Letter 34 Homeward Bound

Harrington Travels 2009
Letter 34 Homeward Bound
Thursday, October 8 we officially started home. Of course, we had been heading that way since we left Nova Scotia, but today we were only stopping for important things, like rest. Well, mostly!

Driving south from Shelburne VT we crossed Lake Champlain into Crown Point NY and learned that Champlain and the upper Hudson Valleys held the keys to the tumultuous birth of our nation. New York and Vermont share the long border and history that made America. The lakes and rivers were the first highways in a new world carrying explorers, traders, and troops. Lake Champlain and the Hudson River have dominated the area’s political map.

We stopped briefly at Ft Ticonderoga, which had been attacked six times! Occupied by the French, British and Americans. The French began “Fort Carillon” in 1755 on the peninsula where it could command the waterways between New France and the southern colonies. Three nations have held it. Between 1755 and 1777 the Fort was attacked six times. Three times it fell, three times it was successfully held-a record no other fort can match. Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys, Benedict Arnold, George Washington, Lord Howe, General Amherst and General Knox are among those who shaped America were here.

Heading west into the mountains we followed the

Hudson River upstream. The Adirondacks were beautiful with their

fall color. We were surprised it was also pretty. Just not as many maples (with their brilliant reds) as Vermont. We drove by

lake after lake after lake, all beautiful with homes and reflections of the foliage.

We spent the night at

New York’s Eighth Lake State Park and enjoyed all the leaves both in the trees and on the ground.

Friday, October 9, The colors waved goodbye to us (for a short while) as we

left the exit to the park. Heading Southwest across New York state we re-crossed some of our earlier paths and this time saw

Chittango Falls in full color. We headed on to our favorite, of all this trip’s campgrounds, Ives Run in northern Pennsylvania, but we were disappointed. We had not counted on this being a three day weekend and fall foliage put together in this area of the country, but Ives Run was FULL! So we looked in the Passport America book and found one close by. Unfortunately it was the worst campground of the trip. It was high on a mountain, which meant a climb and the last mile was dirt road, with an even steeper climb into the campground, then it was junky and ill kept. To make maters worse, the owner said he was not a member of Passport anymore and wouldn’t honor their price. The spot was between trees on a very unlevel mountain slope area on the grass. It rained all night and Olivia didn’t sleep very much. Both of us worried and prayed about being able to get out of the spot.

Saturday, October 10 with the help of a neighbor we were able to back up, then pull up the mountain slope out of the spot and we were glad to say goodbye to this campground. We headed south on

Hwy 15 toward Williamsport then southwest on 202/80 then I-99. All along the way we were on the

side or at the bottom of a ridge. Color was great! The hills were like a patchwork quilt.

The freeways were also nice.

Finally we can make some good time. The new I-99 showed us beautiful colors as we headed toward Pennsylvania’s

Blue Knob State Park. This park is on the top of a mountain close to a ski lift. Fred dreaded the return trip with the trailer, because we drove miles up a steep grade to reach the campground. Fortunately there were several vacant sites and we were thankful to have a nice level mountain top site in friendly territory.

Sunday, October 11 after a good night sleep we left the trailer for a day of sight seeing. On the road to Johnstown the

foliage was breathtaking. It is a nice surprise - the colors are traveling with us. We hope they stay with us all the way home.

After some wandering around we found the National Park’s Johnstown Flood National Memorial northeast of Johnstown and at the site of the

South Fork Dam. Inside the visitor center we were met with a

large life like three dimensional collage. It showed how the wreckage piled up as the water rolled down the river bed through town. We watched the movie and read the labels of pictures representing the breaking of the dam.

Outside Fred walked to the spillway below the visitor’s center.

This spillway

was not wide or deep enough to handle flood water and metal screens had been fixed to the bottom of the spillway bridge to keep game fish from escaping. The screens collected debris and impeded the water’s exit. Today the National Park system tries to keep trees from growing in the lake bed to show the broken dam.

Behind the dam is a newer freeway and a train track now follows the river through the hole left in the dam.
Along the twelve miles of river bed the 1889 flood water picked up houses, trees, rocks, anything in it’s path. The front of the water rolled debris in front of the wall wiping out several small towns along the way until it spread out in Johnstown where the Stone Bridge slowed it’s flow.

Across the lake bed remains the

Clubhouse of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, the owners of the lake and dam at the time of the flood.

