bent boot
Years ago I read a book called Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise?: An Imponderables Book (Imponderables Books)
I’ve seen this practice many times and have read three general reasons. The first makes the most sense. If someone was lost, the boots would show that someone lived nearby. The lost person could follow the boots to a dwelling. Some cover fence posts with boots to protect posts from weather. Some say it’s just tradition.
I like tradition. Long may it live!
GHTime Code(s): nc nc
Saskatchewan Legislative Building
Saskatchewan’s Legislative Building, Regina, is not a building. It’s an edifice. Saskatchewan is one of the smaller population provinces, but it has the largest Canadian provincial capitol building. Building is an example of the Beaux Arts style in vogue at the time it was built, 1908-1912. Tour guide said it was modeled on Versailles, but Legislative Building lacked Hall of Mirrors.
Legislative Building entrance
The building’s entrance is beautiful.
pillars
These green and cream pillars were made of marble from Cyprus and that quarry is now empty of that stone. They are spectacular.
dome and mural
This is the rotunda, where the Latin cross of the building’s design intersects. Mural is called “Before the White Man Came”. Its painter is a correctional officer.
The Legislative Assembly’s chamber makes it clear that this is a constitutional monarchy, not an American-style republic.
rostrum and mace
Queen Elizabeth II’s portrait is above the Speaker’s chair, showing where the highest authority lies. That authority is symbolized by the mace, carried in before sessions begin. Head of mace points toward party in power, showing who’s in charge.
beaver carving in Assembly chamber
Chamber woodwork is beautifully carved. Tour guide said a young man, I believe 17 years old, carved all of them. I was amazed that such a young carver could execute such sublime work.
Queen Elizabeth II's equestrian statue in front of Legislative Building
The people are devoted to their queen. A statue of her riding her favorite horse Burmese, a Canadian mare, stands in Wascana Park across street from Legislative Building. Queen unveiled it in 2005. Her son Edward, Earl of Wessex, broke ground for it in 2003. Plaques show where royal family members have been. A plaque on Legislative Building notes that “Their Majesties” King George VI and Queen Mary were there in 1939. I thought of the legendary “George Washington Slept Here” signs of the early American republic.
Rest of building was surprisingly plain. Most of the halls we saw were undecorated and the light fixtures were simple. This was in sharp contrast to Massachusetts’ statehouse.
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GHTime Code(s): nc nc ncMay 27
Government House
Government House was the former residence of the Lieutenant (LEF-tenant) Governor, the British monarch’s direct representative. Each province has a Lieutenant Governor. The current Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governor no longer resides in Government House, but retains an office there. I was surprised at the lack of security apparatus. Some uniformed officers were present, but I saw no firearms. We didn’t have to go through any metal detectors or run our belongings through a scanner. I was grateful not to remove all my gear. This is a great contrast to US governmental facilities.
Queen Elizabeth II portrait
When tourists enter, their first sight is this life-size portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, whom Canadians recognize as their monarch. She seems about ready to step out of the painting. I almost bowed reflexively until I remembered two things: 1) it’s only a portrait; and 2) Americans don’t bow to royalty.
Oranges in conservatory
Government House has been restored to the period when Lt. Gov. Amédée Forget (FOR-zhay) and his wife Henriette lived in the mansion.
The first two rooms visitors see are the ballroom and conservatory. Conservatory was originally much larger. At the time of its construction, Government House was a kilometer outside Regina (Re-JINA), with its only neighbors the local Mountie regiment. Government House grew much of its own food and traded with the Mounties for meat. When ballroom was added, conservatory was downsized.
salesman chair
Salesman chairs were placed in the ceremonial entrance. Turning salesmen away was considered to be rude. The butler would summon the man of the house to see the salesman. In order to get rid of them, they were asked to sit in these chairs. Back legs were longer than front ones so the chairs tilted uncomfortably. When salesman would try to adjust himself on the seat, the crack would pinch him. If he leaned against the back, a projection would stab him. Now, which is more rude? Telling him no at the door or wasting his time while making him very uncomfortable?
master bedroom bed detail
The master bedroom had very ornate furniture, which came as no surprise since the Victorians loved ornateness. The bed had high head and foot boards because Victorians believed that air on head and feet was dangerous to one’s health.
The children’s and governess’ rooms were definitely less elaborate. They were low down on the totem pole, even though the governess was highest ranking servant. Children were definitely expected to be seen and not heard. If they wanted to see their father, children had to make an appointment.
chess set in first guest bedroom
This chess set was in the bedroom reserved for the highest-ranking guest. Another bedroom was reserved for lesser-ranking guests. Even the wallpaper showed how important — or not– a person was. I thought, “What petty snobbery!”
bleeding heart bush
We had come at day’s end so staff hustled us out rather quicker than I wanted to leave. We stopped briefly in the garden. I hope my bleeding heart bush will look this beautiful someday.
