Summary, June 19, 2008

    

Before I wrote this part of my blog, I wanted to take a few days and let the two weeks in Philadelphia soak in.  I have to say, that I feel incredibly blessed to have been a part of this trip.  I know that I wasn’t on the first cut of people to go, but I am so thrilled and will never forget all that we have seen and done.  Many of these things I have always dreamed of seeing.  My children asked me what was my favorite part of the trip and I had to say that there were so many things.  Seeing the Liberty Bell, being in Independence Hall and breathing in that room, where heated discussions took place, (in more ways than one) and the compromises that happened in order to give the country a new governement.  For some reason, one of the things that keeps coming back to me surprisingly, was the time that a few of us spent in the Friends Meeting Service that Wednesday night.  I have tried to incorporate a little more quiet time in my day, and I must say it is kind of nice.  Going to Gettysburg was really something.  I wish we could have spent more time viewing the sites.  Princeton was so cool.  I didn’t know it was a town as well as a college.  I loved it!  Going to Katie and Abner’s home was informative as well.  I have since incorporated more garden space.  In fact, this morning I just planted new grape vines, blueberry bushes, and marionberry vines.  There were a lot of things that the Amish do well, that we could learn from.  I think it would be really cool, if I can build a vegetable garden at school and have my kids plant in the spring and teach them how to take care of their own gardens.  I’ll have to think on that one. 

     The pirate exhibit was memorable as well.  In the classroom I will be able to talk about Sam Bellamy’s adventure.  I really want to get National Geographic’s movie about this.  Ben Franklin court was very informative and there is so much to be learned from this man.  He was quite a genious.  I think I can turn my kids on to history and science with discussions of Mr. Franklin.

      The trip gave me much background knowledge and I can’t thank Matt, Jonothan, and Scott enough for allowing me to be a part of this adventure.  You guys are the best!  Oh, I know I’m probably one of the few who says DON’T cut the trip down next year.  So much money is being spent on getting there, and no one will remember being exhausted in a few months.  All they will remember is all the cool stuff we saw!  Remember we can sleep when we are dead!  Thanks again,  Sherri

 

     

    

 

 

 

Friday, June 14, 2008 Gettysburg

  Friday, June 14, 2008  

 

 

     The tour of the Gettysburg battlefield was fast and furious.  Our guide gave us several markers like the Watertank on East Cemetery hill, where the northern soldiers were on the 2^nd and 3^rd days of the battle.  I had no idea the battlefield was so big.  There were monuments all over the place.  We saw the house that Jennie Wade the only bystander to be killed, died in.  We also saw a brick house that was on the edge of the battlefield that was riddled with bullet holes.  Amazing!  There was another building that had a hole in it from a cannon ball.  Our guide told us that 7 million bullets were fired and 10,000 men lost their lives.  Colorado did not have any troops here because it was still a territory and if a Coloradoan wanted to fight, he would have to go East or to a northern state to join up.   After the battle the guide said that there were piles of amputated arms and legs about 4-5 feet tall.  In town we also saw the David Wills house, where Lincoln spent the night on the eve of the Gettysburg Address.

 

     General Lee’s invasion of Pennsylvania began in early June and Lee as he moved through Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley.  During the last week of June the confederate army moved to Pennsylvania.  General Meade had just become the head of the army. 

 

 

     During the Gettysburg John Burns who was 70 years old came out and fought by northern soldiers all afternoon long. He was wounded 3 times and became a hero whom, President Lincoln praised. 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

     One of the neatest things that we did while there, was to walk through the cemetery and see the marker where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg address.  Crystal and I also hopped over a wall to get pictures of a the Masonic fallen soldier memorial.  That was amazing.

 

     As I teach my students about the battle of Gettysburg, it will be invaluable to have been there to see the area and have background knowledge about Gettysburg, in order to teach this subject to my students.  I think having pictures to show of the area will help a great deal.    

 

     After we returned to the dorms, Connie, Lauren, and I went to New Deck Tavern for dinner.  We had a lovely time eating outside and chatting about the day.  Then Lauren’s husband called and said that Tim Russert had died that day from a heart attack.  How sad.     

     I have tried for the last hour to get more pictures for this entry to no avail.  I don’t know if the system is having problems or it is operator error.  I will try again later. :) 

 

 

    

Winterthur

Thursday, June 12, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     We traveled to the lush, green, state of Delaware and went to a huge 175 room country manor museum named Winterthur. The estate was owned by Henry Francis DuPont family who left it as a museum in 1951.  His family had made their money by making dynamite, and gun powder.  They were also involved in DuPont paint.       

 

     We had a speaker who spoke to our group about the Consumer Revolution during the 18^th century around the 1740’s-1750’s.  During this time period the production and consumption of goods from England doubled.  By 1750-1790 production had quadrupled.  This was pretty amazing as most goods went to North America colonies and the Caribbean islands.  I had not thought all that much about how the taste of sugar affected trade in the colonies.  As more money became disposable, people were willing to spend it for wants, not only needs.  It seems that coffee houses were a gathering place in the 1700’s just as they are today.  Coffee houses may not be as rowdy today, but social nonetheless. 

 

     I did like the way the speaker looked at the pictures that she put on the screen.  She seemed to pick them apart in a way that I thought would work well in the classroom.  Asking the students what they saw and facilitating the conversation.  It is a good way to help them understand more than they might otherwise. 

