Mount Vernon

On Thursday of this week we drove to the home of our first president George Washington.  It was a beautiful sunny day, consequently we had a very scenic drive there once we got off the freeway.  The parkway to the house runs through forest and marshland.  We were fortunate to see one white egret as well as two great blues standing in the shallow waters.  As we got closer to the mansion we knew we were in for trouble as there were quite a few buses in the parking lots.  We soon discovered that schoolchildren were here from around the nation, which usually happens during the fall months.  One group of middle school-aged children we talked to were from Detroit.  Fortunately our tour of the house was adults only!

Augustine Washington, the father of George Washington, built this house in 1735.  It started out as a two story house with 7 rooms.  When George inherited it from his half-brother Lawrence in 1761 he expanded the structure.  Over the next 4 decades he turned it into a 21-room residence.  There is a large expanse of lawn in front of the house, as you may note above.  George Washington liked formal landscaping, as we found out later while touring the gardens of the estate.  The bowling green was cut with scythes and smoothed with rollers to keep the grass firm and even.  After entering the house via the servants quarters we were shown into the biggest and grandest room of the mansion.  Washington called it his "New Room".  The room is quite striking with its high two-story ceiling and bright green colored wallpaper (use of bold colors was a sign of wealth back in that era).  The furnishings of this room include some original pieces of the Washington and Custis families. From the first floor we stepped outside to view the back porch of the house.

What a grand view of the Potomac River!  To get a complete idea of the entire house I will also post a view of the back porch of the mansion where it is possible to sit a spell and take in the awesome view of the river.

The second story of the house has nine bedrooms.  The Washington family had many guests, many of whom were the first statesmen of our country.  They usually came with servants and to accommodate them the house has a one-and- a- half story hall.  After seeing the mansion we walked outside to visit the reconstructed out buildings and gardens.  More on them in the next posting.

Annapolis, Maryland

As we drove in to Annapolis yesterday we noticed a paucity of traffic.  That became more apparent as we started driving around the capitol city's streets.  Then  it dawned on us that it was election day.  We had voted by absentee ballot so it was not on our radar what the day was.  Fortunately the state capitol was open, the only people around were the security guards.  I think it is interesting here to give some of Maryland's history.  The colony was named Maryland after Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I of England in 1632.  The Maryland State House is the oldest capitol in continuous legislative use since 1779.  It had been in a couple other buildings prior to this one.  The current building was the peacetime capitol of the United States Continental Congress which met there from November 1783 until August 1784.  The old senate chamber, where several historic events pertaining to the Continental Congress took place (as George Washington's resignation as commander in chief of the Continental Army), is closed for repairs.  We were able to see the old House of Delegates Chamber which is as it appeared 1876-1905.

Now that room is just used for special state ceremonies.  It was during the turn of the 20th century that the State House needed major repairs.  Two of the 19th century rooms were removed and replaced with one large annex where there is presently the Senate and House of Delegates.  After seeing those two rooms we were done with our tour, it is a small capitol building compared to others we have visited.

The rest of our day in Annapolis was spent as the U.S. Naval Academy.  Our guided tour was quite interesting as our guide sponsors a couple of the midshipmen and could share with us stories about what their everyday life is like on the Yard, as well as the traditions.  Pictured above are some of the middies as they are returning to their dorm (Bancroft Hall, largest dormitory in the U.S.) for the evening meal.  It is the only dorm on campus.  Before settling down for the evening they are required to work out for a couple of hours.  All of them are expected to participate in a sport- 35 varsity sports are available, besides club and intramural.  We also toured the Lejeune Physical Education Center which has a wrestling arena.

Pictured above is Dahlgren Hall, it will be the site of a Marine Corps ball this coming week end.  Originally graduations for the midshipmen were held here.  The naval school started in 1845 with 50 students in attendance.  Today there are 4,400 midshipmen, of which 25% are female.  Twenty-four academic majors are offered leading to a bachelor of science for all graduates.  We also saw Memorial Hall, the Naval Academy's place of highest honor where distinguished alumni, past and present, are remembered.

