Figure It Out Friday First Photo Sleuth Award

Figure It Out Friday

Where was this photo taken?
There is someone here who would not normally be photographed.

Hugh Mercer Apothocary: Leeches

And then she reaches for the leeches!

Figure It Out Friday Answer

The sight of someone putting a hand in a glass bowl filled with water and pulling out a slimy leech usually draws gasps from the eighth graders that I conduct through the Hugh Mercer Apothecary in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Some are revolted but others are mesmerized by the live, wet mass displayed on her hand. "Ooooo!” Questions abound concerning the origin, safety, care, feeding, and possible pain inflicted by the leech.

The colonial reenactors at the apothecary stay in character to interpret colonial medications and extol the benefits of bleeding by this method, making several sales pitches in favor of the good doctor (one of over 5,000). Several students shudder, but most think it’s ‘cool’. They preface the need for leeches in 18^th century terms by first pointing out that an imbalance of fluids (or humors) causes disease; the delicate balance of bodily fluids can only be reestablished by bleeding, purging, blistering and vomiting! It seemed that for every ailment, a vein would be opened for serious bloodletting, and/or leeches pressed into service; sometimes one would perform this on one’s self with a pocket scarificator.

The whole experience of learning about medicine in colonial America both fascinates and disturbs them. A few of the students, after being shown several herbs and roots, thought they were very much like the ones depicted in Harry Potter. However, they are surprised by the coarse, blunt, and dirty surgical instruments used by Doctor Mercer. Sterilization and hygiene are unknown during this time period, so naturally there was a high mortality rate.

Imagine the students’ expressions when I inform them, after our visit, that leeches are still in use in modern medicine particularly for reattachment of fingers and toes as well as for breast cancer patients! They groan again, because there could be a remote possibility of a leech in their future, which is far scarier to them than a horror movie!

I normally go on to explain how the leeches, by their constant sucking, keep the blood flowing and exchange it for the natural anti-coagulants in their saliva. More groans! I also point out that leeches can carry bacteria that are detrimental by causing infection.

The good news, for my squeamish eighth graders, is that a mechanical leech is being developed and tested at the University of Wisconsin. The bell-shaped glass and metal device, measuring about a half an inch long, and patented by Wisconsin Alumni Research Fund, has fluids running through it, irrigating the wound while pulling the blood through. This process keeps the tissue healthy.

After our visit, questions and discussion are encouraged covering modern medicine, education, medication, antibiotics, (which would have allowed General Washington to live longer), diseases, epidemics, laser surgery, hospitals, homeopathic, holistic, and other alternative cures. After all, medicine and health should also be part of the historic picture.

The general consensus: these students would rather have died than to have been subjected to the ‘skill’ of this doctor - which was not unlike the sentiments of much of colonial society. Colonists had a better chance of recovering by doing nothing!

The apothecary was owned by colorful Scotsman Hugh Mercer (1726-1777), who was both a physician and American patriot. He had been a good friend of George Washington’s (Ferry Farm, Washington’s boyhood home is relatively close to downtown Fredericksburg and Washington sold it to Mercer in 1775). Additionally, Washington’s overbearing mother, Mary Ball Washington, was one of his patients. (For a complete biography, please consult this.) He died of his wounds received at the battle of Princeton in 1777.

Famous descendants of Hugh Mercer are Civil War General Hugh Wheeler Mercer, General George S, Patton, and for my Georgia readers and lovers of popular music, composer Johnny Mercer.

The Hugh Mercer Apothecary, and the Rising Sun Tavern, is administered by the Association of the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA) and is located in the historic downtown area of Fredericksburg, Virginia. It’s a wonderful stop between Washington, DC and Richmond/Williamsburg for these two sites (amongst others) and lunch. They are far more interesting and student-friendly than the ones in Williamsburg because they retain the character and charm of the colonial era.

For more information concerning leeches, please see this excellent essay.

Figure It Out Friday 070307

How are these three pictures related?

Figure It Out Friday 072707

What is this? Where do you think I am?

The answer here

Figure It Out Friday 070607

Washington, DC Memorials Dedicated to:
Albert Einstein, John F. Kennedy, and Mary McLeod Bethune

All sculpted by Robert Berks

Click here if you want to learn more about the installation of the Einstein Memorial, in Robert Berks own words. (Quicktime need for audio)

Did you hear the one about the Polish strike in Jamestown?

Figure It Out Friday 06/22/07

Waiting for a punchline? Read on.

If you look at my archives on the side of this page, you will notice that there aren't any entries for May. May was a particularly busy month for me as I was on tour for all but one day!

On my one day off, May 12th, I went on a busman's holiday and visited Jamestown on the anniversary weekend with my brother/cousin and stepmother/cousin. My stepmother had visited Jamestown in 1957 and her father, my cousin as well, had visited in 1907! So it's a bit of a family tradition and important for us to pay respects to our ancestors who settled in Jamestown.

We were more interested in Jamestown Island that day and attended lectures, watched demonstrations, and my stepmother and brother were particularly engrossed in the excavations and the new museum of archeology called the Archaearium

While we were on the top of the mound opposite the church listening to the findings of the archaeologists, I noticed a color guard carrying an American flag as well as a Polish one, marching briskly past the ruins of the old church

I remembered that for years the National Park Service had leaflets printed in Polish at their visitors' center because Jamestown was also a Polish shrine.

