Archive for July, 2010
I’m that mom who took her kids seriously and who told them that intuition doesn’t lie, and when you get that Uh-Oh feeling, PAY ATTENTION. I’m the mom who told them that it is only a game if everyone wants to play, stop means stop, and no means no.
I’m that mom who worked hard to nurture her kids’ roots, who never takes credit for their accomplishments, who understands that she can’t take away their struggles — no matter how painful — and who, in wonder and in love, watches them spread their wings and fly.I’m that mom.
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A Plethora of Pythons in Peninsula: An Alliterative My Town Monday Post
Saturday was hot and sunny, and plenty of people came to my Valley to participate in Peninsula Python Day. A plethora of pythons were seen throughout the Village, and the Parade was bigger that it has been in the past. The King and Queen of the Hobos rode a float from the Hobo Gathering at Deep Lock Quarry to the Village.
A wedding was scheduled to take place at the Methodist Church at the same time the Parade was to start. I imagine that the wedding party will remember this day.
Take a look at the events of the day. And, as always, please feel free to leave me a comment, or a stone (o), to let me know you stopped by.
Slither on over to My Town Monday to see what others have to say about their towns.
Coming Soon: Peninsula Python Festival
The Peninsula Python will return to my Village on Saturday, July 17th. If you’re in our neck of the woods, come down and see what’s going on. You can read about the events that are scheduled here.
Take a look at the 2008 festival. We had a great time!
The Python Returns to Peninsula: A My Town Monday Better Late Than Never Post
On Saturday, July 17, the Village of Peninsula, Ohio, population 601, will again celebrate the python that, in the summer of 1944, terrorized this little town.
So the story goes like this: back in the summer of 1944, a traveling circus came through Bath Township, which is a short distance from the Village of Peninsula. There was an accident in the local cemetery, and two large snakes escaped. One was found dead, and the other disappeared—for a short while.
Farmer Clarence Mitchell was tending his corn field. He reported that his dogs were mighty nervous for a couple of days; then they refused to go near his field. Mr. Mitchell looked up and said that he saw the biggest snake he had ever seen, sliding along the ground in plain site. Local historian Randy Bergdorf, of the Peninsula Library and Historical Society writes:
The first sighting of the python occurred on June 8, 1944, along Riverview Road in Northampton Township, about halfway between Ira and Everett. Local farmer, Clarence Mitchell, reported that he had seen a snake 15 to 18 feet long cross his fields and slide into the river. It was spotted later that day by Mike Bobacek on the other side of the river, near Szalay’s corn fields on Bolanz Road. Days later, paul and John Szalay saw mysterious tracks, “like from an auto tire,” weaving across their corn field on Akron-Peninsula Road, a few miles south of Peninsula. Those doubting the existence of the python decreased in numbers on June 23rd, when Mrs. Vaughan on Northampton Road saw the snake climb over the fence of her chicken yard with a noticeable lump in its middle.
Multiple sightings of the serpent were reported during that summer of 1944; the mayor organized the local Civil Defense organization into posses. Folks with loaded guns responded to reports of the wayward snake. The then director of the Cleveland Zoo, Fletcher Reynolds, pleaded for the life of the snake. He asked that anyone finding the reptile stay calm and phone him with the snake’s location, so he could come and take him alive. Locals came up with plans to capture the snake, from box traps, to clotheslines and sticks, to music.
By this time radio newscasters, and reporters from the United and Associated Presses were regularly reporting on the escapades of the snake that had become the Peninsula Python. The story was reported in the media that was sent to American troops abroad during WWII. Letters from soldiers came into the Village’s post office. Robert Bordner, a reporter from the old Cleveland Press was one of those who wrote about the snake; one of his stories was published in the Atlantic Monthly, in November, 1945.
Sightings of the reptile decreased; some folks wondered if the entire story was a hoax concocted by Bordner. Those who saw the snake stand by their stories.
Here’s a look at the 2009 Peninsula Python Festival. Check back later in the week to see last year’s event.
And, as always, feel free to leave me a comment, or a stone (o), to let me know you’ve stopped by. Take a look at what my fellow MTM Marauders have to say, here. And feel free to join us.
From the Hands and Heart
I have said that my spouse and I chose each other, and that the rest of the family was thrown in for free. My mother-in-law was a gift to me, wrapped in love and an English accent.
My mother-in-law was an amazing woman. With her hands and her heart, using size 2 needles, she knitted 289 sets of hats and booties for premature babies. With those hands she knitted over 200 sets of hats and mittens for children who had none. With those hands.
With those hands and her heart, she made quilts, all hand pieced and hand quilted, for us all. With those hands she worked with the ladies of her quilt club on countless quilts.
Each year at Christmas, those hands made 100 or so cupcake-sized fruitcakes for her husband and sons. I always thought that the cakes must be an acquired taste, one, after all these years, I have still not acquired. Her hands made strudel, mince pies, apple and pumpkin pies. They made peanut butter pies for the granddaughter who loves them.
She was an English war bride, and came to this country knowing no one but the man she barely knew. They built a life here, and she sewed curtains and costumes and clothing. She knitted scarves and canned jars and jars of sauces and jellies and jams.
My mother-in-law called me her daughter-in-love, and I called her my other mom. We talked daily, and I took her shopping to places she had never been. She knew all the back roads to the Amish bulk food stores, and where the best places for fabric were located. Years of experience and wisdom; shared treasured times.
My mother-in-law had a massive cerebral hemorrhage the evening of Monday, July 5th. She died the next morning. The hospital played Braham’s lullaby each time a baby was born. The moment my mother-in-law died, the strains of that sweet song were played. Not a coincidence, I think.
From her heart, through her hands, she shared her love. And with this heart, through these hands, I shared mine.
Remember to tell those you love how you feel. Cherish the time you have together.
As always, please feel free to leave me a comment, or a stone (o), to let me know you’ve stopped by.
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