Monthly Archives: October 2014

Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Posted on by

Legend of Sleepy Hollow

During this Halloween season I thought it would be a good time to discuss the “Legend of Sleepy Hollow”.  I remember when I was a small child seeing the classic Disney animated movie which told the story of a man named Ichabod Crane.  The local living history farm not far from where we live has an autumn festival and the highlight of the hayride is always the appearance of the Headless Horseman and our family has made it an annual must-see event that we enjoy.

adventures-of-ichabod-and-mr-toad

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is originally a short story written by Washington Irving and first published in 1820 under the pseudonym of Geoffrey Crayon.  The story is based on an old German folktale known as “The Wild Huntsman” about a phantom rider which sometimes appeared headless as he would chase trespassers through the woods.  Irving had been inspired by these German tales and wrote the story as part of his book, “The Sketch Book”, while he was visiting Europe.

Irving had set the story in the time of the American Revolutionary War in the countryside near Tarrytown, New York.  During the war this area of Westchester County, which was situated between the lines of the Continental Army and the British troops, had been the location of several raids and skirmishes conducted by the Loyalists with the help of Hessian soldiers against the Patriots.  The legend is that the Headless Horseman was said to be a Hessian Soldier that had been found decapitated after one very violent skirmish and then later buried in an unmarked grave over the bridge in the Old Dutch Church Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow.

The unusual name of the character of Ichabod Crane is said to have come from directly from Irving who had met an Army Captain by that same name in 1814.  The character of Ichabod was modeled after a real person named Jesse Merwin who was a local school teacher in Kinderhook, NY where Irving had visited in 1809.  The character of Katrina was possibly inspired by a real person, either Catriena or Eleanor Van Tassel who are both buried in the cemetery in Sleepy Hollow.

“Legend of Sleepy Hollow” synopsis

The story is about a tall, lean and very superstitious schoolteacher.  He is in love with Katrina who is the daughter of a wealthy farmer, Baltus Van Tassel, who opposed the marriage.  Abraham van Brunt, “Bones”, was also pursuing Katrina and he set about playing a series of pranks to unsettle Ichabod.  Then in autumn there was a harvest party at the Van Tassel house and Ichabod was going to propose to Katrina that night but he failed to win her hand.

At the party “Bones” had been telling ghost stories and as Ichabod rode home, sadden by his failure to win Katrina’s hand in marriage, he became haunted by those stories.  As Ichabod passes through the woods near Sleepy Hollow he encounters a shadowy headless figure on horseback and extremely frightened he races to cross over the bridge at the Old Dutch Cemetery where legend has it that he will be safe from harm.

The Headless Horseman chasing Ichabod Crane

The next morning, Ichabod has mysteriously disappeared from town and Katrina eventually marries “Bones” who sees delightfully happy with these turn of events.  The story concludes that “Bones” was in fact was the Headless Horseman.

Travel – Westminster Abbey – London, England

Posted on by

Westminster Abbey sketch

On a trip to London, England in 1998 we were fortunate to take a tour of the spectacular Westminster Abbey with its magnificent stained glass windows, beautiful marble statues and numerous memorials.  Personally, I had looked forward to seeing Westminster Abbey on this trip because I remembered watching the television coverage of Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997 and the wedding of Prince Andrew to Sarah Ferguson in 1986 which both took place there.  The Abbey is also the site of the tombs of British Royalty, such as King Henry VII and Queen Elizabeth I, as well as various prominent people in British history, such as Oliver Cromwell, which are buried within the chapels.  Since 1066, the Abbey has traditionally been the location of the coronation of the British Monarch with the last one taking place in 1953 for Queen Elizabeth II.

A brief history of Westminster Abbey

The history of Westminster Abbey begins when a small Benedictine monastery was built under the direction of the Bishop of London, later known as Saint Dunstan, in the late 960 under the rule of King Edgar.  Then in the late 1000s, King Edward the Confessor began to rebuild St. Peter’s Abbey as a royal burial church conveniently located adjacent to the Palace of Westminster.  This was a very timely decision given the fact that the work was completed in 1065 just a week before his death and he was buried in the church.  Nothing remains of this old church, but its column bases have been found below the west end of nave of the present Abbey.

Westminster Abbey in 1560

In 1245, King Henry III started the construction on the current church building and the relics of King Edward the Confessor were removed from the old church and placed within a shrine in the new church.  There are a total of 17 British monarchs, including King Henry III and Queen Elizabeth I, buried within the Abbey and the last to be buried there was King George II in 1760.  After that time, due to limited space within the Abbey, subsequent British monarchs have been buried either at St. George’s Chapel or Frogmore which is located just east of Windsor Castle.

