The "If Only Walls Could Talk: Part I" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Standing with my shopping cart in Stauffer's Grocery Store with my wife Carol and a former co-worker at Manheim Township High School, Carolyn.  Talking about old acquaintances when I asked Carolyn if she still volunteers at her church, Lititz Moravian in the small town of Lititz, Pennsylvania.  

The Lititz Moravian Church circle with the Brothers House on the right side of the Church which is the building with the steeple.  The Brothers House was built in 1759 as was the Sisters House on the other side of the Church.

After getting an affirmative answer I asked if she could help me with a visit to the church's Brother's House to see where the Revolutionary War hospital was housed in 1777 to 1778.  Two days later I was following Carolyn's nephew Josh through the door of the Brother's House and back into history.  

The Brothers House is pictured on the right with the main
Church to the left.  The Steeple can be seen above it.

Lititz was founded by members of the Moravian Church in 1756.  For a century only Moravians were permitted to live in Lititz, but in 1855 the practice was abolished and others could move to the small town to the north of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Today, the Lititz Moravian Church is the centerpiece of the town's historic district.  Their beautiful church is flanked by the 1759 Single Sisters House and the 1759 Single Brothers House, now known as the Brethren's House.

The front door of the Brothers House with plaques on both sides.

 It was in this house that General George Washington established a Military Hospital on December 19, 1777 to August 28, 1778.  The Brethren had to vacate the house and find living quarters elsewhere during those eight months that the building housed wounded and dying soldiers.  A total of about five hundred to a thousand sick and wounded soldiers were cared for within the walls of this beautiful building.  

Preparing to head up the stairs to the first floor of what
was the Military Hospital during the Revolutionary War.  

At times the building was so crowded that all the floors of the building, as well as the hallways, were filled with the wounded soldiers who had fought on military battlefields such as Valley Forge and Brandywine as well as Trenton and Princeton.  The house was constantly prone to unsanitary conditions which lead to the death of many of the men who laid on beds or cots in the Brother's House.  

Part of the second floor of the building has
the original foot-wide unfinished planks which
bear the stains of many wounded soldiers.

There were two military doctors in charge of the staff of five, but at times all were ill which required the local Lititz physician, Dr. Adolp Meyer, to lend a hand.  110 of the wounded soldiers died during those 8 months and were allegedly buried in a mass grave in a nearby cemetery a few blocks to the east of the hospital.  Josh told me that a few did make their way through the arched entrance into the Moravian God's Acre Cemetery which can be seen from the windows of the Brothers House.  Many of the deaths were attributed to "camp fever" which, in spite of precautions, spread to the town of Lititz where 6 townspeople died.  This all occurred during both winter and summer months and the house lacked both heat and air-conditioning, which I'm sure made for unbearable conditions for both the wounded and staff.   Lighting was with candles or kerosene lamps.  

Many areas of the walls show the bare wood lath with holes
in the plaster.  You can easily see the composition of the
plaster with lime, sand and animal hair exposed to view.

At one point the amount of wounded was so great that it was said the town may have to be evacuated to make room for all the wounded.  Luckily, that never happened.  As I followed Josh throughout the house I could almost feel the pain and suffering that must have been part of everyday life for eight months.  The walls of the second floor, and to an extent the walls of the third floor, carry the names and initials of many of those who called this place home for a short period of their life.  

The wooden parts of the walls and windows
are covered with initials of past patients
of the hospital.  Just amazing history!

As I followed Josh, we rounded corners in the building and up flights of stairs as light grew eerie and I felt as if someone was following behind.  Their are a lot of tales of hearing stange noises and voices while roaming the house and I, at times, felt the same.  As I stood with my camera taking photos I swore I could hear the screams of those soldiers who were about to die.  And, although my camera was on autofocus, a few of the photos have a blurry look to them, almost as if someone didn't want me to take a photograph of what I was seeing.  I hope my photos can share the horror, as well as healing, that took place during the time in history when we gained our independence.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The third floor has doors that are no more than 6 feet high.

The stairwells are narrow with sharp turns and poorly lit.  I can't imagine having to carry wounded soldiers up and down these stairwells.

Many of the hinges are like this one.  Handmade by skilled craftsmen.

I found this small lantern on a windowsill.  More than likely used for illuminating the hospital at night.

Another lantern that may have been hung on the wall for illumination.

On the second floor I found four very old wheelchairs that were wicker.  The rubber on the wheels is missing on most.

The monument at the nearby cemetery in honor of those soldiers who died while at the hospital.

This historical sign tells of the soldiers at the cemetery.  Click on photo to enlarge.

This plaque, which is next to the front door of the Brothers House, tells that the location was the first pharmacy in the United States.

On the other side of the door is this plaque telling the history of the building.

Another wheelchair sitting in front of a wall with wallpaper that may have been placed there sometime before or after the Revolutionary War.

The "My Never Ending Search: The History Of Lancaster" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Walking along Buchanan Ave. looking for the Abraham de Peyster statue that I had never seen before.  I have walked Buchanan Ave. as well as nearby Race Ave. many times during my lifetime, but never remember seeing the statue that was featured in a story in our local newspaper.  

