15 September 2012 - Cemetery Clean-up

 15 September 2012

We traveled to Florida, NY (Montgomery County) to participate in a cemetery clean-up on Saturday, 15 September 2012.  I managed to beg, cajole, plead, and bribe 27 people to attend.  Girl Scouts, Daughters of the American Revolution, cemetery preservationists and neighbors attended.  I also convinced a professional restoration company to donate their time. I have to admit when we got there Friday, I thought perhaps I had over estimated what we could accomplish, but....

The Before:

The restoration group conducted a class on using D2, an approved substance, to clean a stone.

The before and after for the stone was amazing.  One must be careful about cleaning stones.  Bleach will ruin the stone.  Using things line flour, bleach, cornstarch, and cocoa can damage and stain the stones.  We were able to treat all the stones with D2.  It will continue to work for 6 months.  The rain will wash off the dirt, and reactivate the cleaner.  We were told all the stones would be white when we come back in the spring.

The After:

The difference is just amazing.  I wouldn't have been possible without everyone's help.  The ladies of the church provided coffee/doughnuts and lunch.  We started at 8:30AM, and the brush was gone by 10:30AM.  We also planted periwinkle. 

This cemetery contains the remains of several members of the Tryon County Militia and their family members.  During the Revolution, most of Central New York was called Tryon County, a nod to British Governor Tryon.  After the Revolution, everything British had to go, and the name was changed to Montgomery, after General Montgomery.  Florida was originally a community known as Warrensbush, named for land owner Admiral Sir Peter Warren.  In 1793, for reasons unknown, the residents voted to change it to Florida, though no one knows where they first heard the word.

Most of the Revolution was fought in the Mohawk Valley, not that any high school history text conveys this information.  Students learn about New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and Virginia as it pertains to the surrender of Cornwallis.  They learn nothing else, and unfortunately, NY's new education plan advocates eliminating state history from their program.  VERY sad.

The valley is beautiful...

 

On the way home, we stopped at my least favorite place to shop, Woodbury Commons.  I have no idea what people like about this place.   Too many people and poor prices.  But, The Ralph Lauren Outlet in Tannersville no longer carries pillows.  Woodbury Commons is the only place to get them, and they are now $5 higher.

  
We stopped at Goshen, NY to see the monument to the men who fought in the battle of Minsink Ford.  The battle was one of the bloodies, and Mohawk Captain Joseph Brant,the only Indian to hold a British Commission, reported taking 40 scalps and 1 prisoner.  The bodies, or what was left, were not recovered for 43 years.  The remains of men from Orange and Sullivan County, NY and Sussex County NY (3rd Regiment of the Sussex County Militia) were buried in a mass grave, marked with the monument.  We were very disappointed.  The monument is in disrepair and in need of cleaning.  Upon arriving home, I sent a letter tot he editor of the local paper, but it was never printed.  Apparently the contributions of these men isn't valued enough to maintain the monument.  How odd considering every freedom and right we enjoy is because they gave their lives.

 Our last stop was at an orchard.  WONDERFUL corn, doughnuts, and pumpkin pie.

 
Next trip, the Syracuse University Library, Special Collections.

12 September 2012 - Home for a few days

12 September 2012

Back to NJ...  and already life is miserable.  The Roxbury library had promised me the leftover books from their book sale.  I planned to take them to the women's prison  We came back a day early to find no books.  Typical NJ... every one thinks that someone should think of THEM, but they won't think of anyone else.

Purchased Reames noodles before I left, and, thanks to a cooler and ice, brought them back...
can't purchase them in NJ, only those dried out rehydrate in water things.

The back of the Jeep was packed with food... pizza, noodles, pastries, cookies, pies.... like stocking up for the winter.

My freezer is full!

On the way home, we stopped at Mead Chapel, PA.  Despite a brewing storm, we were able to photograph the stone of my great great grandfather.

I wish we had more time to clean the stone, but the heavy wind and rain prevented more than this quick cleaning before the weather prevented additional work.

SOME good news though... Chipolte is opening a store at the Rockway Mall.  And, Stop 'N Shop now carries Graeter's Ice Cream.  Considering we had Chipolte in Ohio 10 years ago... civilization is slowly reaching this miserable place.

Will be traveling to NY this week-end.  I organized a cemetery clean-up for a Revolutionary War Cemetery.  Here is the "before" picture.

Several DAR members are coming, and  local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, with their parents.  I've also arranged for two professional stone restores to donate their time.  The town mows between the rows, but little else.  They are mowing this week, so... we need to remove the small trees, sumac, and the raspberry bushes and weeds.   The church has an older population, and it grew out of hand.  We plan to plant periwinkle which will act as a ground cover rendering the area maintenance free, other than the stones.

This pile of stone is at one corner.  We are hoping they can be repaired, reset, and documented.

Unfortunately, NY isn't the only state with this problem.  The First Presbyterian Church in Succasunna has this stone in their cemetery:

Note, under his name, it reads "Elder Presb. Church."  How a church takes care of their cemetery says a lot about them.  Most of the veteran markers have been damaged by mowers, and not replaced.  Trash and recycling are on Gov. Mahlon Dickerson's grave.  And, I was told they do NOT want veteran markers on two graves of Revolutionary War veterans I found in their cemetery, which they did not know existed.

