Many hands have worked to help Cups of Kindness. There is still incredibly beautiful art available: luminous paintings, sensitive photography, glass and pottery that “sing,” lovely jewelry, fiber, wood and other media that will make your spirit soar.
Art feeds the spirit and soul; it brings light and life to being. Art can make your heart sing and your spirit soar. Something that comes from the heart through the hands. It is no accident that there is art in heART.
When you support an artist, you affirm the creative spirit. You have the opportunity to see the world in a different way, as the artist’s vision is manifested in the piece he or she has made.
This year, we can add, to help our friends and neighbors in a time of need.
Please remember that every dollar that we raise for the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank will purchase 7 nutritious meals.
Hunger does not discriminate; it affects people without regard to background or social status. In our land of plenty, people are hungry every day; they have to decide between paying rent or eating, between medication or food, between staying warm and buying groceries. Of this I am certain: having enough to eat is a right rather than a privilege.
So far, over 50 artists are donating artwork to benefit the Foodbank. The Cups of Kindness website has been donated by Carrick Enterprises; a professional photographer, Ron Wayton, is donating his services so that we have photos of the work on our site. The logo was donated by Teri Schott. Food for the opening is being donated by companies and by individuals who have offered to bake for us. People have walked into our gallery to ask if they can help.
Once again we demonstrate the Power of One. We the people who reach out to our friends and neighbors in a time of need.
If you live in the area, come on down for our opening celebration, Saturday, December 6, from 10-2, at our gallery, Elements Gallery, 1619 W.Mill Street, and at the Peninsula Art Academy across the street.
Enjoy light refreshments, music, and Christmas in Peninsula. You’ll be a part of a very important event. If you’re not close to our neck of the woods, you will be able to purchase artwork online on December 8th. The show will run through January 11, 2009.
Over at Diary of a Self-Portrait, Jessie writes about her Be Brave Project. She quotes Eleanor Roosevelt:
“Do one thing every day that scares you.”
Interesting words.
To me, it includes:
being willing to stretch,
to expand our horizons and
to reach beyond our comfort zones;
to take chances;
to have faith in ourselves and in our processes.
It is
standing up for what, in our heart of hearts, we know as truth.
As artists, we grow as we explore our world, both inner and outer, through our work
What would you do each day?
The Ohio and Erie Canal played a critical part in the development of the Cuyahoga Valley. The workers toiled long hours for 30 cents a day and whiskey at night.
Most of the employees of the Peninsula boat yards were locals; like the builders of the Canal, most of the laborers remain anonymous. Some not only built canal boats, but also they also erected buildings and bridges. Many of the boatyard workers also worked on the boats, making them “canalers.”
Canal boats were 79-81 feet long, and about 14 feet wide. Their width was limited by the size of the locks through which they traveled. New vessels needed about 3 1/2 feet of water in which to float; older vessels required a bit more depth since they accumulated “seepage water.” Once the stomping grounds of canal mules, the towpath is now used as a trail, of which over 70 miles is complete. I’ll explore the trail in a future post.
The cool thing is that many of the buildings still stand. In other places, old foundations are visible. The stories of the people who carved this Village are alive and well. It is the people who give us a sense of place, a place that is home. The Village of Peninsula, population 602, celebrates its history as it embraces its future. An interesting place to be.
The Village will celebrate the Peninsula Python Festival on Saturday, July 19. There will be activities, exhibits, contests and special events to commemorate the Peninsula Python. Join us. We’ll have fun. I promise.
****Thanks to Amanda, of the Peninsula Library and Historical Society, for her assistance and generosity in sharing resources, knowledge and time.
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Post a comment and I will enter your name in the high-tech drawing, where I pick a number from a hat; and, you, too, could join Sam, Travis, and the newest member of the Posse, Barrie, as members of the Peninsula Python Posse (and you will win cool stuff, too!).
Amarillo’s own favorite son, Travis Erwin, is the Chief Marauder and founder of My Town Monday. Check it out. You’ll connect with towns all over this beautiful blue planet.
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:
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.
What do you think?
Enter a comment and I will put your name in a drawing for the first in a series of Peninsula giveaways. The winner will be selected on Thursday, June 30.
Travis Ervin, over at One Word, One Rung, One Day, is the Mastermind and Chief Marauder of My Town Monday. Wander on over there and see who else is writing about his or her town this week.
I have learned an important thing these past few days. My Town is a state of mind. I have traveled more this past month than I have in a very long time; first to New York City at the end of April, and to the Lake Eden Arts Festival, in Black Mountain, NC, this past weekend.