Abraham de Peyster

Buchanan Park borders Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA to the west and holds many other statues which my grandson, Caden, and I have viewed in the past several years.  A statue of famous boxer Leo Hauck can be found near another statue of James Sheckard, a former Baltimore Orioles player.  There is also a large monument that tells the tale of those from Lancaster who were in the Spanish-American War as well as another large statue of Lancaster's only President of the United States, James Buchanan.  After reading the newspaper story about having to move the statue of Mr. de Peyster to accommodate a new building on the campus, I figured I could find the de Peyster statue in no time.  Wasn't long before I saw it.  It was fenced in and near Franklin & Marshall's North Museum.  I asked a worker if I could step inside the fence to take a photo and he motioned to me to step inside the fence.  How I could have missed this statue is a mystery, since it is rather large with a beautiful patina covering the bronze likeness of Abraham de Peyster.  So who is this guy and why is there a statue in the park to commemorate him?  Naturally had to Google him and found he was the 20th Mayor of New York City and later served as Governor of New York from 1700 to 1701.  He was born in New Amsterdam in 1657 and was the brother of Johannes de Peyster who also served as Mayor of New York.  During Abraham's years of service he began a program that provided public support to the poor of the city.  During his lifetime he also served as an alderman, Associate Judge and then later Chief Justice as well as Treasurer for New York and New Jersey provinces.  He was also a Colonel in the militia.   He married his second cousin, Catharina de Peyster in 1684 and had three children.  Pretty neat for a young lady to get married and not have to change her name!  In 1695 he erected a mansion which was at one time the headquarters of George Washington.  It was demolished in 1856.  In 1699 he donated some of his property for the construction of a new city hall which was later named Federal Hall and served as the first capitol of the United States as well as the site of the first inauguration of George Washington as President.  

Statue of Abraham de Peyster that is
standing at Franklin & Marshall College.

In 1728 he commissioned the creation of a bell to be placed in the Middle Dutch Church which was cast in Amsterdam in 1731.  The bell is known today as the "Liberty Bell" and is located at the Middle Collegiate Church.  His three-time great grandson John Watts de Peyster commissioned a statue of his grandfather in the late 19th century.  It was sculpted by George Bissell and placed in Bowling Green Park in Manhattan in the late 1890s.  It was moved to make way for the subway in 1972 and placed in Hanover Square.  It eventually was placed in a warehouse until 2013 when it was restored and placed in Thomas Paine Park near the Supreme Court building.  Abraham de Peyster donated both books and money for a new library at Franklin & Marshall College so his grandson had a duplicate statue cast to be placed at F&M to honor him.  That statue is the one I took a photo of for my story today.  Seems I learn more of the history of Lancaster County every day.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

Closeup of the statue showing the beautiful patina that covers the statue.

 

The "Jolly Old Dr. McCaskey" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading about the Christmas song "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas".  It was in December of 1865 that a poem titled "Lilly's Secret", written by Emily Huntington Miller, was published in The Little Corporal Magazine.  The song's lyrics were attributed to Benjamin Hanby who wrote a similar song in the 1860s titled "Up on the Housetop".  As I read on I found that the music for "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" has been attributed to John Piersol McCaskey who was Lancaster's Mayor as well as the Principal at Lancaster Boys High School.  Seems that Mr. McCaskey also had claimed to have written the song and lyrics in 1867.  So what gives?  Was it Mr. Hanby or Mr. McCaskey?  Mr. McCaskey was said to have proved his point since the "Johnny" mentioned in the song, who wants a pair of skates, is his late son John who died as a child.  The "Susy" who wants a dolly was the niece of McCaskey's longtime secretary, Miss Lizzie McVey and the "Nelly" who wants a story book because "she thinks dolls are folly!" was the wife of Mr. McCaskey's brother, Col. William Spencer McCaskey.  

John Piersol McCaskey

Now, some background information might help you understand this entire situation.  On May 3, 1938, the new John Piersol McCaskey High School was dedicated in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. My father graduated mid-1937, so he just missed the chance to be part of a brand new beautiful school.  But, who was the man for whom the school was named and who has been proclaimed the author and writer of "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" by the Library of Congress who they claim holds the copyright to the song.  J.P. McCaskey was born October 9, 1837 and loved music.  His mother was his musical inspiration.  The family moved to Lancaster in 1849 and John graduated from Boys High School in 1855.  Before long he was a teacher at the same school from which he graduated.  

This etching resembles a photograph made
of Mr. McCaskey  in 1907 on his 70th birthday.