To subscribe to this blog, go here or click on the orange and white RSS logo on this page. To follow me from Facebook, click on “Follow This Blog” in the Networked Blogs box, also on this page. Or like my Facebook page. Or you can follow me on Twitter.
GHTime Code(s): ncMay 21
Because of its close proximity to Mt. Rushmore, Rapid City, S.D., bills itself as the “City of Presidents“.
To emphasize this title, the downtown historic district has erected lifesize statues of the Presidents.
Harry Truman statue
I found Harry Truman’s to be the most interesting. Statue is copy of one of the 20th Century’s most iconic photographs. Because rain had fallen off and on all day, Truman seems to be crying tears of joy in this photograph.
Dewey Defeats Truman
Here’s the real picture for comparison purposes.
The bronze Truman needs to have his teeth cleaned.
Statue seemed a bit short until I looked up his actual height. He was only 5-foot-9, an inch and a half shorter than I am. That surprised me. He may have been of modest height, but Truman was a giant of integrity.
To subscribe to this blog, go here or click on the orange and white RSS logo on this page. To follow me from Facebook, click on “Follow This Blog” in the Networked Blogs box, also on this page. Or like my Facebook page. Or you can follow me on Twitter.
GHTime Code(s): nc nc
Massachusetts House of Representatives
This is the Massachusetts State House‘s House Chamber. Note the Massachusetts House of Representative’s voting boards on the left and on the right.
House Democrats
Here are the Democrats. Leadership is on top, then the members follow in alphabetical order.
House Democrats, Independent and Republicans
Democrats continue on the other side. Rep. Jones, the one with the dashes before and after his name, is the lone Independent. The remaining names are Republicans. Massachusetts is definitely a blue state, which makes the election of Sen. Scott Brown a shock. The election happened only a few days before we arrived. I was hoping to score a Scott Brown sign, but the only election evidence I saw was a Martha Coakley headquarters storefront.
Albert Herter painted the five murals high on the wall, Milestones on the Road to Freedom. The leftmost one (not shown), the painting of John Winthrop leading the Pilgrims to their landing on Plymouth Rock, has been water damaged and was removed for preservation and restoration.
The room is paneled with lustrous Honduran mahogany.
House ormolu clock
At the back of the room is an ormolu clock. Ormolu clocks are also known as “Death Clocks” because the process used to make ormolu poisoned the clockmaker.
The Sacred Cod
The Sacred Cod is the State House’s most famous item. The cod fishery was early Massachusetts’ most significant form of income. A representation of a cod has hung in Massachusetts state houses since the early 1700s. One was lost in a 1747 fire and its replacement disappeared during the British occupation of Boston. The current one, a five-foot fish carved from a single block of pine, was donated in 1798. It hung unmolested until 1933, when the staff of Harvard Lampoon stole it by clipping its supporting wires. An anonymous tip led to its whereabouts. It was rehung much higher, out of the way of someone’s clippers.
Holy Mackerel
The Senate has its own fish, the Holy Mackerel, worked into its chandelier. The dome has 360 pieces of carved wood around it, one for each degree of a circle.
Massachusetts Senate Chamber
The Senate’s documents are tied with red ribbon. British legal documents have been tied with red ribbon since the 17th century. Massachusetts Senate only continued the practice. There’s the origin of the phrase “red tape”.
Senate Reading Room
The Senate’s original chamber is now its Reception Room. The carpet is a replica of an earlier carpet. The tour guide went out of her way to ensure we knew the cross pattern in the carpet had “no religious significance.” What a commentary on our culture! The ceiling is a barrel vault decorated with beautiful plasterwork.
The tour ended here and I had no more time to explore. The rest of the Freedom Trail awaited me.
Directions to State House and tour instructions are here. State House Tours are offered Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Tours last approximately 45 minutes. They are free of charge but reservations are requested. Call 617-727-3676. State house is closed on weekends and holidays.
Here’s the State House slide show:
Click on the link in the gallery to order.
GHTime Code(s): f5db5 ad3a6 75769 nc e7219 464cbApr 15
Memorial Hall was built in the Massachusetts State House to honor those who fought in the Civil War. Henry Walker’s mural above is on the south wall and depicts Puritan minister John Eliot preaching to the Indians. Eliot published the first Bible printed in America after developing an alphabet for the Algonquin Indians. Would this piece of American history be memorialized today in a public space?
