a glimpse of the future...

The '60's (1960's that is) were a busy time for me.  I graduated from high school, graduated from college, began my teaching career and got married, so it's really no wonder that I don't remember much about the TV cartoon show, The Jetson's.  But I do remember that they had a flying car.  I always thought that was a great idea.  

I'm thinking about this because my west coast brother informed me that on this date, September 23, 1962, ABC launched The Jetsons.  It ran in prime time from this date through March 17, 1963.  Then lived on in reruns of course.  There were even some new episodes produced in 1985-1987.  

I did a little research and discovered that, in addition to their flying car, the Jetsons had flat screen TVs, video calls, drones, anti-gravity belts, Dial-a-Meal, a Micro Encyclopedia, Dream O Matic, Space Boots, a visa-phone, an ejector and so much more.  I also recall a robot maid, a very fine idea indeed.  My Roomba does sweep floors but it's not quite the same.

Many of the things the creators of the Jetsons 'invented' have come true in the last 64 years.  Flat screen TVs, video calls, drones, micro encyclopedias (Google and Wikipedia for example), "Door Dash" and other food delivery services are all very real.  Self driving cars are a reality and rapidly becoming more reliable.  

So where is my flying car?  We have room for it.  We could easily build a second story on to our garage.  I'm not about to trade in my faithful Fiat for anything less. 

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!

more traveling...

 Yesterday I blogged about the trip my spouse and I are planning to take in October and November to historic places in the US southwest.  Today my wonder spouse and I took a different kind of trip - back in time.

I'm happy to report that crops growing in the "Great Black Swamp" area that I blogged about several days ago are flourishing.  The field corn is tall and the stalks are turning yellow, almost ready to harvest.  The soybean plants are drying and about ready to pick. We were able to buy tomatoes and an onion (locally grown) at our favorite produce market and bread, pumpkin bread and apple bread at our favorite bakery. 

What makes this a trip back in time is that all of this is happening in the heart of Amish country northeast of Fort Wayne.  What we see, as we drive from place to place, are horses grazing in pastures, and at one farm, six horses hitched to a wide plow and turning up the good black earth in an already harvested field.  And all of this happens in vast expanses of flat, flat land, the remnants of the footprint of a glacier from thousands of years ago.  

With just a little imagination, it's easy to picture this land as it was 250 years ago - swampy and covered with trees.  Early canals and trains opened this area to settlement by farmers who obviously made the most of the opportunity.  I do not mean to belittle the impact on Native Americans in this area but that's an earlier story for another blog.

Today we simply enjoyed the feeling of driving through history. 

ready to roam...

 Over the last couple of months my friends have been asking me where my wandering wonder spouse and I are planning to go next.  It's a fair question.  During the three years that we have been together we have travelled as far as Michigan, Canada, Alaska, the north western United States, the Caribbean, several countries in South America, Egypt and Japan.  

So, where to next?  We have just begun planning a driving trip through the southwestern United States.  My spouse and I, separately and together have visited most of the southwest, we have even, when my wonder spouse was still piloting his own plane, flown the length of the Grand Canyon, a truly amazing sight from the air.

But now I am ready to revisit places I have marveled at and long to see again.  Places like Mesa Verde, Casa Rinconada, Carlesbad Caverns, the Colorado Rockies, and so much more.  We will not, like some hapless tourists, stand on the edge of the Grand Canyon taking selfies.  Did you know that 12-17 people die in Grand Canyon National Park each year with falling being one of the leading causes of death?

We will of course be taking lots of pictures, we always do.  Cell phones have replaced our cameras for the most part.  Isn't that handy?  I can take pictures and blog through the entire trip.  That isn't always possible when we are overseas.  We will also visit friends and family along the way.  Travel time will be three to four weeks, departure date tentatively set for October 14.  

Here's our first draft trip map.  Our trusty Subaru will carry us through deserts, over mountains and across some really big bridges. Happy trails to us....

9x13 day...

 My west coast brother, wanting to be very helpful, informed me that today is "9x13 Day," "National Grandparents Day," "International Chocolate Day" and "Bald is Beautiful Day."  I appreciate a day for grandparents since I am one, and chocolate is worth celebrating any time, but 9x13 and bald have special significance for me today.  