He met and fell in love with Miss Ellen Chase, a young teacher who taught in a classroom near his.  The love affair didn't last long since she moved to her hometown of Bath, N.Y. to take a teaching job.  Wasn't long before John couldn't take it and proposed to her via hand-written letter.  They were married in 1860 and two mules pulled their canal boat to Albany, N.Y for a honeymoon.  Five years later he was principal of Lancaster Boys High where he stayed until retiring in 1906.  He was known as a strict disciplinarian and if a boy misbehaved, he would instruct another student to hit their hand with a ruler.  He never felt justified in striking the student himself.  Upon graduation every boy got a photograph of Principal McCaskey with the inscription: "The best of men that ever wore earth about him was a patient sufferer, a soft, meek tranquil Spirit, the first true gentleman that ever breathed."  He not only taught, but was a lover of music and lectures.  

One of my altered Polaroids taken a few years ago.
This is J.P. McCaskey High School in Lancaster, PA

He also was the co-editor of the Pennsylvania School Journal from 1866 to 1921.  He published several books of songs with "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" being in his 1867 songbook.  He was an avid learner and graduated from Franklin & Marshall College as well as being awarded a Doctor of Philosophy from the school in 1887.  Mr. McCaskey's great grandson, Patrick,  once wrote of his great grandfather as saying:  "My university has been the book, the newspaper, the play, the concert, the opera, the lecture, the sermon, the church, the world of nature, the world of art, the printing office, the dictionary, the cyclopedia, the poem, the restraining influence of the school and the blessed association of friends."  

The plaque that is on the wall at St. James Episcopal Chruch.

I still can remember many times sitting in St. James Episcopal Church in downtown Lancaster, PA and looking over my shoulder to the left to read the really neat plaque that graced the wall of the church that told of his accomplishments both in the public sector as well as in the church.  One of the greatest church accomplishments that he held was being a Vestryman of the church for 68 years.  My four years as a Vestryman seem so minor when compared to Mr. McCaskey.  Dr. John Piersol McCaskey died September 19, 1937 at the age of 97, just a few months away from the opening of the school that bears his name.  And, just in case you may never have heard of the American Christmas song, Jolly Old St. Nicholas, here are the lyrics to the song he composed and wrote the lyrics for:   

Jolly old St. Nicholas,

Lean your ear this way.

Don't you tell a single soul

What I'm going to say.

Christmas Eve is coming soon.

Now, you dear old man,

Whisper what you'll bring to me.

Tell me if you can.

When the clock is striking twelve,

When I'm fast asleep,

Down the chimney broad and black

With your pack you'll creep;

All the stockings you will find

Hanging in a row;

Mine will be the shortest one;

You'll be sure to know.

Johnny wants a pair of skates;

Susy wants a dolly

Nellie wants a story book,

She thinks dolls are folly

As for me, my little brain

Isn't very bright;

Choose for me, dear Santa Claus,

What you think is right.

His Christmas song will live on in history as one of the favorites of many children.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

  

The "The Story of Rev. William Augustus Muhlenberg: Preacher, Teacher, Community Leader & Romanticist - Part II" Story

St. James Episcopal Churchyard in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

It was an ordinary day.  Standing in the historical St. James Episcopal Churchyard in Lancaster, Pennsyl- vania that holds the remains of many famous citizens of our country, The United States of America.  Along the west side of the churchyard stands a row of seven above-ground stone vaults or tombs that carry inscriptions telling of those who are buried in them.  They were all members of the wealthy Coleman family.  

The vaults that hold the remains of
Coleman family members.

Mr. Robert Coleman was a millionaire iron master who at one time was a member of the General Assembly, a Judge of the Lancaster Court of Common Pleas, a trustee of Franklin College, spearheaded the building of St. James Episcopal Church, was a church Vestryman and had two beautiful daughters, Ann and Sarah.  Well the oldest daughter, Ann, fell in love with James Buchanan, Lancaster lawyer and eventual President of the United States.  They eventually became engaged, but Buchanan and Robert Coleman didn't get along and Mr. Coleman convinced his daughter that her beau was disloyal.  All fake news!  She broke off the engagement and traveled to Philadelphia to get away from Lancaster and all the turmoil.  While there she died of a suspected overdose of laudanum at the age of 24.  Mr. Coleman was so upset with James that he forbade him from coming to the funeral at St. James.  

James Buchanan was so grief-stricken that he ended up being the only bachelor President our country ever had.  Well, Rev. Muhlenberg, the co-rector of St. James from 1820-1826 and the title character in my story today, was an important minister and educator at St. James Episcopal Church, who happened to fancy the younger daughter of Mr. Coleman.  You know this just isn't going to work out well...right!  Rev Muhlenberg decided he wanted to hold an evening service which got Mr. Coleman mad, since he was on the Vestry and didn't want the evening service.  Why, I could never figure since it would draw more people to the church who would contribute more to the church.  The two men didn't see eye to eye and eventually he refused to allow Rev. Muhlenberg from entering his home to see his daughter.  The Rev. knew he would more than likely lose the love of his life, but he cherished his principles more.  He wrote in his dairy: "But for no earthly consideration whatever, not even the attainment of the dear object of my heart will I sacrifice what I believe to be the interests of my church.  O lord, help me!"  Not long after, Robert Coleman died, but his son, Edward, continued the fight to keep his sister from seeing Rev. Muhlenberg.  

