Now there are 18.

 Fort Wayne now has 18 active fire stations and an average response time of 3 minutes and 18 seconds from the time equipment is en route to arrival on the scene for emergency fire and medical runs; but it wasn't always that way.

Here's some interesting history that I learned from "Moments in Fort Wayne History" a small book that I have referenced in a previous blog.

Did you ever hear of the Alerts, the Mechanics, the Protections, the Torrents, the Eagles, the Vigilants?  These were the names of Fort Wayne's first fire companies, formed when the fire department was officially organized in 1856.  Earlier, fires were fought by volunteers.  That they were not particularly effective is noted in a petition circulated as eary as 1833, requesting the town council "to consider hooks and ladders, and to compel each owner of a house to procure buckets...and to pray."  The town fathers, though, moved slowly.  It was only after a disasterous fire in 1849 that leveled 15 buildings in the block that now includes The Landing, Main and Calhoun Streets, did they finally organize a fire department composed of companies with such picturesque names. 

While the names of those early fire companies were fun, and I liked the idea that every homeowner should have a bucket handy, what I really found interesting about this article was the reference to the fire that leveled 15 buildings.  I had never heard of such a large fire in Fort Wayne.  But it really happened, beginning at 3:00am on May 20, 1849.  

The first report that I pulled up said it was the worst fire in early Fort Wayne history.  Another report said it was the worst fire in Fort Wayne history ever.  There is lots of information available, including the names of all the businesses distroyed, if you care to dig into this more deeply.  I had no idea there ever was such a fire in Fort Wayne.  A consequence of this fire was that buildings rebuilt in that 'high risk' area could not be wooden structures. Good idea!

the power of doing nothing...

My west coast brother made a comment today in his text that reminded me of an incident that happend to me about 20 years ago.  My brother said that he was taking his grandson to school.  It was a late-start Monday and that's 'just something grandparents do.'  That's for sure.

His comment reminded me of an incident that happened about 20 years ago involving me and all four of my grandchildren.  I was semi-retired at the time and therefore had plenty of time to drive my grandchildren to and from school.  I was still being chauffer when the four of them were in middle school and high school at different times for a variety of reasons.

The incident I'm blogging about today happened when my grands were quite young, two in early elementary school and two in pre-school.  I don't remember the exact circumstance but one afternoon I was driving all four of them home from school to my house where they would have a snack and play until their parents came to pick them up.  At that time I owned a Buick Rendevous with three rows of seats so I could manage this quite nicely.  For some reason, which I don't remember, the four started squabbling and bickering and shouting at each other.  All four of them got involved.  I asked them, in my teacher voice, to quiet down, settle down, please be quiet, but they kept on.  Finally I told them that if they didn't settle down I was going to stop the car.  (This was a little like saying "I'm going to count to three." but I had to try something.)

They didn't settle down so I pulled the car off the side of the road and turned off the engine.  Then I just sat there.  Gradually it dawned on them that I really had stopped the car.  Then total silence.  For some reason my pulling into a parking lot and turning off the motor seemed really terrible to them. The rest of the drive home was very, very quiet indeed.

a little known fact...

 When my spouse and I were cleaning up and clearing out after our recent water disaster we came across a little paperback 50 page book (completely undamaged) called "Moments in Fort Wayne History."  Subtitled "A Unique Look at the Places and People Contributing to Fort Wayne's Growth." It was written by Wesley D. Bashore and 'presented as a public service' by First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Fort Wayne.  At the time of publication First Federal had five branches around town.  They are still in business as First Federal Savings Bank with six branches.  

I tried to find a publication date on this nifty little book but the best I could do is discover that Wesley Bashore was still writing articles for the Journal Gazette in 1952. 

I do not plan to use this book for my next 50 blogs but there are a few articles, on things I didn't know, that I would like to share.  Here is the first one:

Major Cigar Center

Few are aware of it, but Fort Wayne was once a major cigar manufacturing center.  In the late 1800's, the town had 23 different cigar companies.  The best know was the successful Coony Bayer Cigar Company located at Calhoun and Lewis Streets. At the local industry's height, annual production exceeded five and a half million cigars - a lot of smoke in any man's language.  The aromatic output included such best sellers as Lady Wayne Puntamas, Coony's Little Havanas, Fort Wayne Belle, Our Bob and Valettos.  The industry worried in 1905 when the state legislature outlawed cigarettes and prohibited drivers from smoking.  The firm continued to prosper, however, until industry dynamics caused plants to move nearer to tobacco sources.

I found this article interesting for two reasons.  First, I had no idea that cigars had ever been manufactured in Fort Wayne.  I know their was a lot of beer brewed in Fort Wayne, but did not know about cigars.

The second reason is the law prohibiting drivers from smoking.  I think this may have been the first attempt to make distracted driving illegal.  

Ahoy Matey...

 You probably know that today is "International Talk Like a Pirate Day" but did you know that it's also "Meow Like a Pirate Day?" At least that what my west coast brother, who has a very precocious cat, tells me.

On this very special day, which my son has celebrated for years, it would not have surprised me to hear people saying things like "Aaarrrgh," "Ahoy Matey," "Avast," "Aye, aye Cap'n" or "Land ho!" It would have surprised me to hear a cat say "Mearrrgh."  I would have been even more surprised if the cat had a peg leg or walked with a swagger.  