 

     Winterthur itself was grand and gorgeous.  I did enjoy it and the beautiful gardens.  However, I couldn’t help but compare and contrast the Amish people to this big beautiful home.  I think that could be done in the classroom also. 

 

     There were numerous artifacts that could be used like the picture of Paul Revere’s fathers beer steins, the original picture of George Washington, Martha and his family sitting at a table. 

 

They took us to the library at Winterthur which is open to the public.  I had gone to warm up with a cup of coffee and apparrently they made an announcement to our group that we were to take nothing into the library with us.  Well, I caught up to my group after the library tour had started.  So, I took my little purse and camera in.  At one point, I asked the guide if I could take pictures, as long as I didn’t use the flash.  She said I could much to everyone else’s dismay, so I proceeded to take some really neat pictures.  I promise I will share!  The oldest book in their collection is a cookbook dating in the 1600’s.  They had some pretty amazing things.  One book had a pencil drawing of how to make different kinds of garments, and had a cloth example of the garment on another page. That will be fun to use with the kids especially, if we want to teach them to sew.  They can incorporate math skills with measuring, and cutting certain shapes.  There were journal entries from a young man in the 1700’s etc.  There were so many primary sources.   

   

     We ate a nice lunch.  I had too much coffee and was a chatty Kathy.  J  Nancy and I walked through the Winterthur gardens and found some really cool trees, flowers.  The Garden looked like a little fairyland.  We had our picture taken in a large bird nest and in some other cool places.  We went to Peony Garden but all the peonies had already been picked this year.  Bummer.

    

7:00 p.m. ish

 

 

 

 

 

     Our group just got back on the bus after eating at the Iron Hill Brewery. After dinner we took a short walk along the Pristina River which was so pleasant and peaceful.  Matt, Crystal, Connie, and Lauren enjoyed that simple pleasure.  The weather has been perfect and I can’t believe it is already June 12^th.  There is a part of me that wants to go home and see my family, and another part of me that so enjoys traveling and learning new things.  I enjoy the camaraderie of this group and have looked forward to coming on this trip, since January.  I will be sad for it to end. 

Lectures and An Afternoon in Philly

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jonothan and Scott were kind enough to get Mr. Donut coffee, and donuts for us this morning.   Thank you guys! 

 

     This morning we went to College Hall and listened to Professor David Walstreicher speak about Benjamin Franklin and how he was a slave holder and that he may not necessarily have changed his mind about slavery.  Many Philadelphians like to believe this, but he was first and foremost a politician. 

 

     Next, we listened to Jonothan’s old college professor and advisor Mr. Bob Engs.  Mr. Engs spoke about black slaves in the army.  He believed that slaves had really freed themselves because of their rally in the fields, and their refusal to sit quiet any longer on the plantations.  They were willing to fight for their freedom and did so in the 54^th MA infantry.  However, Bob said that in the movie Glory the soldiers should have been portrayed as the northern, educated, black men, that they were. The 1^st regiment was known to have more troops than when they started.  Bob felt that the troops were more central to the war than Lincoln. 

 

     My group took a jaunt to 1^st  Bank and since Kelsey and I had already been there, Dana took us downstairs to see the vault where the gold used to be kept. Then we went outside to watch a presentation by some men dressed in period clothing, espousing colonial discontent and playing a Fife. 

     We also went to Franklin’s Court and went to the underground museum.  We watched the movie, which I bought for my students to see.  I think that will be helpful when we are studying about Franklin. 

 

     

Eldfreth Alley- Later we went to see Elfreth’s Alley which is a historical landmark and the oldest, continuously inhabited residential street in America.  Still today, people make these bright and cheerily decorated buildings their homes.  Kelsey and I buddied up for the rest of the afternoon, and headed for Penn’s Landing. 

 

      While there I went to see the Independence Seaport Museum, which was very cool.  In this museum they commented on submarines being used in the Revolutionary War.  I had no idea they have been used that long.  In this museum, there was also a lot of information about the Delaware River, which substantiates the conditions that Washington found himself in, when crossing the Delaware.

 

 

 

 

     Then we went on a delightful ferry ride over to Camden, NJ.  We took a continuous round trip and just soaked in the sights from the water.  We shared a bag of kettle corn on our excursion.  Since both of us have lived in Seattle, we certainly enjoyed this form of transportation, once again.   The weather was absolutely gorgeous, cooler than the weather yesterday, and the ride lifted my spirits.  It was really cool to see the subway train connect Philly to Camden, way up there on that bridge.  I’d never seen that before.  This was definitely a bright spot among many.  Very awesome!

 

     Next, we headed to the City Tavern for dinner.  I had Chicken Madeira, mashed potatoes, and veggies.  I typically don’t choose a meat meal, but it was actually quite good.  For dessert I had Martha Washington’s chocolate mousse cake, which was incredible.  The tavern had great ambience, lit candles, servers in period dress, etc.