#2 daughter and I traveled to LEAF with some good friends. We drove through our home state of Ohio, through West Virginia and Virginia to North Carolina. This land is so beautiful, and the varying terrain intense. We drove through the mountains in driving rain which made the view seem like Impressionist paintings. The telltale signs of highway construction: orange barrels and slowed traffic were plentiful.
We stopped in Beckley, West Virginia for the night. An energetic group of people on one street corner held signs asking us to “Honk for Obama.”
The next morning we were off to Black Mountain. After finding the Festival site, we parked the car, and began the process of unloading camping gear and supplies for 3 adults and 3 teen agers. We arrived on Thursday afternoon, so that we could choose a campsite closer to the festival, and get our bearings. First a campsite needed to be selected, which, after some deliberation, we were able to do.
Lake Eden was the site of Black Mountain College, an innovative college that included Josef Albers, Ami Albers, John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Willem de Kooning, Buckminster Fuller, Arthur Penn, Robert Rauschenberg among its associates.
The Festival included fabulous music, healing arts, dance, drumming, craft artists, and wonderful food. We met people from many states and several countries. People welcomed us into their lives and shared their vision of the world. My family bought me a Mother’s Day Wish Ticket, which entitled me to choose 3 wishes. I chose a massage, a CD and a brunch. Wonderful!
After the last dance, we drove to Asheville, NC. We explored some of the shops and courtyards, had a delicious lunch at a little bistro, and resumed our trip home just as the rains came pouring down. Mountain driving is treacherous in the rain, and we were glad to stop for the night. After camping for 3 nights, we were glad to take advantage of hot showers.
Taking a different route home, we traveled through more beautiful country. Dogwood and other flowering trees dotted the mountainsides, and houses and cabins were nestled in hollows. It was a beautiful drive.
My Town just keeps expanding, both through my travels, and through the words of my fellow My Town Marauders who, through the efforts of Travis Erwin, over at One Word One Rung, One Day, share their thoughts about their necks of the woods. This week some are even reviewing books set in their towns. Check it out.
#2 daughter and I are off to North Carolina for the Lake Eden Arts Festival this afternoon.
We’ll be traveling with some good friends in a rented SUV; it’s probably the best vehicle for 3 adults, 3 teen aged kids, all our stuff and our camping gear, but I feel like I want to attach a big sign: “IT’S NOT OURS” or “WE DON’T OWN BIG HONKING SUV’s” or some such thing. With gas approaching $4.00 a gallon, and the carbon footprint we’ll create, I feel a bit hypocritical. Less wear and tear on our Toyota, driving 1 vehicle instead of 2, enough space for us and our stuff… I know, I know…
That being said, it will be wonderful to get away, to see more of this beautiful land, hear music, meet some new artists, enjoy the company of friends old and new. See you next week.
Another tip of the hat to Travis Erwin, the master behind My Town Monday. After your visit here, wander on over to his site; you will find links to bloggers’ sites that will take you all over the world.
Each week I learn more about my town, the Village of Peninsula, located in the stunningly beautiful Cuyahoga Valley. During the halcyon days of the Ohio and Erie Canal and the Cuyahoga River, this town was a center of commerce and industry in the Cuyahoga Valley. Due to a natural waterfall in the River, Peninsula was able to capitalize on its water power. The first sawmill and gristmill in the Village were started by Hermon Bronson. Bronson actively promoted the Village and was instrumental in its being included in the plans for the then proposed Ohio and Erie Canal. The Canal opened in the Valley in 1827, with Lock 29 located in Peninsula. Boat building became an important industry, and more canal boats were built in Peninsula, and neighboring Boston Township than anywhere else on the canal.
Quarrying was another major industry in the Village. Deep Lock Quarry was the source for much of the stone used in the building of the canal locks, and of many of the buildings in the village. The Quarry also manufactured stones, including millstones, grindstones, and pulp stones. These stones were used locally and were also shipped to places like Germany, Russia, and Japan.
Deep Lock Quarry hosted the Deep Lock Quarry Hobo Gathering in June, 2007. Mama Jo, the 2003-2004 Hobo Queen tells a story that could have been told years ago. She writes “LETTERS ARE VISITS WHEN FRIENDS ARE APART.”
This years Deep Lock Quarry Hobo Gathering will be July 18, 19 and 20. It should be an interesting weekend. The Peninsula Python Festival will be Saturday, July 19. Stay tuned
The Village of Peninsula, gently resisting change since 1837.
**#2 Daughter and I are off to LEAF, the Lake Eden Arts Festival in North Carolina. We’ll be back next Monday. My MTM post may be late. Have a wonderful week.
Over at One Word, One Rung, One Day,Travis Erwin has graciously invited bloggers to share their towns on Mondays. I’ve learned a lot about a lot of places by visiting those who have posted. My daughter, a college student in NYC, taught me about home this weekend.