The burial vault of Sarah Hand Coleman. Click to enlarge.

Finally, the object of Rev. Muhlen- berg's heart died at the age of 23 in a similar manner in the city of Phila- delphia.  The sisters are buried in the Coleman plot in the Churchyard.  After her death, the Rev. visited Sarah's grave and always walked away with a spray of sweetbrier that grew there.  The Coleman family convinced Rev. Muhlenberg to leave and offered him $5,000 to do so.  In the summer of 1826 he resigned.  

Late photograph of the Rev.
William Augustus Muhlenberg.

What was a victory for the Coleman family was a great loss for St. James as well as the town of Lancaster.  Muhlenberg moved to New York where he eventually established St. Paul's College in Flushing, NY, and St. Johnland which was a facility for homeless children and the elderly in Long Island, NY.  The later still serves senior citizens.  One more thing that Rev. Muhlenberg was known for was his love of music.  After President Lincoln proclaimed the first official Thanksgiving, Rev. Muhlenberg composed "The Thanksgiving Hymn.  He also wrote and published several other hymns as well as a hymnal during his lifetime.   He too died a bachelor at the age of 80 in 1877.  I guess love doesn't conquer all as it says in 1 Corinthians 13!!  Muhlenberg is now honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the U.S. Episcopal Church on April 8, the day he died.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The "The Story of Rev. William Augustus Muhlenberg: Preacher, Teacher, Community Leader & Romanticist - Part I" Story

Plaque that hangs on the south wall of St. James Episcopal
Church in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

It was an ordinary day.  Standing in St. James Episcopal Church in historical Lancaster, Pennsyl- vania taking a photograph of the marble plaque placed in the church to honor one of it's most famous and interesting ministers, Reverend William Augustus Muhlenberg.  He's the kind of minister that was probably courteous, interesting and welcoming to all who walked into St. James.  He filled the line in history as the 7th pastor of St. James.  His story is filled with accomplishments that boggles the mind of even the most learned person.  

Rev. William Augustus Muhlenberg

W.A. Muhlenberg was born September 16, 1796, the great-grandson of Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg who was known as the father of Lutheranism in America and the grandson of Frederick Muhlenberg, a member of the First and Second Continental Congresses and Speaker of the House of Representatives.   He and his sister were left fatherless at an early age so they lived with their grandmother in Philadelphia.  He attended the Philadelphia Academy and studied under Episcopal clergymen.  He and his sister then attended Christ Church in Philadelphia.  He graduated 3rd in his class from the University of Pennsylvania at the age of 18 and three years later was ordained by Bishop White who also admitted him to the priesthood on October 22, 1820 when he became the co-rector of St. James.  At the time church services were held only one Sunday a month and on Rev. Muhlenberg's first Christmas as a rector, only 150 people worshiped at St. James.  

1844 painting of the original St. James Episcopal Church.

At the time he wrote, "The apathy on the subject of education which prevails here is fearful.  I hope a better day is dawning. Happy shall I be if I am instru- mental in its progress."  And, instrumental he became.  He opened St. James Sunday School on May 27, 1821 with an initial enrollment of 50 pupils.  Soon it grew to 150.  The Sunday School was held in a two-story, 20'X28' wood frame building to the north of the church.  It was later rebuilt and enlarged and holds today's Sunday School where I, as well as my children, attended Sunday School.  Children were required to memorize scriptural passages, hymns and the church catechism.  

This photograph shows the current Rectory to the right
and the Parish House where Sunday School classes are
held.  I imagine the original wooden Sunday School
building would be where the Parish House is today.

Rev. Muhlenberg was the President of the Sunday School which by 1827 had 200 female class members with 20 teaches and 60 male class members with 14 teachers.  Rev. Muhlenberg was also interested in the education of the youth of of the city of Lancaster.  He had established the public school system in Philadelphia and now was doing the same in Lancaster.  A public school building for 600 was built for $10,000 on the southeast corner of West Chestnut and Prince.  It opened in September of 1823 and remained in the same location until the building became the city's Post Office.  The German community opposed the school since English was the language used in the school.  Rev. Muhlenberg visited the school often and instructed the teachers on teaching techiniques.  Muhlenberg selected a number of the older students and made then monitors who received special instruction from him and therefore held a higher rank in the school.  He also took two of the boy monitors to live in his home and who eventually became the first tutors at the Institute at Flushing, N.Y.  On July of 1825, General Lafayette visited the school and one of the tutors, J.B. Kerfoot addressed the French patriot.  That same boy later became the President of Trinity College at Hartford, Connecticut as well as the founder and first Bishop of the diocese of Pittsburgh.  Rev. Muhlenberg introduced a more efficient way of handling church money.  A salary was established for the organist at $125 a year and a salary for a choir soloist at $40 a year.  In 1822 Rev. Muhlenberg developed the Episcopal Missionary Society of Lancaster.  He then started regular services at Harrisburg which today is St. Stephen's Cathedral.  He began a Dispensary at St. James to help supply medical relief to the indigent.  As busy as this young man was, he still found time for a very interesting romance within the church's walls.  But, that's a story for tomorrow.  It was an extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Another Satisfied Customer!" Story

Preface:  I write this part of my story about a week after I published it.  It came to my attention, while the owner was viewing my work, that I inadvertently sewed the two red and yellow patches upside down.  I also had the belt buckle inverted.  I apologized, but what you will see here is the incorrect presentation of the patches and buckle.  Please accept my apology for my mistake.