 

      Later, Kelsey and I walked to The Friends Meeting House and met up with Matt, Nancy, and Crystal.  Darlene and Delores came a bit later.  We went in and participated in the Quaker or Friends Wednesday evening prayer service.  I tend to be a high energy person, and I knew that we were going to sit quietly during this service.  But after the rush of the day, when I first sat down I thought, gee, 40 minutes of absolute quiet. There sure are a lot of things I could be doing with this time.  However, sit I did.  Eventually, I settled in and could hear the birds singing outside, reflected over the day, family, friends and this class and trip.  I found myself at one moment, in a different quiet place.  Perhaps, I should incorporate more quiet time in my day.  It might be a good thing, even though it goes against the grain.  Toward the end of the meeting a man got up and spoke about some things he had been thinking.  Afterward, we introduced ourselves and some questions were answered.  It was a nice learning experience.  I believe I could take that bit of knowledge into the classroom and relate that experience with my students when we discuss the Quakers. 

 

Then, Nancy and I went back to City Tavern.  She had the asparagus soup and bread, and I had a diet coke.  She had not been able to go to the tavern yet, so this was the perfect opportunity, as I had decided to buy a City Tavern mug for my step son Aaron.  It was fun to get to know her better. 

 

We arrived back at the dorm around 9:40.  It was a long day but very informative.  Then Connie, Lauren and I stayed up chatting for quite some time.  I made a slide show, but it is either saved somewhere that I can’t find or it is in cyber space.  Oh well, I’ll try again tomorrow.

 

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

 

 

 

     Today we went to the Atwater Museum and the American Philosophical Society.  One of the things that I will definitely use in my classroom is a picture that I took today, of William Penn’s 1701 charter of Pennsylvania.  In my classroom, I am required to teach a unit on Pennsylvania and William Penn.  My students will certainly enjoy seeing the photos associated with this subject as well as others, as we go through this unit.      

 

 

 

 

 

     Of course, the photos of Louis and Clark’s journals and the Declaration of Independence got my interest.  Our students study Lewis and Clark in 1^st and 5^th and it will be extraordinarily cool for my students to see the journals.  The drawing of the fish on the page that was open at the museum, will allow my students to see a picture of an original drawing from the journal.  What an incredible artist he was.  Wow!   

 

I thought sure the guide said that the Declaration of Independence was printed on vellum, which was CAT skin.  I have since been corrected by my suite mates, with great hilarity and belly laughs, that it was indeed CALF skin.  J  (You had to be here, we have been blogging for hours and have gone to the dark side.)

 

     At the American Philosophical Society we had a tour guide whose name was Ursula.  Ursula talked to us about the exhibit in that building.  We saw lots of information on the man who started the Audubon society, as well as, Elisha Kent Kane who spent 21 months in the Arctic stranded.  There were drawings and journal accounts of his time there.  Very fascinating!

 

     Our guide told us that Ben Franklin was 17 when he arrived in Philadelphia and rented a room at the Read household where he met their daughter Debra, and wanted to marry her.  He left for England on a business venture and got stuck over there, because a deal had gone bad. Ben wrote to Debra telling her he had no money and was not able to return.  He stayed there to work but did not write to her again.  She apparently married a man by the last name of Rogers and when Ben returned, he returned with an infant in hand.  No one seems to know who the mother of this child was. Debra’s husband was already married.  However, he met up with another woman, and left the country with her.  Ben went to Debra’s mother (her father had already passed away) and asked to marry her in a common law marriage.  Her mother agreed and they were married for over 40 years. 

 

    Ursula said that Ben was not a womanizer at all, but a feminist at heart.  He truly thought that women should have equal rights and that he would go to various get togethers, so that he would be able to encourage and talk to more women, in order to encourage them in their pursuits.  She informed us that he had two liaisons with women in France, whom he asked to marry him, after his wife Debra had died. 

 

     Ben Franklin raised his son William, as a British citizen.  So, when the war broke out, William was on the Loyalist side and was arrested.  He stayed in prison for almost 3 years and Ben did not lift a hand to help.  I’m sure that he was angry at first, but perhaps he left him in there to keep him safe.  I understand his autobiography was written for William.  Today, we saw a letter that William sent to his son William T. Franklin by the  the first hot air balloon that came across the Atlantic from England to America.  I found it interesting that William signed the letter Your affectionate father.  There was also some mention about saying hello to your grandfather.  It seems that William wanted a good relationship with his son.  However, a single man who would return to England with a babe in arms, might have enough concern to want to be tough, but still care.  Maybe Benjamin had his own reasons for keeping him in prison, perhaps to keep him safe.  It seems harsh, but I’m speculating.   I guess I’m a romantic at heart. 

 

I am exhausted from the heat, but found lots of information to incorporate into my teaching.  It was a very good day. 

Monday, June 9, 2008

     I would certainly have no problem incorporating the Amish and the Mennonites into a lesson plan, from a historical perspective.  This visit was very informative and I believe it helped our group to become more knowledgeable about the Amish and their beliefs.  As teachers we can in turn, assure our students that we have first hand knowledge, that these are real people, with a history and purpose.  And that after further study, their beliefs, might not be all that different from my students.  

 

     In my classroom, I would begin teaching my students by introducing the Protestant Reformation and Menno Simons.  We would talk about his followers who were called Mennonites.  Next, I would tell the students about the break with Jacob Amman and how the Amish came to be. Then, I would have my students break up into groups and discuss the differences between the Amish, Mennonites, and the Amish-Mennonites.  Perhaps, I would have them do a poster incorporating paragraphs about their groups and the differences.  They could possibly compare and contrast other groups that have been persecuted. 

