The "So, What's Your Favorite Crayola Color?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Looking at the colorful Crayola crayon canvas that hags on the wall in my office that was made for me by my oldest grandchild, Courtney.  She made it for me in 2013 when she was eleven years old.  

This artwork is by Courtney Mencarini and given to her Tampah in 2013.

 Pretty neat, and the colors brighten the room, even on a dreary day.  And...we've had our share of those lately.  She used 35 crayons glued to the top of the canvas and warmed with a heat gun until they melted and the colored wax ran down the canvas.  I began to read the names of the colors and realized that some of them don't exist anymore.  But, before I tell you which colors do not exist anymore, I should give you some background on the Crayola Crayon factory that is about 50 miles to the east of my home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  It was in 1903 that Crayola released its very first box of colored crayons.  There were only eight colors in the box: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, brown and black.  Since that day in 1903, they have released more than 120 different colors including colors named periwinkle, denim and Caribbean green (one of my favorites).  But during that time, they not only added colors, they discarded some of them also.  One of the colors that has been deleted has an unusual background behind it.  

The very first color: Prussian blue

The color Prussian blue was actually invented in 1704 by a chemist in Berlin, Germany.  The color was so popular that it lasted longer than the empire for which it was named.  The Kingdom of Prussia was dissolved in 1918 after World War I, but Crayola added it to their lineup in 1946.  But, it only survived 12 years when they changed the name to "midnight blue" because of complaints that the name wasn't "Cold War sensitive."  In 1958 they also added "Indian red", but once again that caused a stir due to its racial connotation, and that was dropped finally in 1999 and renamed "chestnut".   In the 1960s, when the United States was at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Crayola renamed its flesh crayon to "peach."  Then in 1990 the company decided to permanently retire eight colors that no longer appear in boxes of Crayola crayons.  Those dropped were: Maize, Lemon yellow, Blue gray, Raw under, Green blue, Orange red, and Orange yellow, and Violet blue.  To replace them they added these new colors:  Vivid tangerine, Jungle green, Cerulean, Fuchsia, Dandelion, Teal blue, Royal purple, and Wild strawberry.  

All these colors were eliminated in 1990 at a mass retirement party.

Then, after a century of business, Crayola decided to get rid of five more colors which included: Blizzard blue, Magic mint, Mulberry, Teal blue, and Burnt Sienna. In 2017 Crayola shocked the world when they said, while on a retirement tour across the USA, they were going to retire the color Dandelion, or Dan. D as they called the animated crayon character.  To replace Dan D., Crayola asked their fans to name a new crayon color and they came up with "Bluetiful."  So, do you have a box of Crayola crayons in one of your drawers in you home or apartment?  Why not?  They were invented by cousins Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith in 1903 and a box of 8 sold for a nickel.  Colors were black, brown, blue, red, purple, orange, yellow and green. Crayola got its name from the French words for chalk (crane) and oily (oleaginous).  Today Crayola makes over 100 different types of crayons including crayons that sparkle with glitter, glow in the dark, smell like flowers, change colors and wash off walls and other surfaces.  So, if you have some time to spare and want to try something different, buy an empty white canvas and glue your crayons across the top, heat them and watch them melt across your canvas.  You might be the world's next best artist.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Finding A Home For My Guillotine Papercutter" Story

Letterpress printing stands along North Queen Street.

It was an ordinary day.  Parked the car in the parking garage and headed to the 300 block of North Queen Street in the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania to visit the 7th Annual Lancaster Printer's Fair.  The fair is meant to bring to life the art of letterpress printing which has a long and storied history in Lancaster.  Ben Franklin and his partner James Chattin founded the New Printing Office in Lancaster in 1751.  Franklin moved back to Philadelphia a short time after, but the office remained open and was the start in 1754 of a successful run under William Dunlap.  One of the main reasons I decided to go to the fair was to visit the .918 Club and the Heritage Press Museum which is in the 300 block of North Queen Street.  

