From Skilled Hands

Reflections on Wordless Wednesday

fromskilledhands — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:18:38 +0000

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A My Town Monday Post: Can You Dig It?

fromskilledhands — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 02:36:22 +0000

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, and vestiges of the canal are still visible. Some of the locks are still there, and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park has a working lock at the Canal Visitor Center. 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.

As always feel free to leave me a comment, or a stone (o), to let me know you’ve been by. If you choose to leave a comment, I’ll enter your name in a drawing for a beautiful book about the Cuyahoga Valley.

********Thanks to Amanda, of the Peninsula Library and Historical Society, for her assistance and generosity in sharing resources, knowledge and time.

Take a look at what my fellow MTM Marauders have to say at My Town Monday.

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Dream On…

fromskilledhands — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 15:47:32 +0000

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The Nature of Things

fromskilledhands — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:47:39 +0000

We live and work in an incredibly beautiful place. This valley called Cuyahoga is amazingly diverse—a symphony of the senses. I have walked many of the trails in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The Tree Farm Trail is one of my favorite places, and I wrote about it here. I am always in awe when I complete the trail and come upon Horseshoe Pond.

I worked on a piece that’s my interpretation of this place. Here is a photo of the piece in process:

And here is the finished piece:

These are some of the things that keep me grounded: connections to the beauty of the natural world, and the ability to manifest my connections in clay.

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My Town Monday: Summer in My Valley

fromskilledhands — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:20:57 +0000

As far as I am concerned, Summer is still in full swing. The autumnal equinox will occur on September 23, 2010, at 3:09 A.M. Tomatoes are blushing, beans are growing and kale is everywhere! The sounds of the cicadas remind me it’s August, and lightening bugs glow in the evening sky. Nature’s seasons are much more honest that those constructed by humans, I think.

Here’s a look at life in my Valley, along the river called Cuyahoga.

As always, feel free to leave me a comment, or a stone (o), to let me know that you’ve stopped by. Hike on over to My Town Monday, to see what my fellow MTM Marauders have to say.

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A Tale of Two Coffees: A My Town Monday Post

fromskilledhands — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 01:14:37 +0000

A while back, my blogging buddy, Amy Rea, blogged about the Twin Cities’ Peace Coffee. Somehow we started talking about good locally roasted coffees, and Peace Coffee reminded me about Canton, Ohio’s Hippie Coffee Company.

One of us proposed a trade, and so, the Great Peaceful Coffee Adventure began. Amy sent me Peace Coffee and I sent her Hippie Coffee. I’ve always liked Hippie Coffee, so I was delighted to share it with Amy. We continued the trade, and the second time we traded, I sent Amy a mug, and she included a pair of Peace Coffee Socks.

This trade introduced me to another wonderful coffee, and was a reminder that other towns have great local products. When you buy locally, you not only help sustain that merchant’s growth, you support his or her suppliers and the folks whose businesses provide adjunct services, so you truly strengthen your local economy.

Check out local products in your community. Tell others about them—trade with your cyber-buddies. You’ll have fun and will have the opportunity to discover new things.

What are your favorite local products? Feel free to post a comment, or leave a stone (o), to let me know you’ve stopped by.

Wander on over to My Town Monday and see what my fellow MTM Marauders have to say.

****

Lots going on for me and my family right now; although I’m not writing posts or posting comments very often, I’m still here, and I’m still reading. Stay tuned. I hope to be back more regularly when the dust settles for us.

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I’m That Mom

fromskilledhands — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 03:29:19 +0000

I’m that mom who taught her children how to blow bubbles in their drinks, put olives on all 10 fingers, make mashed potato mountains with slides for the peas, so that when one of the Grandmas told the kids, “Your mother didn’t teach you to play with your food!” they replied, “Oh yes she did!”

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 told the kids that it is good luck to be nice, and that sometimes the quietest people have the most to say, you just have to listen.

I’m that mom who said that ice cream for breakfast is fun and that extended drives to go to something we wanted to do JUST SOUNDED FAR.

I’m that mom who told her kids that we can generate alternative solutions to problems, and that we can ask questions and question answers.

I’m that mom who loved one daughter’s love of horses and who went to all the swim meets until the swimmer no longer wanted to swim. Then. We. Stopped.

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 who treasures the community of those moms, and who recognizes that we all do the best we can with the tools and information we have at any given time.

I’m that mom.

Thanks to Ronnie who started this carnival based on a post by Flo.

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A Plethora of Pythons in Peninsula: An Alliterative My Town Monday Post

fromskilledhands — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:16:45 +0000

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.

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Coming Soon: Peninsula Python Festival

fromskilledhands — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 16:01:22 +0000

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!

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The Python Returns to Peninsula: A My Town Monday Better Late Than Never Post

fromskilledhands — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 23:07:16 +0000

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.

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