The "What Do You Hand Out First On Halloween? Story

It was an ordinary day.  I told my wife I was heading to Costco to have my hearing aides adjusted and as I was heading out the door she yelled to me to pick up a box of full-sized Hershey chocolate bars to hand out on Halloween.  Well, getting the hearing aides was easy, but finding the Hershey bars was a bit harder.  Couldn't find them, or should I say I must have passed that aisle, so I picked up a container of 70 Utz's individually wrapped pretzels and a box of 30 full sized candy bars that featured  Twix, M&Ms, Milky Way and Snickers bars.  

Treats to be handed out at the Woods'.

Carol wasn't real happy with my purchase, but knew it would be more than enough for our Halloween visitors.  We talked about what were our favorite Halloween treats and she told me she always liked Hershey Bars while I told her I liked just about anything, but hoped I would get a bunch of candy corn on Halloween.  Actually, I hoped our three children would get some candy corn when they went around the neighborhood so they could share it with me.  You remember candy corn?  It was yellow on the bottom, orange in the middle and white on top and shaped like a triangle.  I was always disappointed if the small white tip had been broken off.  I liked to eat it in three bites; a color a bite.  Candy corn was originally known as "Chicken Feed" when it was first made in the 1880s by the Wunderle Candy Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Allegedly made by a man named George Renninger who worked for Wunderle and during one fall harvest season was inspired to create a method for layering different colors into a single mold shaped like a kernel of corn.  Viola!  

My favorite!

Candy corn was born, but it really wasn't popular until about 100 years later when the Glitz Candy Company (now Jelly Belly) started to make it.  The candy was first made by hand by pouring a mixture of sugar, corn syrup, carnauba wax and water and cooked to form a slurry.  Fondant was added for texture and marshmallows to give the soft bite.  The mixture was heated and poured into the traditional triangular shaped molds.  Three passes for the three colors made candy corn.  Today's candy corn is still made the same way except it is now mechanically made instead of by hand.  They make about 9 billion pieces of the candy each year.  Actually, October 30 is National Candy Corn Day, but the treat wasn't associated with Halloween until after World War II, since sugar rationing during the war kept if in low production.  Then in 1947 radio programs such as The Jack Benny Show, The Baby Snooks Show and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet led to Trick-or-treat.  It was said that Trick or Treat Night was began by adults to re-channel activities away from the traditional Mischief Night vandalism.  No matter what the reason for the special children's night might be, I hope all the children get a candy bar and an individually wrapped pretzel.  The bag of candy corn that is still in my car will stay there unless we run out of pretzels!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of ordinary guy.

The "An Alarming Loss Of Wildlife On Our Rear Deck!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Cleaning out our bird houses after another season of listening to and watching a few houses of baby birds again this year.  This year we did notice a drop in the birds that built nests and raised their young ones on our back deck.  It seems that each year we have a slight decline in how many houses are filled on our deck.  

A few of the many birdhouses we have on our rear deck.

This year we did not see any chickadees, gold finches, tufted titmice or dark-eyed juncos at all, but still had a few houses of wrens.  Also had the usual bluejays, cardinals, finches and sparrows, but seems that they are visiting our bird feeder in fewer quantities.  My wife and I have been traveling to the island of St. Martin for many years and just about every year we have fed the island's sugar birds, aka Banaquit.  

Sugar birds feeding on sugar in St. Martin.

At times they would come in large numbers, but the past two years we have seen only a few.  Could be that many were killed or left the island due to Hurricane Irma which devastated the island in September of 2017.  But, we felt we should have seen a few during the past year.  

The House Wren

So, what's going on?  Naturally, I went online to see if I could find the answer to the decline in the birds around the world and found there is a shocking decline in the numbers of birds world wide.  The decrease has been staggering with a decline of about 3 billion just in North America.  And, that's not just in rare species, but in the backyard species such as the chickadees, wrens and even the tufted titmice.  So why is there such a big drop in backyard birds.  Seems it is due to the Earth's ecosystems and their ability to support life.  

The dark-eyed Junco

The main culprit is habitat and loss of degrada- tion.  Can also be an increase in feral cats, and pet cats that are allowed to be outside.  We do have a few feral cats in our neighborhood, but now have two less since we have made them into indoor cats almost two years ago. And one more reason might be the insects the birds rely on for food.  Other reports say wind turbines and building strikes take their toll.  Not sure I believe the wind turbines do that much damage, but I can see that large buildings that are lit at night lead birds to fly into their windows.  

