Two pictures of three young women

In the right-hand picture, Kate and Allison have switched sides from the 1994 version.

Old Picture of Orkney Springs

This is how Orkney Springs once looked. At least, it's an artist's depiction of how it looked.

I was a little confused when I saw this as to which direction was which but Frank figured it out. It's as though you were coming from Basye - on a balloon. The loop road and Great North Mountain would be at the top but out of the frame.

A Book on the Underground Railroad

This map of the Ohio River Valley is from the book Bound for Canaan: The Underground Railroad and the War for the Soul of America. You won't find the town of Chesapeake on it but it is located below Gallipolis - look for the letter "u" in Portsmouth and let your eyes drop below it to the river. That's the area where my ancestor Jacob Suiter lived. Some say he sheltered escaped slaves. There's also a family story that my mother's ancestors sheltered slaves - see Peggy's comment at the bottom of the post linked here.
Seeking information on the underground railroad, I listened to the audio version of Bound for Canaan by Fergus Bordewich. It's a fascinating book, full of exciting stories of courage, religious conviction, sacrifice, and civil disobedience.

In the thirty years leading up to the Civil War, around 100,000 slaves made their way to freedom. Most who were successful were from the border states, and many were assisted by white citizens who could see that slavery was cruel and unjust. But there were penalties for helping escapees, sometimes severe ones, so most of the participants kept their activities secret.

This is an enjoyable and inspiring book that raises questions about civil disobedience that we must ponder in order to understand the complexity of our history. I certainly enjoyed the audio version, although I found myself wanting to see maps and pictures so I checked out a hardcopy book from the library.

Virginia's State Butterfly

The Tiger Swallowtail

This common but pretty butterfly is browsing a butterfly bush.
According to Animal Diversity Web, the tiger swallowtail was the first American insect to be drawn for English viewers; a drawing was sent to England from Sir Walter Raleigh's third expedition to Virginia.

South Fork near Millwood, VA

This is the South Fork of the Shenandoah River at the place where US 50 crosses it. There is a boat ramp there.

Yesterday's sky, late afternoon

Already the days are getting shorter. And the sun is going down a bit to the left of where it set a month ago.

More Lake Laura Photographs

Labor Day at Lake Laura

We went up to Lake Laura last weekend to take a look at the beach. I've never actually been to the beach there while it was open even though we've lived in the resort for three years.

The swimming area is a steep walk up a hill from the parking lot, which is next to the dam. We learned that there is not much shallow water; it drops off quickly. The sandy area for little kids to make castles in is separated from the lake by a fence for safety.

An attendant told us that the water is tested regularly and is clean (although there is algae growing in it nearby). Water temperature was in the 80's.

Morning Glories

Frank is very fond of morning glories, iris, and roses. So of course, we planted them. The morning glories in the garden hardly grew at all, but the ones I planted in an iron pot grew and grew. For the longest time, they grew leaves but no flowers. Finally, we saw flowers this week.

Very nice!

Zydeco!

I went to the Zydeco concert at the Shenandoah Music Festival on Sunday. Terrance Simien and his band played loud and spirited music to an appreciative audience. At first about 20 couples were dancing; by the end of the concert, hundreds of people were dancing.

Oh, I caught two strings of Mardi Gras beads. Simien threw these necklaces into the audience, sometimes picking the necklaces up and tossing them into the rows using his bare feet! Later the washboard player recruited a couple of women from the audience to come onto the stage and toss the beads to people's outstretched hands.

If you haven't heard Zydeco music, how about Cajun music? It's from Louisiana; it was the inspiration for the song Jambalaya. I first enjoyed it at a Smithsonian Folklife festival years ago when the band Beausoliel played. Later heard more at the "Swamp Romps" at Wolf Trap.

Simien announced that a Zydeco/Cajun category has been added to the Grammy awards. It's fun music, especially when experienced live.

