A Place with History: September 1951

Before Ray Self passed away, he told me that he cut short pieces of hose pipe and embedded them in concrete to designate the month and year that the concrete block garage at Merry Mount was completed.

Garage today

Now, sixty-nine years later, I am curious to look back at what life was like in September 1951.  Here are a few facts.

Charles L. Woliver and Dorsey Lou Justice were on their honeymoon in Folly Beach, South Carolina after having gotten married on August 31, 1951. A year and a month later, on October 6, 1952, their first-born son, Charles Patrick Woliver, was born.

Charles and Dorsey Lou Woliver

Average Cost of new house - $9.000.00 -
Average wages per year - $3,700.00 -
Cost of a gallon of Gas - 19 cents -
Average Cost of a new car - $1,500.00 -
Loaf of Bread - 16 cents.

Unemployment dipped to 3.3% in the US and new roads were built to take the ever-increasing numbers of cars including the New Jersey Turnpike. The average family income was $3,700 per year and people had money to spend so cars became more luxurious and had more powerful engines with options for two tone paint, during this time things like turn signals were still an extra and most drivers still used hand signals to tell other drivers which way they were turning. Television continued to grow with popular programs like "I Love Lucy".  Children were provided piano and guitar lessons and sets of Encyclopedias to improve their minds.

President Harry S Truman fires General Douglas MacArthur as commander of United Nations Forces.

United Nations forces recapture Seoul during the Korean War.

Cleveland Disc Jockey Alan Freed coins the term Rock N Roll.

The Dennis the Menace comic strip appears in newspapers across the U.S. for the first time.

Popular Films:

• An American in Paris
• The African Queen
• A Streetcar Named Desire
• The Day the Earth Stood Still

Popular Music

• Perry Como
• Mario Lanza
• Nat King Cole
• Tony Bennett

First oral contraceptive (the Pill) was invented by Luis E. Miramontes.

Direct dial coast-to-coast telephone service begins in the United States.

First Color Television Pictures broadcast from Empire State Building.

Enjoy the following images:

Happy Birthday Robert Bode!

CPW

A Place for Reflection: Homage to Obama

As we approach the 2020 election, I offer you this poem written in 1916 by William Butler Yeats.

These are the clouds about the fallen sun,
The majesty that shuts his burning eye:
The weak lay hand on what the strong has done,
Till that be tumbled that was lifted high
And discord follow upon unison,
And all things at one common level lie.
And therefore, friend, if your great race were run
And these things came, So much the more thereby
Have you made greatness your companion,
Although it be for children that you sigh:
These are the clouds about the fallen sun,
The majesty that shuts his burning eye.

CPW

A Place to Stand Up, Stand Out, and Say NO

If you haven’t done so already, I urge you to purchase, On Tyranny, Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, by Timothy Snyder.  In a nutshell, it is an extended pamphlet on how to protect democracy.

Lesson 8 reads,

Stand out.

Someone has to.  It is easy to follow along.  It can feel strange to do or say something different.  But without that unease, there is no freedom.  Remember Rosa Parks.  The moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others will follow.

Article I, Section 8, Clause 7 of the United States Constitution states,

[The Congress shall have Power . . .] To establish Post Offices and post Roads; . . .

Trump's newly appointed Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, is tampering with the U.S. Postal Service with the intent to suppress votes in districts that are populated by citizens of color.  In order to preserve our democracy, we must stand up, stand out, and say NO to all forms of voter suppression.

I urge you to write your Congressmen and Senators and take a stand to adequately fund the U.S. Postal Service so that every vote by mail, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, can arrive on time and can be counted. Democracy Matters!

CPW

A Place to Experience the Great Circle/Cycle of Life: Homage to Walt

Circle is infinite set of points on a plane at equal distance from one point that is called center. 

Cycle is set of events that repeat in some order and could be represented by a circle where points represent those events. Like clock, it starts at 0h 0m and 1s you have many seconds that are passing and after 12 hours you get to 12h 0m and 0s. Second after that it's again 0h 0m and 1s.

            -Pavla Mandic

When one lives on a hobby farm with animals, one experiences fully the circular (cyclical) patterns of life.  From the first tweets of the birds, to the evening departure of bats from the barn, the daily circles spin forth.  Months are defined by the cycles of the moon, and the seasons pass, each with their own splendor.

Walt

On July 30, 2020, Walt, the patriarch of the goat herd, died; but two days later, two kids (one buck and one doe) were born to Dr. Annie, our friend and family veterinarian.  Walt sired them.

Two of Walt's offspring 2020

We remember the day we brought Walt to Merry Mount, and from that day to his last, Walt was sweet and affectionate unlike most bucks.  Yes, during rutting season, he stunk, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t want his ears scratched and he still looked up at you with loving eyes.

Rett holding Walt in 2014

We miss Walt and will continue to hold fond memories of him, but let’s spin out for a broader perspective.

For a well-written essay on our subject, I offer “The Death of a Pig” by E. B. White, referred to me by Robert Bode.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1948/01/death-pig/309203/

If you chose not to read E. B. White (shame on you), then let’s move to the “heart of the matter”.  As we stand and gaze at a clear star-filled sky, we perhaps ask ourselves, “What is the significance of my life in this vast circle we call the universe?”.  My answer: to observe perpetually, be creative (recreating counts), and “to live and let live”.

In my circle, I stand at the fixed point. How widely can I expand the outer rim of the circle?  Or, shall I shrink the circle to fit the palm of my hand?

To See the World in a Spotted Moth

To close the circle, I offer you the following words sent to me by Lee Thompson, who received the words from our friend Joa, who lives in Santa Fe, NM.

THE SACRED CIRCLE - Black Elk

“You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the power of the world always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. In the old days, all our power came to us from the sacred hoop of the nation and so long as the hoop was unbroken the people flourished. The flowering tree was the living center of the hoop, and the circle of the four quarters nourished it. The east gave peace and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave rain, and the north with its cold and mighty wind gave strength and endurance. This knowledge came to us from the outer world with our religion. Everything the power of the world does is done in a circle. The sky is round and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing and always come back again to where they were."

Stay open and be well!

CPW