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Monday, October 27, 2014 Just Try To Keep Up With This New Nonagenarian

[I hope you will indulge me as my family celebrates my mother's 90th birthday. She's an incredible individual, and not just because she's my mother. - SMC]
Lorraine "Ma FAST" MorongCELEBRATION OF THE YEAR At the Town Hall on Saturday,October 18, 2014, long-time Madbury citizen Lorraine Morong celebrated her 90^thbirthday, with hundreds of friends and family from near and far. The event mayhave been this New Hampshire towns most festive event of the year, second onlyto Madbury Day, its annual festival.
FIFTY-YEAR RESIDENT
This year also marks Lorraines fiftieth year living in Madbury, NH. When in1964 the Morongs moved there, the town had little in the way of communityservices, with its population then of about 700. No municipal center. Otherthan one part-time volunteer, no police department. No school. No library. Noindustry. The only agricultural enterprise of note was the Elliott Greenhouseswhich produced roses wholesale for metropolitan centers across the country.Other than a hardware store on Route 108, no commerce. Schooling, employment,marketing everything was done outside of Madbury. The only activity thatMadbury residents all had in common was that they slept there. In fifty years,the town has grown to 1700 and now boasts a school, emergency services departments, other facilities, and several small businesses, but has retained its rural atmosphere.
By no means has Lorraine transformed the town single-handedly (the town is full of civic-minded souls), but shes hadher hand in a number of projects, in particular the establishment of the MadburyPublic Library in 2000 and the assignment of Madburys new zip code in 2004.Her dedication to the First Aid Stabilization Team earned her the name ofMa FAST.
Lorraine has been the newscorrespondent for the town almost since she arrived, for the Portsmouth Herald, the Tri-Town Transcript, and most recentlyfor Fosters Daily Democrat. Ascorrespondent, she attends meetings of the Board of Selectmen, thePlanning Board, and other municipal offices and community organizations. Herpersonal collection of journalism archives frequently provides newcomers withan important foundation of recent town history in community concerns. She hasalso sat as an alternate on the Zoning Board of Adjustment, and continues to beactive with the Madbury Community Club.
Husband Bill, who passed awayin 1991, was also involved in town affairs, including membership on the valuableWater Resources Board; Madbury provides the City of Portsmouth, NH, with mostof its municipal water supply.
Just a few of us Morongs - 4 generationsHAPPY BIRTHDAY!
The Town Hall was bursting at the seams with well-wishers from 1 to 93 years ofage, from every walk of Lorraines life. A fair sample of Madburys populationrubbed shoulders with denizens of Muscongus Island (Lorraines summer home inmid-coast Maine, where she still paddles her own canoe - er, rows her own dinghy - see evidence below) and multitudes of Lorraines children, grandchildren, andgreat-grandchildren, to say nothing of cousins and long-time friends. Folkscame from Virginia, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, andother far-flung locales to celebrate this dynamo known as Lorraine.
Denise Shames, former resident,noted that of the original four Vestal Virgins in ethereal robes who gracedMadburys Bicentennial pageant in 1968, only two remained, she and Lorraine.The other two - more Madbury icons - were Denises mother Elizabeth and JoanSchreiber, both of whom were close friends of Lorraine. Denise suggested thatit may be time to reenact the pageant; Madburys 250^th anniversarycomes up in 2018, only four short years away. Maybe Lorraine and Denise canreprise their old roles.
Joan Schreibers son Kurt gaveLorraine a small essay he prepared, in part of which he commented that if hewas ever concerned as to the whereabouts of his mother, he could usually findher whispering with Lorraine in the back row of a meeting, conniving onstrategy over one or another current concern of town or state political import.