Johnstown is now a very

thriving town with skyscrapers and the river channels have been widened, straightened and paved to increase the flow of the water through town. We saw the stone bridge

(still there) where thousand of tons of debris scraped from the valley, along with a good part of Johnstown piled up against the arches. The 45 acre mass held homes, machinery, freight cars, railroad track, bridge sections, boilers, telegraph poles, trees, animals and hundreds of people. The jam was immovable, held against the bridge by the current and bound tight by barbed wire from a destroyed wire works. The jam caused a 10-30’ deep lake over Johnstown. Then the debris caught fire from oil and hot coals and burned for two days and more than 80 people died at this area. It still stands as a reminder of what has happened before. Flooding has happened in this town two times since the 1889 flood that took over 2200 Lives.

At this time we think of our Waxahachie friend Arlene Hamilton who lost an aunt and uncle in the disaster and her grandparents were involved in the rescur/cleanup.

From one disaster to another, we drove through the beautiful country to the remote sight of the Flight 93 plane crash of 9-11. The temporary memorial

is small but over 150,000 visit this site yearly. Donations are being taken for a more fitting memorial. In the meantime a wall is being filled with

flags, patches, flowers, hats and yes even license plates, as visitors leave their own memorial to these heroes. Other personal memorials line the fence from

granite markers to a cross filled with buttons, jewelry and other mementos from children. Across the field stands a

flag marking the crash site. Only family members may walk on these hallowed grounds.
This was an emotional day for us.

On the rolling and steep Lincoln Highway, US 30 toward Bedford,

we were reminded of God’s creations in the colors of the trees.

Monday, October 12 it was 38 degrees this morning as we rose to hit the road again. We traveled south on US 220, to Maryland and I-68. From there we merged into I-79 at Morgantown WVA and continued to a

Corps of Engineers park at Burnsville Lake called Rifle Run. There are five full time volunteers camped here and do all but collect the money for their spot for eight months.

We met our neighbors and visited around a prowling skunk, which reminded us of camping at Lake Whitney with the Daniels, Clemmers, Smiths, Burtons and others when Fred would call to the skunks, “Here, Kitty, Kitty!” That’s how he acquired his CB Handle, the Pole Cat! Our neighbors were one couple from WVA another from Connecticut. The Connecticut couple are from England and are traveling learning about their adoptive country. She told us of places to see in the middle part of the US for next year’s trip.

Tuesday, October 13 we left this nice place still heading home, but we did stop in Milton WVA at the Blenco glass showroom and museum. We saw some of

Wayne Husted’s (Fred’s cousin)

work,

but were not able to locate. Some of the men thought we might be able to find him through Osborne’s glass works down the road. They didn’t have a parking spot for us so we moved on after we read about him.

We visited in the factory,

where we watched men blowing glass, then admired lots of pretty glass bowls, pitchers, decanters and vases. Outside we saw

their discarded glass. They displayed many beautiful

works for sale, even some

signed pieces.

Then it was on to

Kentucky! We passed through Lexington and

horse country and made it all the way to Bardstown before stopping for the night. 318 miles. A record for us.

Wednesday, October 14 right after we arose, it started raining and looked like it was set in for the day, but about 8:30 it lightened up and the radar looked good so we headed through town and around the

old courthouse in the middle of a roundabout. Originally this building had an intersection in the middle of the ground floor. The two arches represent East/West direction. We don’t blame them for inclosing that space.

By noon we were in

Tennessee, Imagine that! Then in about 30 miles and passing some beautiful but hated

Kudzu and crossing the

Mississippi River, we were in

Missouri! Wow!

But only 30 miles further down the road, we were in

Arkansas! Four states in one day! We didn’t do that in New England where the states are tiny.

After 400 miles Fred put on the breaks and parked in Village Creek, Arkansas State Park. Whew! That’s too many miles for us slow travelers. Never again will we end a trip so far from home! The leaves in New England, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia were beautiful and we are glad we have done that, but from now on, we will see foliage closer to home. Of course that will also be later in the fall as it is usually November before they turn in Texas.

Thursday, October 15 we packed up and drove to the little town of Wynne and found a very nice Laundromat and did our washing, so we wouldn’t have to worry about doing it at home as we unpacked. Then we could smell Texas! We hit I 40 and it hit us back. We have never seen so many trucks in all our travels. Solid rows in front, behind and beside us going our way and the same meeting us. If the economy is so bad what are they carrying? In Little Rock we shifted to I 30 and they weren’t quite as bad, but still heavy traffic.

We crossed into Texas in RAIN! At Texarkana we turned south on HWY 67 to Maud and Malden Lake Corps of Engineers park on Lake Wright Patman. This was our last night out in a nice park.

Sometime in the quiet night Olivia heard a train. When was the last time we heard a train, or even saw one! We can’t remember, except at home.