55 years ago today I gave birth to my first child, a healthy, beautiful baby boy, so obviously the numbers 9 and 13 are very important to me. 55 years later he is bald but still beautiful (or handsome if you prefer).

But a little more checking told me that the 9x13 being celebrated actually refers to those incredibly useful 9"x13" baking pans that we all know and love. I personally use that size pan for my famous sweet potato casserole, brownies and birthday cakes of all flavors.  

When my son was one year old I used a 9x13 pan to bake a chocolate cake for him.  It was his first taste of chocolate and he loved it.  Sadly, not having a cell phone handy back then, and being too busy cleaning up the mess, I did not get a chocolate covered picture of him.  

Here he is, all cleaned up, at one year old.  Happy, happy birthday darling son.  You have been a blessing and a joy to me all these years.  

Do you speak German?

 I always thought it was amusing that, in my very German small home town, the only foreign language offered in our high school was French.  Mrs. Wetter, one of my favorite teachers, only spoke English and French.  My west coast brother, who, by the way, had French toast for breakfast with his grandchildren this morning, informed me that today is "Tag der Deutschen Sprache" which translate to German Language Day in English.  

You would think that, since my paternal grandparents grew up speaking German as well as English I might be able to speak some German but, as it happened I never really heard them speak German.  My German paternal great great grandparents immigrated to the United States sometime in the mid 1800s.  

My father was born in 1916.  World War One had begun in 1914.  Because they wanted there to be no doubt that they were loyal US citizens, my grandfather and grandmother decided to speak only English at home and that's what their three children learned.  

That was all very well except that when my father was sent to first grade at the local Lutheran school the lessons were being taught in German.  That made for a pretty miserable first grade for him.  

I never heard the whole story but somehow, by second grade, enough families brought pressure to bear on the school administration (probably one teacher for all eight grades) to assure that the classes would now be taught in English.  

So now you know why I don't sprachen de Deutsch. 

we remember...

 All of us, at least all of us of a certain age remember 9-11-2001.  The subsequent 25 years have slid by quickly but that day remains firmly fixed in my mind.  Like the day JFK was assasinated, or the days my children were born, some events are never forgotten.  I remember rushing around getting ready to go to work when my then husband called to me "You need to come in and see this. Something big is happening."  I knew he was watching the morning news as usual and didn't think much about it but he kept insisting so I went into the family room to see what was going on.  

I got there just in time to see a plane crash into the second tower.  We watched transfixed as towers fell and sirens wailed.  As the awful news continued to unfold we learned of an attack on the Pentagon and a plane crash in Pennsylvania.  A friend I was talking with earlier today reminded me of the mass confusion as airports were shut down and people were stranded all over the world.

I didn't fear for my own safety on that day but I did have a concern.  My daughter's best friend from third grade through highschool is Indian and Muslim.  She and her family have lived in the US since she was five years old.  They are loyal citizens but in appearance their dark skin and hair could be mistaken for Saudi.  I feared for their safety.  Happily they lived in a neighborhood here in Fort Wayne where they were well known and accepted by their neighbors.  

These days, when we travel by plane or ship, I try to be patient as we pass through security checks and have our carry-on luggage scanned.  "It's ok," I tell myself, "I'd rather be safe." 

I remember those....

My west coast brother was busy today so I had to find out what special day September 10th is, all by myself.  Here's what I found.  Today is "National School Picture Day" and National TV Dinner Day." 

Each of these is a blast from the past.  I've gone through school picture days myself and with my children and grandchildren.  I have been sorting through lots of old family pictures this week and I found many, many school pictures.  If you ever wonder if buying those pictures is worth it let me tell you what I found today.  In a box of pictures that my dear mother-in-law had collected were school pictures for every year for my two children (her only grandchildren).  Some of the pictures had notes from the kids on the back, and every one of them had the year, the age of the child and their grade in school, so lovingly collected.  

In addition I found a school picture of me from my first year of teaching, a picture of my mother from one of her years of teaching, a fine picture of my west coast brother when he was in middle school and, of course, many, many school pictures of my grandchildren.

But enough about pictures.  Do you remember TV dinners?  Swanson introduced them in the 1950s.  They came in little foil trays with three sections for a meat, potatoes, and a vegetable.  My mother was an excellent cook and we always had good home cooked meals but sometimes, just for a treat (and to give her a break I suspect) we would have TV dinners.  What I remember most is the taste and texture of the mashed potatoes. Especially the texture.  Especially the texture....