Above is the main chapel, the highest point in the Yard and it offers a good view of the Severn River.  The beautiful stained glass windows of the chapel are by Tiffany, on the right side the windows have Old Testament Bible stories with water and on the left side stories with water pertaining to the New Testament.  A person cannot be married while attending the school, so after graduation an average of 200 marriages happen here yearly.  We also visited the crypt of John Paul Jones below the chapel.  He was one of our country's greatest Revolutionary War naval heroes.  We learned more about him at the U.S. Naval Academy Museum at Preble Hall.  We have been to Annapolis in past years, I am glad we were able to able to take the opportunity this time around to see the naval academy.  It certainly was a worthwhile visit.

Care for the Wounded at Antietam

In my last posting I mentioned the farms which were affected by the battle.  It was at the Joseph Poffenberger farm where Clara Barton gave assistance to the wounded and dying.  She had heard reports that there were inadequate relief supplies at the battle sites.  Following the sounds of gunfire she arrived at this farmhouse with bandages and lanterns. 

For three days Barton and her staff of thirty men offered water and gruel to the wounded and dying where they had fallen in the battlefield.  She was a forty year old teacher and patent clerk, yet reportedly she dug a bullet out of the cheek of a soldier with a pocketknife.  Story also has it that one time when she was tending a soldier a bullet when through her dress sleeve and killed the soldier. Antietam was not the only battlefield during the Civil War at which she gave her assistance.

Pictured above is a memorial to Barton at Antietam, notice the red cross at the base.  Clara Barton established the Red Cross in 1881, and was the first president of the organization.

Our last stop of the day at Antietam was the Pry house where General McClellan had his headquarters.  President Lincoln visited this home in early October to see one of his generals who was recovering there from a wound received during the Antietam battle.  Presently there are many exhibits in this house regarding the medical care which the wounded received during the Civil War.

Above is a recreation of a typical operating theater.  The family's furniture were pushed aside and an operating table was made using a door and packing boxes.  The Civil War saw the development of plastic and neurosurgery.  Doctor Jonathan Letterman, Director of the Army of the Potomac became known as the "Father of Emergency Medicine".  He developed the system of triage (which prioritizes casualties on the seriousness of their wounds) and established the ambulance corps- to name only a couple of his accomplishments.  One final note here, there were 12 African American doctors who served as Union surgeons or contract surgeons during the Civil War.

Antietam National Battlefield

We certainly had a full day on Saturday touring this battlefield, and ending our day with a brief stop at Harper's Ferry.  Antietam, in Maryland, is located about 60 miles northwest of Washington D.C.  It will be one battlefield which I will not forget.  This was one of the bloodiest battles during the war, because it happened over only 12 hours.  General Lee brought about Confederate 40,000 troops to this September 17, 1862 battle against George McClellan's Union troops of 60,00.  When it was all over, there were about 23,000 men dead, wounded, or missing.  Needless to say, memorials abound in this battlefield.

Upon arrival to this area we spent some time at the visitor's center to see the exhibits and hear one lecture by a park ranger.  Both were quite helpful in understanding the battle as well as the Maryland Campaign.  What was quite sobering to me was a picture taken by a photographer one day after of the war dead.  By the time of the Civil War photographers could follow armies, take pictures and develop them in field darkrooms.  From the visitor's center we took a driving tour of the battlefield, which had 9 major stops.

The Dunker church was one of our first stops, it was a church of the German Baptist Brethren, built in 1850 (a wind storm destroyed it after the war, but it has been reconstructed since then).  The religious group was called "Dunkers" because of their practice of full immersion baptism.  That place of peace and love saw some very fierce fighting between the two armies in the early morning hours of September 17, 1862.
At site 4 is a 24-acre cornfield.  It saw some of U.S. history's most horrific fighting, which took place over three hours.  One Confederate brigade suffered over 60-percent casualties in 30 minutes.  Another horrific scene was played out on a sunken farm road, which served as the breastwork for the Confederate Center.

On this lane for about three hours 2,200 Confederate troops, later reinforced by additional troops, held off a combined Union force of nearly 10,000 troops.  Finally just after noon, the gray line collapsed.  At the Visitor's Center we saw a painting done by one of the soldiers ( artist James Hope) which portrays this scene of carnage.  The wounded and dying are lying heaped on each other in rows, as later described by an observer.  According to him "words are inadequate" to portray the scene.

