I saw dead people - again

Our historical society held their cemetery tour last night.  It was so successful last year that they thought they should do it again.  Not with the same dead people, silly, they "dug up" (couldn't help myself) six new ones.

There are several gates to the cemetery.  We chose one of the side entries.

Some of the organizers.  Everyone did a great job.

These two led us to the six grave sites.

First up was Louisa J. Hoffman.  Her first marriage was interesting in that she and her sister married brothers.  She thought that was exceptional but we happen to know sisters that did the same thing.  Right Mary and Ann Elder?
That marriage didn't work out for Louisa, though.  She kicked him to the curb and married the Hoffman fellow.  After his death she moved to Allegan in 1910.  She met an untimely death when the bricks from the chimney that was being repaired at her home fell on her head.  Watch out, Louisa!  Too late.

This handsome fellow is Horace Moore.  He was a lumber man who was quite successful.  A rich dude.  He built a beautiful home right down the street from ours.  It's for sale if you're interested.  My personal interest was in the fact that he was Mignon Delano's grandfather.

This is Boblicka, the "gypsy queen."  She came to Allegan with her family which included her husband and 7 children for the fair.  I imagine her plan was to read Tarot cards and tell fortunes.  Unfortunately she and her 8th baby died while she was giving birth.

Boblicka's headstone.

Mignon Sherwood Delano.  We always called her Mrs.Delano - never Mignon.

This "Mignon" talked about hiring John Pahl (local historian now in his 90s) as a kid to water down Cutler Street twice a day in the summer to keep the dust under control.
Mrs.Delano never had children and allowed the little Brachman girls who lived down the street to spend many, many hours in her home.

This is Anson Lince.  As a boy he loved trains.  He followed that love and became an engineer working for the Allegan and Lakeshore railway.   That job came to an abrupt end when poor Anson was only 34 years old.  On one of those trips the engine turned over pinning Mr.Lince underneath.  The steam did a number on him and he died shortly after being extracted from the train.  Yuck.

If you're a Yankee and have any southern friends I'm sure you've told this story a million times.  We never tire of it.
This is Benjamin Pritchard.  During the civil war, Gen.Pritchard commanded Company L and they were charged with capturing Jefferson Davis. 
A young soldier from Martin happened to spot Davis who was disguised as a woman trying to make his getaway.
That famous capture netted Pritchard with a cool $100,000 which he shared with his troops.
Our house sits in an area of Allegan called "Pritchard's Overlook." 

After the tour we were treated to a cool drink and a cookie in the chapel.  I missed both because I was so taken with this dress.  I would have bought it but was told it wasn't for sale.  I look good in black so I was very disappointed.

These markers were on display.

Another great tour.  The cemetery is so beautiful and the history is captivating.  
Can't wait until next year.

30 word Thursday - 11p

Cool evening.
AC off, windows open.
Time for bed.
Listen to the silence.
Wonderful when it happens here at the bottom of the hill.
No trucks.  No sirens.
Sweet dreams.

Pickle Street

My friend, Joy, is a wonderful artist.  As I sit here facing my computer screen I am looking at one of her water colors hanging on the wall above my desk.
Joy taught school for many years and retired 10 years ago.  What to do, what to do?  She subbed for a while (what the hell was she thinking?) and then just hung around at home eating bon-bons and watching soaps.  I made up that last part.
When Joy was a little girl she went to a one room school house (which was right next door to her home - talk about a long commute) called The Pickle Street School.
I don't believe I've ever heard why they called it Pickle Street because that is not the name of the street.  Although . . . now that I think of it, back in the olden days, it may very well have held that moniker.  I'll have to ask her.
Anyway, Joy had a brilliant idea to turn that old, empty, schoolhouse into a studio for artists.  
She teaches there and has a wide variety of other people from various fields come in to do their thing as well.

A lot of work and elbow grease went into this project but the original look was left untouched.

A nice bit of color greeted me that afternoon.

Check out the great floors.

The big windows let in natural light.

Joy's self portrait along side her artist bio.

Look - the blackboard still works.  Doesn't it make you want to grab the erasers and start clapping?  Wait - you didn't understand that reference?  How the hell old are you anyway?

A flyer filled with info about one of the guest instructors.

Some wonderful pieces coming off the student paint brushes.

Just in case you need a little help in the "color" department.

And here she is - the one with the idea. 

   Check out Pickle Street Studio on Facebook.  You won't be sorry.

Sunday morning walk

Most of the time I love walking Augie around town.  If I don't see something new, I always see "old" things that make me smile.
This morning we saw things from both categories.

The view from Augie's favorite bench.

There are many benches along the riverfront and he picks the same one every time.

Spruced up park.

Whose idea was this?  It's a great one.

I'm looking forward to watching it flourish.

I never get tired of this scenery.

It's like a "shot in the arm" for me.  It draws me when I'm feeling a bit sad.  It makes my smile even bigger when I'm happy.  I like to stand at the railing and look at the fountains and see the geese swim by. 

I've listened to a lot of music coming from this gazebo and been lucky enough to perform here myself.

 We have such a lovely riverfront.  If you're driving through - stop.  If you live here - come on down!

7 cities/7 days, part VII

Our last stop in this saga was Erie, PA.  Awww, are you sad it's come to an end?  Rumor had it there were 3 lighthouses in this area so this is how we decided to bring the trip to a close.

At first we thought this was one of the lights and were a bit disappointed.  What a couple of rubes we were.  I actually don't remember the significance of this tower and, truthfully, I didn't care.

We got directions from a friendly fellow to Presque Isle, their state park, and 2 lighthouses.  We saw these cool house "boats" on our way.

Light #1

Light #2

Then we headed back to town to see the last of the lights.

#3

We made an offer on this boat but the greedy bastards wouldn't accept it.

Remember me with doors, right?

We spent the night somewhere that had almost nothing to pick from for dinner so pancakes at Denny's seemed to fit the bill.
It was a wonderful week.  Augie had a blast at doggie camp and greeted us with a lot of licking and jumping.
Ah, the family is back together. 

7 days/7 cities, part VI

Enough of the battle grounds - let's go see a coolio house.
On to Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright.  This was our 3rd FLW house - saw the one in GR several years ago and the one in Chicago 2 years ago.
The drive to Fallingwater was absolutely beautiful.

This is the area between the store and cafe and the registration desk and the bathrooms.

This path leads out to the parking lot.

It was nice enough to catch a snack outside.

Peter made sure I went into the "ladies" to check out the very cool, techy hand dryer. 

You can only take exterior shots here.  It was truly amazing.

If you ever have the opportunity, take it.  It's just south of Pittsburgh.  
Stay tuned - Part VII comin' up!