Small Plane Coming In

Ready to land, Bryce Mountain Resort

Pictures of the Core Area of Bryce

Above: Coleman's Restaurant, Braxton's, and the Pro Shop are in this building.
Below: Condos, the Old Pro Shop, Townhomes, and the gazebo at the first tee.

Downhill fun

Here's a youth starting up the hill on the moving walkway.

Below we see tubing in progress. The tubing chutes are carpeted with huge bristles that are kept wet so that a tube glides over them.

Bryce Resort website

The guy with the hose doesn't squirt the tubers; he just keeps the super-turf wet.

Mountain Tubing

Click the arrow to see kids mountain tubing at Bryce Resort - Summer Version.
(In the winter, there is snow tubing.)

My Guys

I came home from a brief trip into the "core" of the resort, and my friends were waiting in the driveway. Frank says that Ben whimpers for me when he hears my car coming.

FCW at a Window

This picture was taken at Buffalo Springs Herb Farm.

FCW has been ill for over a week now - violent cough and nausea, hardly eating anything. He's been to the doctor twice. I've had a little cough too but otherwise I'm okay.

I think we both started coughing from mold allergy. We had a plumbing leak behind a wall in the bathroom for a long time. The plumber came out the first time two months ago. He fixed the shower handles that time; second time found nothing wrong but said we would have to make a hole in the wall to be certain. Dampness on the outside wall remained and one of the floor tiles was always damp, so finally Frank opened up a big hole behind the shower. Al fixed the leak but the smell of mold came into the house. Within a day we both started coughing.

We bought a dehumidifier, sprayed bleach in the wall and let it dry for a few days. Bought a light plastic access door and Frank installed it. Finally the air seems to be cleaner. Of course, the rainy spell we had did not help the situation.

Golf Course Photo

Bryce Resort Golf

Butterfly

Butterfly Perched on a Patio Chair

Labels added to Blog

I went through my blog and added Labels to certain entries so that you can find other posts on the same topic. They are Civil War (sites and books),  Genealogy (family history),   Gardens (and flowers), and Orkney Springs (here in Virginia). These labels will appear at the bottom of relevant entries (providing, of course, that I remember to tell them to).

After spending over an hour on this project, I clicked on a Civil War label and only got a small portion of my posts on Civil War sites. I checked Blogger Help and found out that this is because I am still using the Classic Template. I need to upgrade to the Layouts Template, which I have not done because I will lose some of the formatting that I already added. Sign!

That means I have to redo some of what I did before. Well, someday I'll get around to it. Probably.

Mary Amaryllis

I received a request for some more information on my great-grandmother Mary Amaryllis Hammer from someone who is doing architectural tours of Chicago. Basically I told her that there is a biography of Mrs. Hammer on the web. It is transcribed from HISTORY OF OHIO, The American Historical Society, Inc., 1925, Volume V, page 421-422.

Among the organizations that she belonged to were the Mothers' Relief Association, the Illinois Colony Club, the Dames of the Loyal Legion of Illinois, Poetry Lovers of America, the Andoka Philanthropic Club, Illinois Woman's Press Association, the Woman's Athletic Club, the Chicago Woman's Club, the Colonial Coverlet Guild of America, and the Chicago Society of Ohio Women.

When she met Judge D. Harry Hammer, she was a young widow working as a correspondent for the Athens Messenger. She was well-read, auburn-haired, and a graceful dancer. She and the judge married in June 1874.

She was outspoken and campaigned against the killing of aigrettes (egrets) for their plumes, used in hats, so not all her energy was devoted to socializing and shopping, although even her children seemed to remember her as a socialite. After Judge Hammer died in 1904, she spent less time on social events and became involved in political issues, supporting women's suffrage and women's rights. On one occasion she was entertained by Mrs. Harding at the White House.

See earlier posts in Jan. 06

Also LOC photo from Chicago Daily News related to Fresh Air Fund 1915