 Pictured above is Lower Bridge, which crosses Antietam Creek.  Confederate soldiers held the area overlooking the bridge for three hours until the Union Army captured the bridge and forced them  to retreat to the town of Sharpsburg.  Amazingly no civilians were killed, those living in the farms around the battle site left their homes when the fighting began.  I will write more on our day at Antietam in my next posting.

Patuxent National Wildlife Research Refuge

It seemed important to John and I that we visit this refuge, and that turned out to be a good idea because it is this refuge that has made possible some of the other parks which we have visited in our travels.  I will explain that further as I describe what the mission is of this place.  It was established in 1936 by executive order of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and is our nation's only national wildlife refuge established to support wildlife research.  The refuge and adjacent federal lands comprise the largest green space in the Washington D.C.- Baltimore corridor.  Since its beginning it has been in the forefront of research in environmental contamination and endangered species research as well as migratory bird conservation.  Our first stop in the refuge was at the visitor's center, which has wonderful displays explaining the past research as well as what is being done currently.  In the 1960s when certain birds as the whooping cranes, bald eagles and condors started disappearing this wildlife refuge began research into the use of DDT.   It was discovered that the sprayed accumulation of such pollutants affected earthworms, they received as much as 100x  pesticide as was applied to the soil.  Following other clues the research center learned that pesticides thinned the egg shells of birds and consequently stressed bird populations.  It is at this center that whooping cranes have been propagated and reintroduced back into the wild.   A couple of years ago John and I visited Aransas Wildlife Refuge in Texas and were privileged there to see several whooping cranes.  Another species which have become endangered has been canvasback ducks- the refuge here has also worked at restoring their populations.  That duck is another bird which John and I were fortunate to see when we were in Texas.  Too some extent it was a bit depressing to learn at the center how we have so badly messed up our planet.     However, I am thankful that our government has research areas as Patuxent where some species are being brought back from extinction.  We spent way more time than we had planned to at the visitor's center, and it was late afternoon before we began hiking the trails of the refuge.

In the past few days we have been seeing the peak of fall colors.  Saturday we took a road trip with our son Dan and his wife Amanda to Antietam, a Civil War battle site.  It seemed then that the trees of the countryside were literally ablaze with  vibrant colors of gold, green and red.  Maybe it is not so bad that we have not headed south yet.  It was quite a cool day, but seeing the fall colors was worth it.

Greenbelt, Maryland

We are now parked in College Park, Maryland- about 9 miles north from our son Dan and Amanda who live in the D.C. area.   John and I decided yesterday that, before doing any touring in the Washington area, we would first explore what is closer in to where we are parked.   We had heard about the Greenbelt Museum, but also realized that it would be closed as it had very limited visiting hours.   However, we had learned that there would be some exhibits on the history of Greenbelt in one of the town's public buildings.  We first drove to the public library, but,  before entering that building we walked over to the one next door to it and there found exhibits related to the town's history.  That building is pictured below, it is what use to be Greenbelt's elementary school, but now serves as the town's community center.

It is an art deco-styled building with stone friezes carved below the windows.  The artist, Lenore Thomas, chose the preamble to the constitution for those sculptures, with the thought that the school children needed to learn of the political foundations of our country.  The one below has the words "Establish Justice".

During the Great Depression many people were unemployed,  moving into our nation's cities looking for homes and work.   As part of President Roosevelt's New Deal the government built the town of Greenbelt, an experiment in town planning and cooperative living.  Here cinder block homes with flat roofs were erected in clusters, and for families needing larger homes there were frame houses with brick veneers. 

Thirteen thousand were employed for this project, it was one of the largest single programs of the New Deal.  It provided housing for 900 people, and in 1941 Greenbelt provided additional housing for 1,000 military personnel.  Of note is also that during the earlier years each family was given an electric range and refrigerator.  After learning about the history of Greenbelt, John and I took a self-guided tour along the pedestrian paths which surround the public buildings and original houses.  Greenbelt was planned with children in mind.  The town contained thirteen playgrounds originally located in the green space between the buildings.  Pedestrian underpasses were also built so that children would not have to risk crossing traffic.

Our walking tour also took us to the town's center which includes the original movie theater, Co-Op grocery store, cafe, and other small businesses.  The city also provides an aquatic and fitness center. 