Cheers to friendship...

 I think it's fascinating how, when you get together with good friends, things just seem to pick up where they left off the last time you were together.  

My spouse and I had that experience today when we traveled to Winchester (the Indiana town, not the cathedral) to visit with friends of ours whom we hadn't seen for over a year.  When I tell you that we have been friends since college you will understand that we are old friends in every sense of the word.  But, if anything, that made this visit even sweeter. 

It's true that our conversation this time around included a lot more references to doctors, hospital stays and therapies that it ever used to. Each of us had something to contribute to that part of the conversation. But we also found plenty of time to compare notes on how all of our family members are doing and share pictures of a grandchild's wedding and a super cute great grandchild. 

We also talked about trips we have taken, they to Thailand, we to Egypt, among other places, and future travel plans.  As we shared lunch at one of their favorite Mexican restaurants we made tentative plans for them to come visit us in Fort Wayne, probably after the holidays.  They would like to go to a play and their favorite Japanese restaurant while they are here.  Sounds good to us.  I love having future plans to look forward to, especially plans shared with good friends. 

The Great Black Swamp

 My westcoast brother happily told me today that they have had, so far in September, more rain than they had during the months of June, July and August combined. It amounted to 0.32" of rain.  I asked him how that compared to other years and he said it's about the same.  Then he said it "comes from living on the edge of a desert."

To which I replied "Whereas we live on the edge of the great black swamp" so we get plenty of rain.  In case you haven't heard of it "The Great Black Swamp" is a real thing.  

"Long ago, a vast swamp stretched across much of northwest Ohio. Known as the Great Black Swamp, it covered more than 1,500 square miles and reached into parts of Indiana. Most of it lay where today’s northwest Ohio communities now thrive. This massive wetland played a major role in shaping how towns and farms in the area developed. Even now, it continues to influence life in this part of the state."

I grew up in Woodburn, Indiana, 18 miles from the Ohio state line, and definitely part of the great Black Swamp area.  My great grandparents were among the intrepid farmers who cleared and drained the swamp land, creating some of the best agricultural soil anywhere.  It was no easy task though.  Like any good swamp, this swamp was heavily forested.  I read once that you could walk across northern Indiana and touch a tree with every step.  It was also filled with malaria carrying mosquitoes.  Families sitting down to eat in their cabins would have smudge pots burning under the table to keep the mosquitoes away.  While some logs were used to build cabins, hundreds of trees were simply cut down and burned to clear the land for farming. Hence the name "Woodburn."  After the trees were cleared, trenches were dug and clay pipes were layed in the fields.  The pipes would absorb the water out of the swampy ground and it would run off into creeks or rivers.  When I was a young child there was still a plant manufacturing clay pipes in Woodburn.  

I marvel at the ingenuity and stubborn resolve of these early German settlers, and am proud to call them my ancestors.  

Happy Labor Day

 Happy Labor Day everyone (or if you happen to be in Canada Labour Day).  I hope you are all able to relax and enjoy this unofficial end of summer celebration.  

My west coast brother is celebrating by making his delicious barbequed ribs.  It's times like this that I really do wish we lived nearer to each other.

In his daily text my brother informed me that, in addition to being Labor Day, today is also "National Neither Snow Nor Rain Day."  He also commented that this day has an interesting history, so, naturally, I had to look it up.  

This date commemorates the opening of the James A. Farley Post Office Building (the New York City central post office) on September 7, 1914. James A. Farley was the 53rd postmaster general, which is why the building was named after him.

This is the inscription found over the entrance to the building:

"Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."

In case you're wondering, as I was, who wrote these moving words, it was the ancient Greek author Herodotus.  He wrote them in 'Persian Wars Book 8, paragraph 98,' describing ancient Persian mounted couriers.  I must confess, I was expecting a much more current author, perhaps someone who wrote in the early 1900s, but I'm happy to know where the quote actually comes from, and now you do too.

about those canals

 I have been interested in the history of the Wabash and Erie Canal for a long time.  I remember, when I was about 15, riding with my family on Highway 24, between Woodburn and New Haven and listening as my father pointed out the deep ditch beside the highway and explaining that it was all that remained of the old canal.  He then would add that it was all dug by hand.  One time my west coast brother, then a curious five-year-old, asked "Weren't they allowed to use shovels?" Yes, those mostly Irish workers were allowed to use shovels.