 

     After students present their research, I would show the movie that I bought at the Mennonite center and then discuss.  If possible, I would try to find a Mennonite or Amish person who would be willing to come to our classroom and speak to my students.

 

     I also,bought an Amish cookbook at the Mennonite center today, and at the end of this unit, I would have an Amish meal that the students would help make.  Beforehand, we would role play and pretend that our class is actually a Amish family and I would have students go to their farms and land and see what they could produce from their farms and gardens for our meal.  Another day, they would need to bring in the ingredients for our chosen dishes.  Our class would incorporate math as we measure and mix our ingredients to make a Amish meal.  I know elementary would LOVE this no matter which grade it was.

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     I found this day invaluable, because I learned so much about a group of people that I really did not know that much about.  Now, I can teach my students about the Amish and Mennonites, much more accurately.  I felt like the grant definitely did it’s job today.  It was very memorable, I learned a lot and fun.  Thank you so much Matt, Jonothan, and Scott. 

 

This is an account of the notes that I took during our time in Amish country: 

     We are now in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, near Strasborg where a steam railroad located.  The majority of farms are 50% Amish and 50% are owned by others.  Little boys and girls, and sometimes women do not wear shoes, because it is summer.  We saw some women hanging clothes on the clotheslines.  My mother used to do that and it has become such a novelty, that most children today wouldn’t know what to do if the dryer stopped working. :)

 

Our bus driver Bob said that these people work harder physically but are more mentally relaxed and less stressed.  There are beautiful fields of corn, hay, alfalfa and vegetable and flower gardens.  Tobacco is a big product.  The large leaves are used for the outer wrapping of cigars.  Corn is planted early because there is not that much rain.  The land depends on late spring and June rain to sustain it.  We saw lots of buggies being driven by men in bright blue shirts and black pants.  The horses that pull the buggies come from thoroughbreds but the field horses are worked with Belgian horses and mules.  The children appear to be well mannered and very friendly. 

 

      The bus driver said that he saw a bunch of Amish young men smoking in the barn during a rain storm.  He was surprised. They grow and can vegetables for winter.  Amish families have greatly multiplied over the past 25 years and are finding it harder and harder to get farmland to support their families.  In some cases, some have moved out of the area and gone into hills of West Virginia, Northern Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois.  Alongside the road you can see white tracks where metal wheels of Amish buggies have made marks with their metal wheels.  As we drive through the countryside, I am amazed at all the clotheslines that have blue shirts and black pants billowing in the wind.  It must be Monday washday for these people, as it was for the Puritans.  It seems everyone has done their laundry this day. 

 

The rolling hills are so green, lush, peaceful and beautiful.  The Amish will not drive a car with an engine but will hire someone to take them.  The are also able to take taxi’s.  They have battery powered flashers on their buggies, which is required by law.  They are sometimes out late at night.  Our bus driver said that he has seen a lot of horse fatalities.  The horses have heart attacks because they work the horses hard.  They feel that the animals are there to work for them.  Sometimes a horse will be required to pull a large family of people stuffed into a wagon or buggy and when a load is heavy sometimes they will hook up two horses onto a buggy to pull the extra weight.  Many times the horses are bought at an auction or they are bought and sold amongst themselves. 

 

     Children do not go to public school.  They are educated in a one room classroom.  Children supposed to marry Amish, if you choose not to you are ostracized if you become “English”.  Many times children will leave and go out into the world and then many will return later.

 

 

 

There are times during a school day when a father will hold a student home to help him work fields.  These little boys work with their dads and learn how to work with the animals.  Sometimes you will see a little boy late in the afternoon with dad working a team of six horses, with a load of hay bales, the child will cross the road and go into the barn.  This child may be ten years old at the most and is well qualified to do the job.     

 

Old order of Amish strictly adheres to the faith and culture.  Younger are sometimes less strict.  Use tractor with steel wheels no rubber.  Diesel engines power generators that charges batteries for buggies.  They have piston operated fans.  The Amish have refrigerators but no electricity by propane. 

               

       We are now in Intercourse, PA.  It is now 10:35 a.m.

 

12:40 p.m.  Connie and I stopped and had lunch at Kings Restaurant.  I had the herbed quiche and I thought they would put little sprinkles of herbs in my quiche.  Not so.  There were large pieces of some things that I recognized but do not know the names of.  It was tasty. 

 

     After lunch we tried various foods and I ate some of the very best chocolate almond ice cream, I have ever eaten.  Matt gave me a piece of chocolate fudge to try also.   It was fabulous! 

 

After lunch and shopping Ada Fischer, a 90 year old tour guide came on board our bus. She is very witty and enjoyable.  She told us about the history of the Amish starting with the Protestant Revolution in Europe during the 16^th century and about the different groups that had differing views on baptism among other things.  One group was led by Menno  Simmons a Catholic priest, who broke away from the complete authority of the church. This group wanted to be called brethren, but their enemies called them anabaptists.  Anabaptists felt that all people should not be baptized at birth but wait until they were old enough to make a commitment and then be baptized.  Subsequently, they were persecuted for their beliefs. 

