LISTEN MY CHILDREN AND YOU SHALL HEAR OF THE MIDNIGHT RIDE OF PAUL REVERE…..

Research and writing all day yesterday for me. I was in the mood.

Wednesday night while at Macaws I spoke with Doug. Doug is a tour guide at Hemingway House. A history buff.  Somehow Sudbury, Massachusetts became part of the conversation.

Doug spouted out a ton of historical facts. I could not keep up. Yesterday, part of my research involved Sudbury.

The British were surprised by the colonial opposition at Lexington and Concord. They literally ran back to Boston and safety. On the way, Sudbury residents put upon them. They shot from the woods and otherwise sniped at the Redcoats.

Sudbury’s other Revolutionary War exploits too many to list. However, recognized. Sudbury’s ZIP Code is 01776. Some say because of its assistance in the Revolutionary War. Others, disagree.

The Wayside Inn stands in Sudbury. Purportedly, the oldest operating inn in the Unite States. Built and run by the Howe family for many years.

Henry Ford lived off and on in the 1930’s and 1940’s in Sudbury. In 1923, he purchased and restored the Wayside Inn. Then donated the Inn to a charitable foundation that operates it to this day.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a book of poems titled Tales of Wayside Inn. Published in 1863.  A poem within was titled Tales Of A Wayside Inn. An immortal phrase part of the poem: “Listen my children and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.”

Henry Ford a continuing benefactor to Sudbury. He moved the Redstone Schoolhouse from Sterling to Sudbury. The Redstone Schoolhouse is reputed to be the school in the nursery rhyme Mary Had A Little Lamb.

Sudbury definitely an historical site. I thank Doug for bring it to my attention.

It will be one year September 10 that Irma hit the Florida Keys. A category 4 in certain parts. Almost a year later, Irma’s destructive violence still with us.

People remain without furniture and appliances. The non-profit Farm Share and Monroe County’s Long Term Recovery Group will be providing in Marathon on Irma’s September 10 anniversary date free furniture and appliances for those in need. Individuals and families in disaster case management programs.

The Key West Bight jetty has been an eye sore since September 10. Broken boats and debris were thrown upon the jetty. Cleanup began this eek. It is anticipated it will take til the end of September to complete the cleanup.

Nostalgia time. Days of old return. Sonic Drive-In expects to open this week. Like drive-ins following World War II. The drive-in procedure involving a girl coming out to the car to take your order, return with it, place it on a tray hung on an open windowed door, and you enjoyed.

Sonic marks a return of the yesteryear drive-in. A new one constructed on North Roosevelt Boulevard. Sixteen parking slots. Carhops taking your order. Eat in the car or at outdoor tables.

When MacDonald’s opened in the 1950’s, there were no indoor tables. You ordered at an outside window and ate in the car. Back in those days there was a Kewpee chain. One in Utica. Terrific cheeseburgers and thick shakes. Ate in the car. Carhops taking the order and returning with it.

Many times, we would take the burgers and shakes and drive to another spot to eat them. A parking location. Generally, the Eagle in Utica. Called the Eagle because there was a statue of one on a park top hill. We would dine and then neck. Nothing more. Kissing was as far as it went in those days.

Labor Day Weekend is upon us. Key West will be full. Glad the tourists will be returning in large numbers. The town has been quiet the past few weeks.

I mentioned a few days ago that lizards had now joined iguanas in the Florida Keys. Not knowing much about lizards, I assumed they were similar to iguanas in appearance and size. I was wrong.

A lizard established itself in the back yard of a family home in Davie this week. Seven feet long, estimated 150 pounds. Does not want to leave. Avoids capture.

A Monitor lizard. The family has been advised not to be concerned. Monitor lizards are not known to  attack people.

Needless to say, the family are not happy campers.

Venezuela not the only South American country having financial problems. Argentina’s economy ready to topple. Inflation 25.4 percent, interest rates 60 percent. Banks low on reserve money.

Something I never knew. Sandy Koufax a great baseball pitcher. A Hall of Famer.

He began in 1955. From 1955 through 1961, his record was 36 wins, 51 losses. Not Hall of Fame numbers.

Then he got hot. He only played another 5 years because of an elbow injury. In those 5 years, he made his mark as one of baseball’s great pitchers. He walked only 2.1 per game. Threw 3 no hitters. Won 4 World Series games. Cy Young pitcher 3 years. In 1965, struck out 382.

A late bloomer!

Enjoy your day!

 

6 comments on “LISTEN MY CHILDREN AND YOU SHALL HEAR OF THE MIDNIGHT RIDE OF PAUL REVERE…..

  1. Alice Longfellow (center) visiting Henry Ford (right) in 1924.
    Alice Longfellow (center) visiting Henry Ford (right) in 1924.

    In 1923, automobile manufacturer Henry Ford bought the Inn from Cora Lemon. Ford used his vast resources to acquire acreage, buildings, and antiquities. With the intention of creating a living museum of Americana, he expanded the property to 3,000 acres in the towns of Sudbury and Marlboro. He added buildings to the property including the one-room Redstone School (relocated onto the property in 1925), a fully functioning Grist Mill (built in 1929), and the Martha-Mary Chapel (built in 1940 from trees felled in the historic Hurricane of 1938). From 1928–1947, Ford operated the Wayside Inn School for Boys, a trade school that prepared indigent boys for potential employment in Ford’s factories. In 1944, a few years before his death in 1947, Henry and Clara Ford placed the central 125-acre parcel into a non-profit trust to preserve the Inn’s historic legacy. Henry Ford was the last private owner of the Inn.

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