Throughout the years, Westminster Abbey has also been the site of many funeral services for members of the Royal family.  Two notable ceremonies were Princess Diana’s funeral service at the Abbey followed with her burial at the Spencer family ancestral home at Althorp in 1997 and most recently the funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother followed with her burial in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in 2002.

Princess Diana's funeral    Queen Mother's funeral

Westminster Abbey has been the site for only 16 royal weddings throughout the centuries and the first one to take place there was in 1100 when King Henry I married Princess Matilda of Scotland.  Then, there was a period of time between 1382 until 1919 when it was customary for royal weddings to take place privately either in their palaces or castles.  The first royal wedding to be held at the Abbey after more than 500 years was Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, Princess Patricia of Connaught, who married Alexander Ramsay in 1919.  Over the years other notable royal weddings have taken place in the Abbey such as Prince Albert (later King VI) to Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (later known as the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother) in 1923 and later their daughters; Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) who married Lieutenant Phillip Mountbatten in 1947 and later Princess Margaret who married in Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1960.   Two of Queen Elizabeth’s children have also chosen the Abbey for their wedding ceremonies; Princess Anne who married Captain Mark Phillips in 1973 and Prince Andrew who married Sarah Ferguson in 1986.  The most recent royal wedding to take place at the Abbey was the Queen’s grandson, Prince William who married Catherine Middleton in 2011.  (For more information and further details about their wedding, please click on the click Royal Weddings Part Four)

Westminster Abbey - Prince William and Kate Middleton 1    Westminster Abbey - Prince William and Kate Middleton 2

Finally, one of the most solemn ceremonies to take place in Westminster Abbey is the Coronation of the British monarch.  William the Conqueror was crowned King William I on Christmas Day 1066 and it was the first of the 38 royal coronations to have taken place there.  Over the centuries the main elements of the coronation service have remained relatively unchanged.  Since 1308 the King Edward’s Chair, also known as the Coronation Chair, is the throne on which the sovereign sits when they are crowned.  The Coronation Chair was made for the coronation of King Edward I and was constructed from oak with a space specifically designed under the seat to accommodate the famous Stone of Scone which was brought from Scotland in 1296 and used for every coronation until 1996 when it was returned to Scotland to be kept at Edinburgh Castle.  For future coronation, it is intended that the Stone will be placed back in the King Edward’s Chair for use during the coronation ceremony of subsequent monarchs.    The Chair was originally painted with gilded animals and foliage with the image of the king resting his feet on a lion painted on the back.  The four gilded lions were originally added to the chair in the early 16th century and then replaced in 1727.  During the coronation ceremony the Chair with the Stone of Scone in placed facing the High Altar in Westminster Abbey.  In the past, the Chair was kept in the Chapel of St. Edward the Confessor, but when that area was closed to visitors in 1997 the Chair was moved out into the ambulatory and placed on a raised platform near the tomb of Henry V.  As of 2010, the Chair was moved to a specially built enclosure in St. George’s Chapel located at the west end of the Nave.  The most recent coronation was that of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and amid great controversy it was the first time that the ceremony had been televised.  (For more information and further details about her coronation, please click on the link Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II)

Coronation throne    Queen Elizabeth II coronation

A tour of Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey is a beautiful Gothic-style church located a short distance from the Thames River in the City of Westminster, London.  The Abbey was formally known as the Collegiate Church of St. Peter and is considered the most important religious building in England and also one of London’s most popular tourist attractions which is seen by over a million visitors annually.  The interior design was generally English in style with a single aisle and a long nave but several French Gothic features include tall windowed chapels, a spectacular round rose window and buttresses used for exterior support.

Westminster Abbey floor plan

Like many churches, the Abbey was designed in the shape of a cross with the transept (the cross section of a building) 203 feet long and 80 feet wide while the nave measures 166 feet in length and over 71 feet wide with a soaring ceiling that reaches over 101 feet high.  The floor space of the interior of the Abbey measures 32,000 square feet and for a normal church service the seating capacity is about 2,000.  This seems very small compared to Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953 which had a seating capacity of about 8,200.  The exterior length of the building measures 530 feet and the West Towers are over 225 feet in height.

Westminster Abbey - North DoorUpon arriving at Westminster Abbey, most visitors will enter through the Great North Door.  Once inside the Abbey there is so much to see and we would highly recommend that visitors pick up one of the guided brochures or take one of the guided tours.