Items needed to print on the letter press are:  metal frame
called a chase, hand-set type in the center of the chase,
wooden blocks called furniture around the type and held in
place with metal pieces called quoins.  Also can be seen are:
key (left center) to turn the quoins and a metal job stick with
hand-set metal type in it. (top center)

The Museum was founded in 2004 and attracts tourists from all over the world.  While there you can participate in a live printing operation and see how letterpress printing took place long ago.  I entered the Museum and instantly recognized the smell of printer's ink.  Some of you may recall that I have written many times about teaching high school graphic arts, or printing, for over 30 years.  When I first began teaching my shop had two full sized hand-operated platen presses and a few table-top platen presses.  My students would have to set type by hand, place the set type in a square metal frame called a chase and lock it in place using different sizes of wood called furniture by using metal locking devices called quoins.

Mike operates the letterpress.

That all was done of a metal "stone" call the composing stone.   The chase would then be placed in the inked press and paper would be hand-fed, one piece at a time.  The hands-on experience was a remarkable way to teach the art of typesetting and printing to high school students.  And...they loved it!  Eventually letterpress began to wain when offset printing became popular.  The two floor model letterpresses were eventually given to the museum after it opened in 2004.  Wasn't long before I found my way to the area where the presses and composing stone was located and I found Mike talking to a visitor of the museum.  After helping him print a few items, he turned his attention to me.  A big smile told me he remembered me from the past.  Mike taught Graphic Arts in York, Pennsylvania about the same time I was teaching at Manheim Township High School.  

The guillotine paper cutter I will
donate to the .918 club in the future.

We talked about the equipment they had and I then offered to donate my guillotine paper cutter when I no longer need it.  I still do the in-house printing for the school district and still need the cutter which sits in my garage.  Why it's in my garage is a story for another time.  Mike found Ken, another Graphic Arts teacher from Octorara High School and I told them about the cutter and they both agreed they would be glad to come and get it when I was ready to give it up.  I often thought about joining them someday and use my knowledge of letterpress printing once again to tell how "it used to be way back then."  When I returned home I looked at both of the guy's business cards they handed me and thought how neat it would be to be a "Master Printer & Printer in Residence."  Maybe sometime soon?  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS.  If you are wondering what .918 means, it is the height of a piece of type from the face of the letter to the bottom on the piece of type in inches.

Outside the Museum in Lancaster, PA

This year's program booklet for the Printer's Fair.

The "Gunzenhauser Bakery: Part II: From Bread To The Arts" Story

April Koppenhaver as seen on her business card.

It was an ordinary day.  April Koppenhaver is standing with me in one of the many rooms of Mulberry Art Studios at 19-21 N. Mulberry Street in downtown Lancaster, PA.  We are talking about days past when she first opened her gallery and art studio in the old Gunzenhauser Bakery building on Mulberry Street.  On Wednesday, March 30, 1988 there was a photo of her in the Lancaster New Era standing in front of a city warehouse that she hoped to convert into an art center.  She was hoping to convert the warehouse at 19 N. Mulberry St. into studios and gallery space for about 48 artists.  The warehouse was at one time home to the Gunzenhauser Bakery and later Harold's Furniture warehouse.  

Newspaper photo showing April in
front of 19 N. Mulberry Street.

It was in need of new heating, electrical wiring, plumbing and security system before she could open it to the public.  She had figured it would cost close to $600,000 for the repairs and she was hoping for investors to assist her.  She was preparing for a mixture of artists if and when she could open the studio.  There was about 18,000 square feet of space that would be dedicated for the arts.  The 16 foot high ceilings and hardwood floors made for an ideal art center.  She chose Lancaster for her project or vision since it has an abundance of talented artists as well as residents who love the arts.  Her vision eventually came to fruition and for years was home of the Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards.  I helped with the judging and setting up of the Scholastic Arts show for many years when I was teaching Graphic Arts and Photography Arts at Manheim Township High School.  

19-21 N. Mulberry St. as seen today.

I remem- bered the kind woman who would help in any way she could to make the show a top notch draw for the students in Lancaster County.  That happens to be the same woman whom I am standing next to today.  The Mulberry Art Studios has come a long way from what it was in 1988.  It now is not only a top-notch place to display artwork, but a beautiful and unique environment for weddings and like events.  