 

     About 150 years later, Jacob Amman and John Rice both Mennonite bishops and thought they were not strict enough in disciplining their church members.   They withdrew and started their own church.  This was very painful for them.  Eventually, they wanted to be reinstated and the Mennonites said if you give up strictness you can come back.  John Rice went back Jacob Amman did not.  The Amish were persecuted.  They wanted freedom of religion and more land to farm.  William Penn was a Quaker and a anabaptist from England.  He offered them land in Philadelphia.  The Mennonites came in the 1600’s and Amish followed in 1740.  They were not in Philly long when they were harassed by Indians.  So they moved farther west.

 

     Our tour guide Ada  takes us to the oldest part of Amish in America.  She has a great sense of humor.  She says that years ago everyone had green shades because of war and because they kept the house cooler.  She is now an Amish-Mennonite – She said that her husband died about 35 years ago, but before that, they had changed church membership.  They were excommunicated and shunned.  Shunning is not as severe as some think.  When baptized into a group, believe that you have made a commitment to help build the church of Jesus Christ, what they really mean is the Amish church.  Amish live not in a village but amongst other people.  She cannot do for the member of the group and help them, but the member of the group can help her in order to show her where she has erred.  Shunning is not a total break off like many think.  All three doctrines community, trinity, and footwashing are the same doctrine, but practices are different.  Quakers are the same as well.  The Amish worry about what things will do to their lifestyle.  With the Amish the whole thing in a nutshell is community and unity.  That is their priority. 

 

First stop, bake shop.  Homemade baked goods made today.  Shoofly pies are traditional Amish pie and the number 1 seller.  When came from Europe, only had the bare necessity molasses, flour etc.  Flies so bad had to shoo them off.  Every Amish has this for breakfast and coffee.  Cheddar cheese bread, apple dumplings ice cream or milk whoobie pies. 

 

      

No electricity.  Mennonites do have the electricity.  Amish do not own or drive automobiles but they do ride in them.  Amish-Mennonites and Mennonites do have the automobile. 

 

Most farms have 60-80 acres per farm and price per farm 6,000-10,000 dollars an acre.  Most of the farmers have a side project with crafts.  Otherwise they couldn’t make a living.  Ada comes from a family of 14.  Windmill and well pump water into storage tank.  There is one gristmill left out of five, that has been here since the 1700’s.  The Amish boys like to fish and have a picnic’s there. 

 

Our group stopped for homemade ice cream and soft pretzels, cheese, and fresh squeezed lemonade.   Yummy!   I picked up a cookbook with the pretzel recipe.  I will try to make that for my family when I go home.  

 

Transfusions and inoculations are allowed.  Most likely will stay with home remedies.  Schools in 1835.  Township wss beginning to transport children and they didn’t want to send their children there because they felt that there way of life and spiritual life would be threatened Everything is about community and unity.

 

 

When person someone is deceased their body is picked up and embalmed by a Lutheran man and then the body is taken back to the home.  For two or three days, people are doing things for the bereaved.  Men and women are dressed in white.  The body is put into a simple pine box, lower into a rough box and grave is covered by pallbearers.  The family does not leave until the grave is filled in with dirt.  The funeral director dresses in regular street clothing.  Cemetaries are always by their churches.  We drove by Myers cemetery. 

 

There are 200 Amish schools within the 50 mile radius with 30 students, 1 teacher with an 8^th grade education.  The Amish do not accept any state support and students must attend school until they are at least 13 years old, per the state.  The family must report to the state what this student is doing on the farm until he/she is 15.  Ada went only until the 8^th grade.  There are 4 men per school on the board.  When they ask a girl to teach they and she feels she is capable.  They do make very good teachers.  Well equipped to face the outside of what they feel they need to face.  Students are required to go to school, as many hours and days as in the public school system requires of its students. 

 

This land is breathtaking.  These people are such good stewards of the land.   There are fields of alfalfa and corn everywhere.  This is some of the most beautiful countryside that I have ever seen.  There are large hay bales and because tobacco is a cash crop, the growing of tobacco is tolerated.  Tall silo’s and barns are dot the landscape.     

 

There are no electric and telephone wires.  However, one farmer will be in charge of one telephone so that calls can be made for business.  The farmer will be reimbursed for the calls made by others. 

 

Our group is traveling to the oldest Amish colony in the US.  Everything is cleared off the land and there are hardly any trees.  When they came to America, they had to clear stones by having the children pick them up and put them in two horse wagons.  The stones were used for the foundations of their homes.  The farmers farm to the very edge of their land.  They are masters at using their space.  Many Amish are moving out of this area because so many people and scarcity of land.  Some move back and go into carpentry or masonry work.  Only about 60% of the Amish are farmers today.  Actually, many don’t want to farm because there is no money in it.  Instead many go into manual work or carpentry instead.   

 

Rumspringer – young folks go out have a good time and see if they want to go out and come back to be Amish.  Not encouraged by the parents but some children do this. 

 

They do strip and contour farming.  Lot of dairy in the county but main crop is farm.  Most farmers grow and rotate corn and alfalfa.  

 

     The town of Intercourse got its name because of an intersection of roads.  Ada says that people wanted to see what was going on in Intercourse.  Ada drove a buggy until she was 45.  She and her husband changed their church membership to the Mennonites and she began driving a car.  Even at 90 Ada keeps those wheels rolling.  