Here is the St. Michael Church Cemetery in Netcong.

 The church is still active.  I e-mailed the priest about organizing a clean-up and he never responded.  I phoned the Patterson Diocese and was told that cemeteries are the responsibility of the church.  Per the NJ Cemetery Board, there is NO regulation of religious cemeteries.  Perhaps that state needs to change.  Obviously, they can't be trusted to maintain their cemeteries.

8 September 2012

8 September 2012

Today we visited Cleveland's Little Italy, which makes the New York City offering look pathetic.  Cleveland ROCKS!!!  I find people who ridicule Cleveland have never been here.  These ignorant individuals, for what other word can one use to describe someone why mocks that about which they have no experience, know nothing of the art museum, the Case Western Reserve Historical Society, Case Western Reserve University, University Circle, he natural history museum, the Great Lakes Science Center, the Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Cleveland was the first place where the term "rock and roll" was heard, used by a local disc jockey), and the rich culinary heritage that is Cleveland.  Cleveland, like Youngstown and Pittsburgh was settler by many people seeking to escape WWII.  The steel mills provided good paying jobs and didn't require a command of the English language.  They wanted their children to be educated American, and stressed education.  They also brought their food with them, giving this area one of the most rich culinary heritages in the country.  Local grocery stores carry in their deli items found in NJ only in specialty stores, and generally lacking flavor, perhaps because the NJ chefs omit the spice "love." 

First stop was Corbo's Bakery, a Cleveland tradition.
 

We stocked up on bread, cookies, pizzelles, and Buckeyes, something found only in Ohio.  Then, it was across the street to Presti's Bakery, another Cleveland landmark.

 

More cookies, and see those sticky buns on the right?  Only $1.50/roll.  More bread, cookies, cavetelli from the bakery, and pizza.  The pizza in this area of the country can't be beat.  I haven't had a good pizza since moving to the Godforsaken state.  It' hard to be enthused about a state lacking God and good food.

After Little Italy, the next stop was the Hard Rock Cafe to replace my worn CLEVELAND shirt.  On the way, we passed Jacob' Field (AKA Progressive Field), Home to the Cleveland Indians, the major minor league team!!!  Unfortunately, they were out of town this week-end.

 

Took the second picture as we were leaving, but you can see the stadium and Terminal Tower, where "A Christmas Story" was filmed.  Higbee's Department Store used to be there.  Peregrine falcons have a roost at the top, with a live falcon cam.

Picked up a shirt at the Hard Rock Cafe, one of the besst in the chain (the NYC one is the worst).

Lola is Micheal Symon's restaurant.  Didn't make it there this trip, but a WONDERFUL restaurant, and better than anything I'e had in NYC.

From Cleveland, we traveled south (unlike NJ, trips requiring more than 10 minutes do NOT require 3 weeks of planning and an overnight bag) to The Amish Door.

Broasted chicken....  Tempting as the buffet was, I knew I couldn't eat enough to make it worthwhile.  A visit to the bakery added whoopie pies, cookies, and some other treats to our growing food stash.

 Then it was off to  Kaufmann's Bakery (whoopie pies and pumpkin roll) and Heini Cheese for cheese curds, a delicacy unknown in the uncivilized NJ.

And, of course the busloads of tourist who come... a bane and a blessing...

 Ohio has the country's largest Amish population, most of whom reside in Holmes County.

Ended the day with 4 pizzas to take home from Wedgewood Pizza, the BEST pizza in the world. The entire back of the jeep is full of food.  Dinner was at a place called Charley's, which served pigs in the blanket (a totally different food in OH... not those disgusting mini hotdogs wrapped in dough).

On to the next place... if NJ had good food, i wouldn't have to make these grocery trips home.
.



  

7 September 2012

I went to the Roger's sale today.  Every Friday, Rogers, Ohio hosts an event that is part flea market, part farm market, and part animal sales...  it is a place to go, walk, look, browse.... and eat.  Walnut Creek Cheese, Amish donuts and baked goods, and a lot of trash/treasure hunting.  Some images...

And, a return trip to Das Dutch Haus for broasted chicken, an Ohio Amish specialty.
 

 I also visited two cemeteries.  I'm a FindAGrave volunteer.   FindAGrave.com is a genealogy website, though, I would argue that most of us are also history preservationists.  We photograph and transcribe stones, hoping to record them before the stones fade.  Cemetery stones are a tangible indicator of social class.  Wealthier people had stones of marble or granite, while the less well off used shale or limestone, which are fragile.  Hence, we seek to preserve the record of the stone while there is still information to preserve.  Older stones for women list the woman's maiden name, and at times, her parents, which may be the only indicator of her parents.  Today, I both photographed for FindAGrave, and also found stones of distant relatives.  Here is a particularly sad finding...

Finished the day with food shipping at Giant Eagle.  Purchased Chinese cookies, which is an odd name since there is nothing Chinese about them, and CoCo Wheats, a true Midwestern staple. And, foudn buttermilk sold in half gallons, the way it is normally sold in civilized parts of the world, cheaper than what I pay for a quart in New Jersey.  Cold buttermilk, with salt and pepper...one of the world's most wonderful beverages.

Ended the afternoon with another proper Midwestern thunderstorm.

O-H