The Chickadee

We have a large glass door on our back deck and have had a few birds fly into it.  Our neighbor- hood has had a recent large shopping center open as well as a few large new buildings.  So, what can Carol and I, as well as you, do to bring back the birds?  First, put out a birdbath that you can heat in the winter.  Plant native trees, shrubs and flowers that provide seeds and berries favored by birds.  A few examples would be the Dogwood, crabapple, winterberry, holly and hawthorn plants.  Put out numerous bird feeders including hummingbird feeders.  Also call your Congressperson and ask them to support The Recovering America's Wildlife Act which will help with declines in fish and bird life.  It is rather depressing not to see the wildlife that we used to see on our back deck.  What will happen if the loss becomes greater?  I'm not sure, but I hope the decline can be stopped before that happens.  Do all you can to help, please!  It wasn't another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "English Walnuts Everywhere!" Story

The six English Walnut trees next to my house.

It was an ordinary day.  Finally decided it was time to begin the clean-up of the hill to the left of my house which has six large English Walnut trees on it.  Carol and I had just returned from an 11 day vacation to Antigua with our traveling friends Jere and Just Sue and when we left they were just beginning to drop their walnuts.  

Two buckets sit in front of an entire lawn
covered with English Walnuts.

Well, it didn't take long to drop the majority of them so I grabbed my large plastic buckets and began to pick up the walnuts from the lawn under them as well as much of the land nearby.  About ten years ago I wrote a story telling of doing the same thing, but with 10 more years of growth, the task has grown.  Years ago I was approached by a few people who asked if they could have the walnuts if they collected them.  I loved not having to spend hours picking them up, but after one year they never returned again.  They told me they were transporting then to another state to the west where they would sell them to a candy company.  This year I collected 21 buckets of English Walnuts and deposited them behind a fence to the bottom of the hill where the trees stand.  

The local squirrel and chipmunk population
uses our fence top to open and eat the walnuts.
Notice the hundreds of walnuts behind the fence.

 That was after I spent about half an hour throwing a few hundred behind the fence until my arm got tired.  Throughout the fall and winter months the squirrel population in the neighborhood will help themselves to the collection of English Walnuts behind the fence.  Many sit on the fence, break them open and after eating them leave the remains on the fence.  I must clean the fence a couple of times to keep the layer of shells from growing too high.  I have no idea what they taste like since I don't care for walnuts, but if the piles of shells is any indication, they must be good!  The cleanup usually takes the better part of a day since I find it such a daunting task as I grow older.  Perhaps it is time to hire a neighborhood boy or girl to take over the task for me.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Our neighbors help themselves to the walnuts and sit on the fence to eat them.

The "It Couldn't Have Happened To A More Deserving Guy" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Had just returned from a vacation to Antigua and was reading the almost two weeks of newspapers that I missed during my vacation.  Opened the September 29 edition of the LPN  Sunday News and there on the Sports page was a photograph of Mr. C. Wendell Hower with a headline that read "Hower will get Kirchner."  Mr. Hower was a math teacher when I was a student at Manheim Township High School in 1961.  

Mr. C. Wendell Hower

I never had him as a math teacher, but knew him as a big man who also coached football and basketball.  During his college athletic career he played football for Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster where he was a Little All-American honoree.  I eventually returned to the school as a teacher and by now he was the Athletic Director.  Over his tenure at Manheim Township High School he coached football and basketball, was Athletic Director and officiated at football and basketball games.  He eventually became the Principal of the High School for over 29 years.  It was during that time that I was picked by my colleagues as one of the  top teachers in Pennsylvania and Mr. Hower traveled with me receive my award in Harrisburg.  I have never, to this day, been able to address him as anything other than Mr. Hower.  