 

     Hay is already ready to bale.  Ada’s favorite jelly is sweet pepper jam.  The Amish have church weddings and funerals in their homes in high German.  25 30 families in a district.  Alternate Sundays and have lunch because of the distance.  Today homes are closer but this has become their custom.  Mennonite churches have church every Sunday in English.  The language spoken at home is Pennsyvania Deusch.  Not German.

 

One of the many foods the Amish serve is a dry apple snitch pie.  This is made by using  dried apple slices, soaking them, cook, put through colander like apple sauce, add sugar and cinnamon and that is your pie filling.  Now they go to orchards and buy apples and peaches because it takes so much to keep the trees up. 

 

Ada said that when we go to the Old Amish home there will be no air conditioning but will have portable fans.  They did have the fans in the room where we ate, but I helped dry dishes and clear and their was a window air conditioner positioned in the kitchen.  The children helped with the meal and sang some songs for us.   

 

The Orthodox Amish (Ada’s term for them) are the strictest of the group and do not take their children out to eat.  The rest of them go out like anyone else in their horse and buggy.  The restaurants and supermarkets have hitching posts for the Amish buggies.  The children like to eat at McDonalds.

 

While we were driving there was one wagon coming in from the field, with a fertilizer tank on the back of the wagon and Ada called it a honey wagon.  It sure didn’t smell like honey.

 

When a daughter is 16 she begins filling up her hope chest.  When a fellow becomes 16 his parents buy a horse and a courting buggy.  The buggy is one seated and holds two people.  Ada’s parents bought six horses and six courting buggies for Ada’s brothers.  Marriages are in November in the bride’s home.  300-400 people invited.  Weddings are  always Tuesdays and Thursdays due to food preparation.  Dinner and supper are served with a day to clean up.  The Amish don’t work on Sunday.  Bride wears purple blue or green dress with organdy sash.

 

The wedding service is in high German.  Afterward the wedding ceremony men take benches they sat on for the service to make trestles for tables and in ½ hour they are able to feed 80-90 people at one time.  The Amish take care of elderly and add pieces to their house.  Partition in those big homes made of double doors rather than plaster so they can take out all double doors when have funerals and wedding.  Wedding gifts are not brought to the wedding.  The bride and groom goes visiting Fri- and will have a meal at a different place to pick up gifts.  Monday’s are filled with food and the courting buggy is filled with wedding gifts.   The groom goes to the brides home until spring.  No farmer moves from one farm to another rather than spring.  That’s when new crops and income taxes are filed.  Ada and her husband did not set up housekeeping until March.  Her husband worked for a dairy farmer got rent, 60 cents an hour, milk and eggs free.  She and her husband were married 35 years when husband passed away and she worked all those year.  Even at 90 she says she is a workaholic.  She said that she is not sorry she had to work, but feels sorry for the children who have to work so hard today and feel sorry for children who don’t work today.  Some Amish vote and some don’t.  The Amish  supported President Bush when Bush came through about 6 years ago. 

 

The Stratford Railroad steam locomotive engine goes to a town called Paradise.  This area is jammed with tourists in the summer.  Thomas the Tanker also comes to the area and then the roads are bumper to bumper. 

 

The youngest son gets the home farm.  When the older son is ready to move out, the parents are not yet ready to move out.  They build onto the house and the sons have to pay the father for what has been done.  The settlement has to be made before the parents die because everything split out evenly among the children.   Amish are allowed to ride in taxi’s to get from place to place or in someone else’s car.

 

The Amish kids play with other non Amish kids.  They are living amongst English people and make fabulous neighbors.  They help other people as well as their own.  When Katrina hit New Orleans, the Amish went by busloads to help clean up and they are still going.

 

 October is their busiest month because the leaves are changing then.  The summer is so many people. 

 

     We had dinner at Katie and Abner’s house.  They have some really cute kids.  Sadie was a doll and Benial who was 17 was greatly surprised when he came home and the ladies in the group had done all of the kitchen clean up.  He had braces and was so sweet.  He had been helping his father make storage sheds.  He said he had learned almost everything from his father.  At the meal we had ham balls, chicken legs, mashed potatoes, homemade bread, applesauce, pepper cabbage, butter, rhubarb jelly, green beans, and iced tea or water.  For dessert we had homemade apple pie, ice cream, carrot cake. 

          I thought it very interesting that some of the women in our group had compassion for Katie and her family by washing and cleaning up after the meal.  Just going in and doing the dishes for them left a huge chunk of an evening to themselves.  As women, we all have that common bond of understanding regarding how valuable it was to help on that end. 

 

In the bookstore I bought a video of the Amish way of life and in my classroom, after my students and I discuss the Amish lifestyle, I will show the pictures that I have taken on this trip and describe to them the countryside and my experience of being there and what it feels like.  Being able to come here as a teacher, gives first hand knowledge to the subject you are teaching, which brings the experience more alive to students.  Hopefully, it will plant a seed for them to want to someday travel and see the area themselves someday. 

