Punxsutawney Phil has poked his nose out of Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania and proclaimed six more weeks of winter.

But not so fast says many of his rivals, including Connecticut’s very own Chuckles the Groundhog of the Lutz Children’s Museum in Manchester.  She and the others say spring has [...]]]> Happy Groundhog Day and blessed Imbolc!

Punxsutawney Phil has poked his nose out of Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania and proclaimed six more weeks of winter.

But not so fast says many of his rivals, including Connecticut’s very own Chuckles the Groundhog of the Lutz Children’s Museum in Manchester.  She and the others say spring has sprung!

You can read about the contradiction issue here and see a video of Chuckles here.

Chuckles and other groundhogs may be on to something.  This year’s weather patterns are due to some unusual mass air pressure positions.  But after last year’s snowy winter, most people are welcoming the mild season.

In the meantime, the contradictions in forecasts wasn’t the only controversy being stirred up by Chuckles, who along with her weather prediction added, “Go Patriots!”

Chuckles, afterall, is a true New Englander.

Heh…

Cranky

First, some good news!

Man Who Catalogued Cemetery Given Highest Geneology Award

Middletown Patch, January 23, 2012

They shouldn’t have to clean up after inconsiderate people

New London cemetery cleans graffiti from monuments

New London Day, January 3, 2012

New London man [...]]]> Here’s the first round of New England cemetery news for 2012…

First, some good news!

Man Who Catalogued Cemetery Given Highest Geneology Award

Middletown Patch, January 23, 2012

They shouldn’t have to clean up after inconsiderate people

New London cemetery cleans graffiti from monuments

New London Day, January 3, 2012

New London man makes his voice heard in Ohio

Captain’s opinion etched in stone

Marietta Times, January 3, 2012

A new headstone for a local hero.

Remembering a hero of the Revolution

Minuteman News Center, January 18, 2012

Massachusetts town sees the future and it’s in ashes.

Braintree councilors approve Blue Hills Cemetery request for crematory

Boston.com, January 25, 2012

All we can say is….oops!

Out-of-state truck gets stuck in Auburn cemetery

Worcester Telegram/Gazette, January 30, 2012

This is so sad…

Vandals Damage 100-Year-Old Headstones

NBC Connecticut, January 30, 2012

And now more (not so good) news about Arlington and the National Cemetery Administration.

Burial problems found at VA cemeteries

Washington Post, January 23, 2012

Arlington Cemetery disputes reports, says $12 million isn’t missing

Washington Post, January 26, 2012

And last but not least…

Mark it on your calendar, folks!  The Connecticut Gravestone Network‘s Annual Symposium will be held on March 31, 2012 at the their headquarters in the East Hartford Senior Center, in East Hartford, CT.  See you there!!

Cranky

Congratulations goes out to my friends George and Donna who got married this past weekend.  What makes this wedding so special is that they performed their nuptials in a library.  And not just any library…but a genuine New [...]]]> Welcome to 2012!  And what better way to celebrate a new year than with a new marriage!

Congratulations goes out to my friends George and Donna who got married this past weekend.  What makes this wedding so special is that they performed their nuptials in a library.  And not just any library…but a genuine New England anomaly library…namely the oldest continuously operating library in the country!  How cool is that?!

The Abington Social Library is nestled in the rural village of Abington in the Town of Pomfret, CT on Rt. 97…just down the street from the Abington Burial Grounds (you knew I would bring in a cemetery somehow, didn’t you?).  Although the building has only been around since 1885, the library itself has existed non-stop in one form or another since 1793, including a stint as a women’s library in the early 1800s.  All this was told to me by the library’s director, Bonnie Duncan, who just so happens to be a justice of the peace and oversaw the ceremony.  It’s a neat building, divided up into two halves…one side is the main adult section.  Like any library, they carry the latest fiction titles, reference books, video and DVD tapes, and the other side is a well stocked children’s room filled with toys, game tables and lots of good reading for the young ones.  And like any good historic library, there is also a section with books dedicated to local history.

I noticed a nearly life-size, wooden wolf statue in the corner.  That, says Duncan, was a gift from a patron to honor the last wolf in Connecticut.  As some may know, the last wolf in Connecticut was killed in Pomfret by none other than Israel Putnam, hero of the American Revolution.  To read the story, go here.  Ms. Duncan also confined to me that the library is said to be haunted that same wolf’s spirit.  While I personally don’t believe in ghosts, it’s a cool story, never-the-less.  The library was recently written up in the Woodstock Villager newspaper.  You can read about the library here.