Below are descriptions of the various areas of the Abbey.

The North Transept –

The Great North Door is considered the main entrance to Westminster Abbey and this is where most visitors will start a tour.  As visitors move further into the church, the area known as the north transept has many tombs and statues depicting several British statesmen, such as Sir Robert Peel and two of Queen Victoria’s Prime Ministers, William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli.

North Transept

The North Ambulatory –

Visitors will then turn left into the eastern end of the church where there smaller chapels which contain the royal tombs and memorials to several monarchs, such as Elizabeth I, Mary I, James I, Charles II, William II and Queen Anne.  One of the most important and largest of the chapels is the magnificent Chapel of Henry VII which is also known as the Lady Chapel because it was dedicated in 1503 to the Blessed Virgin Mary.  The Chapel measures over 103 feet in length and 70 feet wide with a beautiful fan vaulted ceiling that rises to a height of 60 feet.  Past the entrance which features a pair of intricate bronze gates that are decorated with the royal Tudor badges is the tomb of Henry VII and his Queen, Elizabeth of York that stands behind the altar and a bronze screen.  At the east end of the chapel is the smaller Royal Air Force Memorial Chapel which features a stained glass window honoring the Battle of Britain.  Visitors should look for a memorial stone to Oliver Cromwell which is on the floor in front of the window.  To the south of the chapel visitors will find the tomb of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Chapel of Henry VII    Royal Air Force Memorial Chapel - Battle of Britian Window

Elizabeth I tomb

The South Ambulatory –

As visitors walk back toward the main area of the church, they will pass into the South Ambulatory and several of its smaller chapels.  The most notable chapel in this area is the Chapel of St. Edward the Confessor which is closed off from the sanctuary by a large stone screen.  Once a more elaborate shrine to St. Edward that featured a decorative stone base with a golden encased tomb covered by an intricate canopy which over the centuries had become a pilgrimage destination.  Unfortunately, the shrine was dismantled and removed from the church when the monastery closed in 1540.  Then during the reign of Mary I, the monastery was reopened and the shrine was only partially restored.  Also, located within this area of the church are the tombs of several kings, such as Henry III who is responsible for rebuilding the current Abbey and the tomb of Henry V which is embellished with scenes of his coronation and once featured precious silver gilt that was stolen in the 1500s.

St. Edward the Confessor shrine

The South Transept (including Poet’s Corner) –

As visitors continue on their tour of Westminster Abbey, they will enter the south transept which features the beautiful Rose Window which was designed by Sir James Thornhill and features 11 of the 12 apostles, Judas has understandably been excluded.

Rose Window - interior view

This area of the Abbey has become known as the Poet’s Corner and the first to be buried here was Geoffrey Chaucer in 1400 in a large tomb on the east wall.  The other walls are lined with statues and there are also numerous floor memorial plaques have been placed to honor distinguished poets and writers, such as Sir Walter Scott, William Shakespeare, John Dryden, Geoffrey Chaucer, Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, Robert Burns, Charles Dickens, Lord Tennyson, Rudyard Kipling and T S Eliot.

Westminster Abbey - Poet's Corner 1    Westminster Abbey - Poet's Corner 2

Westminster Abbey - Poet's Corner 3

The Sanctuary and the Quire –

The next area on the tour of Westminster Abbey is located adjacent to the Poet’s Corner and it is the Sanctuary and the Quire.  The Sanctuary is considered the main area of the church and this is where the daily religious services as well as special royal events such as coronations, weddings and funerals are held.  In front of the high altar is a section of floor which dates back to 1268 and it is known for the famous Cosmati work of an intricate pattern of inlayed colored marble onto a plain marble floor.  Also located in this area is the Quire with Victorian Gothic-style stalls that are assigned to various officers of the Collegiate Body and the High Commissioners of the various Commonwealth countries with the first four places given to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.  The Abbey Choir, which is usually 22 boys and 12 men (known as vicars) sing at the church’s daily services.  Farther into the church, located below the choir screen which as originally built in 1730, sits the Abbey’s organ.  The organ was built by Harrison & Harrison in 1937 and was first used at the coronation of King George VI.

The Sanctuary    The Sanctuary - Cosmati floor

The Quire

The Cloisters (including Chapter House and Pyx Chamber) –

At this point in the tour of Westminster Abbey, visitors will exit the church into an area that was part of the Benedictine monastery.  The cloister (a covered walk with a wall on one side and a colonnade which opens to a quadrangle on the other side) dates back to the 13th and 14th centuries and this is where the monks lived and worked.