Award winner, Mr. C. Wendell Hower

He eventually became a member of the board of directors of the PIAA (Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association), and became the Secretary of the organization.  Since I taught Graphic Arts in the high school, he asked me to print needed materials for the PIAA during the summer months.  Well, for all his dedication to sports as a player, coach and administrator, he is being honored at the Hall of Fame Banquet as this year's winner of the prestigious George W. Kirchner Memorial Award.  It is quite an honor for a very deserving person.  Mr. Hower is still the Secretary of the PIAA and I still print his materials for him, though we are both retired from our respective jobs at Manheim Township High School.  And, I am as proud of him winning his award as he was of me when I won years ago.  Congratulations, Mr. Hower.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Will The Children Win: Part II?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Torah Bontrager, whom I wrote about yesterday, wanted to overturn the 1972 Wisconsin v. Yoder Supreme Court decision which would allow Amish children to complete a high school education as well as address sexual abuse within the Plain sect community.  Many Amish leaders know about the sexual abuse, but can't seem to realize that the two issues are related.  

Children outside a one-room school house in Lancaster.

At no time during an Amish child's eight years of education is sex education discussed.  You just don't do that!  And, Torah thinks it should be taught since the lack of sex ed can lead to abuse within the community.  A woman who was raised Amish in Lancaster County, but has since left the the church, says there is so much sexual abuse within the Amish community and most Amish don't get the correlation between schooling and sexual abuse.  Torah was sexually assaulted by relatives when she was a child and teenager.  She said her mother gave her pamphlets which explained puberty, but never discussed anything with her except to tell her to stay away from the boys.  When she had her first period she had no idea what had happened so she buried her underwear at the bottom of the hamper and was beaten when her mother saw what had happened.  Many of the Amish leaders believe sex is something to be talked about in the home and not in the classroom.  Evidently that's not happening at present.  And Torah believes that's very critical in today's world to teach sex in school.  

An Amish classroom taught by a young girl who perhaps
knows nothing about sex education herself.

One Amish leader believes it would be worse if it were taught in school.  So, the vicious cycle continues and sex education is not taught at all.  Mr. Donald Kraybill, a Professor at Elizabethtown College, is widely considered an expert on the Amish and agrees that sexual abuse is a problem, but not more so than in the average population.  The biggest problem is patriarchy and male dominance, which happens to be a problem in the Amish community.  But, Torah believes lack of education also plays a big role.  She told of being raped at the age of 15 and no one in the Amish community helped her.  You just didn't talk about that kind of stuff.  She said she has since talked with an Amish bishop from Illinois who told her that their Amish leadership committee now has a policy to report such occurrences to the police.  A huge breakthrough, but will it affect Lancaster County?  Torah has now learned that the Lancaster County Amish community has implemented an initiative called the Conservative Crisis Intervention Committee who will report cases to the local police.  But, she still believes sex education, even in 7th or 8th grade can go a long way toward reducing sexual abuse in the Amish community.  Here's hoping that the Amish community will realize what is happening in their community and do something to correct it.  But, will it be in my lifetime?  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Will The Children Win: Part I?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Driving the back roads around Lancaster County, Pennsylvania looking for a few photographs to share with you.  Not uncommon to pass close to 100  one-room school houses after driving for an hour or so, since there are still over 320 one-room school houses remaining in Lancaster County.  

An Amish one-room school house in Lancaster.

These school houses are used to educate Amish children until they are in eighth grade when they finish their mandatory state require- ment for education in Pennsylvania.  It's only been that way since 1972 when the U.S. Supreme Court decided to allow the Amish an exemption to the law that they must remain in public education until the age of 16.  That year the Supreme Court decided that sending Amish children to high school would interfere with their ability to practice their religion.  A former Amish girl, who at the age of 15 crawled through a bathroom window of her home during the middle of the night to escape that lifestyle, went to live with an uncle who had also left the Amish church a few years before.  

Another one-room school house. There are over 300
of these schools in Lancaster County.

The reason she did so was to gain an education!  Wasn't an easy decision, but years later she knows she did the right thing.  And now this young girl, who now has earned a philosophy degree at Columbia University and lives in New York City, believes the Supreme Court decision is misguided and should be overturned.  Her name is Torah Bontrager and is the founder and director of The Amish Heritage Foundation which she began in 2018.  Her website says it is time to reclaim "our Amish story."  The organization is going to try and overturn Wisconsin v. Yoder that allows Amish parents to remove their children from school after the eighth grade.  On November 16 the organization will hold a conference in New York titled "Overturning WI v. Yoder: Making Education a Federal Right for All Children."  She hopes to find a plaintiff opposed to the ruling to initiate a court case that would eventually wind up before the Supreme Court and possibly lead to the ruling being overturned.  She is hoping that one person will be an Amish teenager who wants an education, such as she did years ago, but is being denied that education by his or her parents.  So why is she doing this?  