Now we smelled home. Only 200 miles to go. A stop to get the car and trailer washed near Lancaster completed the trip. 20,000 miles, 220 nights.
We didn't really plan the trip home and our timing was a little off. When we pulled into town and close to our house, we almost arrived in the middle of the homecoming parade! Since it goes in front of our house we had a party to celebrate our homecoming too!

Our friends the Pushee's from New Hampshire sent us a picture of their

back yard, just about the time we arrived home. Beautiful. We left New England at the right time.

Our schedule has been very busy since we arrived home. It was fun seeing our friends at church and parties. The house needed attention with a new refrigerator and some plumbing repairs. Bob Phillips, Texas Country Reporter held his annual day of crafts and music on the square which out shown all the fairs and activites we visited on our trip. Our church held the annual Lord's Acre Nov 7 and we were very involved in preparations and celebration. All those and other activities is why we haven't made this last posting.

The leaves haven't started turning in this part of the country, and the temperature is still where we are wearing summer clothes, something we didn't do during the summer.

For those of you who have never been to Waxahachie this is our home port in our back yard. You'all come to see us!

We won’t be posting anymore to this blog. Go back and enjoy them again if you wish, by clicking on the dates to the right of the screen. Next year we will travel the middle of the United States and possibly go around the Great Lakes into that part of Canada. Let us know if you want to stay on our email list by contacting us at Olivia@bobheck.com or FredHarrington@yahoo.com

Letter 33 Vermont, Shelburne

Harrington Travels 2009
Letter 33 Vermont II—Shelburne Museum
Monday, October 5 we moved to western Vermont near Burlington and the town of Shelburne. This area is known for the Shelburne Museum, Farm, Vineyard and the Teddy Bear Factory. We started with the Museum for a two day visit.

The Shelburne Museum is a museum of art and Americana located in Shelburne Vermont. Over 150,000 works are exhibited in 39 exhibition buildings, 25 of which are historic and were relocated to the Museum grounds. Impressionist paintings, folk art, quilts and textiles, decorative art, furniture, American paintings, and an array of 17th-to 20th-century artifacts are on view. Shelburne is home to collections of 19th-century American folk art, quilts, 19th- and 20th-century decoys, and carriages.

Electra Havemeyer Webb (1888-1960) was a pioneering collector of American folk art and founded Shelburne Museum in 1947. The daughter of Henry Osborne Havemeyer and Louisine Elder Havemeyer, important collectors of European and Asian art, she exercised an independent eye and passion for art, artifacts, and architecture celebrating a distinctly American aesthetic.

When creating the Museum she took the step of collecting 18th- and 19th-century buildings from New Endland and New York in which to display the Museum's holdings, relocating 20 historic structures to Shelburne.
In Shelburne Mrs. Webb sought to create "an educational project, varied and alive." Shelburne's collections are exhibited in a village-like setting of historic New England architecture, accented by a landscape that includes over 400 lilacs, a circular formal garden, herb and heirloom vegetable gardens, and perennial gardens.

The big red round barn is the entrance and we were amazed at the

structure and basement ceiling braces. Enclosed on three levels was a motorcycle exhibit (not permanent) of speed. This Ducati

has been clocked at 180 mph. We were told the riders head had to be below the wind break. Any body part above or beside the wind break and the rider was off of there!

The next area was dedicated to the Circus where we rode the

Carousel. The building for the circus was a big horseshoe and all around the outside wall was Roy Arnold’s Miniature Parade. Carved on a scale of one-inch to one-foot this parade recreates the pomp and

pageantry of the procession that once

heralded the show’s arrival. Measuring 525 linear feet,

this parade is equivalent of a two mile long procession similar to those that

traveled routes up to ten miles long. It took Roy Arnold 25 years to carve this miniature. Details included fully functioning breaks and beautiful sunburst wheels, which consisted of more than sixty separate parts. WOW!

At the end of the parade was the

Kirk Bros. Circus. Mr Kirk of Harrisburg, PA carved each of the 3,500 pieces using a simple penknife and a foot-powered jigsaw. A brakeman for the Pennsylvania Railroad he worked on the circus during his breaks.

This whole museum was the brain child of Electra Havemeyer Webb. Her money came from sugar. Her father started what later became the Domino sugar company.
She and her husband met businessman William Beach and they became big-game hunters. Their hunting lodge has been replicated in the museum displaying many of their

trophies.

Next was the train station including the

Rail Car Grand Isle lavishly decorated beside the Railroad Freight Shed with side cars, steam engines, maintenance equipment and lanterns.

The Ticonderoga was the last side wheeler on

Lake Champlain and was rescued by Electra with a one million dollar grant, and other large contributions have added to it’s care. We walked the decks and visited the captains wheelhouse on top. This ship was also lavishly decorated with a formal dining room and plush carpeting throughout.