 It was an ordinary day. Standing in front of the workbench at Grebinger Gallery listening to Keith giving me the instructions needed to perform the job I have been given for the morning.  I have been working at the gallery and frame shop for almost 20 years now after retiring from teaching photography and graphic arts at nearby Manheim Township High School in Lancaster, County, Pennsylvania.  One of my students happened to be the young man that is now giving me my instructions for the day.  I am to mat and frame a United States Marine Corps Honorable Discharge Certificate along with a Marine Corps dress belt, arm patches, a US flag logo, medals, a variety of pins and the soldier's dog tag.  I had to cut openings in two pieces of suede mat board to allow for a photo of the soldier as well as the certificate and then sew everything else to the boards.  These boards would be placed about 1/2" below another set of blue and red suede mat boards that had an opening cut in them to expose the sewn pieces.  Sound too tough to follow?  How about I just take you through the process with a few photographs.

I have cut a sample matboard with two openings that will hold the photo, certificate and all the other pieces.  My sample is cut to make sure everything will fit in place, since the suede matboard is expensive and I don't want to make a mistake when I cut it.   At the very top of the photo you can see the frame sample I am to use.  To the right is the blue/red double mat that I cut to match the sample after I made sure everything will fit on it. 

Here I have placed the certificate in position and the small photo of the soldier.  I placed the arm patches on the corner and the flag logo and will stitch them to the mats using fishing line and a needle.

These are some of the tools needed to do this job.  The fishing line with heavy-duty needle, an awl to help punch holes, a fingernail brush to keep the suede clean and the hot-glue gun to attach some of the medals.

This project used Museum Glass which protects the items under it from harmful rays as well as will eliminate  reflection.  I cut the glass with the glass-cutter I have in my right hand.

Here you can see that I have sewn the patches in the top corners as well as the flag on the top.  The dog tag was hot-glued in place and I sewed the chain so it fills the area  around it.  The belt on the bottom was sewn in place, but the buckle had to be hot-glued onto the belt so it wouldn't move.  The pins were hot glued in place.  

Here I am holding the final result.  You can see how I have added an extra layer of matboard around the edge of the job pictured above.  The black/gold frame is about 2 inches high and a half inch thick.  The job was about three feet square.

The customer loved the final result. It took about three hours to complete the entire project.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "MLK: I've Been To The Mountain Top - My Memories Part II" Story

Lancaster's Intelligencer Journal

It was an ordinary day.  The newspapers cried the news to the nation: "Martin Luther King Is Killed by Assassin at Memphis Motel!"  The Lancaster morning newspaper, the "Intelligencer Journal" covered the entire front page with stories about the shooting from telling that the shooter had eluded the police to a headline that said, "It Doesn't Matter What Happens Now."  The evening paper titled "Lancaster New Era" told of the memorial rites that will be held to a story saying "Assassination Starts Wave of Negro Violence."  At Lancaster city's Edward Hand Junior High the students heard noises outside the school right after noon.  Seems the African Americans at the local McCaskey High School had walked out of school and walked the mile or so to the Junior High where they began yelling.  The black leaders called all to the Crispus Attucks Center and to the Conestoga Elks to try and calm the students down and have someone talk with them to remind them how important it was to remember Dr. King's message of keeping the peace. But, there were other adults in the crowd who didn't want to keep the peace and they began burning buildings down as well as a food market in the southeastern end of Lancaster.  

Lancaster's mayor sets curfew for city.

Fire bombs were thrown at other homes and "trash riots" filled the intersections of city streets.  Dr. King preached peace, but many of the African Americans were fed up.  Dr. King was the hope for many blacks and now he was gone.  Much of Washington D.C. was ablaze by April 5 with clouds of smoke rising from the burning buildings and rioting throughout the city.  Army troops were brought in to quell the riots.  In Lancaster Mayor Thomas Monaghan ordered a curfew for the city with police patrolling the streets.  46 people died as riots broke out in 110 United States cities.  It took 23 months to find Dr. King's assassin who was James Earl Ray.  He was found in London after an airline ticket agent recognized his alias Ramon George Sneyd and notified authorities.  So, what has changed due to Dr. King's death, other than the holiday that bears his name as well as the memorial in Washington D.C. that  draws many visitors.  