Westminster Abbey Cloister - exterior    Westminster Abbey Cloister - interior

The Chapter House was originally built in the late 13th century and was later restored by Sir George Scott in 1872.  Visitors enter thru double doors which lead into the vestibule and then into the octagonal Gothic-style crypt that has numerous stone benches around the perimeter of the room and large quatre-foiled windows of stained glass panels showing the coats of arms of the sovereigns, abbots and others closely connected to the Abbey.  The room was originally used for daily meetings of the Benedictine monks, then years later it was the meeting place of the King’s Great Council in 1257 and then Parliament in the 14th to 16th centuries.

Chapter House    Pyx Chamber

Adjacent to the Chapter House is the Pyx Chamber which was the original sacristy of old Edward the Confessor’s church and now contains the oldest altar in Westminster Abbey.  (pyx means a small container used in churches to carry the consecrated host)  Later this room held the royal treasury and the pyx was used for gold and silver that was used to make coins.  Before leaving the Cloisters, visitors should take time to see the small museum located in the vaulted undercroft beneath the former monks’ dormitory.

Westminster Abbey Museum right

Visitors should then walk around the Cloisters and reenter the Abbey through the side door.

The Nave –

After viewing the Cloisters, visitors will reenter the Abbey into the Nave. (nave means the central part of a church which is intended to accommodate the congregation)  Many important memorials can be seen in the Nave and one of the most important of these is Grave of the Unknown Warrior.  In 1920, in a special ceremony at the Abbey attended by King George V, Queen Mary and with over 100 Victorian Cross recipients lining the Nave the body of an unknown soldier was buried near the west entrance.  It is the only memorial in the Abbey that it is forbidden to walk on.  Also located nearby is a stone memorial honoring the former Prime Minister Winston Churchill.  Another item of note at the west entrance are the beautiful Waterford crystal chandeliers that were a generous gift from the famous Guinness family in 1965 on the occasion of Westminster Abbey’s 900th anniversary.

Nave    Tomb of the Unknown Warrior

Finally, as visitors end the tour and exit the Abbey there is the Abbey Bookstore on the left where they can purchase all types of souvenir items.

For information regarding admission fees, hours of operation, tours, including restrictions and other limitations, please see the website www.westminster-abbey.org

Westminster Abbey Trivia

  • Legend has it that a fisherman named Aldrich was on the River Thames, not far from the site of the present-day location of Westminster Abbey, and saw a vision of Saint Peter.  This would explain the annual custom of the presentation of salmon that Abbey has received in the past from the Thames fisherman and still being presented currently by the Fishmonger’s Company every year.
  • There is old saying, “robbing Peter to pay Paul”, which has it origin in the sixteenth century when money that was intended for the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster (Westminster Abbey) was used for St. Paul’s Cathedral.
  • Since the late eighteenth century, it was determined that after the death of the British monarch, the time between their predecessor’s accession to the coronation day should be extended to at least one year to allow more time for the ceremony’s preparation which traditionally takes place at Westminster Abbey.  There is one exception to this rule, when King George V died in January 1936 his son became King Edward VII who ultimately abdicated in December 1936 to his brother who became King George VI and the original coronation date of May 12, 1937 remained unchanged.  (In British history, 1936 has become known as “the year of the three Kings”)
  • The tradition of Royal brides laying their bridal bouquets at the tomb of the unknown warrior in Westminster Abbey can be traced back to 1923.  When Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (later known as Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother) married the Duke of York, Prince Albert (later King George VI) she placed her bouquet at the tomb in memory of her brother that had been killed in World War I.  This symbolic gesture continues and when Kate Middleton married Prince William in 2011 she also had her bridal bouquet placed on the tomb.  (For more information and further details about these two weddings, please click on the links to Royal Weddings Part Three and Part Four)

Miscellaneous – Chuck Yeager Breaks Sound Barrier

Posted on by

640px-ChuckYeager

Hello, it’s Jeff again!  As those of you who regularly follow Barbara’s blog know, she occasionally asks me to write a post for her. Usually about something space related or a biography of someone spacey or science fiction related.  While it is not easy researching and writing these posts I usually agree and I always learn something new about very interesting people. Chuck Yeager is no exception! I’m guessing that most of us have watched the movie “The Right Stuff” which Chuck says is slightly “Hollywoodized” but otherwise pretty good and know that on October 14th, 1947 he became the first person to break the sound barrier, but that is only one feat in an impressive career. Before we get into who Chuck was, take three minutes to watch his historic flight.