Next was a lighthouse from

Lake Champlain full of Warren Kimble’s American art.

The Electra Havemeyer Webb Memorial

house was next and inside was a replica of their New York City home including Impressionist and pre-Impressionst Art, Monets and bronzes of the American West.
On the way up the hill was the

Kalkin House of cutting edge architecture and we thought of the new barn/homes in Texas.

Our last stop for the day was a 1950’s home depicting life in post WWII Vermont.

Out around the town of Shelburne we saw

scarecrows dress to the hilt at all the schools, businesses, and municipal parks.

Tuesday Oct 6, we headed back to the Museum, this time a little earlier and with more pep. We entered into the

round barn entrance again, this time to learn about it. This style barn started as a Shaker idea, but soon spread to others as it was a good idea. They were cheaper to build and operate than square or long barns. This is one of about two dozen built in northern Vermont and was constructed in 1899 in Barnet. The 80’ diameter structure has a central silo, round louvered cupola and wood shingle roof. The silo is double planked, inside and out and serves the structure core of the building. The middle or dairy floor had ties for 60 cows, facing in toward the circular feed trough. Cattle were fed with hay from the floor above, allowing one person to feed the herd in less than 30 minutes. Manure fell through the trapdoors on the middle floor to the basement, where the farmer could drive his horse team and spreader for loading. When moving this barn to the museum the 9,000 pound center silo was airlifted across the state by sky crane and positioned in the building.

Olivia decided to skip the shuttle to the remaining buildings and tried a

motorcycle out for size.

Two “Salt Box” houses were next. The Prentis House was

decorated from a donation of a friend’s house and goods. Notice the floor board planks of about two foot width. Downstairs in the

Stencil House we could see two of the

four central chimney fireplaces in the home. This is standard in the “Salt Box” design. A one of a kind chair was in the downstairs bedroom.

The

General Store and

Apothecary came next with not an inch of spare room in either.

Around the corner was the

Blacksmith and Wheelwright with two blacksmiths working hard.

The meeting

house hid the

“Horseshoe” barn named because it was actually “U” shaped and it held all kinds of horse drawn vehicles. One was a

Toleman Hearse! Diana, you didn’t tell us Ted’s family made these! The Maple Grove Cemetery Association of Bakersville VT purchased this in 1849 for $100. The exterior is black painted wood with decorative cast iron scrollwork. Four elliptical springs provide suspension. Eight panes of glass allow the coffin to be seen. It has velvet mourning curtains trimmed with gold fringe and tassels. It could also be fitted with bob runners for winter travel! Fancy Huh!

We also saw many

Sleighs of all sizes and color as every type used in America in the 1800’s is represented. As progress happened even some were ordered from Sears for $24.95.

We watched children being able to participate in

printing and

weaving.

Another Shaker barn was this

Shaker Shed holding Boats of the Adirondacks. “Guideboats, canoes, and rowboats are the passion of their builders and owners. In a region dotted with more than 2000 lakes and 31,000 miles of streams and rivers, boats were an essential means of transportation in the early 19th century. They hauled freight and provided swift and stable transportation for hunters and fishermen. The guideboats became the preferred means of late 19th century recreational travel. The narrow wooden boat with pointed ends had sawn ribs and the smooth skin inside and out, is portable with a removable middle seat and is usually propelled with oars, making it an ideal vessel for extended excursions.

We were enamored with the

Castelon Jail, constructed in 1890 of Vermont slate.

Miniatures showed up again in the Variety Unit. The maker lovingly crafted

most of the many glass-encased diorama exhibited in this gallery for her friend and Museum founder, Electra Havemeyer Webb.
Another variety item were many

sampler’s made by teenage girls. Each room in these buildings had another collection.

Such as

hooked rugs, and

Bandboxes, that functioned as both lightweight luggage and stackable multipurpose storage containers. Made to store and protect the delicate linen and lace collar bands, after which they were named, worn by gentlemen. Over the next two centuries, bandboxes evolved into fashionable carryalls used by both women and men.

Fifty of the

quilt collection came from Florence Peto. They are housed beautifully and displayed under glass in a large room. There are about 100 of them. They include whitework, stenciling, piecing, appliqué and embroidery.

Who ever heard of

glass canes???? Well we saw them. Five cases like this one. Imagine using one!

Next came a room of

crystal glasses. Again many cases all around and in the middle of the room.

Trivets

anyone? Or

Dolls, Or

pots???? Everywhere we looked was another collection.

Did someone say, “Humans are the only animal that collects stuff!” Well, Electra Havemeyer Webb sure did.