Live music by Castlebay filledin the spaces among the celebrants. Castlebays husband--wife team FredGosbee and Julia Lane of Round Pond, ME, specialize in Celtic, medieval, andmaritime music with harp, fiddle, flute, and voice. Puppeteer Nancy Sander of Salisbury,MA, glided among the guests with a giant butterfly which kissed children andadults alike with its fuzzy pipe-cleaner nose, when she wasnt enchanting thesame audience with puppet shows. Nancys 15-foot Chinese dragon wended her waythrough the crowd several times (I believe it was a girl dragon: she had pinkflowers on her nose), bumping her horns against the ceiling amiably, anddancing around the building. Balloon-artist Beth Booth of Lee, NH, provedpopular, too, creating colorful creatures and innovative headdresses toeveryones delight.
The Madbury Community Club andmembers of Friends of the Madbury Library collaborated with Lorraines sonDuffy on food preparation, service, and clean-up. Duffy also prepared many ofthe sandwiches and other treats. Granddaughter Amy made both chocolate andvanilla 2-layer cakes with sugar-screened photographs of Lorraine (into whichimages no one wanted to cut!). Everyone raved about the delicious quality ofthese excellent cakes, a most welcome respite from the usual insipid and greasycommercial products.
PROCEEDS TO BENEFIT LIBRARY
Lorraine insisted on no giftsfor herself, but requested that anyone so inclined should make a donation tothe Friends of the Madbury Library. Most attendees have done so, increasing theFriends treasury significantly. Donations continue to arrive via thepostal service, from many who couldnt attend.
A good time was had by all isa paltry description of the bustling, magical cheer that pervaded the celebration of awoman whose friendship, practical good sense, bonhomie, and wisdom has gracedus all. To Lorraine, in the Irish Gaelic: Sláinte! - Good health! - for many more years!
Mark your calendars for the 100th! Lorraine has!
Lorraine at Muscongus Island, August 2013 (compass heading: Year 2024)Posted byBrass Castle Artsat8:11 PMNo comments: Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest Wednesday, October 8, 2014 Capturing The Wild Kingdom Before Wild Kingdom

Birth of MartinJohnson, Pioneer Wildlife PhotographerOct. 9, 1884
RememberMarlin Perkins in Mutual of Omahas 1960s TV show Wild Kingdom, and how heleft all the rhino-wrestling to his buddy Jim? To say nothing of Steve Irwinspopular Crocodile Hunter forty years later. This post celebrates intrepidforerunner Martin Johnson, who broke trail for the likes of Marlin, Jim, andSteve.Martin and Osa Johnson
MartinElmer was born on October 9, 1884, to John and Lucinda Johnson, in Rockford, IL,where John, a Swedish immigrant, worked as foreman at a watch factory. Within ayear of Martins birth, the Johnsons moved to Lincoln, KS, where Martinsfather then ran a jewelry store. They moved again in 1896, away from Lincoln which wascrippled with drought, to Independence, KS, where John met with new success in selling jewelry and books.
Althoughhis father taught him how to repair clocks and watches and details of thejewelry business, Martins mind was always on birds in the nearby woods and turtlesbasking on the river rocks. He constantly rebelled against both school andstore. He frequently ran away from home, riding the rails and meeting hobos. Whenhis fathers store expanded to include camera supplies, the boy became obsessedwith photography as a means of escape to freedom from the workaday grind.
YoungJohnson, upon expulsion from high school for photographic breaches in etiquetteand protocol, embarked as an itinerant photographer. He met his future wife,Osa Helen Leighty, in 1902 when she was only eight. At the time, she wasoffended by the gawky teenager, ten years her elder, but neither did she quite forgethim. She had taken her 3-year-old brother to the makeshift studio of thistraveling artist, and was dismayed when the young man, who was developing hisskill and his eye along with his images, insisted on mussing up the toddlershair for the expensive photograph, delighting little Vaughn but ruining Osas intenton a formal portrait.
Whenhe came back to town Chanute, KS in 1910, his adventures drew Osa, and theyeloped after a three-week acquaintance. In the intervening eight years, he had hada lifetime of adventure. He had worked on a boat to England, then stowed awayon his return. He had sailed the Pacific with Jack London on that disastroustrip aboard the Snark (making theacquaintance of South Seas cannibals and headhunters), proving himself farbetter at ship operation and maintenance than at his job as cook.