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I must admit that I thought greater reform would come from his death, but I can't see that.  Why did it take almost 50 years before we elected our first African American President?  And why are so many young black men dying on the streets of our inner cities.  Dr. King's thoughts and teachings on justice, labor, race and peace need to be heard as much today as they did when he was alive. How can we better do that?   A few years after his death I decided to coach baseball and headed to the south end of the city to form a team.  The same area where I first joined a team at the age of 12 that was mostly young African American boys.  I talked the Hamilton Watch Company in Lancaster into sponsoring the team and we were one of the best teams in the county with a few of the boys becoming stars at Lancaster city's McCaskey High School. One young boy eventually was drafted by the Minnesota Twins.  The high school I attended is no longer entirely white children but has a variety of nationalities and ethnic groups as students.  I taught there for almost 35 years and still produce their yearbook and enjoy immensely walking the halls taking candid photos that show that feature in the yearbook.  

A panoramic view of the monument for Dr. King in Washington, D.C.

I recently made a visit to the Bethel AME Church in the predominately African American section of the city and wrote a story about my visit.  This was the same church that I wrote about yesterday telling about a white woman from my church, St. James Episcopal, who joined the NAACP and took youth groups from the Bethel AME church on trips to larger cities to hear speakers who spoke about African American issues.  The woman, Mrs. Betty Tompkins felt strongly that the minorities, the poor and the oppressed were being discriminated against by the legal system.  She ended up in debt to the county due to bail bond forfeitures incurred due to her beliefs.  St. James Episcopal Vestry members felt her style of witnessing to her beliefs was counterproductive, but did ask members of the church to help with donations to get her out of debt.  At times there are heroes of all colors who lead the way for all of us to follow by teaching not only civil rights, but Christianity.  Greater things must come to all communities if we expect to continue to thrive as a nation.  Let's hope Dr. King's legacy can come to fruition.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "MLK: I've Been To The Mountain Top - My Memories Part I" Story

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

It was an ordinary day.  April 4, 2018 and I'm trying to remember what I might have been doing 50 years ago on this date.  What were you doing 50 years ago today?  I must admit it seems a bit fuzzy to me, but I can remember a bit of the history and personal events that led up to this day 50 years ago  as well as a few moments and happenings that took place after this day 50 years ago.  It was on this date half century ago that Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.  My wife and I had been married a few days over nine months.  She was busy with her job at a cancer detection office in the city of Lancaster, PA while I was busy teaching my first year at Manheim Township High School.  I can remember heading home and being glued to the TV with my wife as we watched all the horrible facts leading to the death of one of the apostles of nonviolence in the civil rights movement.  

The Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

Walter Cronkite opened the CBS news that evening with the news that  “Dr. Martin Luther King  had been shot to death in Memphis, Tennessee.  Dr. King was a strong voice for the African-American citizens of our country as well as Lancaster.  The amount of African-Americans living in the city of Lancaster 50 years ago wasn't huge, but was growing, especially in the southeastern section of the city.  I grew up in an area of Lancaster where there were no African-Americans to be found.  My introduction to new friends, other than white, came when I was 12 years old.  I wanted to play organized baseball and my dad saw an advertisement in the local paper telling of tryouts for a youth team.  He took me to the tryouts in the southeast end of the city at a county park and I was one of just a few white players at the field.  I thought nothing of it and made the team along with perhaps 5 other white players and the rest black players. My coach, who I loved, was Mr. Joe Hawkins, an African-American.  Hey, I was there to play baseball and could have cared less as to the color of our skin.  I knew no difference, since my parents never said anything about skin color when I was a child.  Dad volunteered to pick up players from the African-American community on game days and we all loaded into the back of our big Buick stationwagon.  We had one of the best teams in the city during that summer and I gained many new friends, both black and white.  And, I thought nothing of it.  Years later I found out many people didn't think the same way!  When I entered high school I don't recall a single African-American classmate throughout my four years of high school.  I do remember during my high school years reading about a few of Lancaster's summer swimming pools not allowing blacks to swim at them and remembering black protesters marching near the pools to protest the practice.  "Why can't they swim there?" I remember asking my mom and dad, who never gave me an answer.  I can remember seeing two of my baseball team members in one of the photos and wondering if I should go and march with him, but never did.  Throughout this time period, Mr. King was speaking about segregation and I started to realize what he was talking about, both on the local and national levels.  But, Mr. King talked more than just about segregation, adding the Vietnam War as well as poverty issues to his agenda.  I must admit I was mesmerized many times while listening to him on television and radio.  

African-Americans marching at Rocky Springs swimming pool.

When I entered college at nearby Millersville State Teachers College it was quite a change from my all-white high school.  I can remember a group of people whom I got to know during that first year who were both black and white and we all ate lunch together at the "Rat Race."  I thought nothing about it and was beginning to wonder why it wasn't this way in high school.  One of my friends  at Millersville was a fellow by the name of Leroy Hopkins.  I recently read that he had made a trip with friends to Philadelphia as part of a group lead by Mrs. Betty Tompkins who was a member at St. James Episcopal Church where I was a member and sang in the church choir.

A true Hero!!