Two Amish men heading to the Supreme Court building in 1972 .

She claims the 1972 ruling does these three things: It violates a child's constitu- tional right to a quality education; It enables child abuse in the name of religious freedom; It fosters gender inequality.  Needless to say, The Amish church opposes her mission.  A church leader claims that about 99% of Amish people want to keep it the way it is now and don't need an education to be successful in life.  Being a doctor, lawyer or that kind of thing isn't part of The Amish tradition he said.  So an eighth grade education is all that is needed.  He also said that you can make the choice to leave the religion in your late teens, before being baptized and made a member of Amish faith.  But, Torah believes not having a high school education severely limits the decisions Amish children can make about their future.  If they decide at the age of 18 not to be a member of The Amish faith, they will find it hard to fiind an alternative route to a higher education.  She also said that the human brain is not fully developed in its decision-making capacity until the age of 26.  So, as a child finishing 8th grade, they are too immature to make that decision.  One woman, Rachel Martin, had a father who left The Amish faith as she had just graduated from eight grade.  He wanted her to go to high school while her mother didn't.  She left with her father and at first had a tough time, but realized later it was the right thing to do.  Why should children have to make such a choice?  If Amish are forced to keep their children in school until the end of high school, will it be a hindrance to their life?  I don't know.  Maybe, since they count on their children to help work the farm.  It's free labor.  One Amish leader said he never heard any child, after graduating from 8th grade, want to continue school.  He said people in the Amish community don't find it necessary to go past the 8th grade.  Torah disagrees and she knows what she is talking about, since she went through it.  And, she's hoping to convince the Supreme Court that all children, no matter what religion they may be, have the right to an education.  I guess we will see if she can overturn the 1972 Supreme Court decision.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Uncharted Lancaster" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Picked up the morning paper and there on the front page was a collage of nine small photographs in a square format.  Held it up so my wife could see it and she said, "Looks like someone enjoys the same things you do!"  Over half of the photographs displayed were about stories I have written about in the past ten years.  

Start of the story in the newspaper.

Story was titled "Uncharted Territory" and was about a fellow Tech Education teacher who creates scavenger hunts that explore county history.  That's actually a great idea.  Why didn't I think of that?  Teacher's name was Adam Zurn and as of now has about a half-dozen self-guided scavenger hunt-like experiences as well as many articles about local history.  For those that participate in one of his treasure hunts, he rewards them with items such as an ancient Aztec death whistle or maybe an Egyptian artifact or perhaps a gold coin.  And, how does he do that?  He uses a 3D printer, which he teaches about in his classroom, to produce duplicates of these rewards.  I can remember a few years ago when I went back to the school where I taught for almost 35 years and watched the tech ed. teacher show his class how to use the 3D printer that they had just purchased.  Not only where the student's fascinated, I was in awe of what I was seeing.  Since then I have visited and watched them make miniature race cars that they had designed on paper and transferred to a computer program and then made on the 3D printer.  Seems like Adam is using both his tech knowledge as well as his love of local history to create his adventures for anyone whom would like to try them.  He creates links to find the location of the Lancaster County historic spot that he has researched.  Once there, they are rewarded with a small token for their efforts in finding the place.  Adam sometimes makes 3D printed plastic cases to hold clues at some locations to keep his adventurers on the right path.  

The headless horseman

Well, I pulled up his website on my computer and read about the adventures.  At the end of the site was a place for comments.   I sent him a comment and before long we had sent a few emails back and forth.  Fellow much like myself in that we both taught the same subjects in school and we both have a love of Lancaster County history.  If you think you may enjoy a scavenger hunt in Lancaster County, pull up https://unchartedlancaster.com and see what Adam has to offer you.  I know I'm going to give it a try in the near future.  That "Headless Horseman' is intriguing.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "A Birthday Wish For A Friend And Artist" Story

Henderson Reece working on one of his batiks.

It was an ordinary day.  Just received an email from Henderson Reece who happened to have just celebrated his birthday.  Being that he is one of my Facebook friends I wished him a Happy Birthday as I do with all my friends.  He in return sent me a nice reply that read:  "Thanks for your support and your support for Bajan art."  I met Henderson over ten years ago when Carol and I, along with friends Jere and Sue, visited the island of Barbados for the first time.

