Friday, 20 April 2018
The morning weather report on the ABC affiliate here includes a farm weather report. I knew this was rural farming country but didn't think about a designated weather report.
I waited until mid-morning to compensate for last night's freezing temperature and then drove into Erie to see things I missed the other day.
I was quite surprised to see the Commodore Perry Yacht Club and a sizeable pleasure boat harbor. It was completely empty, of course, because of the continuing winter; all the boats were stored on land, and the fancy ones were shrink-wrapped (that's what it looked like).
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| a few shrink-wraps to the left, small boats on right, harbor behind them |
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| built of sandstone in the 1800s |
I drove out to the Erie Land Lighthouse and was unexpectedly charmed. It's on a cliff above the point where Presque Isle Bay and Lake Erie meet (see lower photo), but it's also a residential neighborhood.
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| the history of the lighthouse |
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| Presque Isle and Lake Erie |
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| I liked this story, though I think this is too blurred to read - sorry. |
I hope you can blow up the Presque Isle photo to see the black-and-white lighthouse, which is what the plaque tells about. I thought it was interesting. These plaques were only a few feet away from the Land Lighthouse, and you can see the water in the background, showing where the lighthouse is situated.
From here, I went back into town to the Erie Maritime Museum. Outside is a historical plaque in memory of Paul Siple, a local boy who made good: he was the only US Boy Scout chosen to go with Byrd on the South Pole expedition in 1928; later he designed an all-climate army gear and created the Wind Chill Index (presumably inspired by the winds off Lake Erie). I've wondered where it came from, and now I know.
Museum admission for seniors is $8.00 and includes a guided tour of the US Niagara. The museum exhibits are self-guided, though there are several volunteer guides sitting around hoping someone will ask them questions. They were very knowledgeable and helpful.
I cribbed this photo because I couldn't get a good enough angle and, anyway, the boat in the museum wasn't under sail. In fact, it turns out they take it apart every winter and reassemble it every spring for tours and sailing trips. Because of the late spring, they were scrambling to get it up to Coast Guard standards in time for visitors. But I could still see plenty and it was really interesting.
Part way up both masts are platforms that were used by marine sharpshooters (early snipers) to try to pick off key personnel on the enemy ships. What a precarious position that would have been - lashed to a mast, trying to aim while everything's rocking back and forth, and a prime target yourself.
The ship I toured is the 5th iteration of the Niagara, the 1st being the one that fought in the Battle of Erie in the War of 1812. That ship was scuttled by the Americans after the war to keep it from being seized. But they didn't get around to raising it for about 100 years and, by then, there wasn't much left. There were still bits and pieces of the wood, though, and they reused them in the current version in ornamental places, like the officers' quarters. The ship also still uses the 1813 wood-burning stove that was on the original ship.
Ships back then, and the version I toured, embedded prisms in the main decking which served as skylights - it's surprising how much light comes in below when refracted by the prisms.
And now I know where the term "midshipmen" comes from: the crew slept in hammocks toward the bow; the officers-in-training slept in berths farther aft of them; the officers slept in cabins in the stern. So the officers-in-training slept amidships, making them midshipmen. How about that?
The one doctor, known as a surgeon (probably because he most usually did amputations), on the Niagara had an idiosyncrasy, practiced by no one else, of putting his surgical instruments in hot soapy water between patients. The odd thing is that his survival rate was 96%, a rate that was unsurpassed until World War I. Considering the ghastly medical conditions during the Civil War, for instance, it's too bad nobody drew the logical connection to his rudimentary sterilization process.
Coincidentally, I watched "Pirates of the Caribbean" a few nights ago, and it was pretty neat to have the capstan and the sweeps explained in real life. When I said that to the guide, he said the best movie he'd seen for accurate depiction of marine life was "Master and Commander."
The museum is smack next door to the city library, and outside the library is a 9/11 memorial including a piece of a metal beam that was recovered from one of the buildings.
Across the street on a hill I saw a Russian Orthodox church, which I wasn't expecting.
Museum admission for seniors is $8.00 and includes a guided tour of the US Niagara. The museum exhibits are self-guided, though there are several volunteer guides sitting around hoping someone will ask them questions. They were very knowledgeable and helpful.
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| US Brig Niagara |
I cribbed this photo because I couldn't get a good enough angle and, anyway, the boat in the museum wasn't under sail. In fact, it turns out they take it apart every winter and reassemble it every spring for tours and sailing trips. Because of the late spring, they were scrambling to get it up to Coast Guard standards in time for visitors. But I could still see plenty and it was really interesting.
Part way up both masts are platforms that were used by marine sharpshooters (early snipers) to try to pick off key personnel on the enemy ships. What a precarious position that would have been - lashed to a mast, trying to aim while everything's rocking back and forth, and a prime target yourself.
The ship I toured is the 5th iteration of the Niagara, the 1st being the one that fought in the Battle of Erie in the War of 1812. That ship was scuttled by the Americans after the war to keep it from being seized. But they didn't get around to raising it for about 100 years and, by then, there wasn't much left. There were still bits and pieces of the wood, though, and they reused them in the current version in ornamental places, like the officers' quarters. The ship also still uses the 1813 wood-burning stove that was on the original ship.
Ships back then, and the version I toured, embedded prisms in the main decking which served as skylights - it's surprising how much light comes in below when refracted by the prisms.
And now I know where the term "midshipmen" comes from: the crew slept in hammocks toward the bow; the officers-in-training slept in berths farther aft of them; the officers slept in cabins in the stern. So the officers-in-training slept amidships, making them midshipmen. How about that?
The one doctor, known as a surgeon (probably because he most usually did amputations), on the Niagara had an idiosyncrasy, practiced by no one else, of putting his surgical instruments in hot soapy water between patients. The odd thing is that his survival rate was 96%, a rate that was unsurpassed until World War I. Considering the ghastly medical conditions during the Civil War, for instance, it's too bad nobody drew the logical connection to his rudimentary sterilization process.
Coincidentally, I watched "Pirates of the Caribbean" a few nights ago, and it was pretty neat to have the capstan and the sweeps explained in real life. When I said that to the guide, he said the best movie he'd seen for accurate depiction of marine life was "Master and Commander."
The museum is smack next door to the city library, and outside the library is a 9/11 memorial including a piece of a metal beam that was recovered from one of the buildings.
Across the street on a hill I saw a Russian Orthodox church, which I wasn't expecting.
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I'd never heard of Gannon University, but it's spread out in the downtown area and uses some old residences as dorms and classrooms. I was stopped at a light and noticed a pretty house, and the sign out front said it was Gannon's Forensic Investigation Center.
The old millionaires section of town is really pretty, though not quite as fancy as in Bethlehem for some reason. A couple of them have been turned into bed-and-breakfasts.
According to the vacant warehouses and industrial buildings, Erie was once much more thriving, But the people who live there now seem to like it a lot and are trying hard to do things that will encourage entrepreneurs and other enterprises that can entice young people to stay. They really want to revitalize the town. I actually think it's got a lot going for it as it is, but I'm not trying to make a living.
Master and Commander is an amalgam of two books, both written by Patrick O'Brian. He wrote an entire series of novels following the same Aubrey/Maturin characters, and they're very well done. They provide very accurate depictions of life in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic wars (and before and after). He offers details that are typically glossed over by others, such as C. S. Forester, who wrote the Horatio Hornblower series of books. Good reading.
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