Words of Old at Christmastime: "Christmas at Orchard House" by Louisa May Alcott

Excerpt:

“Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.

“It's so dreadful to be poor!" sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress.

"I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all," added little Amy, with an injured sniff.

"We've got Father and Mother, and each other," said Beth contentedly from her corner.


Published 1868

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Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

The Classics - CLOSING LINES: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

 
 "Lastly, she pictured to herself how this same little sister of hers would, in the after-time, be herself a grown woman; and how she would keep, through all her riper years, the simple and loving heart of her childhood: and how she would gather about her other little children, and make their eyes bright and eager with many a strange tale, perhaps even with the dream of Wonderland of long ago: and how she would feel with all their simple sorrows, and find a pleasure in all their simple joys, remembering her own child-life, and the happy summer days."     (Published 1865) 
  

 I love the classics and plan to alternately share some "CLOSING lines" over the coming months. Comment if you wish, or read for inspiration. Writing styles were different then, or were they really? 

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

The Classics - Opening Lines: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

WELL, PRINCE, Genoa and Lucca are now no more than private estates of the Bonaparte family. No, I warn you, that if you do not tell me we are at war, if you again allow yourself to palliate all the infamies and atrocities of this Antichrist (upon my word, I believe he is), I don't know you in future, you are no longer my friend, no longer my faithful slave, as you say. There, how do you do, how do you do? I see I'm scaring you, sit down and talk to me.  (Published 1869)



I love the classics and plan to share some "opening lines" over the coming months. Comment if you like, or read for inspiration. Writing styles were different then, but were they really?

F is for Fire Escape: Inventions by Women A-Z

Anna Connelly invented a fire escape that was patented in 1887. Very little is known about her personally, but from the patent, we do know she resided in Pennsylvania. According to one source, her filing was the first patent registered for a woman after the Civil War. (But I would add, it was maybe one of the first, since there were certainly other women with patents prior to 1887). It would be interesting to research her story using primary resources (hmm....a book opportunity for someone?). 

1860 New York City Tenement Fire

 We do know that fire escapes were either missing or inferior in American cities in the late 19th century (and likely elsewhere in the world). Without building codes, fire outbreaks had become a serious threat to lives and property. With more and more apartments (tenement housing), and multi-level business buildings and factories being built, increasingly in wood, news of workers and families trapped inside their workplaces and homes was becoming commonplace. 

One tenement fire in 1860 made the headlines that caused alarm when people had to jump from the burning building. Fortunately, that particular fire and others like it brought attention to the problem. There was a sharp increase in fire escape inventions during the period 1877-1895. 

Thirty-three of the inventions filed were by women. 

Anna Connelly's invention was an improvement over the classic fire escape that wound down the side of a building. Her invention allowed people to escape via an "iron railed bridge" that  connected adjacent roof tops and buildings. Two trap doors at both ends of the bridge made access easy. 

The diagram in the patent

An example of how it worked

Anna's invention led to the first building codes ever established in New York City, which stated that a second means of escape in a fire was mandatory. The fire escape did not require remodeling of the building, so it was very cost effective, and helped fire fighters get water to the fire faster. The new fire escape also had staircases with platforms between levels, preventing people from falling. 

Anna's invention was not the first fire escape patent filed. In 1766 another patent had been filed for a much cruder set-up involving a pulley system with a wicker basket, whereas Anna's fire escape with all its improvements, became the prototype for the modern fire escape we know today. Thousands of lives have been saved as a result.



 
Sources:
http://americacomesalive.com/newsletter-archive/important-inventions-women-may-2014/
http://www.thetalleygroup.com/tag/anna-connelly/
http://eastcoastfireescapes.com/fire-escapes-and-eminism-the-irst-ire-escape-invented-by-a-woman/#.VQDTyY6UbYg  

Copyright 2015 © Sharon Marie Himsl

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing
 

The Classics - Opening Lines: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

"Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do. Once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, 'and what is the use of a book,' thought Alice, 'without pictures or conversations?'" (Published 1865)

I love the classics and plan to share some "opening lines" over the coming months. Comment if you like, or read for inspiration. Writing styles were different then, but were they really?
 

Brief History of the Stereoscope: Stereoviews A-Z

The Stereoscope is a special device used to view photos in 3-D. It was a popular form of entertainment in the U.S. from the 1840s to the 1930s, and also used as a teaching tool in classrooms for learning geography, natural history, world events and a wide variety of topics.

The invention was based on English scientist Charles Wheatstone’s research on binocular vision in the 1830s, and predates early photography. Wheatstone experimented with

Holmes Stereoscope

sketched drawings, but as knowledge of photography developed in the 1840s, the technique was applied to photos. The images were called stereographs (or stereograms) in the beginning, and later known as stereoviews.

 

Here is how the stereoscope works. Two identical photos, arranged side by side on card stock, are viewed through the stereoscope as two and half inches apart (or the distance between the eyes) through the viewer's lense/mirror hooded assembly (on left in picture). The eye sees a 3-D image.