Mulberry Art Studio's new plaque.

April showed me a plaque that she had just received  for the Award of Achievement from the Lancaster City Alliance marking her 30th Anniversary for Mulberry Art Studios.   The building we are standing in has also come a long way over the past century.  To celebrate that event there is a display of Gunzenhauser Bakery memorability in one of the galleries of Mulberry Art Studios.  My day was a success getting to meet April once again as well as catching up on past history of the city of Lancaster.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Heart Of Lancaster County" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Walking the grounds of Roots Country Market and Auction looking at some of the neatest and most original pieces of artwork.  I wrote a story last year about this same time after my first visit to the show which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.  Not quite sure why I had never taken the time to visit before last year, but after that experience I decided not to miss another one.   Since the show began in 1987 it has climbed in the rankings in the United States.  It has been recently voted in the TOP 20 Best Shows in the Country for traditional work by the Sunshine Artist magazine.  There are 200 juried artisans from across the country showing their artwork today as well as 25 food vendors throughout the show.  

Bagpipers stroll past the many artist's
tents to lend their music to the atmosphere.

Carol and I took our weekend guests, daughter Brynn and granddaughters Courtney and Camille, to see the show also hoping that one of them might find something interesting that we could purchase for a Christmas gift for them.  Parking was tight, but we managed to find a space close to the exhibits.  Began our walk and instantly the smell of food caught everyone.  Carol and I resisted the temptation while the others had to have a snack before walking.  I would like to feature a few of the artisans today to give you a very basic idea as to what could be found in this amazing show.  Follow along on my journey through Roots as I looked, talked and photographed my way through the show.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Susan works on her traditional paintings.

My first photo stop was at a stand featuring decorative painting by Susan Quinn.  What caught my eye as she worked in front of me was the size of the brush she was using.  The brush was stamped 18/0 and was the smallest width she had.  Couldn't have had more than a few bristles to it.  The minutely thin lines she was achieving were remarkable.  She was putting stems on holly leaves as I watched her do her magic.  Her story is much like mine in that she attended Millersville State Teacher's College in Lancaster County, became a teacher/school librarian and ended up following a life long interest in art.  All her painting is done in acrylic and is nontoxic with her first love being traditional patterns.  Recent trips led her to Europe where she loved the traditional painting done in the Black Forrest of German as well as the Alsace region of France.  Just so happens that these two areas are the birthplace for the Pennsylvania Dutch decoration she now creates.  She lives and has a studio in nearby Manheim, Pennsylvania.

Bob works on his pen and ink drawings while customers brouse.

At the end of one of the rows of artists was a gentleman I enjoyed from last year whose name was Bob Weaver whose display is called "Art Attack."  I just love watching him in action as he draws with pen and ink.  Bob graduated from Edinboro University with a degree in Art Education and taught at Yough High School for 37 years.  He coached wrestling, cross-country and track and field, thus the interest in sports in many of his pen and ink drawings.  His favorite medium is naturally pen and ink, but he also enjoys acrylic painting as well as watercolor.  Since retiring from teaching he has been able to spend more time with his passion of art.  I enjoyed one of his pieces and purchased it as a gift for my son-in-law as a Christmas gift.  It will not be featured here since I don't want to spoil my surprise at Christmas.

Dan using his scroll saw.

My final stop today was at another artist's stand who was demonstrating his talent on a scroll saw.  His work is titled "Scrolling It Out Woodwork."  Dan Shultz has been scrolling since the age of 10 when his grandfather gave him his first scroll saw as a birthday gift which Dan used to make Pacman necklaces.  He now produces ornaments, puzzles, nativity scenes, pictures and keychains.  What he produces is all done by hand without the use of laser cutters or computers.   The detail is remarkable and each piece is handmade using Dan's scroll saw.  His hands fly as he cuts piece after piece right in front of us.  He does attach a few pieces of wood together so when he cuts one, he will get perhaps three from the same cutting.  It take an average of 10-15 minutes to cut a typical Christmas tree ornament.  This demonstration caught the attention of many passersby as well as myself and my grandchildren who stood and watch him work.  Camille was so impressed that she talked her mom into an ornament of her name for the family Christmas tree.