“Chuck” Charles Elwood Yeager was born February 23, 1923 in Myra West Virginia to Susie Mae and Albert Hal Yeager.  Myra was an extremely small town where his parents farmed.  When he was 5 he moved to Hamlin, about 7 miles away where his father went to work drilling for natural gas.  In 1929 the population was only about 500 people, but to the young Chuck it seemed like a big city!  The Yeager’s were not well off during the best of times and especially during the Great Depression, but they were resourceful and made do with what they had.  His childhood was also marred by tragedy when his two year old sister was accidently killed by his brother Roy when he was four and Chuck and Roy were playing with their father’s shotgun.  He spent a lot of time with his grandfather hunting and fishing and gaining a great appreciation for the outdoors. Throughout his youth, Chuck helped maintain the family garden, tended the animals and hunted for wild edible plants, squirrels and rabbits.  Having driven through the area where he grew up in West Virginia many times over the past few years I can see how he would fall in love with the magnificent countryside!  The boys also did a lot of work around the house as their father was often away in the gas fields.

Generally, Chuck was an average student.  He skipped second grade, but had to take 5th grade twice.  He was good at geometry and he was an excellent typist, typing 60 words a minute in high school.  This was quite a feat with the manual typewriters of the time!  He played football and basketball and was quite good at these, but loved pool and ping-pong best.  He was also mechanically inclined and helped his father maintain his gas drilling equipment.  He and his brother also learned to overhaul engines, pumps and other mechanical equipment before he graduated high school in 1941.

After graduating high school, Chuck enlisted in the Army Air Corps as a mechanic.  At the time he was not particularly interested in flying and even if he were, he would not be accepted because he was too young and you needed at least two years of college to qualify.  The entry of the United States into World War II changed all that.  The Air Corps needed more pilots and they dropped the college requirement and reduced the age restriction to 18.  Although his first flying experiences left his stomach somewhat upset he thought becoming a pilot would be fun and “with three stripes he would get out of pulling guard duty.”  He was accepted into the Flying Sergeant program in July of 1942.  His 20/10 eyesight, his mechanical aptitude and his ability to stay calm in stressful situations caught the eye of the instructors and he was quickly moved to fighter pilot training.  He received his wings in 1943 and was assigned to the 363rd Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group.

This is the year he met Glennis Dickhouse, the woman who was to become his wife.  As one of the junior officers in the 357th, he and another officer were sent to arrange for some entertainment for the group.  They went to to the local USO office to arrange a dance.  Glennis asked Chuck if he really expected her to arrange a dance for 30 officers in just three hours and he replied “No, you only need to find 29 girls.  I plan on taking you.”  After he shipped out to Europe he named all of his planes after her.  They were married in 1945 and remained happily married until her death of ovarian cancer in 1990.

Chuck’s distinguished war career is well documented in his official website at www.chuckyeager.com, but here are the highlights:

  • Stationed at RAF Leiston in 1943 flying P-51 mustangs
  • Shot down first enemy fighter March 4th, 1943
  • Shot down over over France on his 8th mission March 5th, 1943
  • Evaded enemy and escaped through Spain on March 30th
  • Petitioned and received permission on June 12, 1944 from the Supreme Allied Commander (General Dwight D. Eisenhower to be allowed to return to duty.  “Evaders”, pilots who had avoided capture, were prohibited from returning to service because they might compromise the people who helped them escape if caught again.
  • Became the first pilot to become “ace in a day” by shooting down five enemy aircraft on October 12, 1944.
  • Flew his last combat mission (#61) on January 15th, 1945.

When he returned to the United States after the war his experience, both flight and mechanical qualified him to be a test pilot.  His skills were such that he was selected by Colonel Albert Boyd, the chief of the Flight Test Division at Wright Field to be a test pilot.  Here is how the Chuck Yeager website describes the selection:

“In June 1947 Colonel Boyd made one of the most important decisions of his career when he chose one of his most junior test pilots to attempt to become the first person to exceed the speed of sound in the rocket-powered Bell XS-1. He chose Yeager because he considered him the best “instinctive” pilot he had ever seen and he had demonstrated an extraordinary capacity to remain calm and focused in stressful situations. The X-1 program certainly promised to be stressful; many experts believed the so-called “sound barrier” was impenetrable. Yeager and the rest of the small Air Force test team met at Muroc in late July.”