It was not until the Great Exhibition in 1851 that stereoscopes and stereoviews became known to the general public. Queen Victoria in England was fascinated with the invention, and influenced its mass production. One company, the London Stereoscopic Company, sold half a million stereoviews between 1854 and 1856.

In the U.S., author and physician Oliver Wendell Holmes invented a hand-held stereoscope viewer in 1861 that was more economical. With further improvements by Joseph L. Bates (a Boston merchant), the Holmes viewer was soon a common item in Victorian homes all across America.

The stereoscope lost its appeal in the 1930s with the advent of silent film and radio. In the 1950s, it made a comeback with the ViewMaster, a type of stereoscope for children that can still be purchased in stores. And of course . . . there are 3-D movies and television today.

Interesting information for collectors:

http://taggart.glg.msu.edu/stereo/holmes.htm (how to make modern stereoviews)
http://www.stereoworld.org/index.php (National Stereoscope Association; publications, worldwide organizations, and information on workshops and conventions) 

Other Sources:

http://cnx.org/content/m13784/latest/
http://www.stereoviewmadness.com/stereoviewmadness.com/The_Stereoview.html
http://home.centurytel.net/s3dcor/index.html
http://yellowstonestereoviews.com/publishers/neweducational.html

http://yellowstonestereoviews.com/publishers/cosmopolitan.html
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA03/staples/stereo/stereographs.html

  Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl; Gravseth family archive

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

Welcome Spring

The grow light experiment worked! Hubbard and zucchini squash on the far left are the winners, and will need larger pots soon. The tomatoes on the right have plenty of room to grow for planting this June. Petunia is growing in the rear at a slower rate. Only half of the seeds sprouted. Someone has told me petunia is difficult to grow, so maybe half is good? On the lower rack, there are various herbs, lettuce and spinach growing.

I am surprised at how much water the seedlings have required - daily misting and watering every other day without fail. The heat from the fluorescent lamp is low, but enough to dry out the soil apparently.  Spring is here, but it is far too cold for planting on the Palouse in eastern Washington. We are still in the low 40-50°F degree range during the day and 20-30°F degree range at night. To our south in Lewiston (ID) and Clarkston (WA), spring often comes a month early. Temperatures can be as much as 10 degrees warmer. Vince and I decided to drive there over the weekend to do some shopping.

It takes about 45 minutes to reach the Lewiston grade. It's quite a drop in elevation as you can see below. In the 1970s when my husband and I first moved to the area, we took this windy road described on the sign (it was the only way!). We now drive down a slick four-lane highway at sixty miles an hour. Truckers are more cautious, however, and sand-filled escape lanes are provided in several locations - and for good reason. We have heard stories over the years of trucks losing their brakes and sailing over the cliff on that first road.

View from the top. It is still very much winter here, as you can see. These hills will turn velvety green soon, but not for long. They will be brown over most of the hot summer. Lewiston is below to the right. By the way, Lewiston is named after Lewis Meriwether of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Clarkston to the right of this view is named after William Clark.

We stopped in Lewiston along the Clearwater River to view the old 18th Street Bridge. There we saw a touch of green in the grass, and hills in the distance, but trees elsewhere are still in the bud stage.
 

Some history on the bridge follows . . .

Coming home, those gray clouds turned into 
a raging snow blizzard. 

Ah . . . spring, don't you just love it!

Bleeding Kansas by Richard Reece: Book Review

"Essential Events" series
Bleeding Kansas
Author: Richard Reece
Publisher: ABDO Publishing Company, 2012
Reviewer: Sharon M. Himsl
Age: 12 up, Young Adult nonfiction
Pages: 111

In Reece's new book, Bleeding Kansas, students studying the Civil War will gain a deeper understanding of how the war began. In 1854, the Territory of Kansas became center stage in the nation’s heated debate over slavery. Senator Stephen A. Douglas pushed through legislation (Kansas-Nebraska Act) that allowed settlers in Kansas to decide whether slavery would be legal in their territory. There were sharp divisions among the settlers. Slavery was voted in as legal, but the anti-slavery settlers questioned the handling and fairness of the election. Violence and bloodshed erupted between the two groups, culminating in bloody massacres, as in the Pottawatomie Massacre (1856), led by anti-slavery advocate John Brown; and the Confederate raid on Lawrence, Kansas (1863) during the Civil War. Some historians believe that the conflict in Kansas actually “led to the Civil War,” Reece writes. He further explains how slavery had gained a foothold in the United States, becoming vital to the country’s economy and wealth from the beginning. However, objections to slavery grew over time, but not on moral grounds alone. Many Americans argued that slavery reduced the number of jobs available to free citizens. Photos, images, and sketches bring to life the conflict, and Reece uses sidebars to describe related events, such as the Missouri Compromise, the Abolition Movement, Nat Turner’s Rebellion, the Dred Scott Decision, and the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Timeline, Glossary, Essential Facts, Resources, and Index are included.  

Copyright 2012 © Sharon M. Himsl