Outside of the town is a large park and lake.  Construction on the Greenbelt Project began with this lake in 1935.  Originally this was a 23-acre heavily wooded valley cut by a stream.  Land was cleared here by hand and a 22- foot dam built to create the lake.  It is only about a mile and one-half trek around the lake, which John and I completed before leaving the town of Greenbelt.

Day Two in Winchester, Virginia

There is probably no way that I can completely write about all the historic buildings of Winchester in even several postings.  I will just mention several significant buildings before moving on to what we saw Monday while touring around the town.  In the main historic area we also saw the house/headquarters of Stonewall Jackson.  He also spent some time at the Taylor Hotel, built in 1848.  Union Generals Banks, Sigel,  and Sheridan also used the hotel a headquarters during the war.  We had time Sunday to tour one building, which was the Patsy Cline house.  She was a country music singer who lived from 1932 and died in 1963in a plane crash.  She was then at the peak of her singing career.  From 1948 to 1957 her home was on 608 S.Kent Street.  This is where Patsy lived when she won the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scout Competition, she signed her first recording contract, and debuted on the Grand Ole Opry.

The house may look big, but when Patsy, her mom and brother and sister lived there it just had two rooms on the first story; a living room and one other room where the family cooked, ate and bathed.  A kitchen and bathroom were added later.  The house was at one time a log cabin, built 10 years before the Civil War.  In the living room part of a wall has been exposed to show the logs underneath.  On Monday we drove to the oldest home in Winchester, called "Abram's Delight".

The original log house on this estate was built by Abraham Hollingsworth in 1728.  The current 1754 house was built by Abraham's son Isaac. On this site Abraham claimed he had everything he wanted, which was fertile land and an ample water supply.  He found "delight" in what he owned.  Until the mid 20th century the springs on this land met the water needs of Winchester.

 From this site we drove to Mount Hebron Cemetery, to find the Lutheran church ruins.

Pictured above are the ruins of the first stone Lutheran church built by the German Lutheran population of  Winchester.  The cornerstone was laid in 1764 and the church burned down in 1854.  However, the cemetery continued to expand into what it is today.  Grace Lutheran has maintained a garden around the ruins.  In the cemetery we also found the grave of General Daniel Morgan.

We learned more about General Morgan at the old stone Presbyterian Church where he once was a member.  The church is pictured beyond his statue, which sits on the church grounds.  The words below him are: "Fought everywhere,beaten nowhere".  He fought in many Revolutionary War battles and in 1878 further served his country in the House of Representatives.  The old stone church has its own interesting story to tell.  It was built in 1780, served both as a Presbyterian as well as a Baptist Church.  It also has been used as a Federal Troop stable, a public school for African American children, and a National Guard armory.  Needless to say, we enjoyed our stay in Winchester very much- the history here is fantastic.

Historic Winchester, Virginia

Our Sunday began with a Reformation service at Grace Lutheran.  It was quite an inspirational service enhanced by trumpet and pipe organ accompanying such great old hymns as "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" and the "Church's One Foundation".  The congregation was organized in 1752, its' present building sits in the historic district of Winchester.  After services John and I started our walking tour down Winchester's main street, once known as the Great Philadelphia "Wagon" Road.   This was the main artery to settlement west of the mountains during the early days of our country.

  Winchester is the oldest community west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, so it is not unusual to find buildings here over 200 years old.  The Godfrey-Miller home was built in 1788, passed down through the Miller family until 1934 when it was donated to the Lutheran church for an elderly ladies home.

As I had mentioned in a previous posting, Winchester changed hands between Union and Confederate forces many times.  The same thing can be said for the courthouse which was used as a hospital and prison by both armies.  During the Civil War 6 major battles were fought in and around the town.

Young George Washington arrived in Winchester in 1748 as a surveyor, later to become adjutant of the militia, and representative to the colonial House of Burgesses for this county, Fredrick, in 1758.  Pictured below is the original blockhouse portion believed to predate 1758 and used by Washington as a surveyor and adjutant of the militia from 1755-58.

It looks like I will not complete writing about this historic town in one posting, and we still have some more touring around to do today.   Just maybe I will finish up on this tomorrow! 