With native friends in Borneo in 1935Theyoung couple worked at movie theaters and displayed his South Seas photographson the vaudeville circuit for a while, but finally bit the bullet in 1917 whenthey invested everything they had in photography equipment and headed back toSouth Seas. They spent nine months visiting and filming wildlife and natives ofthe New Hebrides and Solomon Islands, including the fierce Big Nambastribe of Malekula. Although warned against taking a white woman among thesepeople (indeed, the local British garrison warned against anybody approachingthem), both Martin and Osa forged ahead anyway, and Osa survived a baptism offire that would have made most others, men or women, quail in terror. Her gritty courage impressed both natives andBritish.
Theyreturned to Malekula in 1919. They completely wowwed the Big Nambas when, with equipmentand a generator, they showed the tribe the film they had made from footage onthe earlier trip, Among the CannibalIsles of the South Seas. The film technology displayed to the natives imbuedthe Johnsons with powerful medicine. From this second trip, which included avoyage by boat along the eastern coast of Africa, they produced two morefeature films, Jungle Adventures(1921) and Headhunters of the South Seas(1922).
Martinand Osas attention now turned toward Africa. They ultimately made fiveexpeditions there, between 1921 and 1934, ground-breaking, multi-year projectswith immensely complex planning and execution. They worked in Uganda, theSerengeti Plains, and the Belgian Congo.
Inbetween their multi-year safaris, they conducted national tours, lecturing,exhibiting their still photography and artifacts, and producing over fiftyfilms and seven books about the wildlife and habitats of Africa and the SouthSeas. Their films were hugely popular throughout the United States.
Osawas the ultimate partner to Martin, coordinating the expeditions and runningthe camps, and guarding against wildlife attacks while Martin shot footage. Shewas a crack shot, providing game for the table as well as protection to thecamp and crew. She remained cool-headed during attacks by lions, rhinos, andelephants. She quickly picked up a multitude of native languages, and filmedas well as developed footage with her husband, all with an indomitable,positive attitude which matched Martins adventuresome spirit.
Abouthis wife Martin once stated, "For bravery and steadiness and endurance,Osa is the equal of any man I ever saw. She is a woman through and through.There is nothing 'mannish' about her. Yet as a comrade in the wilderness she isbetter than any man I ever saw."
In1932, both Johnsons learned to fly, which expedited their expeditions considerably.They purchased two Sikorsky amphibious planes, Martins S-39-CS named Spiritof Africa, which sported giraffe spots, and Osas S-38-BS named Osas Ark, stripedlike a zebra. They were now able to collect aerial footage, the first ever ofmigrating herds on the African grasslands.
Sadly,while on their lecture circuit, the Johnsons were involved in a deadly plane crash in California on January 12,1937. The commercial Boeing airliner, fighting foulweather, failed to reach the runway on approach. Martin died of his injuriesthe next day, one of five deaths, at age 52. Osa was also severely injured, butcontinued their schedule of lectures in a wheelchair once she was released fromthe hospital.
Osacontinued their work after Martins untimely death. She wrote several memoirs,led more expeditions to Africa, wrote childrens books, produced more films,including one based on her memoir, and continued on the lecture circuit. At age 58, shedied in 1953 in the midst of preparing to lead another African safari.
I read IMarried Adventure a couple of years ago, and enjoyed the rich adventure thoroughly.

SOURCESThe Martin and Osa Johnson SafariMuseum http://www.safarimuseum.com/
SantaClarita Valley Historical Society, SCVHistory.com http://www.scvhs.org/
WomenFilm Pioneers Project at Columbia Universityhttps://wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu/pioneer/ccp-osa-johnson/
Kansapedia: Kansas Historical Society
http://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/martin-and-osa-johnson/12102
Wikipedia Martin and Osa Johnsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_and_Osa_Johnson
IMAGESFindA Grave http://www.findagrave.comThe Martin and Osa Johnson SafariMuseum http://www.safarimuseum.com/
Richard Ker, North Borneo History http://www.northborneohistory.com



Posted byBrass Castle Artsat6:54 PMNo comments: Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest Saturday, September 20, 2014 Birth of Rebecca Smith Pollard, Education pioneer Sept. 20, 1831

Thename Rebecca Smith Pollard rings no bells in my beady little brain, andneither does her pseudonym, Kate Harrington. But the blog post in TheWriters Almanac for September 20, 2011, puts mestrongly in mind of my own elementary school education and of my subsequentavocation, living history programming.