During one summer during my high school years I worked as a housekeeper and companion for an elderly lady.  She still lived in the farm house that she and her husband had built when they were just married and starting their farm.  She told me that many of their supplies - furniture, farm implements, seeds for crops, and food staples like flour and sugar, had all been delivered by canal boats. I think that would have been about 1890.  By that time the any boats of the canals were owned by individuals, not the state.

Among the things my spouse and I discovered during our clean up after our recent water disaster was a small book (only 56 pages) titled "Indiana's Canal Heritage" published in 1954 and distributed by the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County.  Most of it is a reprint of a book originally published in 1926.  Happily, this book was not damaged. The title was enough to make me read it.

I had no idea that canals became a very popular idea in the early 1800s and that millions of dollars were spent on digging canals across the northern part of the country (connecting variious rivers) at the same time that railroad lines were being established in the same areas.  I won't go into all the financial details but the canals were a money loosing proposition from day one.  Nevertheless, banks loaned huge amounts of money to states, Indiana included, to dig these canals.  Some of these loans got repaid as people paid to travel and ship cargo on the canals but never all of them.  You really need to read the book to appreciate all the 'creative financing' that went on. 

Here's a map that was included in the book.  You can see that the Wabash and Erie Canal extended from northwest Ohio, through Woodburn, where I grew up, to Fort Wayne and then diagonally across Indiana until it ended at Terre Haute where it emptied into the Wabash River. The map also shows railroads and paved "macadamized" roads. 

For a while the canals played a big part in the westward expansion.  It was an interesting time in the history of our country.  You can learn more by contacting the Canal Society of Indiana, https://indcanal.org.

local history

 My west coast brother, who is from Fort Wayne originally, reminded me that today, September 5, is a great day in Fort Wayne history.  On this date in 1885, the first gasoline pump, invented by Sylvanus Freelove Bowser, was delivered to a dealer in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Actually Bowser's pump was dispensing kerosene.  It could reliably measure and dispense kerosene for use in lamps.

I had actually heard this bit of history.  What I hadn't been aware of before is that this occured in 1885 before there were any automobiles driving around Fort Wayne.  The first car didn't appear in Fort Wayne until 1897. I had always assumed that the first gas pump was used to pump gas into cars.  Now I know better. 

So the first gas pump was used to dispense gas (kerosene) for lamps and appliances.  People could carry it home in cans.  That made me curious.  How else was gas distributed to homes, if at all?  

Gas for lighting was first made available in 1853 when the Fort Wayne Gas Light Company was franchised by the city to build and operate a manufacturing plant to manufacture gas and to construct gas lines and infrastructure.

In 1855 the company was officialy incorporated to supply gas for private home lighting.

In 1857 gas was first use to light some street intersections in Fort Wayne.

In the 1880s cheap natural gas replaced the older maunfactured gas systems for heating and light. 

Just a note, the majority of homes in Fort Wayne are still heated by natural gas. 

Fort Wayne has honored the memory of Mr. and Mrs. Bowser with Bowser Park and Bowser Avenue.  Sylavnus and his wife Sarah actually donated the land for the park in 1923.  An original stone marker there reads "For the comfort and pleasure of our neighbors and their children for all time to come."  Let it be so. 

It's a great day!

 Today is, according to my west coast brother and other sources, "National Lazy Mom's Day," "Eat an Extra Dessert Day," "National Wildlife Day," "National Macadamia Nut Day," "National Newspaper Carriers Day" and "National Waffle Week," all of which sound like very interesting days, worthy of celebration.  

First of all, let me make it very clear that Lazy Mom's Day has nothing to do with assuming that there is such a thing as a 'lazy mom', which is obviously an oxymoron.  Lazy Mom's Day is a day set aside to encourage other members of a family to do all the routine things that a mom typically does.  Meanwhile, if she's lucky, Mom can indulge in an extra dessert, then go to the zoo and enjoy seeing the wildlife, while munching on macadamia nuts. If she's really lucky, someone will have made her a waffle, either as breakfast or as an extra dessert.  Waffles are not just for breakfast. 

