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.
It has been said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. There is no question that most mugs are functional: they hold the liquid which has been placed inside. There are, it seems, other factors that make a mug “work.” The size and weight of the vessel, and the size, weight and position of the handle are important to the user. And then there are other factors. How has the piece been decorated? For me a question is: has it been made by hand?
Some mugs are beyond description—- and that, my friends, is why we are having an Ugly Mug Contest. Send me a photo of your ugly mug and I will enter your name in the contest. The prize? One of our favorite mugs! Send your photo to: from skilled hands AT g mail DOT com (remove spaces).
Here are some photos:
And here is the mug and the comment that inspired this contest:
Kris stated, “I didn’t send a picture last time because I *hate my mugs! I don’t have a one that I love. I can tell by the image above that the handles of those mugs are perfect – plenty of space for more than two fingers, which I like. Want me to send you a picture of the mug I use but don’t love??”
The winner of one of our favorite mugs is Laura P. I know she loves her little brown mug, and I hope that she will love one of our favorite mugs, too. Check back tomorrow for a look at our next drawing, where, you, too, will have the opportunity to win!
As I sit sipping my coffee with frothed, steamed milk, I cradle my sacred mug in my hands. The mug’s the thing, more than it’s contents. It’s handle, user friendly; it’s body rounded to fit in my hands. Mugs are a personal thing.
Last summer I asked what you like in a mug. Since Spring has finally really arrived in my Valley, it’s time to ask again. What do you like in a mug?
Send me your mug shot, and I’ll enter your name in a drawing for one of our favorite mugs. Using my usual high tech method, in which I draw a name from a hat, I will draw a name on Sunday, May 9, and post the winner in next week’s MTM post.
Send your photo to me: from skilled hands AT gmail DOT com.
Visit My Town Monday to see who has what to say about his or her town.
So now I will tell you the story of the Touchstones. It was just before 9/11. I had been holding a piece of porcelain in my hand, musing about it’s texture and how it felt. It was like a stone. I rolled it into a comfortable form, and picked up a tool that I use for carving the tiles. I began to write words on the stones. No thought, just action. I rubbed colorants into the carved areas, like I do with the tiles, and fired the pieces.
These little pieces were like those that people all over the world hold: worry stones, beads and stones, and the like. It seemed that in the business of daily life, we—-I—-often lose track of things that I need to remember. These little pieces of porcelain were touchstones—-reminders—–to pay attention. I carry them in my pocket, and as I handle them, they help me remember.
A year after 9/11, I was in the studio. A couple came in. They were from New York City. We started talking. They were planning on walking, with a group of bagpipers, at dawn, from Battery Park to the place we now know as Ground Zero. The woman wanted to buy a touchstone that had PEACE on it. I gave her a dozen and a half or so, and asked her to pass them on.
A week or so after that, I received an email from a man who had been given one. He wrote that he had been in his office near the Twin Towers on September 11, and that receiving a touchstone was a life affirming experience—a connection with others who cared.
I continue to make them, on and off, when the time seems right to me. We sell them at our gallery in the Village of Peninsula, and I give them away when it is what I need to do. And that, my friends, is the story of touchstones.
As always, feel free to leave a comment, or a stone (o), to let me know you’ve stopped by. If you choose to leave a comment, I will enter you in a drawing for a touchstone.
Send me a shot of your favorite mug and I will enter you in a drawing for one of our favorite mugs. (from skilled hands AT Gmail DOT com). I will post the winner on Monday, July 27, 2009.
Here are some mug shots:
“This is one of my favourites – a Royal Alma mug by Staffordshire. I love anything English and stone or potteryware..”
“They are big enough for two measured cups of coffee, keep the contents warm, and big enough to warm my hands in the winter (all three weeks of it!). They tend to be the favorite mugs of all the younger folks that come for coffee because of their size.”
“Though I have my favorites, any mug will just about do in the morning. This one was given to me by a friend when I resigned from the ICU. I miss Freddie and think about her when I pour a cup of coffee into this mug.”
“Here is a picture of me with my favourite mug. Not sure how clearly it shows the glories of the mug itself, but it does show just how huge it is and that’s what I love about it most. It holds at least a pint of coffee which is what I need to get me going in the morning, sad but true! Not only does it hold a pint it keeps it hot too for as long, pretty much, as it takes me to drink it, which is a good forty minutes. It has no handle, and doesn’t need one, sitting perfectly in both hands as it does. Ideal for the Scottish climate: it’s a mug and hot water bottle in one! The glaze is a luminous cream with splendid green stripes all around it. Another thing I love about it is that it was hand-thrown by a particularly handsome potter who evidently loved his job. My fingers fit neatly in the ridges that his hands created and thus I feel comfortably connected to its origins.”
The Village of Peninsula, Ohio, population 601, will once again celebrate the saga of the Peninsula Python, the serpent whose escape, disappearance, and subsequent sightings terrified the people in the Valley during the summer of 1944.
Word War II was going on, and many of the young men from the Valley were deployed overseas. When the story of the Python was picked up by the wire services and Stars and Stripes, soldiers stationed overseas sent letters to the Village. Letters from places people had never heard of.
While the story of the python frightened people in the Valley, it was not nearly as scary as the horrors of war.
The mayor deputized a posse to try to capture the renegade reptile. Although they men of the posse followed up on every lead, they were unable to find the snake.
If you are in our neck of the woods on Saturday, July 18th, come on over to the Village. We’ll be celebrating the python with our Python Fest. There will be all kinds of things to do. Slither on over here to find out just what will be going on. Steve and I will have a plethora of pythons around the Gallery, at 1619 West Mill Street. If you can find them all, you will win a prize.
You can also wander down the trail to Deep Lock Quarry, part of the MetroParks, serving Summit County. Celebrate Hobo Days with food, stories and the crowning of the Hobo King and Queen.
My Town Monday is now hosted by Clair Dickson here. You will find links to other MTM posts all over this fine planet. Travis Erwin is the originator of MTM. Go visit him and say hello. He’s a very nice guy.
Email me a photo of you with your favorite mug and tell me why you like it. I’ll post your photos and comments here, and enter you in a drawing for one of our favorite mugs. AND you will have the opportunity to beome a member of the Peninsula Python Posse! How cool is that? This is what I like in a mug.
Email to : from skilled hands AT g mail DOT com (you know what to do )
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.![[Bloglines]](http://fromskilledhands.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/bloglines.png)
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The winner of one of our favorite mugs is Laura P. I know she loves her little brown mug, and I hope that she will love one of our favorite mugs, too. Check back tomorrow for a look at our next drawing, where, you, too, will have the opportunity to win!
Now, I feel like a cuppa coffee …”
The mayor deputized a posse to try to capture the renegade reptile. Although they men of the posse followed up on every lead, they were unable to find the snake.