Rebecca Smith Pollard 1831-1917Born Rebecca Harrington Smith in Allegheny City,PA, (now part of the city of Pittsburgh) on September 20, 1831, Pollard grew upin a literary household. Her father, N. R. Smith, was a playwright and taughtShakespeare. She had three older siblings.
She started teaching in Kentucky, an occupationwhich in the mid-19^th Century was usually reserved for men. Shetaught primarily in private schools for girls. She moved on to teach in Iowa,and spent most of her professional life in several Iowa cities. A little laterin life, she taught in Chicago. Her writing career began early, when she contributedto a column in the Louisville [KY]Journal. Rebeccas Letters from a Prairie Cottage included a section forchildren, with fanciful tales about animals. One such tale was about a catwhich adopted orphan chicks. (The strong anti-secession editor of the Louisville Journalwas a major influence in keeping Missouri in the Union.)
After moving to Farmington, IA, in her early 20s, she met Oliver I. Taylor, aNew York poet and editor of the The DesMoines News, the Burlington Argus, and other Iowa newspapers. They married in 1858, and in addition toher other work, Rebecca worked with her husband on these periodicals. They hadone daughter. Tragically, Taylor died of diphtheria less than three years aftertheir marriage.
In 1862, she remarried to James Pollard, an Iowastate senator, politician, and banker, gaining four step-children. Within eightyears, she and her second husband added four more children to the family, oneof whom died in infancy. This marriage may have been rocky: in 1877, Rebecca isrecorded as raising the children alone in Fort Madison, Iowa. James isrecorded as having lived until 1902; he died in Missouri.
She wrote several childrens books, and in 1889,she developed and published a reading primer and a speller called Synthetic Methods. By the turn of the century, her readingprogram, The Pollard Series school texts, with reading books, spellers, andteachers manuals, was adopted by every state in the Union.
What made her reading program unique was fueledby her own teaching techniques and the observations she made from the results.Preceding living history programming in todays schools, Pollard had herstudents learn American history by reenacting battle scenes with broomsticks.She initiated the study of fractions by using apples. After observing means of learningamong children, she initiated a method to teach reading by developing thestudents ability to hear, identify, and manipulate phenomes the sounds ofsyllables and words and correspond them with the spelling patterns(graphemes) of those syllables and words. This work was the forerunner of themodern phonics system of study.
Pollard also wrote poetry and a novel, under thepseudonym Kate Harrington. Maymie, a book of poetry published in1869, was a tribute to her daughter who died that year, only ten years old. In1876, she published a second book of poetry, Centennial, and Other Poems, to commemorate the countrys 100^thbirthday. The Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia was the first worlds fairheld in the United States. Pollard included in this book selected poems writtenby her father, and illustrations from the Exhibition.
Her novel, EmmaBartlett: or Prejudice and Fanaticism, was a fictional response to Uncle Toms Cabin, in which she exposes thehypocrisy of Know-Nothingism and the dogmatism of Abolitionism. It waspublished by An American Lady in 1856, copyrighted by R. H. Smith (as yetunmarried), and met with mixed reviews, no doubt because of the volatile natureof the subject. Booksellers often marketed these books to be sold as a pair.
In addition to her essays, newspaper articles,novels, poetry, textbooks, and childrens books, Pollard wrote hymns. She useda number of pseudonyms besides Kate Harrington, including Ola and GertrudeAtherton.
Pollard died in Fort Madison, IA, on May 17, 1917.