Chuck_Yeager glamorous glennis

At Edwards Air Force base (Muroc Army Air Field then) his flight and mechanical skills were put to the test.  He made a couple number of test runs reaching almost the speed of sound, but the plane buffeted so much and the controls froze it looked like the naysayers were correct and breaking the sound barrier was truly an impossible task.  To compensate for the complete loss of elevator effectiveness (the ability to control the pitch of the plane) Jack Ridley, the chief engineer and most trusted adviser to Chuck, suggested Chuck control the pitch by use of the movable tail built into the XS-1.  The tactic worked and on October 14, 1947 Chuck Yeager became the first man to break the sound barrier.

Chuck remained in the Air Force on active duty until 1975 and during his career he accomplished many firsts.  These including being the first American to pilot a captured MiG 15, which he promptly declared to be inferior to its American counterpart the F-86 Sabre; commanding numerous squadrons; being commandant of the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School, which produced astronauts for NASA and the Air Force; and acting as an adviser to Pakistan.  Over his career Chuck piloted most of the military and many civilian planes produced.  He continued acting in an advisory capacity and finally retired from military flight permanently in on October 14, 1997 after flying a F-15D Eagle past Mach one in a celebration of the 50th anniversary of his historic flight.  At the end of his retirement speech he stated “All that I am … I owe to the Air Force”.  He broke the sound barrier again on October 14, 2012 on the 65th anniversary as well.  During his career he received 55 medals which were donated to the Smithsonian.  They are currently no longer on display.

recreate

One other thing to note about his service as a test pilot is that he survived an extremely dangerous job.  As I was researching I discovered that in one month 60 test pilots were killed.  That number astounds me!  Finally, the last thing I find interesting about Chuck’s career is that he never became an astronaut.  He did receive astronaut wings for flying above the atmosphere in a plane, but he was never one of the astronaut candidates.  It may be that he didn’t have the required education, but I think it probably related more to him being a test pilot and I think he felt that the original Mercury astronauts were more test subjects.  The 1983 movie “The Right Stuff”, in which Chuck has a cameo role as the bartender, they go into this is some detail.

Chuck’s more recent past has been a little turbulent.  In 2000 he met Victoria Scott D’Angelo while hiking near his home.  They started dating and were married in 2003.  This started a dispute with his children as she was 35 years younger than Chuck and they felt she was just after his money.  Chuck says that he realized while his wife was ill with cancer his kids were rarely around and he figured he would end up in an assisted living facility.  He felt he needed to find someone to look after him.  In any case, Victoria is sue happy and had made a handy living suing people prior to meeting Chuck and now that they are married Chuck has become involved in numerous lawsuits, including several against his children.

Taking this last episode aside, it seems like Chuck Yeager is a hard working, dedicated man who has served his country with great distinction.  He is also a shining example of the American Dream, rising from his poor youth to an extremely successful role model.  In many of the biographies I have researched for Barbara I frequently find that the public vision of the person is far removed from the reality, but I think Chuck is a truly great person and I’m glad she asked me to write about him!

Travel – Catalina Island, CA

Posted on by

Catalina Island postcard

Years ago, when I was a child growing up in Southern California, I remember taking a special summer day trip to Catalina Island.  Part of the adventure was traveling by boat to the island and seeing the flying fish as we crossed the Pacific Ocean from the port of Long Beach to the tiny city of Avalon located on the island.  It was such an exciting sea adventure!  Then, once we arrived at Catalina we took a ride on a glass bottom boat to see the underwater sea creatures hidden in the kelp forests, toured the Wrigley Mansion with its beautiful gardens which were at the top of the hill overlooking the city and also the Catalina Casino located on the other side of Avalon Bay.  We had so much fun that day and I have so many wonderful memories!!

A brief history of Catalina Island (Santa Catalina Island)

Catalina Island is part of the Channel Islands archipelago and is located just 22 miles from the coast of California.  The island measures 22 miles long and 8 miles across at its widest point.  Archeologists have found evidence that the first settlers to the island, dating back to 7000 BC, were a group of Native Americans known as the Pimugnans or Pimuvit.  Other archaeological findings indicate that the Pimugnans settled near the present day city of Avalon and that they mined soapstone on the island and traded with other Native American tribes along the coast of California.

Documentation indicates that the first European to visit the island was a Portuguese explorer named Juan Cabrillo.  He arrived on October 7, 1542 claiming the island for Spain and naming it San Salvador.  The island remained unsettled by the Europeans for almost 60 years until another Spanish explorer, Sebastian Vizcaino rediscovered the island and renamed it Santa Catalina.