Museum of the Shenandoah Valley

John did not realize when he made the reservation for the rv park here in Winchester Va. that we would be sitting in one of the more historical towns of the state.  We got a hint of that very quickly when we started collecting the brochures of the area.   Winchester was founded in 1752, so its' history goes back to the Colonial era when young George Washington was a surveyor in the town.  During the Civil War the town changed hands between the Confederate and the Union armies over 70 times, and even as much as 13 times in one day!  Yesterday we visited the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley to learn more of the legendary past of the valley.   The museum does a great job, through numerous displays, of showcasing the natural resources of the area as well as the people who have lived here over the centuries.  On the museum grounds is the Glen Burnie House, the older sections of which were built in 1793.

Colonel James Wood and his Mary settled on the land in 1738.  He was the founder of the town of Winchester.  It was his son Robert who built the older parts of the house which we see today.  The estate has remained a home of the Wood Glass families from 1738 to 1990.  During the Civil War each side occupied the house several times, fortunately the house was not damaged.  Julian Wood Glass Jr. and his partner Lee Taylor restored the home and gardens in the 1960s.   They were able to restore the then decaying house into a country estate with the fortunes Julian Glass had inherited from the Oklahoma oil industry.  Much of what we saw, while touring the house and gardens, was the changes those two made while living here.  The gardens include vegetable and herb, rose, perennial, as well as Chinese and a parterre garden.  The latter garden is pictured below.  It is a formal garden consisting of bedding plants or shrubs, as well as gravel paths, laid out in pattern.  A statue of Mercury stands in the middle of the garden.

We were told by one of the docents of the house that the Chinese garden has elements of a Japanese garden as well, perhaps it should be called Asian.  The moon gate and bridge over a small pond is pictured below.

I will conclude this posting with a picture of the rear of the home.  It perhaps gives you a better idea of the size of the home.  Today we plan to tour the historic sites of Winchester.

Hocking Hills State Park- Part Two

Yesterday the rain stopped, but it remained cool and overcast.  However, we had a wonderful day and hardly gave much thought to the weather.  Returning home that evening I discovered that I had taken close to 300 pictures!  Part of my problem the whole day was that I could not figure out whether to concentrate my photography on the large rock formations, cliffs, fall colors, towering hemlocks and oaks, various ferns, or the last wildflowers of the year.  We saw a lot of God's wonderful world, to put it simply.  Ash Cave was our first stop, and we were surprised to find the parking lot almost full.  The cave was given its name because of the large pile of ashes found here by early settlers.  The pile, measuring l00 feet long, 3 feet deep and 30 feet wide, was believed to be the campfire ashes of Native Indians which had been built up over the years.

The massive recessed cave measures 700 feet wide and 100 feet high.  It is believed that ancient people were here 8,000 BC, they left their mark in the stone in the form of sharpening grooves and effigies.  Our next stop was Conkle's Hollow.  As we walked into this nature preserve we were soon surrounded by sheer cliffs rising nearly 200 feet above the valley floor.

 

The deep gorge at Conkle's Hollow measures 100 feet wide at places.  As we walked through the gorge we noticed the cliffs literally closing in on us, in other words, the gorge was becoming narrower.  In the dark recesses of the gorge ferns and moss seem to take over.  Many of them are draped over the slumps, or rocks which litter the valley floor.  The boulders, as pictured below, once clung to the bedrock walls of the hollow.  Our walk through the gorge ended at a large rock shelter similar to the one we had seen at Ash Cave, although it was not as massive.

I would say our most awesome area of the day was our next stop, the rock house.  It is a massive cavernous corridor with natural Gothic looking windows-like openings.  A park brochure claims that it is the only true cave in the park.  The house is situated midway up a 150-foot cliff and has a ceiling which is 25 feet high.  It is quite colorful with  shades of brown, red, and orange splashed on its walls- that is caused by iron staining.

Our last stop of the day was at Cantwell Cliffs.  Here we had a choice of winding our way between large boulders on the valley floor or getting a good view of the cliffs and rock shelters from the rim trail.  I think we did a little of several trails, it all became quite confusing to me after awhile.  We saw more slump rocks, which here have created some very narrow passage ways.  Pictured below is what has been called Fat Woman's Squeeze.  Hiking through this area was just as thrilling as all the other places we had visited.