What rings a bell for me after studying thislittle bit about Rebecca Smith Pollard is that a few poor Catholic nuns taughtme, using the phonics method when I was an elementary school student. Thissystem gave me an unshakable foundation in reading and writing, for which I ameternally grateful. I dont see that in most schools today, and it is a loss tothe students.
The Pollard post in "The Writer's Almanac" rings another bell, too, forshe pioneered a hands-on approach to learning history, over one hundred yearsbefore living historians and re-enactors like me began bringing history intothe classroom regularly as part of the modern education systems culturalenrichment programming.
Building a model Civil War signal towerImagine being able to talk to an historicalfigure, famous or not, to ask him or her about clothing styles andhearth-cooked meals three hundred years ago. Imagine the fun in learning how tomeasure the school playground with an old-fashioned surveyors chain, andcalculating the distance using links and rods.
As a living history presenter, theres nothinglike the spark of passion that lights up a childs eyes when he or she learnshistory or any subject - hands-on. We never had anything like this when I wasin school. I wish we had.
SOURCESThe Writers Almanac for September 20, 2011 http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2011/09/20
Biography for Rebecca Smith Pollard,Pennsylvania Center for the Book https://secureapps.libraries.psu.edu/PACFTB/bios/biography.cfm?AuthorID=7837

Kate Harrington: An American Lady, MarieHaefner, The Palimpsest 38 (April 1957), Iowa State Historical Dept., Div. ofthe State Hist. Soc.
Kate Harrington (poet), Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Harrington_%28poet%29
Rebecca Pollard: AnAmerican Lady, Grace Vyduna-Haskins, History of Reading News, Vol. XXV No. 1,Fall 2001, pp. 6-7.
A Literary History ofIowa, Clarence A. Andrews, University of Iowa Press, Iowa City, IA, 1972.Postscript at the end of Chapter 1: Poet on the Prairie, p. 5.
Reminiscences of Henri K. Pratt of Keokuk,Annals of Iowa: A Historical Quarterly, Vol. 5, Third Series, ed. byCharles Aldrich, Historical Dept. of Iowa, Des Moines, 1901-1903. p. 418.
Phonics, Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonics
Pollard and spelling book images taken from Wikipedia.

Posted byBrass Castle Artsat9:54 PMNo comments: Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest Older PostsHomeSubscribe to:Posts (Atom)Blog Archive 2014(3) October(2)Just Try To Keep Up With This New NonagenarianCapturing The Wild Kingdom Before Wild Kingdom September(1) 2012(17) September(1) August(2) July(1) June(1) May(1) April(2) March(3) February(2) January(4) 2011(30) October(3) September(2) July(4) June(4) May(5) April(2) March(2) February(4) January(4) 2010(2) November(1) October(1)About Brass Castle ArtsBrass Castle Arts- Living history presenter: Engineer in American Civil War; Musician in American Revolution fife drum corps- Creative writing: non-fiction historical profiles; The Great American Novel- Graphic artist/ CAD drafter by tradeView my complete profileFollowersMy Blog ListA House DividedCivil War artist John Paul Strain to visit Strasburg and Winchester, Va.5 years agoAbraham Lincoln and the Civil WarPresident Lincoln Considers Replacement for Attorney General Edward Bates6 years agoAmerican Literary BlogHarris: under the spell of the old town6 years agoauthonomyColleen - Stitches in Time5 months agoCranky Yankees - Jim CookeGlenn BeckAmazon enlists THESE hate mongers to fight against hate groups?3 years agoLegal History BlogJudge McKeown on Politics and Judicial Ethics18 hours agoMichael HyattA Pathway Through Crisis for Entrepreneurs15 hours agoOpinionator - NYTimesGuiding a First Generation to College5 years agoPastIsPresent.orgA Puzzle No More: Charles C. Green and The Nubian Slave6 days agoPaula Chase - music blogPresident Lincoln's CottageFind Blog Posts on our New Website8 years agoSecondatMaster Institute6 years agoStory of the Week - LOCMiss Mary Pask1 day agoThe Writer - Staff Blog

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