By the 1830s, a series of catastrophic events caused the island’s entire native population to be eliminated from the island.  With the Spanish colonization on the island, the Pimugnans population significantly declined due deaths caused by the introduction of diseases to which the Native Americans had no natural immunity.  Also the Pimugnans trade system was severely disrupted by the presence of the Spanish on the island and along the coast of California with the establishment of the chain of Missions by the Franciscan friars.  The remaining Pimugnans migrated from the island to find work at the Missions or on the vast rancheros owned by the Spanish settlers.

Over the centuries, the island has been used by distant Aleutian hunters from Russia and eventually local American hunters using it as a basecamp for the lucrative sea otter and seal pelt industry.  An abundance of these animals in the waters around Catalina, the nearby Channel Islands and along the coast of California provided a seemingly unlimited supply of these pelts which were in demanded at very high prices to foreign markets.  Later the island was used by frequently by pirates because of the numerous coves which provided the perfect hiding places which were within easy travel distance from the coast.  (Catalina Trivia: China Point, which is located on the southwest end of Catalina, received its name because that area of the island was once used by smugglers to hide illegal Chinese immigrants)

Over the following years, the ownership of the island changed hands numerous times.  In 1846, the Mexican Governor awarded the island in a large land grant to a local sea captain named Thomas Robbins.  Then, in 1850 it was sold to Jose Covarrubias who sold it to Albert Packard in 1853 who sold to James Lick in 1864 and maintained control of the entire island for the next 25 years.  Catalina Island was eventually developed as a vacation destination due to its close location to the growing metropolis of Los Angeles on the mainland of California.  In 1887, the Michigan real estate developer, George Shatto, built the island’s first hotel located at the site of the new city of Avalon.

Then in 1891 the Banning bothers bought the island from Lick, formed the Santa Catalina Island Company, and immediately started developing it as a vacation resort.  The main focus was the small island town of Avalon where more tourist accommodations were built but additional improvements were made around the entire island with dirt roads into the interior were paved, hunting lodges were constructed and stagecoach tours around the island were soon started.

In 1919, the island came under the ownership of William Wrigley Jr., the chewing gum company owner, when he purchased a controlling interest in the Santa Catalina Company.  Wrigley invested millions to further develop the island and constructed the Catalina Casino which opened in May 1929 attracting tourists from the mainland of California.  (Catalina Trivia: Wrigley also owned the Chicago Cubs baseball team and starting in 1921 their spring training facility was located on Catalina from 1921 until 1951)

Avalon before the Catalina Casino built    Catalina Casino being constructed
 

Chicago Cubs training camp, Catalina Island 1    Chicago Cubs training camp, Catalina Island 2

After the death of Wrigley in 1932, the control of the Santa Catalina Island Company sent to his son, Philip Wrigley, who continued with his father’s master plan to develop and improve the island.  The island was closed to tourists during World War II and used as a military training facility.  Upon his death in 1975, Philip Wrigley deeded 90 percent of the original Santa Catalina Island Company, approximately 42,135 acres; to the newly formed Catalina Island Conservancy (which he helped to establish in 1971) while the remaining 10 percent was retained and control of a majority of the resort properties and tourist operations on the island.  The Conservancy, a private nonprofit organization, has made it their mission to protect and preserve the natural and cultural heritage of Catalina.

Travel information for Catalina Island

Catalina can be reached by passenger ferries that depart from Long Beach and San Pedroas well as Newport Beach.  The island can also be reached by helicopter service from either Long Beach or San Pedro.  Please see the following website, www.catalinachamber.com, for more specific information on traveling to Catalina and to view available dates, times and prices.  (Travel Note: Back in the 1990s the Royal Caribbean, Princess and Carnival cruise lines starting making Catalina a regular stop on their Baja cruise itineraries.  The ships usually anchor approximately 100 feet outside of Avalon Harbor and passengers are ferried by small boats onto the island)

Catalina is unique because motor vehicles are restricted on most areas of the island with the exception of the city of Avalon.  Most residents use golf carts but bicycles are also a popular alternative and there are several rental shops available for tourists to rent either types of transportation.  The Catalina Island Conservancy offers bus and jeep tours into the interior of the island and they also issue hiking and mountain biking permits that can be obtained through the Conservancy office.  (Travel Note: Hiking permits are free but there is an annual fee for mountain bike permits with additional helmet and tire requirements)  For more information regarding transportation on the island of Catalina, please see the website www.catalinachamber.com