Tour guide and tour group in Memorial Hall
The mural above our tour guide, The Return of the Colors was painted by Edward Simmons. It depicts Massachusetts regiments returning their flags to the State House after the Civil War Dec. 22, 1865, in honor of Forefathers’ Day.
(Forefathers’ Day commemorates the Mayflower’s landing at Plymouth Rock. Forefathers’ Day is actually celebrated on two different days because of confusion between the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The correct calendar correction puts the day on Dec. 21, not Dec. 22.)
The flags have been formally returned after every conflict thereafter, although the last time was after the Vietnam War.
The hall has two more murals, Walker’s portrayal of the Pilgrims sighting land from the Mayflower and Simmons’ representation of the Battle of Concord.
Domed skylight with Great Seals
The hall is topped by this skylight featuring the Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the center with the Great Seals of the other Thirteen Colonies surrounding it.
The floors and pillars are beautiful Siena marble.
reception in Nurses Hall
The next stop on the tour would normally have been Nurses Hall, but someone was holding a reception there. Therefore, I missed the sculpture honoring Civil War nurses and Robert Reid’s murals of the events that launched the American Revolution.
ugly chairs and the Grand Staircase
This room is at the base of the Grand Staircase. After its handrails were cast, the mold was broken to ensure they remained unique. Everything else in the room is beautiful also, except for these chairs with the nasty stenciling on the backs. The contrast between the beautiful architectural details and these disfigured chairs is quite stark.
This is the Grand Staircase. Lectern at the base displays current Massachusetts Great Seal.
Original Great Seal of Massachusetts
This is the original Great Seal, obviously drawn up by some herald in London with no knowledge of climate in New England. Toplessness doesn’t work in New England winters.
center panel of State Seal Window
Much later, the state redesigned the seal to depict a much more realistic Native American, complete with appropriate clothing.
left panel of Great Seal Window
right panel, Great Seal Window
These are the family coats of arms of the Governors of the Province of Massachusetts. Thomas Gage, the last British Governor of Massachusetts, does not have his coat of arms on the window. Just over a year after Gage was installed as governor, the angry General Court, Massachusetts’ Legislature, no longer recognized his authority and decided to devise a new seal.
The center seal was their choice. The soldier carries an upraised sword to signify a nation at war. He clutches the Magna Carta to symbolize his violated rights as an English subject, which later became his rights as an American citizen.
coffered ceiling
This gorgeous coffered ceiling is above the next floor.
coffered ceiling and murals
The walls in this room are covered with beautiful murals by Edward Brodney. One is titled Columbia Knighting her World War Disabled and another titled World War Mothers. These are unusual in two respects: 1) Brodney could not afford to pay models, so he used his family and friends as the subjects; 2) women were not usually depicted in military scenes.
Massachusetts has no Governor’s Mansion and the State House lacked any space for large public gatherings. So the state converted a breezeway into a Great Hall by covering it with a glass skylight. However, the acoustics were awful. All those hard surfaces echoed dreadfully. In order to muffle the echoes, they invited each incorporated Massachusetts community to submit their flag. One problem: Many of the towns had no flag. Some had never designed one and some had never had one made. They were supposed to hang in order of incorporation, but some of the earliest towns were flagless ones. When all the communities submit a flag, they will at last be hung in order.
Directions to State House and tour instructions are here. State House Tours are offered Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Tours last approximately 45 minutes. They are free of charge but reservations are requested. Call 617-727-3676. State house is closed on weekends and holidays.
Here’s the State House slide show:
Click on the link in the gallery or go here to order.
Next up, the Massachusetts House and Senate Chambers.
GHTime Code(s): nc 7c7f7Mar 26
I walked the Freedom Trail on our second day in Boston.
Massachusetts State House from Boston Common
As soon as I exited the T’s station under Boston Common, I was drawn to this golden dome and Charles Bulfinch’s beautiful Federal style architecture. Massachusetts State House’s dome is covered with gold leaf, which was added in 1874. Gold is 23.5 carats, which seems an oddly-precise number. It has remained gold ever since, with one exception. The dome was painted gray during World War II to prevent enemy ships from using its gleam as a target.
Our tour guide commented how relieved the citizens were when their gold dome appeared again.
Distances to Boston are measured from the dome, not the city limits or central post office.
Massachusetts State House from Beacon Street
Tour guide said that the center entrance is only open on very special occasions:
1) When the outgoing governor departs;
2) When Massachusetts regiments return from war, they return their battle standards to the State House;
3) When a sitting President visits the State House while the legislature, called the General Court, is in session.
corner of Massachusetts State House
Ordinary mortals must use side entrances. This one is called the Hooker Entrance.
