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Sheldon Hall’s Days Of Yore

Not far from the cottage where I spent summers stood Sheldon Hall, the beloved and well-known mansion built by Ralph Sheldon in 1920. It was, at the time of my childhood, not lived in, but was well cared for, the lawn a carpet of green that spread out forever beside the lake, the old manse stately but in danger of becoming lost to the century it had been built in. It was also, more often than not, the forbidden playground to the summer kids that lived in the neighborhood and a curiosity to the people who lived nearby. Times were different back then. You could leave a mansion alone ...

Picnic Times

When I was ready to double-check my writing with the internet, I discovered there was no National Picnic Day anywhere near this time. It’s observed on April 23rd (which is usually far too chilly) with the international day set for June 18th. What was I thinking? The reply to this (assuring me I haven’t lost it at all!) follows: “According to one source, Picnic Day was originally declared a public holiday so railway employees could go to the Adelaide River in Australia’s Northern Territory to enjoy a picnic. Regardless of the origins, Picnic Day is an annual day of rest for ...

Answer This Demon By Saying, ‘I Can’

It seems I’m calling our local Law Enforcement agency more often than I’ve had to in past years, to register some concerns and complaints regarding what’s been going on in our neighborhood lately. Now I realize, mine is not the only area where these happenings are occurring. I do realize others in other areas have the same concerns/complaints. Concern one: It seems more and more people have been riding motor bikes (mini ones, dirt bikes, and smaller versions of “hog” motorcycles), up and down streets, creating loud disturbances of peoples’ peace, often at evening time, ...

Olympics Bring Back Memories Of Summer Sports

With the opening of Summer Olympics my mind went to some of the sports that will be featured. Yes, baseball is back. Other sports are making their debut. I watched a young man talk about skateboarding and the two divisions that will be part of the games. During the opening ceremony it became quite apparent that the U. S. is just a small part of the whole world picture. I listened to the commentators talk about the population of the various countries. I saw where they were located. There were countries represented that I truthfully had never heard of. It was truly a geography ...

What Are You Feeding Your Lake?

At the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, we think about what we humans feed our lakes, streams and groundwaters. We all live in a watershed. What runs off our yards with and in precipitation, what we place on our yards, what drips out of our vehicles, what we put in our dishwashers, down our ...

Language Learning Begins At Birth

CHAUTAUQUA – When this columnist was a newspaper reporter, he did a 22-part series letting teachers of all sorts share their thoughts on, and approaches to, the profession. It was fun just to let teachers open up. In their own ways, they all did. A local reading teacher advised reading to children every day. Starting at birth. Yes, birth. Fast forward to this summer at Chautauqua Institution. The Chautauqua Women’s Club introduced Dr. Barbara Foorman as a professor at the Florida Center for Reading Research at Florida State University in Tallahassee. She was the ...