So, why get married here?  George and Donna are long-time library folks and scholars themselves, so it all makes sense to be married by a librarian in a library.  They picked the Abington Social Library when they heard about it from a friend.  It was small, historic and personable…what every community library strides to be.

It was a wonderful ceremony, with self-written vows (and a hand-shake deal to boot!).  They make an awesome couple.  We were honored to be there and we at the New England Anomaly wish them the very best in their lives.  It couldn’t happen to a nicer couple.  Bright Blessings to them both.

And as for the rest of you, if you’re in north-eastern Connecticut, make sure to stop by the Abington Social Library and say hi to Bonnie Duncan and the ghost wolf!  Pet the wolf statue for me, too.

George and Donna

]]> http://www.newenglandanomaly.com/2012/01/new-year-and-new-beginnings/feed/ 0 http://www.newenglandanomaly.com/2011/12/happy-holidays-3/ http://www.newenglandanomaly.com/2011/12/happy-holidays-3/#comments Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:04:18 +0000 Cranky Yankee http://www.newenglandanomaly.com/?p=736 Happy Winter Solstice and a Blessed Yule to you all!

Have fun and be safe.

photo by C. LeBeau

Gardening and cemeteries go hand in hand…

New Hartford preservation Garden club looks into ways to ensure care for cemetery 

Waterbury Republican American, Nov. 28, 2011

And speaking of garden cemeteries…

WHO LIES HERE: Mt. Pleasant Cemetery third in country designed to evoke [...]]]> One more Cemetery News update before the end of the year…

Gardening and cemeteries go hand in hand…

New Hartford preservation Garden club looks into ways to ensure care for cemetery 

Waterbury Republican American, Nov. 28, 2011

And speaking of garden cemeteries…

WHO LIES HERE: Mt. Pleasant Cemetery third in country designed to evoke European outdoor spaces

Taunton Daily Gazette, Nov 24, 2011

A long-lost stone comes home…

Infant’s long-missing gravestone returned

New London Day, Dec. 7, 2011

Heartless, especially this time of year…

Little girl’s grave among 16 vandalized at Griswold cemetery

Norwich Bulletin, Dec. 11, 2011

And if you think thieves can’t sink low enough, this happens…

Massive bronze statues stolen from Waterbury cemetery

WFSB.com, Ch. 3, Dec. 13, 2011

Shadowy death figure, other bronze statues stolen from Waterbury cemetery

Waterbury Republican American, Dec. 12, 2011

Luckily, the pieces were found, and the thieves caught…

Two Charged With Stealing Cemetery Statues

NBC Connecticut, Dec. 16, 2011

And now an update on the happenings at Arlington Cemetery…

GAO: Improvements Under Way At Arlington Cemetery 

Huffington Post, December 12, 2011

From the Assoc. for Gravestone Studies newsletter…a photo blog about Vermont cemeteries!

Green Mountain Graveyards

And speaking of AGS…here’s the latest info on the upcoming AGS annual Conference

Call for Papers and Participation/Class Sessions
2012 AGS Conference and Annual Meeting
Monmouth University, West Long Branch, New Jersey
June 19 – 24, 2012

That’s it for now.  See you on this side of the grass!
Cranky

That great New England “anomaly” known as The Voynich Manuscript is now online!

Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library finally put the entire Voynich Manuscript on the web for perusal.  The Voynich Manuscript [...]]]> Thanks to bOING bOING for the heads up on this one…  (You don’t read bOING bOING?  You should!!  It’s AWESOME!)

That great New England “anomaly” known as The Voynich Manuscript is now online!

Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library finally put the entire Voynich Manuscript on the web for perusal.  The Voynich Manuscript is a controversial book that is said to date back to the 15th century.  Experts don’t know much about the book because the writing in it has been undecipherable, but it is interesting none-the-less.  It looks to some like a medicinal or alchemy handbook.  It’s full of hand-drawn plants, images, and other weird doodles and written in a text nobody can read.  Some say its an elaborate hoax put out by the bookdealer for who the manuscript is named after.  The book has been in Yale’s possession since 1969.

Mystery, hoax, or yet unknown universal truth,  the Voynich Manuscript continues to fascinate and frustrate academics.  Now everyone can join the ranks of the perplexed as they leaf through its pages on the web…and best of all, it’s right here in Connecticut.

