Ken Q

Happy birthday, Iain, and many happy returns!!!! Ken

Last weekend we had a blizzard here, first one in four years. While the snow was falling, accumulating quickly, and the wind blowing, and the temperature around +10, Chessie INSISTED he had to go out! We have a large screened porch (about 18' x30') where he is allowed. Well, on this occasion there was something that required his immediate attention. So out he went, ran the 30 feet to the north end in about five seconds, and returned to the door to be let in in another five seconds. Ken

Forget about a ships chronometer, Rolex watch or the Atomic Clock! There is no time piece as accurate as a cat's stomach!

A couple of years ago I gave my wife a sweatshirt with a black silhouette of a cat (our Chessie is black) with the logo "Cats are in charge-get used to it." Boy, are they as the comments above point out. Contrary to Wayne's comment, some cats certainly know what day of the week it is, though don't expect the little fur ball to respect your day off by allowing you to sleep in. Your day off is just a day when the kitty can demand even more attention. And they can count! Chessie gets six cat treats from each of every day at 1800. He knows it and insists on it. The problem is changing the clocks at the end of Daylight Saving time. He doesn't buy it; no excuse for his treats to be late. But in terms of a sense of humor, I have to hark back to Claymore, an earlier cat. We had an old fashioned desk top phone answering machine. She by accident found out that pressing the button made a beep. She had so much fun with that discovery, pressing the button whenever she wanted attention. Ken

Chessie has cabin-fever. He wants to go out on the porch, but it's too cold. He insists that we should fix it. After all, when we sit out on the porch it is nice and warm. All we need to do is go out and sit on the porch and it will be nice and warm. Cats are very smart, but cause and effect are not necessarily a strong point. Ken

-10? "A bit brisk!" my father-in-law, who lived in Minnesota, would say. And yes, it builds character! It doesn't get that cold here on the Atlantic shore, but the damp cold is tough on the old joints. But makes settling in front of a nice fire so much more enjoyable. Only problem is a difference of opinion on when I should start said fire. I like to start it about 4:30-5:00 or so. He who must be obeyed (Chessie the Cat) insists it should be MUCH earlier, and drives us crazy in the meantime. Ken

Thanks Graeme. Has been a bit colder than usual here on Long Island, at the northern end of the Middle Atlantic States. A storm every weekend, including this one. This one, though no snow (yet). Rain and fog today, maybe sleet and freezing rain late tomorrow. Inland areas to the west getting pummeled though. We supplement our expensive heating oil with a wood burning stove. Really cutting through the wood this month. Ken

Hi Larry, I downloaded the map of your museum, and I find it very interesting. I'm amazed at how much railroad is in 127 acres; A yard with turntable, A couple of stations, and a nice loop of track with sidings. I also noticed the fort, mission, village center. A lot there! The museum where I work has almost twice the acreage and is far more spread out as might be expected from a facility dedicated to illustrating the agricultural history of the region. We also concentrate on the time frame of late 18th century to the American Civil War, 1861 - 1865. An oddity we have on site is the Museum of American Armor. They are located on one under utilized corner of our acreage and show the development of tanks and other military vehicles from early 20th century on. We do one or two programs with them. Strange bedfellows! Ken

This is really great, Larry. We have one telegraph key in our collection, and I've always wanted to get another one and set up a system as you describe. Never happened, though. Part of our problem was where to put it. We have one building, the Layton General Store, that is late enough (1866) and sufficiently public that it could logically have had a telegraph service, but it never did. For one thing the infrastructure didn't exist in the area at the time. Just was looking at Calgary Heritage Park website. I am really impressed!!!! Seems like a really great facility. You even have a steam train. That was in the original plan for my museum, but like so many great ideas, that also never happened. Ken

That's the beauty of working in a Living History Museum. You get to learn and do the old crafts, but you also learn the history, the social aspects. You learn a lot, spend many, many hours in research, and then teach (show and tell) at least some of what you learn. In addition to the hat shop, I was the #2 blacksmith, worked on the farm, did the cider making in the Fall, and learned broom making, though I never practiced it. Although as a man I never actually do cooking and food prep/ preservation I had to be knowledgeable about it so I can support those who actually do it. That doesn't include programs like Decoration Day (1868) or Independance Day (various years). This was my second choice as a career, but it proved very rewarding. Ken

Don't tell me!!!!! I spend an awful lot of time talking about that! It's actually a very interesting story, but only about third of the visitors who bring it up are interested in where it comes from, what it really involves, and that the Rev. Mr. Dodgson's (AKA Lewis Carroll) "Mad Hatter" is not a hatter at all but a politician. Goes back to the free exchange between Europeans and Native Americans, not of ideas, but diseases (syphilis), processing pelts to make felt (yes, pelt and felt are the same word - Grimm's Law). Long story. I won't clog up this chatty forum, but anyone who wants the whole story can PM me. Ken

