached to computers, TVs etc.  I flip the switch after I use it and ..bam no electric use...I disconnect chargers the same way.....bam!

But the most energy I have saved on my electric bill came from my newest dilemma...no lightbulbs.  Yes I use the squiggly kind to save energy but they have died.  So now I use my new energy saving method...BULB SNATCHING!!!

I know this sounds funny but if I carry the same bulb from room to room with me..one - the light is off in the room I left..and  two - I only use light where I am...I cut my bill way down...way down!

So if you really need to save money...BULB SNATCH...you will see your bill go down !! REALLY! It works for me.

But if you come to my house at night ..wait for me to keep moving the bulb especially if I am in the front of the house and you are at the back door.  It takes time...for me to get there......or you can bring your own bulb!

Check this out!

The Old Town of Eaton Museum needs your Help!

This past week has been a long one even though you could say it was like July and August.  I have been working at the Old Town of Eaton Museum trying to get the inside finished.  This has been a long haul-- since October of 2010--when a huge tree fell on the building, punching a hole in the old roof and allowing the downpour from a large rainstorm, a total of 5 inches, to enter the museum including the main room.

Many people think the Town of Eaton helps with the museum.  They do not. There are few funds for small local museums and less for this one since most members of the founding  group have died.

Chris Staudt  and I bought the museum at the instigation of the long-time residents of the town and the powers-that-be because they wanted this beautiful old historic building to be the museum for the town.

The building had been in the same family for years and then had been deserted for about 40 years, when it was sold a few times with no improvement and then sold to a man from New Jersey who was going to move it there.  He thought it was an 1830’s limestone building that could be disassembled and moved.  That didn't prove possible.

The building is an 1810 or so stone building, and when it could not be moved or sold the man offered it to Old Town Folks, the Eaton historical group.  However, that meant that to take it the group had to pay all the closing fees, his two attorneys, our attorney and all the back taxes.  Since no one in the group had money, Chris and I paid the costs. Then, since raccoons had lived there for 40 years, Chris and I had to finance the repairs necessary to get it opened.

It appealed to us personally because we had grown tired of having the museum in our home and having to open our house at all hours of the day and night to visitors, as well as serving food and refreshments to them when they lingered.

I finally got electric service installed and two heaters, opened the first floor, and paid for insurance and taxes on it for all these years.  Yes, museums do pay taxes if they aren't 501 (c) 3 organizations.

The area people are not rich, and donations have been miniscule in comparison to the costs.  The two previous "museums" in town folded. The “collectors” who were given stuff died, their things were sold at auction, and Chris and I vowed that would not happen this time.

Chris died several years ago,  and I have just finished the inside work after having put a new roof on the front during November & December  of 2010 in the snow. I will have to put a roof on the back next year, but that  can wait.

If we are to open the museum,  I need to raise $1300 plus for insurance by next year to be open for the Eaton Parade and History Day on Memorial Day. $1300 is a large amount of money to have to pay to be open one day on weekends from May 30^th to October 1, but that is the cost. I also have to re-install the electric service that was taken out by the tree falling on the museum.

I have included a picture of the damage in a video below, and I am asking you to make a donation. I am not able to be in charge of all the costs anymore.  I live on  a small social security check.  All proceeds from my speaking, writing and books goes to the museum so buy a book or hire me to speak or make videos for you or an organization you belong to.  The books are available at Parry’s in Hamilton, Dougherty’s Phamacy in Morrisville, the Eaton A Z Mini Mart, Nelson Farms or on my website at www.Historystarproductions.com via PayPal.

To donate money (we are not a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization as we are too small) send a check to Old Town Folks Inc., 5823 Brooklyn Street, Eaton NY 13334.  You will be doing a lot of good for this area's history.

Thank you so much.

View video of some of the damage..below.