Hendy stands in front of his studio and gallery in Barbados.

 While motoring around the island we came upon his art gallery and I was hooked on his work.  Henderson was born in St. Michael, Barbados, and is mostly self-taught with a dab of formal training at The Barbados Community College where he earned a G.C.E certificate in A' level Art.  

Henderson with the first batik we purchased from him.

Hendy, as many call him, began his art career in oil and watercolor, but for the past thirty odd years has been immersed in the Batik medium.  During our first visit to his studio and gallery Carol and I purchased a Batik print that we just loved.  The piece features two Caribbean homes amongst palms.  I got to watch him work on a few pieces he was in the midst of finishing and fell in love with the art of Bajan batik.  About the simplest definition I can give you about the art of batik is: A wax resist technique for producing designs on a white or light colored fabric.  Batik is used extensively in Indonesia, Java, China, Japan, central and Eastern Asia and Africa but not so much so in the United States.  The word "BATIK" relates to the word "TITIK" which is an Indonesian word for 'paint', 'dot', or 'drop'.  An important distinction is made between "TULIS" and "TJAP" Batik. "TJAP" describes batik where the wax is applied by a copper stamp called the Tjap while "TULIS" designates the type of batik where the Tjanting is used to apply wax to fabric.  Unlike the copper stamp the Tjanting allows the artist the freedom of drawing by hand producing a more personal, unique and expressive piece of work.  The Tjanting is a Javanese invention that is a small vessel made of thin copper with one or more capillary spouts and handle shaped from wood.  

The second of our batiks by Henderson.

The size of the spouts varies from vessel to vessel making drawing with the Tjanting a process which requires immense skill.  A video follows at the end of my story that will show you one of his workshops where he is teaching the art of batik.  Well, we loved the island of Barbados so much that the four of us eventually returned to the island.  And, once again we traveled to Hendy's gallery for a visit.  Just couldn't leave without another of his beautiful pieces; this one featuring simple bamboo shoots. They both are featured on the walls of our home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  

Batik by Tiffany Barrett.

A few years ago, while on a trip to Nassau in the Bahamas Carol and I purchased another smaller batik from a street vendor.  Tiffany Barrett, a native of the Bahamas, was introduced to batik at the age of 8 at St. Andrews School.  She was actually self-taught and seems to capture the kaleidoscope of colors reflected in her native Bahamian environment in her typically unique style.  

Tiffany Barrett

She refers to her batiks as "Tiffographs".  The print we purchased from her was titled "Dancing Triggers" and features two triggerfish interacting.  The print is not as complex as the two we have from Henderson, but still illustrates the art of batik.  I love all mediums in art as well as the art of photography, but my two favorites are the pair we purchased from Henderson Reece.  On our second visit Hendy asked if I could join him that evening for a drink at the local pub, but it was our final evening and we couldn't afford the time.  Perhaps if we ever return to his home I will have that chance to share a drink with him.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Antigua 2019: Favorites Photographs #2" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Featuring another 20 of my favorite photographs that I recently took on the Caribbean island of Antigua.  Many of my favorite frames were already used to illustrate the many stories I already shared with you.  From the remaining frames I chose 40 photographs and the 20 photographs today are the second half of those photographs.  If you missed the story yesterday, you can find it in the blogs index to the right of the stories.  Hope you enjoy the final photographs.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - Click on photos to enlarge.

The "Antigua 2019: Favorites Photographs #1" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Walking the beach with my Nikon D3400 camera with the CPL polarizing filter in place looking for some interesting photographs to take of my vacation to the Caribbean island of Antigua.  It seems I never am at a loss for subject matter and it's only how well I compose my photograph as to whether I am going to enjoy it.  I try and put to use all the guidelines I taught my photography classes in high school such as rule of thirds and panning.  I must have taken close to 3,000 frames which I used to illustrate some of my stories I have written about the island, but have then taken the remainder and chosen 40 frames.  Today I will post half of them and post the other half tomorrow.  Gives you a chance to take them in a bit better than to put them all in front of you at one time.  Any of the photos you may enjoy you are more than welcome to use for yourself.  I hope you can find at least one a day that you like.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - Click to enlarge photographs.