One of Dan's many racks of personalized icicle ornaments.

My wife's name is featured amongst these ornaments.

    

The "Emerging Artist Gallery Show In Lancaster County, PA" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Standing in the upstairs gallery of Grebinger Gallery in Neffsville, Pennsylvania where I work part-time matting and framing artwork.  My boss and former high school student, Keith, told me that he was going to have an open house for Emily Buckwalter so she could display her artwork and hopefully begin a career in the arts.  He was showing me a few pieces of Emily's artwork and I thought it would be interesting to write about this young artist so you too could see what she has accomplished in her life to date.  

Emily Buckwalter standing with a few of her art pieces.

She graduated a few months ago from Messiah College and will be teaching Spanish in the Middle School in a few days.  I'm sure she will be a successful teacher, but it seems that her calling in life may be in the field of art.  In a small article I read she tells of spending time at her grandparents' Lancaster farm with her many cousins camping out on the back porch every summer.  While in Middle School, her grandpa took her to his wood shop and showed her how to turn dry gourds into a basket.  He then showed her how to burn designs into the outer covering of the gourd.  With a burning tool in hand she began to realize her passion for art.  In high school she learned to work in two dimensional media and the art display in the gallery I am standing in is the result of those many years of work.  The show features oil paintings, two-dimensional multi-media work, wood burning art and gourd bowls and baskets.  Emily grows her own gourds, lets them dry over the winter on the vine and then carves and burns them.  Check out some of her work and if interested, make a visit to Grebinger Gallery at 2618 Lititz Pike in Neffsville, PA which is a small town to the north of the city of Lancaster.  You can also call the Gallery at 717-569-9335 to make an appointment to see Emily's work.  I have photographed a few of her pieces to share with you.  I'm sure you will enjoy them as much as I did.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Oil titled Autumn Birch

Original wood burning on gourd titled Snowman

Original wood burning on gourd titled Aztec

Original wood burning on gourd titled Butterfly Duo

Original wood burning on gourd titled Aztec design

Original oil titled Solitude

Original acrylic titled Evening Still Life

Original wood burning on gourd titled Mountain design

Original acrylic titled Psalm Tree

Original oil titled Wine and Grapes

The "LDub Makes It Big" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Worked the morning at Grebinger Gallery in Neffsville, Pennsylvania matting and framing about half a dozen different jobs.  One was a very large diploma job that featured a customer's Master's and undergraduate degrees as well as a photo of the college where he went and a circular logo taken off one of the diploma cases.  Job was 38 inches tall and 16 inches wide and featured a red fabric mat with a gold second mat.  Probably the neatest diploma job I have done in the 18 years that I have worked part-time at the gallery.  Also had to stretch a 38"x38" oil canvas on stretcher bars and frame the result.  The list goes on and on, but I never tire of my job since every one is different and provides me with a new challenge every time I pick up a work sheet given to me by Keith, owner of the gallery and a former student of mine from high school.  If you have been a follower of my blog, you have seen some of my favorites in the past, but it consisted of me taking photos of the jobs as I was working on them.  Today I was reading my emails when I happened to click on a link and up popped a video on You-Tube.  Took me a couple of seconds to realize I was looking at myself about to talk about framing an historical document so you could view both sides of the document.  Naturally had to click on the arrow and watch myself tell how I went about framing the job.  For those of you who have never seen the video before, which I'm sure will include about 99% of my readers today, click on the link below and watch me do what I enjoy doing during my retirement years.  Fascinating what people bring to the gallery to have framed.  Each one produces a challenge and tests my skills in my new profession as a professional framer.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Let The Band Play On! - Part I" Story

Beautiful Shupp's Grove in Reinholds, PA

It was an ordinary day.  Walking the perimeter of Shupp's Grove in Reinholds, Pennsyl- vania, listening to the music coming from the many carousel organs that line the grounds.  The multi-acre, wooded area is a beautiful outdoor antiques and collectibles market which is known as "The Picker's market where REAL DEALS still happen.  Yesterday I wrote about the hand-cranked organs while today I will give you a glimpse at the very large carousel organs that once provided music for many of the carousel rides throughout the United States.  