The story of the silk hat is more complicated. To start, beaver was a good part of the reason northern Europeans settled North America. They may have come looking for something else, but what they did find was beaver. Since the beaver population had been decimated in Europe by the 17th century ( totally extinct in England from c. 1600), the plentiful beaver quickly became a major trade commodity. But it takes four beaver pelts to make one hat; at that rate beaver had become scarce in the East by 1800. When Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark to explore the West he charged them to find sources of beaver. Meanwhile, in 1794 A hatter in London named Blackwell invented the "Silk" hat. It's not really made of silk, but rather of buckram and paste board. That is then lined with silk and covered with "Hatter's Plush;" A thin laminate of fur (usually beaver) on a silk base. It was a hard sell at first, considered cheap and not suitable for a Gentleman. But later Prince Albert decided he liked the hat, made it acceptable and popular. This popularity was in no small way driven by the fact that beaver is getting scarce and dreadfully expensive, in spite of the industrialization of the hat trade in the 1830s. Although beaver is very water resistant, hats are stiffened and waterproofed with a hat stiffiner. There were many recipes. Today we generally use a very thin shellac. Modern "Beaver" hats are almost always made of a blend. Pure beaver is just too expensive. Ken

Gee, Landon. I never thought of this as my hobby. Although I very much enjoy the work, and have returned to it in retirement, this has been my job, or at least a major part of it, for nearly 30 years. Before retiring at the end of 2011 I had other responsibilities as supervisor and program coordinator and developer, in addition to running the hat shop. When I went back in 2016, though I was hired strictly as the hatter. Incidentally, when I returned my wife was also hired to run food preparation and cooking programs. Though I was once full time, we now both work three days a week, (nine or so) months a year. Ken

Here a couple of pictures:

Very interesting, Rob. You and I work two parts of the early 19th century fur trade: you as provider, I as a middle man to the ultimate consumer, the hat wearing gentleman. As noted above and in other posts, I make men's felt hats in an early 19th century (c. 1813-1830) rural hat manufactory, preserved at Old Bethpage Village Restoration. Although I work primarily with wool felt, better hats in the 19th century were made of fur felt, especially beaver. I talk about this, and the importance of the beaver fur trade to the settlement and development of the United States. During the period I interpret beaver was the primary material, but "imitation beaver (muscrat) and wool were popular as well. Rabbit comes in a bit later. Pre-pandemic we would have a rabbit show every spring at the museum. It largely attracted little girls and their dads. I quickly learned not to refer to rabbits as " hats on the hoof - er, paw." That was sure to start the water works. Not so very far from you, in Vancouver WA there is the Fort Vancouver reconstruction. Have you ever been there? I have found their website useful. Ken

By the way, this is not to say I sit around feeling sorry for myself. I'm still active and working. Though "semi retired" I still work part time at my old job of Hatter in a living history museum (9 months a year). A rather physical job, just I have to pace myself because I can't stand for too long at a stretch. And I love flight simulator and doing it with an accurate cockpit and PilotEdge ATC. But doing some stuff takes longer than it used to. Ken

Long may it last, friend Landon! My first naval assignment was to the old WW2 aircraft carrier USS Wasp, CVS 18. I lived on th the fourth deck down, worked on the sixth deck up (4 & 06, ten deck commute), then pulled after steering watches on the sixth deck. A LOT of up and down ladders, plus going through water tight doors does a job on the joints. By age 22 the arthritis was a problem, acknowledged by the VA. But I stayed with it (Reserves) another 20 years nonetheless, finishing with a tour in Italy and Saudi Arabia during Desert Shield/Storm. Knees a mess by then. Still kept going until a few years ago when it really got to me. Caught up to me in my late 60s. I'm 73 now. My real regret: I always wanted a cruising sailboat. Now that I can afford it, my physical condition, and that of my wife, make it impossible to sail it, or for the matter, even maintain it. So, Landon, and everyone else, enjoy it while you can, and if it's really on your "bucket list" DO IT, and do it soon!!! Ken

Me too. I have a really nice (and pretty large) HO model railroad, set in SE New England in the 1890s. But there it sits. I haven't done anything with it for a few years. Building and maintaining a model RR involves working under the layout. My arthritis has gotten so bad that I can't do that any more. Hopefully after another surgery (sidetracked by Covid). I can get back to it. I am happy though, that before I got too bad, I took the opportunity to fire and operate (as engineer) in training, real steam trains in New Mexico/Colorado and in Connecticut. From time to time I do enjoy building models. In recent years I built a large scale model of the Titanic and smaller scale of LST 207, both ships with a family connection. Problem is space to display them. But part of my FS hobby involves building a "Sim Pit." Just recently finished the third rendition. Ken

Ah youth!!!!

