Pearl Harbor Day, an LVRT Award, and More

Today is Pearl Harbor Day, the anniversary of the surprise attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands - the event that plunged our nation into World War II. I'm old enough to remember that day -- how terrible it was, and how that attack changed everyone's life. WWII was a terrible war - so many lives lost in bitter battles in two theaters of war. Young men and women enlisted by the hundreds, leaving homes and families in the care of parents and grandparents. Those too young or too old to go to war worked hard to support the war effort, growing food, working in factories, buying Liberty Bonds, and volunteering to help in any way possible. We picked scrap metal, knit woolen socks, gloves and hats, wrote letters to those in service, saved our pennies to buy savings stamps, and checked the newspapers and radio broadcasts for the latest war news. We were a nation united for a cause. I hope some of you paused a moment today to remember what happened 82 years ago.

Jim Farnsworth alerted me about an award that the Vermont Agency of Transportation recently received for the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail (LVRT). Jim wrote: 

The attached article is from VHB that are the design engineers for the LVRT. They were involved from the start working with VAST and VAOT. Jim

https://www.vhb.com/news/lamoille-valley-rail-trail-wins-americas-transportation-awards/

Jim also sent more information about the 2023 America's Transportation Awards People's Choice Award. Vermont's  LVRT project competed successful with entries from other states, competing first in regional competitions and continuing to win the People's Choice Award. That is impressive. Thanks, Jim, for letting us know about this honor.

This probably seems like an unusual subject to be talking and thinking about in December with a heavy blanket of snow outside and with Joe's Pond iced over and quiet, but I found this video very interesting. It was made in Wisconsin, but their ecosystem is similar to what we have in Vermont, and it shows graphically what happens as wake boats proceed up and down our waterways. Scroll down a bit to find the video in the Responsible Wakes for Vermont Lakes newsletter, if you are interested.

I was saddened when I checked the obituaries in the Caledonian Record this morning and found that Ferguson MacKay had passed away. Ferg, as he was addressed by family and friends, taught at Lyndon State for several years; but I got to know him later, when he and his wife Jane spent summers at their home in Cabot. I'd known Jane for many years. She was Jane Coyle and her family owned the beautiful Victorian home, the Wiswell House,  on Main Street in Cabot - built by her great-grandparents, Dr. Wiswell and his wife, Seraphine. Jane and Ferg moved to the Rutland area several years ago to be near one of their daughters, and turned the home over to their two daughters. It is now on the National Register of Historic Places, and I am sure Ferg and Jane were both very happy that the family home for over 155 years will be preserved. Walking into that house is a step back in time, and over the years I have enjoyed stopping by to chat with Jane and Ferg. I hadn't seen either of the McKays for some time, but have communicated with Jane occasionally. I know they were a devoted couple and his presence will be missed by his family and so many others who knew him. 

Our weather has been without snow, but there was a bite in the air today, for sure, and it was a cold night last night. I had a low of about 9 degrees overnight - but thankfully, no snow. I think it may be a little warmer tonight. And warmer still this weekend, with rain in the forecast. But wait - the rain is going to turn to snow Sunday night so we'll have our third snow-bound Monday in a row. So it will be all hands on deck with plows and shovels again!

I cleaned the mantle over my fireplace on Tuesday. I intended to decorate it for Christmas, but when I had removed everything I made a rash decision to not put every item back up there. So now I have to figure out what to do with "gew-gaws" I no longer use or like to look at. Among the useless (to me) items are some kerosene lamps we used during power outages. We used to burn kerosene in them, but I didn't like the smell so I began filling them with lamp oil - no odor, no smoke. I have at least four of those lamps, and they served well when we needed to use them - sometimes for extended periods when power was off for a few days. But like the wood stove in the basement, I no longer need them.

Sometimes it's hard to part with familiar objects, especially if they have been around for generations or have some special meaning. I'm trying to ignore whatever attachment I may have to that clutter in order to simplify my life. Once they are out of my sight, I rarely think about them. However, I find that if I open boxes of items that have been stored for a long time, those bring back lots of memories and I invariably end up bringing things back into the house, things I of course don't need and won't use. I do enjoy having familiar items around, so I'll never be completely shed of them, but for now, my mantle has two bean-bag Christmas gnomes I made years ago and a whimsical  Nutcracker figure to represent the season, and a plant, mantle clock and loon carving occupying that space, and I'm determined to adopt a minimalist attitude. As for Christmas - I admit my house is not Hallmark-worthy with only lights in the windows and a decoration on the front door, but it makes me happy - no struggling with outdoor lights or a big cleanup on New Year's Day!