Sign along the road to Shupp's

The organs at Shupp's Grove today belong to members of the Carousel Organ Association of America.  The elaborately carved and embellished instruments on display today imitate an entire marching band from horns to drums to cymbals.  I was amazed at the beauty of the organs as well as the electronics that are part of today's carousel organs. When I first entered the main gate at Shupp's I encountered my first carousel organ which belonged to a gentleman by the name of John Ravert.  As I was admiring his bright red trailer with his carousel organ visible inside it, he stepped next to me and began a conversation.  

John can be seen in his carousel organ

John is from Watsontown, Pennsylvania and this is his first visit to Lancaster County.  The Dewitte organ that he is exhibiting is one of two that were built in London, England in 1989 by John Paige and Judith Howard. It is based on a ninety key Carl Frei scale and has three hundred and thirty-seven pipes as well as eight bass pipes that have just recently been added.  The melody division contains twenty-three notes with two ranks of bourdon pipes, two ranks of violin pipes, two ranks of celeste pipes and one rank of piccolo pipes and tremulant.  Now, as you might have assumed, I copied this information from a paper John gave to me and it really means nothing to me, yet he did point out all the different pipes to me on the instrument.  He also told me that the word "DeWitte" means "The White One."  Easy to see due to the color of his street, or carousel, organ.  John has spent many hours with restoration and renovation of the DeWitte, and it shows.  Just a beautiful instrument that sounds as if I was riding the carousel on the boardwalk in Ocean City.  After half an hour, I thanked John for his time and headed to my nest carousel organ.  

Mr. and Mrs. Burl F. Updyke stand in front of their carousel organ

This one belonged to Mr. Burl F. Updyke.  I found Burl sitting about ten yards in front of it watching all the people admire his handiwork.  I say that, since Burl built this magnificent piece of musical machinery 19 years ago.  It is what is known as a Wurlitzer 105 and it is obvious that he takes great pride in his handiwork.  He was kind enough to show me his notebook filled with page after page of documentation as to the construction of the carousel organ.  He has shown the carousel organ up and down the east coast.  The sound of this instrument was amazing with a magnitude of instruments being played to the carousel melodies that he has picked.  Burl and his wife show the carousel organ in fairs, festivals, parades and events such as today.  Burl and his wife were kind enough to pose for me next to his organ.  You know, you meet the greatest people at events such as this and I have stopped at two instruments and have already been blessed with "welcomes" and conversation from both show participants. I checked my watch and found I needed to look more and talk less if I was to return home for my evening meal.  So, the next couple of carousel organs that I viewed will be shown to you by photographs instead of part of my story.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - Follow my story tomorrow to get a look at the many crank organs that were also part of the display.

The DeWitte carousel organ.  

A good look at the workings of a carousel organ.  Interesting to watch it while it is playing.

This is a Stinson Carousel Organ. 

As you can see, the above organ is owned by Ed and Bernice Evarts from New York.

A closer view of a miniature carousel that is part of the larger organ.

The carousel organ made and owned by Burl F. Updyke and his wife.

The band director can be seen in this photograph. 

A page from Burl's scrapbook showing the carving of the head of the band director.

The internal workings of the band director.

This circuit board which runs the band director is dated 2010.

Another photo shows the many electro magnets that control the musical part of the carousel organ.

This is a Johnson Style 157 Band Organ that sports 54 keys.  It too is a Wurlitzer style 150.

On the side door of the trailer that holds the carousel organ is a display of the many places the owner has traveled with his carousel organ.

This shows the music score that is used in the organ.

"The Dutch Canadian" is the name of this carousel organ.

The artistry and ornamentation of this carousel organ was perhaps the best in the display today.

Another Wurlitzer Military Band Organ, Style No. 164.  The organ was built in 1928 by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. of North Tonawanda, NY.  Only three of this model were ever built and this is the last one known to exist.

The horns are seen under the name of the organ, "The General". 

Uncle Sam can be seen in this photograph.  He serves as the band master for the carousel organ.