Right you are, Rodger. The water looks like dishwater. Usually Sabrettes brand, served on a soft bun with sauerkraut, onions and spicy brown mustard. Always as tasty as the are a dietary disaster. My wife still counts it for righteousness! She spent months working on her dissertation at the New York Public Library, and of course there are competing dirty hot dog carts all around. Fine, most of the time. But sitting on the steps of the NYPL, munching on a tuna fish sandwich on Fridays in Lent, while smelling these luscious wares! Righteousness! Speaking of dietary discipline, years ago we attended the Mediaeval Academy of America conference held at the Cloisters in NYC. It happened to fall on a Friday in Lent. About 1/3 of the attendees were Jewish (who do not eat pork). Half were Roman Catholic or Episcopalian (who do not eat meat on Fridays in Lent). Lunch was included: ham and cheese sandwiches. Fortunately, they included wine. Hungry, but nevertheless happy. Ken

I'll stick with the fish'n chips too. But years ago when I was stationed at the Naval Base in Naples Italy the sizeable Filipino community held a street fair on base. Among the finger food offered was Lumpia (Filipino spring rolls). Delicious. I've had it frozen from the Commissary since, and it' s good, but not like the home made that I had then. There was also a road side stand that served a wood fire roasted chicken (we called it "road kill.") Like nothing else I've ever had. Then of course there's a " dirty water hot dog " I New York. Ken

None near where I live, either. My closest airport, and one that I visit from time to time, in Farmingdale Republic (KFRG). I consider this my " Home Airport," though I haven't flown out of it much for some time. I has never gotten the Orbx treatment. However some years ago Neil Hill corrected it to make it conform to "Vector." (New Highway cut right across the ramp and through the American Air Power Museum). While at it he made other changes so it's almost an Orbx Freeware upgrade. However, for the last couple of years I've been flying around the West Coast to make use of PilotEdge. There are two airports that meet Rodgers criteria, although I've never seen them in person. They resonate with me because of their historical associations, and the fact that they are so beautifully done by Orbx. 1. Pearson Field, Vancouver, WA. (KVUO) The oldest airport still active in the U.S. built on the storied site of Fort Vancouver, which started as a fur trading outpost. This is especially interesting for me; I have spent my career in a living history museum, much of it as a hatter. Often forgotten is the fact that the principle purpose of the early fur trade was to supply the raw material for hat manufacturing (beaver fur). A reconstruction of the original fort has been constructed on the airport property, just north of the west end of the runway. This is nicely done in the Orbx scenery. But there is more. The trading post morphed into an army base before becoming an airport. Then during WW2 the river bank was developed into a ship yard run by Kaiser. Kaiser developed prefab construction techniques. They built LSTs and other ships. Acadia Press has a nice little illustrated history in the "Images of America" series. 2. The other one is Blue Canyon Nyack Airport in Emigrant Gap, CA. (KBLU) This field overlooks Donner Pass, one of the passes through th Sierra Nevada Range. Flying through the canyons from Reno to Blue Canyon, you'd fly over Truckee airport, then a long lake once known as Truckee Lake. It was here that the Donner Party, A group of emigrants from Illinois, were trapped by an early season snow storm. They remained trapped through the bitter winter of 1846-1847. Many died, and in the end the survivors resorted to cannibalism. The story is told in the Best Land Under Heaven by Michael Wallis.

When the "Craft Beers" first started hitting the market, Sam Adams was the "local" brew. But since then many smaller, more local brewers have come along. Knowing, from experience, how hard they work, I like to support them. But Sam Adams is a great go to when choice is limited. Of the major commercial brands we like Pabst, crisp and light, and Yeunglings lager, from America's oldest brewery (how they survived Prohibition is a mystery). We typically by three growlers of locally brewed beer a week. That gives us each one pint (US) each night for dinner. I did enjoy home brewing for about ten years, but it is a time consuming process, and I found that it involved a lot of time standing, which my arthritic knees couldn't take. I did it in the basement, but boiling the wort made the whole house stink. Ken

I too forgot to mention the beer. Yes, Sam Adams is a favorite, but I like to support the local breweries like Blue Point. When in England I loved the Bitters. Here in the States they can be hard to find, or like Fuller's ESB, A bit expensive. But the local breweries make a nice selection of IPAs which are nice. For a number of years I had been doing my own brewing, but as my knees got worse it was another hobby I had to give up. Ken

Generally I'm not much of a sports fan, but I do enjoy watching the occasional baseball game (or where I work: Base Ball, 1870s rules). I like our local minor league team, the Long Island Ducks. The stadium is small and intimate, and prices much more reasonable. And pretty close and easy drive.without going into NYC. Ken