 While there they saw Dr. Martin Luther King speak and he said he knew he was in the presence of a great man.  Then it struck me; some people don't like the African-Americans since their skin is black!!  I read on and found Mrs. Tompkins was a member of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) where she was the education secretary.  I began to realize that there was more to the black and white issue than I ever realized.  I was finally growing up!  Not long after I fell in love and got married and shortly April 4th, 1968 arrived.  Wow!  How could I not see what was happening.  How naive could one be?  How could someone shoot Dr. Martin Luther King...someone who a friend of mine though to be a great man; just because he was black!!  Tomorrow I will tell you a bit more about my life and how I began to understand the civil rights movement.  My head was finally pulled out of the hole it certainly must have been in since birth.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "The Whole Truth About Old Glory" Story

Flying Old Glory!

It was an ordinary day.  Opened the front door and unfurled our American Flag that had become twisted in the strong evening wind from the night before.  Quite a few neighbors fly the American Flag and they look so majestic as I drive down the street.  I guess you know that there are a variety of stories as to how we have the flag that we now fly as well as who made it.  Naturally, there is the Betsy Ross story about how she sewed our original flag, but is that really correct?  The story goes that around June 1st, 1776, she was sitting in her shop at 239 Arch Street in downtown Philadelphia when three men entered.  She recognized George Ross who was the uncle of her deceased husband as well as George Washington who she knew as a friend and a customer who would visit to have his shirt ruffles embroidered.  

The Betsy Ross Flag?

The third man was Robert Morris who along with Mr. Ross was a member of Congress.  They arrived to ask her if she could make a flag according to a rough drawing they carried with them.  Being modest as she was, after seeing the drawing they presented, said she could try to make the flag, but suggested the stars they had pictured on the drawing as having six points, be changed to have five points to save on material.  

Painting showing Betsy Ross and a committee of Congress.

They doubted she could do that until she showed them how she could fold material and make a five-pointed star with no difficulty.  Washington was said to redraw his design in pencil in her back parlor to employ the five points instead of six, and Betsy made the flag.  94 years later one of her grandsons presented this story at a meeting of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.  And, they believed it!  In later years numerous historians have conducted searches into the story and none were able to verify the claims of the grandson, William J. Canby.  One of the few accounts they found was that a Naval official commissioned Elizabeth Ross for fourteen pounds, twelve shillings and two pence to make ship's colors which she did for Pennsylvania state ships.  So why do so many people accept the legend that Betsy Ross sewed the United State's first flag?  Seems that a painting by Charles H. Weisgerber depicted a meeting between a committee of Congress and Betsy Ross titled "Birth of Our Nations Flag".  

This painting was made into a postage stamp.

Could that be why people believe it happened the way Mr. Canby stated?  But, some claim that the artist took liberties and painted the flag into the picture.  It is said that careful historians do not accept the Betsy Ross legend and urge others not to either.  But, then along came President Woodrow Wilson and he said this about the controversy,  "Would that it were true!"  Some historians attribute the design of the first flag to Francis Hopkinson who was a New Jersey delegate to the Continental Congress and signer of the Declaration of Independence.  

Flag designed by Francis Hopkinson.

He sought payment from the Board of Admiralty for his design of the "flag of the United States of America."  And then there is the story of U.S. Navy Captain Samuel Chester Reid who was said to have designed the first flag as we know it today with 15 stars and 15 stripes, one for each state at the time the flag was adopted in 1795.  This flag was the one that flew over Baltimore's Fort McHenry and became immortalized as the "Star Spangled Banner."  It is said that Reid's wife Mary is reputed to have sewn the first version which was flown from the Capitol dome on April 13, 1818.  So, what do you think?  And, what do I believe after finding all these different versions?  I'm not sure!  I really want to believe that it was Betsy Ross, since George Ross was a member of the church where I am a member. And, I lived a block from Ross Street in the city and knew where George Ross lived when he lived in Lancaster, PA. And, I played basketball most every Sunday afternoon at Ross Elementary School which was near my home.  And someone as important as George Ross just had to have a relative who designed a flag as important as the US Flag.  And, who else could come up with a better story about how it was easier to make a 5 pointed star than a 6 pointed one?  Have you ever tried to do that?   I have and she is absolutely right!!  So, I vote for Betsy Ross as the maker of our first flag.  And, since this is my story, I'm right!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "The Future Of Housing In A Technological World" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Visiting a website that I knew years ago would eventually offer something to the general public that would have a big impact on housing.   Today the website shows affordable houses that have been made with the use of a 3D printer.  It was five years ago that I wrote a story telling of my visit to the high school where I taught for over 30 years.  I had found that they had a 3D printer and was excited to see how it worked.  They used a CAD (Computer Aided Design) program to print a small car on their new 3D printer.  Wow!  It was so interesting watching the students program the computer and print the car which to them was no big deal.  What a difference it is for someone who has grown up in a high tech society such as they have compared to me whose biggest technological item while growing up was a transistor radio.  Well, today, as I looked at page after page of 3D printed houses on my computer I said to myself, "I knew it was going to happen someday."  But, I wasn't sure if it would be in my lifetime.   Well, either I have lived a lot longer than I thought I would or technology is progressing at a rate I never thought possible.  Can you imagine making a house on a printer that you can live in!  I'm not sure, even after seeing it, that I really believe it has happened.  And, the houses that I'm looking at are remarkable.  One is a two-story villa that was printed on-site and was 400-square meters in size that only took 45 days to print.  I'm not sure how long they may last in comparison to traditional construction, but its certainly a start.  Following are a few of the homes I viewed and a small story about each one.