Let the deciphering begin!

Cranky

Yesterday, while driving to a destination, I listened to the radio show “Back Story” with the American History Guys (What? No American History Gals?), as they explained Thanksgiving in this country.

As I listened to [...]]]> So how’s that food coma coming along now that Thanksgiving is over?  Maybe there’s some room for food for thought…

Yesterday, while driving to a destination, I listened to the radio show “Back Story” with the American History Guys (What? No American History Gals?), as they explained Thanksgiving in this country.

As I listened to them yak about Pilgrims, New England, and (ugh) football, all I kept thinking was, “Tony Horwitz says Thanksgiving began in St. Augustine.”  That went through my mind several times during the show, then about half way through, a woman named “Robin” phoned in to talk about just that.  They don’t identify her, but I’m guessing it was Robyn Gioia, author of the book America’s First Real Thanksgiving, and she set The American History Guys straight (An American History Gal!  Yea Robyn!).  Yes, the first celebrated Thanksgiving in America took place in St. Augustine, Florida in 1565 by the Spanish, led in particular by Pedro Menendez.  But as the American History Guys and Robyn all pointed out, thanksgiving celebrations occurred regularly all over the Christian world.  And in this case, Menendez and his crew gave thanks for a safe passage…and the extermination of the French [Huguenots] who just happened to be there at the time.

Happy Thanksgiving!  Prepare to die!!  I’m sure the French didn’t think it was too happy.  Neither did Natives Americans since this same scenario can be used for Jamestown and Plymouth in context to relations between settlers and the Indians.

So what brought this all up?  Good timing, basically.  I just finished reading Tony Horwitz‘ book A Voyage Long and Strange earlier that day before I heard the radio show, and of course, we all just celebrated Thanksgiving here in the U.S. of A.  Horwitz’s book covers the years after Columbus and before, since he also researches the Vikings and the Basques visitations as well. [Note: for more detailed information on why the Basques were here, read Mark Kurlansky's Cod: a Biography of the Fish that Changed the World.]  Horwitz gives a lot of pages over to the Spanish who were making treks all over the southeast long before the English even thought about turkeys and Pilgrim hats.  Half the fun of Horwitz’s book is his Notes on Sources and bibliography.  The guy certainly does his homework.  I loved that he also mentions some New England “anomalies” such as Old Colony Club, Fort St. George, and Dighton’s Rock in his notes.  I’m looking forward to reading his new book, Midnight Rising [check out the awesome NY Times book review here].

And where does the Pilgrims and Plimouth Plantation fit in to all of this?  As both Horwitz and the American History Guys point out, it was all good PR on someone’s part.  Godey’s Lady’s Book & Magazine and the myth of America’s English roots…that’s what it all comes down to.  And like many American holidays, Thanksgiving has changed over the years to something totally different than what it originally began as.

But, like the person who changes the subject among the feuding relatives at the dinner table, I’m not here to get into the pros and cons of why this all happened.  For me, Thanksgiving just means getting together with friends and family, sharing repast, and truly being thankful for what I have.  Isn’t that what we all want?

Happy Thanksgiving…and I mean it, too.

Cranky

I was asked to pass this on to everyone.  I think it’s a great idea.  Check it out!

Saturday, December 3rd, from 9AM to 4PM and Sunday December 4, from 10AM to 3PM South End Senior Center, 70 Canterbury Street, East Hartford, CT

Refreshments available: Coffee, Tea, Hot [...]]]> Hi all,

I was asked to pass this on to everyone.  I think it’s a great idea.  Check it out!

The Unique Gift Holiday Fair

Saturday, December 3rd, from 9AM to 4PM and Sunday December 4, from 10AM to 3PM
South End Senior Center, 70 Canterbury Street, East Hartford, CT

Refreshments available: Coffee, Tea, Hot Cider and snacks.

Got a Historian or Budding Genealogist in the family?  How about someone interested in a mystical or the magical side of living?  This is gift giving like you’ll find nowhere else and all under one roof!

Featuring historic cemetery and mourning themed artwork, jewelry, and crafts. Introduction to some organizations, memberships and books, or certificates for Tarot Card reading, Hand Writing Analysis or time with a professional genealogist to help get someone off to the right start. A great place to start your journey into your ancestral past and appreciation for history!

