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!

"50 Shades of Gray", Earl Grey tea that is!

With all this chatter about “50 Shades of Gray” I amused myself over a cup of tea last night thinking about the variety I was drinking…Earl Grey.  It is one of my friend Cathy Nagle's favorites, although that might have something to do with the fact that her maiden name was Earl. 

So I thought I would “history quest” Earl Grey Tea… and to my surprise it was fascinating.

 

The Earl in Earl Grey Tea is the 2^nd Earl Grey whose name was Charles.  Charles actually became the Prime Minister of England and it is during his administration that slavery was abolished in the UK. Charles and his family early on were seated at Howick Hall in Northumbrian, he being known as Viscount Howick.  The thing he is most remembered for however... is Earl Grey Tea.

Tons of stories float around on how he became synonymous with the tea, one account being that he saved a Chinese Mandarins son from drowning and was presented with the tea recipe…though this story has been discounted, it is as good as any.

The tea gets its unique citrusy taste from an orange variety called Bergamot that comes from Italy and the Mediterranean area.   Oil is extracted from the fruits rind and infused into a black tea (once Chinese now from many places).  One legend has it that the tea was specifically blended to cover the taste of the water in  Northumberland, home of Howlick Hall…an area whose water is heavy in lime.

Jacksons of Piccadilly claimed the original Earl Grey tea, although many companies including Twinning’s have made it. Off shoots of the original tea that add Lavender is called Lavender Lady and an extra citrus variety is called Citrus Lady Grey.

All in all... it is still one of the most popular teas made, it is even used as an infusion in cakes, scones, and other bake goods.  Its modern notoriety coming from Star Trek: the Next Generation as Captain Pickard’s favorite. Health food stores note it is high in antioxidants and its citrus base is good for tons of stuff…well, if they say so.  However... it is noted that for people who take certain drugs its chemical make up acts like grapefruit juice…if you drink more than a liter or two at once. So I guess most of us are safe…huh.

However for a cold winter’s night there is nothing like a cup of hot Earl Grey Tea…adding one of those Earl Grey cupcakes would be a great addition don’t you think.

New Years thoughts, Museum, WWI, Pope Francis 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..

For New Years we all set goals for the new year and tonight we had a museum dinner meeting to celebrate New Year and also to talk about what to do about the museum for 2015.  This little band of helpers and myself have struggled, poured much energy and money into keeping the museum open. The question that came to my mind was, ”should I continue after 20 years?” 

After all left 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 Wars.

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. We are also in a time of world wars and skirmishes that are killing thousands of innocent people...and for what?

So I went on line and tried to find out what that great guy Pope Francis...who signs everything just Francis…said in his New Year message.  His message fittingly came on January 1st and the 48th anniversary of the Day of World Peace, and the Maria Dolens bell was shown 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 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 it rang 100 times at midday and was shown on the large screen in St. Peter’s square.

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… Happy New Year!