I am writing this posting now from Virginia.  We saw some beautiful fall colors driving through the hills of West Virginia.  Not sure whether we want to drive Highway 50 again, however.  John had to contend with some very steep grades and our motor home certainly got all shook up with the wild swinging around the curves.  However, the scenic vistas made it all worthwhile.

Hocking Hills State Park- Part One

We have certainly been dealing with some nasty cold wet weather recently.  However, we got a break from it yesterday and were able to visit Hocking State Park. The park received its name from the Wyandot Indians who called it “hockhocking” referring to the Hocking River’s bottle shaped gorge near Lancaster,Ohio.  The park has 6 separate areas all total encompassing 2,000 acres.  Each one of those locations has their own unique features varying from towering sandstone cliffs to waterfalls and streams to deep gorges.  We hiked two of those areas yesterday and were quite fortunate that rain did not come down until our last hour of trekking. 

Old Man’s Cave is one of the more popular spots in the park.  It was given that name because a reclusive man, Richard Rowe, made the cave his home in the 1800s with his two hound dogs.  A great deal of our afternoon was spent in and around this large cave, which has five principal sections to it.  There is the upper and lower gorge, as well as upper, lower and middle falls.  Pictured below are the lower falls.

 

It was fascinating looking at the hollows in the streams and small recesses in the cliff walls- all created by the forces of cascading waters as well as percolating groundwater.  An eroded out spot in  Clear Creek here has been dubbed the “Devil’s Bathtub.

We were going to call it a day after seeing Old Man’s Cave, but it was still light out and the weather was holding out for us.  Near the cave, and up the gorge from it, is located Cedar Falls.  A path connects the two places, but in the interest of saving time, we drove to the falls.  They were called Cedar Falls by the early settlers who mistook the large hemlock trees around it as Cedar trees.

Cedar Falls is the most abundant waterfall in the park.  Queer creek cascades down the front of it.  Just as we were leaving this area we notice a memorial plaque for Grandma Gatewood (she lived from 1887-1973), who hike the Appalachian Trail several times after the age of 67 years.  I had recently learned about her when a book on her life came up on my kindle list.  I did not know she was a “long-time Hocking Hills enthusiast”!  Six miles of a trail running from Cedar Falls to Ash Creek has been dedicated to her.  Hopefully today, Wednesday, the weather will clear up and we can see more of the park.

Columbus Washboard Company

On Sunday afternoon we parked in the beautiful hills of Hocking County in southeastern Ohio. 

We came to this area to see the awesome sights of Hocking State Park, but or first goal on Monday was to tour the Columbus Washboard Company in Logan,Ohio.  It was as interesting as the mustard museum!

 

  I have been writing about all the fall festivals currently taking place in this part of the country.  There is one small town festival which I would love to attend, and that is the Washboard Music Festival which takes place in June in Logan.  It is probably the only washboard festival in our country, just as the Columbus Washboard Co. is the last remaining washboard manufacturing company in the United States.  It began in 1895 making washboards for laundry use, but since then has also made them as decorative items as well as musical instruments.  Hard to believe, the company makes 60,000 a year.  When we arrived to take the factory tour the two workers from the shop, as well as the tour guides, were out for lunch.  John and I opted to take the tour on our own as there were informative signs posted on the factory walls..  It was not a very long tour, as it just includes one large room.

 

The factory serves also as a museum.  On display is a gravity fed nailer, which has since been replaced by the nail gun.  We also saw the original metal crimper and metal slitter.  The crimper bends the metal to create various rubbing surfaces.  One can customize their own washboard and make it with galvanized metal zinc or brass.  Stainless steel is durable for musical use and is most durable.  For decorative uses slate or glass may also be used instead of metal.

The burning question I had was whether anyone uses the washboards for laundry today.  We were told that some people still use them to do their laundry, the company distributes washboards to Ace Hardware stores.  Also our military appreciates them- in the factory was a large display regarding the Kuwait Fund.  For a $25.00 donation the company will mail to any service person a small washboard (the boards come in family, pail and mini size), tub, clothesline, pins, 3 soap bars and foot powder.  Instructions are included with the package, and a suggestion is made that the dirty water be saved to wash their feet.  That explains the foot powder!