 

     I have to say, there is something to admire about the simplicity of the lives the Amish have chosen to live.  They don’t have to worry about what they are going to wear tomorrow, and most of their food is in their backyards.  I think for me, the most important thing I took away from them was when someone asked a young Amish farmer is he was a Christian.  He said, I can tell you anything you want to hear, but go and ask my neighbor if I am a Christian.  Then you will know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christchurch Services and the Philadelphia Art Museum

Sunday, June 08, 2008

 

 

 

     This morning Sheila, Matt, Dana, Chris, Nancy, Kelli, Kelsey, and I went to Christ Church for the morning service.  I happened to look out the open door during the service and down the street was a man or large lady with a very flamboyant hat, weird underwear and a flowing robe.  Sometimes I do get distracted easily in church, but I found that extremely odd.  Oh well.  I really did enjoy being at the church this morning and sitting in the pew, thinking that George Washington, Betsy Ross, Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Rush, among other famous people had sat in those same pews and enjoyed their services.  I prayed for my family and loved ones.  There was a moment when I looked at the windows, listened to the music and breathed it all in.  It was a memorable moment! 

 

     Afterward, we went outside the church and saw some of the grave stones of people like Charles Lee who wanted to take Washington’s place, and James Wilson a Declaration of Independence signer. 

 

     We went to eat lunch at a little diner called Snow White.  The food was good and by the time we were done we decided to take a bus to the Philadelphia Art Museum. 

There was a big bike race going today, so we were unable to get to the museum easily.  We arrived at about 2:00 an hour late.  Even though we were late, the tour guide pointed out the silver tea pot that Paul Revere had forged. It is the same tea pot that Revere is holding in the portrait that Copley did of Revere.  That was very cool!   

 

     Dana, Chris and I went around the museum and looked quickly at the rooms.  One of my favorite was the Japanese room.  Later we did the tourist thing and went outside, walked down the path to the Rocky statue and walked back up.  This was really neat museum.  One of the exhibits I enjoyed most was the one with the medieval armor.  My third graders will really get into that. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     On the way back to the bus, I saw a statue of General Peter Muhlenberg, whom I believe I referenced at the Valley Forge park.  The park ranger who talked with me after his presentation had mentioned him. 

 

     We arrived back at the dorm, showered off Philly and then headed out to the Irish Pub that we went to last night.  Once again the food was delicious and we shopped at the Black Cat, came back to the dorm, showered again, blogged and now I’m off to bed.  It was a very nice day.        

 

    

               

Washington Crossing the Delaware and Battle of Monmouth

Saturday, June 7, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           When we arrived earlier this morning the area was overcast and a bit hazy.  It was sooo cool.  We went to the tavern next to the Valley Forge Crossing and saw a copy of a letter that George Washington had written at 6:00 p.m., at the McKonkey’s tavern saying that he was determined to cross the Delaware despite reports that Lt.Col. John Cadwalader who was to cross near Bristol Ferry and General Ewing was to cross at the Trenton ferry, were not having the success hoped for.  The group at the bottom was having no luck in crossing and the group at the top could not get the cannons across. It took Washington and his army 11 hours to cross the Delaware.  To me it looked like a fairly narrow crossing, but I guess the current is extremely difficult.  It was especially difficult during a Noreaster winter storm.  Washington crossed with commanders John Sullivan, Nathanael Green, John Glover and Henry Knox along with 2400 troops, 18 cannons, and between 50-75 horses.  Despite the famous painting of Washington standing in the boat, our guide seemed to think that Washington may have crossed on the ferry with his horse Nelson, since he was a horse lover and would want to be with his horse.  We did see replica’s of the Durham boats and I don’t see how anyone could have sat in those boats.  It seems you would have had to stand to row because they were so deep.  The army crossed with horses and cannons on the ferry and rowed the majority of the men across in the Durham boats. The paddles were very long and heavy. It took some very determined men to do their work in an ice and snow storm.  If Washington had not crossed the Delaware River and taken 900 Hessians prisoner and killed about 100 Hessians, he would have most likely been overtaken at some point in the winter and the war would have been over.  This battle was definitely a turning point in the war for the Americans. 

 

 

   

 

     Wow!  I just got back on the bus from walking the Monmouth Battle field.  Whew!  It is about the same temperature (90+ degrees with high humidity) this June as it was, on the hot June day when this battle took place. I can see why soldiers in full uniform literally fell off of their horses from heat stroke.   The humidity and heat is oppressive.  It was fun to walk across the bridge and see the orchards and fence rows up close.  I hope none of us got ticks or chiggers.  J

 

I thought it neat that when the men retreated that they didn’t just take off running.  Our guide Garry Stone said that they would have been picked off had they done that.  Instead they followed the training of Von Steuben and crossed the bridge quickly and in step.  It seems that most of the docents that we have had, felt that Von Steuben had a much bigger role in the success of this army, than the Valley Forge book we read by Bodle.  In fact, our guide at Valley Forge was adamant that Von Steuben’s training was the true force behind the Americans winning the Revolutionary War.

 

     It was a very hot day, but the countryside was absolutely gorgeous.  It will be nice to have these photos of the area and the bridge to my students when we are studying the Battle of Monmouth.  On one of the information boards stated that while Washington received mud spatter from enemy fire he stayed calm in his saddle.  Professor Harris commented that that is why so many say he was a great general.  Matt also said that Washington said he should have lost his life so many times but that Providence had watched over him.  The battle of Monmouth was a great victory for the Continental Army.