Items include photography, books, paintings, stained glass, Victorian mourning jewelry, sculpture, t-shirts, cards, pins, old coins, genealogy books, and more.  Vendors include but are not limited to: Sabrina’s Grave Art, Mourning Jewelry by Mary Carroll, Stained Glass by BillieJo, Enchantments Witch Shoppe & School, The Gravestone Girls, Connecticut Gravestone Network (resource handouts and local history information), Connecticut Society of Genealogists, Descendents & Founders of Ancestral Windsor and more.

On Saturday, December 3, a professional handwriting detective will be on site to analyze present day and ancestral handwriting samples you provide.

Attendees interested in genealogy may purchase a gift membership to one of the attendant genealogical organizations or a consultation with a genealogy professional.

The show is sponsored by East Hartford’s Friends of Center Cemetery, Inc. and Connecticut Gravestone Network.

For more information about the art & craft show and/or the associated Genealogy Help Sessions, call 860-643-5652, or e-mail shapbrown@cox.net.

As I said, “Tis the season”…for ghost hunting!

Connecticut Ghost Seekers Investigate Local Hauntings

East Hampton-Portland Patch Oct. 26, 2011

Exploring The Paranormal In New London And Beyond

New [...]]]> It’s probably because of the season, but there is an awful lot of cemetery news coming out of the New England area these days…

As I said, “Tis the season”…for ghost hunting!

Connecticut Ghost Seekers Investigate Local Hauntings

East Hampton-Portland Patch
Oct. 26, 2011

Exploring The Paranormal In New London And Beyond

New London Patch
Oct. 31, 2011

A missing tombstone mystery in Madison

The Case Of The Missing Tombstone  Pt. 1
The Case Of The Missing Tombstone  Pt. 2

The Madison Patch
Oct. 26 & 27, 2011

Can’t kill ‘Day of the Dead’ no matter what they think

Day of the Dead dies as cemetery cuts arts

Jamaica Plain Gazette
Nov. 4, 2011

He takes his work very seriously…

For Medway man, caring for old gravestones is a grave responsibility

Milford Daily News
Nov. 6, 2011

Because unfortunately, there’s more vandalism.

Vandals knock over dozens of gravestones in Jewish cemetery in East Haven

The Shoreline Times
Oct. 28, 2011

But here’s some good news to a similar story…

Damaged Yantic Cemetery statue collected for restoration

Norwich Bulletin
Nov. 2, 2011

More news from Norwich…finding a lost abolitionist

Experts try to solve mystery of where Norwich abolitionist was buried

New London Day
Nov. 10, 2011

Burial plot scanned for remains of Norwich abolitionist

Norwich Bulletin
Nov. 10, 2011

Not New England news, but something that affects us all…
It’s really disgraceful, and reminds me of the Arlington Cemetery incident last year.

Air Force Mortuary Dumped Remains Of War Dead In Landfill

NPR.org
Nov. 9, 2011

Air Force chief takes responsibility for errors

Associated Press/Yahoo. com
Nov. 10, 2011

And another issue that’s not NE, but still important…cemetery theft!
This piece of news was posted on the Museum-L Listserv, Nov. 9, 2011

I post this here because stolen items can be moved quickly across state lines and travel quite a ways.

Pottery Grave Marker Theft Alert
The following notice was sent by Mary Farrell, who owns Westmoore Pottery in Seagrove, NC.

“We are sad to report the theft of the Israel Woody, 1834 SGSW handmade
pottery gravemarker made by Solomon Loy in 1834, from the Cane Creek
Friends Burial Ground of Alamance County, NC, after nearly 180 years in
place.    If you have any news of it or hear of anyone who’s seen it please
pass the word to the Cane Creek Friends Meeting in Snow Camp, NC or to the
Alamance County, NC Sheriff’s Department.  Theft is a real problem with the
pottery grave markers.”

Cemetery theft is a real problem everywhere.  Tombstones, grave markers, plaques, gates, etc. have all been the target of cemetery thieves.  Anyone out there who sees cemetery items for sale in antiques stores, auction houses, and other places are encouraged to report it.  Not only is it disrespectful, it is usually illegal (depending on state law).

Enough news for now
See you on this side of the grass!
Cranky

I also want to thank everybody for making the Boo-Frog Bash a success despite everything that went wrong that night:  freak snow storm, band cancellation,  broken furnace, etc.  Those who came had a great time and we still managed to raise a decent amount for the Mill Museum.  Thanks again everyone!!!