General Hooker's statue from behind
No, ladies of the evening are not plying their trade outside, although a connection does exist. Gen. Joseph Hooker, whose equestrian statue stands outside this entrance, was the third commander of the often ill-fated Army of the Potomac. Hooker’s headquarters were so wild that they were characterized as a combination “bar room and brothel“. “Hooker” was already slang for a prostitute before the Civil War. But, because of Hooker’s drinking and womanizing, Washington’s red-light district became known as “Hooker’s Division.” This increased the slang term’s popularity.
With his history, perhaps the hind-end view of Hooker from the State House is rather appropriate.
Tours originate in the Doric Hall. This is the only place that is not always handicap accessible. A chair lift is present, but often breaks down.
Doric capital in Doric Hall
The room is named for these Doric capitals.
Gov. John Andrew
The room has several statues in it, including ones of Lincoln, Washington, and Gov. John Albion Andrew, the state executive during the Civil War. Andrew sent the Massachusetts State Militia to defend Washington, D.C., in the early days of the Civil War.
bust Lincoln above Gettysburg Address plaque
Abraham Lincoln, the President whose capitol Andrew had rushed to protect, is represented in this bust above a tablet with the words of the Gettysburg Address.
closeup of George Washington's bust
George Washington is honored twice, once with a full-length statue and once with this bust.
Washington statue by Sir Francis Chantrey
This statue received mixed reviews. Washington’s pose in the clothes he actually would have worn is obscured by a Roman toga draped around him. This was called “absurdly incongruous” by at least one source. I have to agree: The combination looks ridiculous.
Massachusetts was pleased enough with Chantrey’s efforts to add a “Washington Temple”, for the sculpture onto their State House. Room is the current Doric Hall. No wonder it didn’t seem to match the rest of the building.
Next up, the rest of the State House.
Directions to State House and tour instructions are here. State House Tours are offered Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Tours last approximately 45 minutes. They are free of charge but reservations are requested. Call 617-727-3676. State house is closed on weekends and holidays.
Here’s the State House slide show:
Click on the link in the gallery or go here to order.
GHTime Code(s): abe0b b428f nc 282d0 nc nc nc nc 73aee e928cMar 15
I had a list of the top four places I wanted to visit in Boston:
1) John F. Kennedy Library and Museum
2) Adams National Historic Park
4) Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum
The Adams’ houses are closed during the winter, so I crossed that attraction off my list. Seeing only the visitors center left me cold. If the houses had been open, I would have seen Presidential sites for the first six Presidents. But this was not to be.
On our first day in Massachusetts, I headed for JFK’s Library. Since the library has free parking, I drove there, then hopped the transit system, or “T”, to Boston Common, where I picked up my Go Boston card at the welcome center. It was good at every attraction I desired to visit. Instead of standing in line to pay, I showed attraction staff my card and went right in. I hopped back on the T and returned to the library, which is now the furthest east I’ve ever been.
JFK Library and Museum building from its pier
When Jackie Kennedy was choosing a design for her late husband’s library, she chose I.M. Pei, then an unknown, as the architect. The tour starts with a showing of a film about JFK’s life, after which visitors are supposed to go downstairs to the museum exhibits, then end in the memorial pavilion. Somehow, I often don’t do things like other people do.
tour group in the pavilion
I must have exited a different door than the one leading to the exhibits because I ended up in the pavilion. Its only furnishings are some low benches. At 115 feet high, it dwarfs all humans entering. If the pavilion is intended to make visitors feel the weight of history and the brevity of life, it succeeds.
pavilion flag and ceiling
The flag, the room’s only decoration, is 45 feet by 26 feet. The space defines stark.
view of Atlantic Ocean from JFK Library's pavilion
The ocean only a few feet away saves the pavilion from unrelieved severity.
Boston skyline from JFK Library pavilion
JFK’s love of the ocean and of sailing was well known. Among other reasons, he said he loved it because of its changeability. The day I was there, the ocean and sky were nearly the same leaden color. The next day, the ocean was brilliant blue, although the skies continued to be overcast.
I could get addicted to seaside views.
For information on visiting JFK’s Library, go here.
This is my slide show from JFK Library:
Click on the link in the gallery or go directly to gallery here.