 

    A group of us went to an Irish Pub last night to eat.  The atmosphere and commraderie was nice after a long day.     

 

    

               

 

 

Friday, June 06, 2008

      After a nice trip to Starbucks this morning Kelli, John, Wendy, Ryan, and I met up with the group and rode the subway to the Franklin Institute.  We immediately bought hats and T-shirts just like the tourists we are!  We took a big picture of all of us in front of the institute, went inside and saw this sculpture of Franklin that is like 4-5 times as big as a human. 

 Boy how I would have loved to have had my class at the Franklin Institute.  They would have loved all of his inventions like the armonica, swimming paddles, lightening rod, the Franklin stove, bifocals, and all of the fun kids exhibits like the giant human heart, red and white blood cell display.  This was really a fun day for us.  One of the other exhibits that Connie, Matt, Jonothan, Brett, Ryan and I went to was the Pirate exhibit about the Whydah ship that was sunk in the 1700’s and found with the treasure.  The slave history was neat to learn about as well as, the story of this ship.  This display was done very well. 

 Afterwards, I talked Connie into walking over to the Masonic Temple.  That was an amazing building.  I couldn’t believe how ornate and how big it was.  It was really incredible.  There were a lot of historical items pertaining to George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Marquis Lafayette and their mason history.  Pretty cool!  Afterward we tried to find somewhere to eat.  Our feet were killing us and we needed to sit down badly.  Poor Connie cannot find her ankles because they are so swollen.  I have to admit mine are a bit swollen as well, but I was gung ho to keep moving.  I’m hoping to get to bed at a decent time tonight. 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Thursday, June 05, 2008

 

     Today we ate breakfast at the Au Bon Pain coffee shop then, as a group headed for the subway to Constitution Center.  There Professor Carol Berkin who has written several books like The Brilliant Solution, which we were privileged to read for this class, came to speak with us.  She is certainly a very engaging speaker and I was thrilled to have the pleasure of learning from her.  She is so knowledgeable about constitutional events and the men who came to Philadelphia to write it. 

 

 

 

 

 

     There were 55 men who came to the convention with strict instructions from their states.  They were to leave if things were not going the way their state thought it should.  Rhode Island did not send anyone.  One of the myths according to Carol is that in 1787 brilliant men came to Philadelphia and knew exactly what they wanted to do, and they wrote a completely extravagant constitution.  However, this is just not true.  These men were planning to rework the Articles of Confederation.  They did not plan to scrap them, but after much debate that is exactly what they did.  She felt that there were only a few truly brilliant men:  Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, (who was bipolar according to her), Benjamin Franklin, James Wilson, Robert Morris, (Morris was the most brilliant next to Hamilton) and possibly James Madison who had not been able to withstand the pressures at Princeton Law School.  He had a breakdown but had a wealthy father and because of that Madison had the opportunity to read and study a lot, as did many of these men.  The rest she said were just ordinary men who had the means through family or a generous benefactor, to become educated, but normal men. During this time in education, you could be one of the less brilliant men of your time, but if your father had the most money you would most likely be rated #1 at your school. The more money you had, the more voice you had. America was founded by the elite and they felt they had a responsibility to the people of that time and the country.   

 

     After scrapping the Articles of Confederation, these men then had to research, debate, and argue about their topic.  James Wilson said to James Madison, “If you do not compromise on the senate or house, we will walk out and Madison gave in.  In the end these men were willing to compromise, in order to get a document that would allow the country to continue and prosper.  Everybody gave a little, not everyone got everything they wanted but in the end the states came together in order to become one.  This is truly a fascinating subject.

 

     We went to a presentation after lunch at the Kimmeling Theatre which I would love to have to show to my classes.  The presentation was awe inspiring.  It made me want to become more active in politics and take on responsibility for helping our nation carry on.  The writing of the constitution truly is an amazing document.  I thought it was pretty cool how these men worked so hard to make sure that they would do there best, to make sure that no one man could have too much power so that he would not endanger the nation by having a monarchy.

 

      It was also humbling that an 83 or 84 year old Benjamin Franklin would have a letter that he wrote read to this group of men stating the dangers of the person who would be in the executive branch.  He spoke of said something like leaders of this new nation would face and that any man could become corrupt with power.  As I understand it, Franklin stared at George Washington during the reading of the letter.  Another thing that was truly amazing is that these men knew they would be the ones who would be taking leadership positions and that they knew they would be filling. 

 

Kelsey and I went to the 2^nd Bank and viewed portraits that used to be at Independence Hall and stopped by Christ Church to see Benjamin Franklin’s grave.  Christ Church was all lit up inside.  I really looked cool.  I’m looking forward to spending more time down that way.

 

   

 A group of us went to Jim’s Steakhouse and most of the girls had Philly Cheesesteaks with Cheese Whiz.  Then we went to the City Tavern where signers of the Declaration went drinking to socialize adn finish off their evening.  This was great atmosphere with pewter mugs, lit candles, and period dress which was pretty cool.  I had a salad and a wonderful bite of a chocolate mousse cake that was a recipe of Martha Washington.  Yum!  The dessert that I chose was peach cobbler with walnuts topped with cinnamon icing.

Yummy!  This was a very nice and busy day!