"National Newspaper Carriers Day" is a little hard to tie into the rest of these oh-so-special September 4th days.  It's obviously a day of some historical significance.  Once upon a time young lads with bags of newspapers delivered them daily to the doorsteps of subscribers and then called on those same people weekly to collect payment for the newspapers.  My first spouse had a nifty coin carrier that clipped to his belt, ready to collect coins (pennies, nickles, dimes and quarters) and make change.  My current spouse was an assistant carrier, helping his older brother.  His cuteness may have helped with the collections.

I have no idea if there are still newspaper carriers anywhere.  People I know (myself included) read news on line, get some from TV news shows or have actual newspapers mailed to them. If there are still some newspaper carriers around they definitely deserve an extra dessert.

Something old, something new....

 One of the casualties of our recently discovered water damage (see Tuesday's blog) was my wedding album from my first marriage.  

Note: I've been blessed twice with wonder spouses.

The album was covered with mold and damaged beyond repair but the individual pictures, which had all been encased in plastic, survived pretty much intact.  So I have reconstructed a very simplistic album using a white three ring binder and plastic sleeves for the pictures.

This is what the new wedding album cover looks like. I used this picture because it had been damaged around the edges.

I am including this part of one picture because it features, on the far right, my west coast brother, then age 13, who features so often in these blogs.

Sweet memories!

dashing through the raindrops....

 Yesterday we had some fairly heavy rain here in Allen County and my spouse and I grumbled a little about dashing through the rain, sometimes heavy, to get to our morning appointments.  It wasn't a cold rain (it's summertime after all) and it did ease up after a while.  Our clothing quickly dried when we got into the buildings we were going to, so, at most, the rain was a minor inconvenience.  

Today, when I heard from my west coast brother, I realized how lucky we are.  He was rejoicing because it was raining in his area of Washington state for the first time in two months.   They have been suffering the effects of wild fires, not threatening their home, but close enough to them to make the air hard to breathe.  He told me that today's rain cleared the air, at least temporarily.  However some fires are still burning and won't be put out until it snows.

According to the weather report, our local area will be having rain again this Friday and Saturday.  I know that is the beginning of the long Labor Day weekend and you may have outdoor plans.  But remember, if you have to move the party indoors, it's still so much better than wild fires.

The best laid plans...

 Today started out quite pleasantly.  My spouse and I each had an appointment with a doctor, but no shots or pain involved.  After those appointments we went to brunch at Joanna's, very tasty, then on to Schumachers produce farm to buy tomatoes, potatoes, and corn on the cob. 

 After which we proceeded home, looking forward to a relaxing afternoon.  We might even work on our current jigsaw puzzle for a little while. 

Unfortunately, although it was necessary, soon after we got home, I flushed the toilet in our upstairs hall bathroom.  We did not know, until that flush, that the ring seal under that toilet had become old and brittle and had been leaking slowly for some time.  The reason we didn't notice this was because the leaking water was trickling down into a book case in the family room.  If it had been leaking through a ceiling onto the floor we would have seen it long ago, but, as it was, it just leaked quietly into a bookcase to be absorbed by books, albums and other paper materials.  And there was no bad smell.

Today however my spouse just happened to hear a soft little dripping sound as he sat down to relax for a bit in our family room recliner, and looked to see water dripping down into the bookcase.  He knew, by the position, that it had to be coming from a toilet and immediately called a plumber, who came right away with his assistant.  They figured out the problem and fixed the leak quickly, leaving us to clean up a mess that we had never known existed.  Happily, all of the damage was limited to one set of shelves, floor to ceiling and about five feet wide.  

Needless to say that size book case holds a lot of stuff.  We found picture albums, wedding albums, books of all sorts, including an old hymnal, a family Bible (happily very little damage), plastic cases of CDs and DVDs, (we're not great about throwing things away) and lots of loose paper stuff.  Much of what we found was moldy and had to be discarded.  Just so you can appreciate how serious it was, my wonder spouse even had to throw away his Boy Scout book of knots.  

It was not the relaxing afternoon we had intended but it is good to know that it's all clean and taken care of, except for all the 'must save' pictures drying out on towels on our dining room table.  These include the pictures of my first wedding and many baby pictures of my spouse's children and grands.  The albums were ruined but we were able to save most of the pictures.  I'm sure we can find new albums at Michaels or on Amazon.  

So, one more project, but that one we will do lovingly.