GHTime Code(s): 800f6 8b8c6 b3f66 98748 d5d4b nc
Henry Agard Wallace
Henry Agard Wallace was born in Adair County, Iowa, Oct. 7, 1888, and the Interstate 80 rest area in that county honors him. Wallace had a fascinating career. He was editor of the family magazine Wallace’s Farmer, which advocated scientific farming, soil conservation and best practices. He experimented with corn and wheat hybrids, founding what later became Pioneer Hi-Bred, a major seed company.
He later succeeded his father, Henry Cantwell Wallace, as Secretary of Agriculture. H.C. Wallace had been Secretary in the Coolidge Administration. The only other Iowan to reach higher political office than H.A. Wallace, Herbert Hoover, also served in the Coolidge Cabinet, as Secretary of Commerce. H.C. Wallace and Hoover feuded over corn and hog reimbursements. The elder Wallace eventually died of toxemic poisoning while worn out from fighting Hoover. The younger Wallace blamed Hoover for his father’s death. “I felt, almost, as if Hoover had killed my father.”
When Wallace became Secretary of Agriculture in Franklin Roosevelt’s administration, he reversed many of the Hoover Administration’s farm policies and began paying farmers to reduce production, hoping to drive up prices. His policies greatly shaped the Department of Agriculture’s future because he also advocated food stamps and school lunch programs. He pushed soil conservation in response to the Dust Bowl.
poles showing topsoil loss in Iowa since 1850
This achievement is graphically presented at the Adair rest area. The poles show the decline of soil depth beginning in 1850 until 2000. The Dust Bowl was a painful object lesson on the ineffectiveness of current tilling practices, which encouraged erosion instead of curbing it.
FDR tabbed Wallace to be his running mate in the 1940 election, ramming through his selection over the reluctance of party leaders. The 1940 convention was so upset by Wallace’s nomination that he felt it best to not make an acceptance speech. Wallace’s vice-presidency was the forerunner to the modern vice-presidency. He was “another set of eyes and ears” for FDR. He chaired the Board of Economic Warfare until pushed aside by politics and also traveled worldwide on FDR’s behest.
Unfortunately, Wallace was naive.
FDR sent him on a trip to the Soviet Union and China. While in the USSR, he was shown “Potemkin villages”, false replicas of labor camps that were working people to death until Joseph Stalin’s tyranny. Some believe Wallace was actually a Soviet asset, working against his own government.
While Wallace was globe-trotting on behalf of his President, Roosevelt was busy dumping him from the 1944 election ticket in favor of Sen. Harry Truman of Missouri. As a sop to Wallace’s pride, Roosevelt moved him to Secretary of Commerce, ironically Hoover’s old post.
Eighty-two days into his fourth term, Roosevelt died.
Truman fired Wallace as his Secretary of Commerce in 1946 over a disagreement about Truman’s policies toward the Soviet Union. Wallace then ran for President on the Progressive Party ticket in 1948, a curious four-way contest between Truman, Republican Thomas E. Dewey and Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond. Wallace whitewashed Soviet intentions, even attacking the Berlin Airlift that saved West Berlin from Soviet takeover.
The Korean War finally woke up Wallace to Communist intentions. He later wrote Why I Was Wrong in 1952, explaining that his former support of Stalin was based on limited information and that he now considered himself an anti-Communist. He supported Dwight Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956, then Richard Nixon in 1960.
Wallace retired to his experimental farm in New York, then died in Danbury, Conn., in 1965.
Price Otto von Bismarck is supposed to have said, “The Lord takes care of babes, fools, and the United States.” Never has that proved more true than when Harry Truman became President instead of Henry Wallace.
However, Wallace left a great legacy in agriculture, so great that the world’s largest agricultural research facility in Beltsville, Md., is named for him: The Henry A. Wallace
Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. In a very real sense, Harry Truman saved the world and Henry Wallace feeds it.
For more on Henry Wallace read his biography: American Dreamer: A Life of Henry A. Wallace
My slide show of the Adair rest area:
To see pictures full screen or to purchase them, click on the “visit gallery” link here or in the slide show.
GHTime Code(s): 8bc48 nc nc nc ncJul 2
 Model T driving down the highway |
| A few days ago, Model T cars came through on their Centennial of the 1909 Ocean to Ocean Endurance Contest. We were one of the original stops in the 1909 race, which ran from New York’s City Hall to Seattle’s Drumheller Fountain, now on the University of Washington campus. The Model T entrants were stripped of nearly everything, including their windshields, to save weight. His local dealer network acted as guides while the other cars often got lost. The Model T crossed the finish line first, but was disqualified later because of an engine switch, which was against the rules. Second-place finisher, a Shawmut, was later declared the winner. Ford ignored this technicality and mounted a major marketing push.
Spin wins. Which company is still extant and which is now hardly remembered? |