The little red brick

schoolhouse was next and it made Olivia think of Ferris Ward, now the administration building for WISD, except it was bigger than this one.

The stagecoach inn

housed lots of folk art in all mediums.

There was even a

covered bridge. We have seen lots of them in New Hampshire and Vermont and they are even numbered so they can keep up with which is which.

The Dorset house

held several rooms of

Decoys which were used by hunters to lure wild game birds within shooting range. They were first made and used by American Indians to take advantage of the abundance of wildfowl on the North American continent. Canvasback decoys made from reeds, dating from as early as 1000 have been discovered in Colorado’s Lovelock Cave. White man borrowed the idea and made their own versions in wood by 1770. Also a

10 foot Punt Gun was displayed as used by market hunters in the Chesapeake Bay. They silently paddled up in the dark to huge rafts of feeding wild fowl. The guns were muzzle loaded with 1/2 to 2 pounds of bird shot rammed over an equal measure of black powder and then wadded. A single shot could kill up to 100 birds. The guns were noisy, unpredictable and dangerous.

The remainder of this house held carved

fish of all species. These too were decoys! First New England settlers were taught by the natives how to use these fashioned hookless lures. First you cut a hole on the ice, then you dangle the “bait” in the hole with one hand. With the other hand you grasp a spear. When a larger “real” fish comes for the decoy, you spear the fish through the hole in the ice. And we thought ice fishing was our invention.

A settlers

barn, house, and saw mill were next. Two ladies were in the house demonstrating how to make “journey” or “Johnny” cakes. The saw mill is an up and down saw with the board being pushed through it.

Save the best for last and the museum had done that in the Webb Gallery. Louis Comfort Tiffany’s most significant private commission was the decoration of the Havemeyer’s New York City house in 1892. This is the home in which the Shelburne Museum founder Electra Havemeyer Webb grew up. They gave Tiffany freedom in the design of the main public rooms as well as private spaces. This gallery featured some of the furnishings Tiffany created. We saw many elaborate jewelry pieces and the glass lamps were exquisite. Tiffany was inspired by gardens with his depiction of flowers. In the late 1890’s he started making his first colorful leaded-glass lampshades. Choice of palette and the individual selection of the piece of glass gave each shade it’s own distinctive character.
Since we have made some stain glass we were both enamored at the elaborate designs and how they were made. Tiffany worked hard to place the pieces of glass to make the shading for the designs and make them look lifelike.

Well, we covered the highlights, but you must come to see for yourselves all the items we could not cover here. As we had been told, plan two days to see this museum and we believe it.

We left about 3 pm on our second day and went to see what the Shelburne Farm was about, since rain was forecast for the next day.

Sure enough the tour only lasted 2 hours, so we caught the last one of the day.

The “Farm” was owned and built by Mrs. Webb’s father and mother in law. Originally designed as a model agricultural estate in 1886 by Dr. William Seward Webb and Lila Vanderbilt Webb, Shelburne Farms today is a nonprofit environmental educational organization, 1,400 acre working farm and National Historic Landmark.
The mission of the farm is to cultivate a conservation ethic in students, educators and the general public by teaching and demonstrating the stewardship of natural and agricultural resources.
The Farm barn (YES, that is a BARN!) was constructed as headquarters for the model estate. This farm is on the Shelburne peninsula into Lake Champlain with a view of the New York Adirondacks on the opposite side.
The Inn at Shelburne Farms was the Webbs’ year-round home. It is now a 24 room inn, open for breakfast and dinner. We visited the
library and living room.

Two more stops in the Shelburne area were to Harrington’s, and the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory. We wondered if the Harrington’s were still running the store, and were told no, but we did enjoy the store.

At the Teddy Bear factory tour, the guide and Olivia loaded Fred up with the fuzzy characters. Does he look like a proud Daddy? We were able to see behind the scenes view of the working Factory and saw firsthand how they create the Bears, from cutting and stitching to stuffing and sewing... To learn more about these bears go to www.VermontTeddyBear.com

Fred wants you to know which roads we traveled in Vermont so here is a highlighted map. If you right click and “save as” to your file, you can increase the size to read all the road numbers.

Despite the wet conditions (rain almost every day since we left Maine) which caused the dead leaves to fall early, we were in awe of the show of colors. It was marvelous. It’s a site to see.

We hope there is only one more letter to go and that will be our Homeward Bound Letter.

We love to hear if you have been to any of these spots or wish to see. For comments on our rambling or just to say hello, contact us at:

Olivia@bobheck.com or fredharrington@yahoo.com

Or if you want to opt out let us know that also.