I boarded the Amtrak Lake Shore Limited at 7AM last Thursday. It was the first time in 20 years that I have done something totally by and for myself.
Train travel is just that—travel. On the 12 hour trip, I saw the backyards and junkyards of America, junked cars and buses and mountains of tires. I saw lakes, rivers and the foothills of the Adirondacks; cities and towns, farmland, and an incredible variety of styles of houses and barns. Trees were leafing out, and spring flowers were abundant, from marsh marigolds to trillium to skunk cabbages.
Public art abounded, brought to us by talented graffiti artists. These emerging artists adorned sides of buildings, water towers, and rail cars with their means of self-expression.
I had never realized just how much train traffic there is in this country—from passenger trains to freight trains to scenic excursion railroads. It was a little disconcerting to be the train in the middle, with trains on either side hurtling down the tracks in the opposite direction. This is when I closed my eyes.
I sat by myself most of the trip, musing, looking out the windows, chatting with other passengers, and letting myself relax, lulled to sleep by the sound of the train. I had decided to leave my computer at home, and left my iPod in my bag, next to my book.
I learned how to walk from car to car, first for coffee that was even too weak for me; later for lunch in the dining car. The dining car was full, so I joined two delightful young women at their table. We were joined by a 4th woman named Sue. Canadian college students on vacation, Kate and Leah were wonderful companions. We shared a bottle of wine, toasting my adventure and theirs.
As the train chugged along the track, I dozed and mused, drinking in the scenery. The changing topography was fascinating as we passed through different regions. As we traveled along the Hudson River, I noticed a rocky island that seemed to be topped by a castle-like structure. I made out the word Arsenal on the front of the building. This Gothic structure is the Bannerman Castle. The Canadian students emerged from their car and we talked some more, this time over soft drinks and my $2.00 bottle of water. Note to self: don’t leave food and water bottles on the kitchen counter next time!
Text messages and phone calls began arriving from #1 daughter as we approached NYC. The train was nearing Penn Station, over 12 hours after I had boarded. Wishing my traveling companions a great vacation, I left the train and climbed up the stairs to the baggage claim. My phone rang. “Look straight ahead,” said the voice on the other end.
Carrying an empty suitcase (so I could fill it up and bring things home), and a duffel bag, we hotfooted it to the hotel. My daughter immediately flopped on the bed, stretching across the entire king-sized mattress. We talked and then walked to find something to eat. I fell asleep in the chair, then stumbled to bed.
Friday morning, my daughter asked me what I wanted to do. I responded that I wanted to be with my daughter rather than to find things to do. So we walked—first to her residence to drop off some stuff, then off to Cafe Grumpy for an incredible cup of cafe au lait—fixed until this very fussy coffee drinker was grinning because it was so good.
My daughter showed me her other home, from the park bench in Tompkins Square Park to the Union Square Greenmarket. We shared an incredibly beautiful day, exploring my daughter’s new world. We came across the 6th and B Garden, an oasis or green quiet in the middle of the city; we ate lunch at the Atlas Cafe, a tiny amazingly good restaurant. We wandered in and out of resale shops and fashionista hangouts, trying on things for fun, relishing each other’s company.
Then dinner with my daughter and a friend of hers. We chose Le Grainne Cafe, a French restaurant nearby. Delicious crepes, salad and a bottle of good wine served in a leisurely fashion made for a satisfying evening. No dinner would be compete without dessert. We decided to go to Billy’s Bakery, where we chose a small but mighty chocolate cheesecake to share. It was indeed as good as it looked.
Since the train arrives in Cleveland, Ohio at 3:00am, I decided to fly home. On Saturday morning, we walked to a block or 2 so we could hail a taxi to take me to the airport. “Is this where we hug and cry?” I asked. It was. The ride to the airport was a bit harrowing and ended with the driver taking me to the pick up for arriving passengers rather than the drop off for departing ones. Rather than risking any more delays, I hauled my now full suitcase and duffel up a very long flight of stairs.
Some folks have left their hearts in San Francisco. I left part of mine with a wonderful, talented, kind and adventurous young woman in the heart of New York City. There is no place like home.
Patti, over at the Patti-o recently asked what her readers have learned. She kind of got me thinking about what we learn and how. I have learned how to do lots of things, from writing this blog to embedding a map in a post. I have learned how to be rather than what to do. I have learned, as I posted on Patti’s blog, that when I feel stressed, I can realize that there are 2 sides to every coin, and that stressed spelled backwards is___________ .
So, join Patti in an umbrelly drink and ask yourself what you have learned lately?
**On another note—I’ll be away from Thursday through Saturday: taking the train to NYC to visit with #1 daughter. See ya’ll next week.
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