Things to see and do on Catalina

Once visitors are on Catalina there are numerous sites to see and a variety of activities to enjoy.  Here is a list of just a few of the things to see and do on the island:

  • Glass Bottom Boat Tours – This popular tour takes visitors on a trip in a glass bottom boat to the Lover’s Cove Marine Preserve to view the abundant sea life in the kelp forests located just off shore.  Advance reservations are required and highly recommended.  For further information regarding the tours offered by the Santa Catalina Island Company please call 310-510-8687 or view their website at www.visitcatalinaisland.com  (Catalina Trivia: The 1966 movie, “The Glass Bottom Boat starring Doris Day and Rod Taylor was based on the original Catalina tours and portions of the movie were filmed on the island)

Glass Bottom Boat vintage postcard

  • Flying Fish Tours – Another popular boat tour for visitors to take while on the island is the Flying Fish Tour.  The famed flying fish can be seen seasonally off the coast of Catalina from late May to September every year.  These amazing fish propel themselves out of the water sometimes reaching heights as high at 30 feet above the water.  For more information regarding these tours offered by the Santa Catalina Island Company please call 310-510-8687 or view their website at www.visitcatalinaisland.com

Flying fish vintage postcard

    • Other water activities – snorkeling, scuba diving, para sailing, kayaking and paddle boarding.  (Travel Note: Please be advised to check your preferred Catalina Island vendors to inquire about reservation, availability and price information prior to your trip to Catalina and it is always a good idea to also ask about cancellation policies just in case of scheduling problems)
    • Catalina Casino Tour – The iconic landmark of Avalon is the Catalina Casino circular 12-story high building which was built in 1929 by William Wrigley, Jr.  The building’s art deco style interior features the Catalina Island Museum and a movie theater on the first floor and a large ballroom on the top floor.  Guided tours of the Catalina Casino are available and visitors can learn the history of Catalina Island and in the museum there are displays showing the distinctive Catalina tiles and pottery that was once made locally on the island.  For further information regarding the tours offered by the Santa Catalina Island Company, please call 310-510-8687 or view their website at www.visitcatalinaisland.com (Catalina Trivia: Most visitors will assume that the Catalina Casino was a place for gambling but, like most things on the island that have been inspired or influenced by a Mediterranean style, the name is derived from the Italian word casino which means a “gathering place”)

Catalina Casino    Catalina Casino entrance - the Lady of the Casino tilework

  • The Wrigley Memorial and Gardens – High on the hill on the opposite side of Avalon Bay and the Catalina Casino is the Wrigley Memorial and Gardens, from this vantage point on the island there are spectacular views of Avalon Harbor. The Memorial, which honors William Wrigley Jr, is the centerpiece of the 38 acre Botanical Gardens which features a variety of desert plants that were originally planted at the direction of Wrigley’s wife, Ada.  The Memorial was built in 1933-34 using Catalina stone quarried on the island and the red roof tile and beautiful handmade tile where produced locally by the Catalina Pottery plant which operated on the island from 1927 to 1937.  The Memorial and the Gardens are operated by the Catalina Island Conservancy, please see www.catalinaconservancy.org for more information regarding hours of operation and tour prices.  (Catalina Trivia:  William Wrigley Jr. was originally buried in the sarcophagus located in Wrigley Memorial.  The Memorial is located near the former Wrigley home on Catalina; unfortunately the house is not open to public tours but currently provides deluxe accommodations for island visitors as the Inn at Mt. Ada.  In 1947, Wrigley’s remains were moved to the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, CA)

Wrigley Memorial    Wrigley Memorial Gradens

Decor – Fall Mantel Decoration

Posted on by

For this Décor post I would like to highlight a 2004 Fall Mantel Decoration from our old house in California.  In the family room three animal prints were hung above the fireplace, a large duck print and two vintage prints of a peasant and quail that I had purchased at an antique store.  Using the artwork as inspiration, I went shopping at my local Craft store for themed accessories to use for the mantel decoration.  I start assembling the decoration by using a pine garland placed across the mantel.  Next, I intertwined a string of amber pine cone lights and laced brown autumn 2” wide ribbon throughout the garland.  Then, I added several bunches of berries, red apples and yellow pears.  The final touch was a family of stuffed quails which were the perfect way to tie in the mantel decoration with the animal prints.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA    OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

This 2004 Fall Mantel Decoration is a wonderful example of using existing home accessories as inspiration for seasonal decoration.  So, take a look around your house and maybe you will find ideas for some holiday decorations to create for your own home!