One of my favorite NYT puzzles, called "Strands" even had a piratical theme today with the title "Shiver me Timbers!"

Now I know that "Shiver me timbers." is something pirates are supposed to say but, beyond that, I really don't know what it means unless they are talking about a Quaking Aspen, which is a beautiful tree whose leaves shiver in the slightest breeze.  

So, of course, I did a little research.  It is an expression that was used by pirates and other sailors in olden times to express extreme fear, shock or surprise.  It means "I'm so scared my legs are shaking."   

It really can happen.  This has nothing to do with being a pirate but I have experienced the shaking legs.  When I was a sophomore in high school we were required, in history class, to recite Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.  Now I went to Lutheran elementary school for nine years, if you count kindergarten, so I was no stranger to memorization.  I had been memorizing hymns and Bible passages and taking my turn reciting them in front of the class for years, but for some reason, when I had to speak into a microphone (our teacher was recording us) I absolutely panicked.  I made it through the recitation but my legs really were shaking.  It was so obvious to everyone that a friend reminded me of the incident at a class reunion 15 years later. "You were so scared your legs were shaking." were his exact words, said with a laugh of course.

Maybe you've had a similar experience with shivery timbers.  If so you have my deepest sympathy.  

Shoe therapy...

 Those of you who are of the feminine persuasion will understand when I say that sometimes a woman needs to go shoe shopping.  It is, without a doubt a theraputic experience.

I had decided, a few days ago, that, before we go on our southwest driving adventure in four weeks, I really needed to buy a new pair of good, sturdy walking shoes.  My old gym shoes have served me faithfully through Egypt, Alaska, South America and quite a bit of Europe, but they are wearing out.

I knew it was a sign that the time had come when I heard an ad on the radio this morning announcing the retirement/closing sale of my favorite Fort Wayne shoe store - Robert's.  If you've ever lived in Fort Wayne you've probably bought shoes at Robert's. They will be closing at the end of October and I have no idea where I'll go shoe shopping after they close.  This is no joke.  I wear a women's size 11 narrow which is not an easy size to find (although it is getting easier as young women are growing taller).  

My spouse agreed to come with me to do some shoe shopping.  They were having a good sale and we each bought two pairs of shoes.  His were two pairs of SAS sandals.  I bought one fall colored pair of Easy Spirits, my favorite shoes, and a second pair of Drews. I have never bought that brand before but the box said they have been in business since 1875 so I figured they are probably ok.  The Drews I bought were the walking shoes I was looking for with a fun twist. 

This is a picture of one of the shoes.  I think you will agree it's a fairly typical looking gym shoe.

What really sold me on these shoes was this special feature.  Once you have the shoes tied comfortably you never need to bother tying them again.  There is a zipper on each side of each shoe.  Just unzip, slip them on and zip them up.  Isn't that nifty?  Even on my sleepiest mornings I should be able to manage that.  

Forgive me if this blog seems to much like a commercial, but I really am excited about these shoes, like a kid at Christmas excited, and I just had to share.  

a funny little mystery

 As I've mentioned in a few blogs recently, I have spent a lot of time, off and on, in the last few weeks, putting pictures rescued from our water disaster into simple 'albums' - basically plastic pages in a three ring binder.  I now have saved, in addition to my spouse's and my wedding albums, a lovely fat notebook 'album' full of family pictures ranging from my father's youth to my grandchildren's wedding pictures.

I also have a section devoted to mutual friends that my spouse and I have known since college.  Among a bunch of these pictures that I had in a box (they had never made it into an album) I came across two pictures of my cat Athena.  On the back of each picture was neatly written "Athena's visit, 9/03." Not in my handwriting.  

The cat pictured was indeed my Athena but the house she is visiting is the house my wonder spouse and his first wife (one of my best friends) owned in 2003.  I do not know why Athena was visiting them.  When my first husband and I travelled (in 2003 we may have been going to Arizona or Kansas to visit baby grandchildren) we had a very competent teenage next door neighbor who was happy to take care of our cat while we were gone (for a reasonable fee of course).  

So why the visit from Athena captured in these pictures?  I just don't know.  

But she was obviously having a good time.

Play time!!!

 My west coast brother has informed me that today is "World Playdough Day" and "National Guacamole Day."  We both agreed that preschoolers would probably rather eat the Playdough. 

Playdough, also known as Play-Doh was originally invented as a cleaner to safely remove coal dust from wall paper. That was in the 1930s.  In the 50s it was reworked and introduced to schools as an educational tool.  By 1956 it was available to anyone to purchase in various department stores, in boxed sets of various colors.

That's a quick history.  I never used Play Doh in the classroom when I was teaching art in the 60s but my children and grandchildren have all enjoyed creating with it.  Snakes are a popular item, also small pots and animals.  It's a very satisfying material.  It feels good to work with, it comes in pretty colors, and, when you've created something that you want to keep, it will dry and harden and you have saved your art work.  This is it's advantage over modeling clay.  

Of course this ability to dry out can also be a disadvantage.  Be careful that, when you put your Play Doh away, you put the lid on the containers very tightly.  Of course, if you accidentally end up with a hard lump of Play Doh, you can always try carving it.  Or you could crumble it with a hammer (under adult supervision of course) and use the bits to make a mosaic.  If thinking about this makes you want to rush out and buy some Play Doh, do it!  Have fun and get creative!