• A 3D home in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  It is 8 square meters in floor space and is 25 cubic meters in volume.  It is referred to as an Urban Cabin which is part of a research project that focused on compact and sustainable housing in urban environments.  It is printed using sustainable bio-plastic materials.
  
   
• A 3D home in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  It is 240-square meters and was designed as a printed office.  This "Office of the Future" is a fully functional building featuring electricity, water, and telecommunications as well as air-conditioning.  It was printed in Shanghai, China and then shipped to Dubai.  The reason for doing that was to cut costs on labor.
  
• A 3D printed house in Russia which is 38 square meters or 400 square feet.  The home was printed onsite with concrete material.  It took about 24 hours to print.  It is made using a mixture of solid elements and liquid polyurethane.  It then was painted yellow.  It cost $10,134 to create.  Would be great for low-income housing.
  
• This is a 3D printed two-story villa that was printed on-site in China.  The entire 400-square meter villa took only 45 days to print.  It is printed concrete over the framing material.  The walls are made with printed concrete measuring 250mm in thickness.  
  
• This impressive building was printed in Province Jiangsu, China and is 1,100 square meters.  I was impressed when I read it was constructed in 2014.  The structural components were 3D printed off-site and moved to this location.  Recyclable waste with a hardening agent was used for this project.  That's just amazing to me!
  
• 3D printed house that was 2,400 square feet and printed in New York.  This estate is built with the help of Italian 3D printing pioneer Enrico Dini.  The property also has a swimming pool, jacuzzi and a garage.  The printing process begins by collecting sand, dust and gravel which are mixed with a magnesium-based binding agent to concoct a printable material.  The printer could make 6x6 meter cubes.  
  
• This 3D 600-800 square foot home is in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  The 28 different panels were printed off-site and assembled to create two exterior walls, roof and interior.   
  

The buildings posted here were printed by use of a program on a computer.  Just blows my mind what is happening through technology today.  It seems that anything can be done by using technology.  If only we could return to 2018 in a century see what has been done since then through technology.  Don't you just love it!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "Are You Ready For The Easter Bunny?" Story

My favorites: milk, white and dark chocolate.

It was an ordinary day.  Shopping for a few pieces of chocolate to give to our grand- children for Easter.  Our oldest is 16 and youngest 12, but they all still love to hunt for plastic Easter eggs filled with money and treats as well as enjoy a few Easter baskets filled with chocolate treats.  I must admit I enjoy shopping for the chocolate, since there always seems to be some left over that doesn't fit into the baskets and I naturally have to eat it so it won't go to waste.  Living in Lancaster, Pennsylvania we get some of the best chocolate in the world right in our area.  We are less than half and hour from Hershey Chocolate Company and 20 minutes from both Wilbur Chocolate in Lititz and M&M Mars Chocolate in Elizabethtown.  And, if we get real hungry, we can walk about 5 minutes to the nearby Miesse's Chocolate and get our favorite sea salt chocolate caramels.  Well, a few facts about chocolate for you are:  

(1) Chocolate comes from the Aztec word "Xocolati" which means bitter water.  It was an unsweetened drink that the Aztecs used to  imbibe.  (2) Chocolate is made from the cocoa beans of cacao trees which are cultivated in Hawaii and in the areas of the world 20 degrees north and south of the equator.  (3) Cocoa beans, which are seeds, and pulp are fermented together and then those beans are dried in the sun before they are moved to chocolate factories.  (4)  The beans are then sorted, cleaned, roasted and then the husks are removed by blowing air onto them so the roasted beans shatter into fragments called cacao nibs.  (5)  These nibs are ground into a paste called chocolate liquor which is used as the base for chocolate products.  When you buy chocolate items, check to see if they have at least 54% cacao which is considered good chocolate for recipes needing chocolate.  A few more things about chocolate are:  

Check out this 1940's advertisement for chocolate.

(1) It takes 400 cocoa beans to make a pound of chocolate, (2) Cacao trees can live for more than 200 years, but only produce marketable beans from about 5 years of age and until they are 25 years of age. (3) Most cocoa farmers only raise the beans and don't make the chocolate, (4) Benjamin Franklin sold chocolate in his print shop in Philadelphia, (5) It takes 2-4 days to make a single-serving chocolate bar, (6) German chocolate cake was named for Sam German who developed a sweet bar for Baker's Chocolate.  He wasn't from Germany. (6) Champagne and sparkling wines are too acidic to mix with milk or dark chocolate, but sweet bubbly mixes well with white chocolate and red wine with dark chocolate.  (7) Finally, the French celebrate April Fool's Day with chocolate-shaped fish known as "Poisson d'Avril."  Now that's something I think needs to be done in my house starting this year!!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.