Knowing that I have a bit of Polish somewhere in my mosaic background (through my maternal grandfather), I deserted my British-based relatives and proceeded to follow the Polish guard until they stopped in front of the statue of John Smith overlooking the James River.

These were members of The Polish Pioneers of Jamestown.

The Poles in Jamestown

On October 1, 1608, the Mary and Margaret, the first supply ship to Jamestown after the founding of the colony, carried 5 Poles and Pomeranian Germans (referred to as 'Dutchmen') who were hired by the London Company at the suggestion of either Captain John Smith or Captain Christopher Newport. (John Smith took the credit.)

Smith knew the worth of the Poles after spending a few years in Poland and having fought beside them against the Turks in Hungary. The Poles were known to be fierce, capable, resourceful, great tradesmen, and superb craftsmen and artisans; they had a near monopoly on glass and the naval trades. Newport had traded extensively with the Poles.

These men were expected to develop the first export industry in British America, glass, as well as utilize their skills in pitchmaking, potash, timber (for shipbuilding), and military training to bolster the struggling colony.

When the Jamestown Settlers were having problems getting fresh water, it was the Poles who dug the first wells to help alleviate the problem and bring the first reliable source of safe drinking water.

John Smith was extremely pleased with these industrious workman, and requested that more Poles be sent. More did come with their families.

In 1619, Governor Sir George Yeardley issued a call for an Assembly meeting to set up the first representative legislative assembly in the new world. By charter and decree, only the British Virginians were allowed to vote. The Poles, being foreign born and many, Roman Catholic, were excluded.

After having endured years of hardship and labor in helping to sustain the settlement, the Polish Virginians felt insulted. 'No vote, no work' was their defiant rallying cry! Michal Lowicki, Zbigniew Stefanski, Jan Nata, Jan Brogdan, Karol Zrenica, and Stanislas Sadowski led the strike.

Their value and contributions to the colony and the effect it would have on the export industry persuaded the Virginia Company to include them, overturning the vote of the House of Burgesses; thus the Polish and German families became fully franchised into the colony.

Through this work-stoppage in 1619, the Poles became the first in America to strike to gain their civil rights, 361 years before Lech Walesa's Solidarity strike in Gdansk (for which he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983).

October 1st will mark the 400th anniversary of the Polish presence at Jamestown and the descendants of the original Polish settlers, The Polish Pioneers in Jamestown will be there just as they were on May 12th (pictured above) as well as Poles from all over the nation. However, you don't have to be Polish to attend, all are invited!)

The Polish inclusion in the all-British colony was America's epiphany for future immigration and civil rights.

And that's no joke.

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Touring with Students:

Most student tour groups visit Jamestown Settlement which exhibits a re-creation of the fort, three ships, Chickahominy village, and splendid museum. Perhaps they might visit the glassblowing house. So many groups never venture beyond the glassblowing house onto the original site of Jamestown. That is the most fascinating part! The National Park Service and The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA) have maintained the site in an almost pristine setting. One can see the original foundations of the later settlement, the ruins of the church (the site of the beginnings of democracy in the new world), historic cemetery, excavations, and the new Archaearium (archeological museum). The Park Service has a fantastic new visitors' center which includes a museum and film. One can get curriculum-based tours and activities through both the NPS and APVA.

School groups need to have a fee-waiver letter to get in free, all others have to pay the National Park entrance fees, unless one has a National Park Pass.

Interesting Websites:

Jamestown Island National Park Service

Jamestown Rediscovery - APVA

Polish Pioneers in Jamestown

Polish American Anniversary Celebration Committee

Courtly Lives

Historic Jamestown

NPS Archeology

Figure It Friday # 12 Answer

Answer:
A Moon Rock!

As groups enter the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Air and Space from the mall side, they tend to miss a lonely, black steel tower that is almost obscured by the security area. But if it is found, the delight on the faces of these students is unmistakable, for it displays a piece of moon rock brought back by the astronauts from the Apollo 11 mission.

Not only can it been seen, but it can be touched! The connection that one is touching something from a celestial entity over 240,000 miles away that represents the highest scientific and engineering achievement of mankind, is not lost.

“Wow!”

“Awesome! “

These are the words I routinely hear exclaimed.

Many take a few moments to reflect, the serious expressions on their faces belie the depth of thought; never underestimate these, most are quite profound and poetic.

While the moon rock at the National Air and Space Museum is private, personal, and tactile, the moon rock imbedded in the Washington National Cathedral’s ‘Space Window’ underscores the majesty of the event and puts it into a theological context. This rock was also a gift of the same astronauts, one of whom (Michael Collins, the only one not to have walked on the moon’s surface) had been a student at the St. Alban’s School for Boys, which is the academic choir school attached to the more properly named, Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

Looking up from the Cathedral, one is surprised that the red moon is actually depicted larger than the earth and the moon rock has been placed smack in the center.

One student looking up thought it was the eye of God looking down upon her! Others experience an epiphany that God’s kingdom is not confined to earth but is infinite. Most just think it is ‘cool’ that a space window would be in a cathedral. Bosses* above the window are carved to represent Alan Shepherd in his capsule and footprints on the moon.

These two places rock!

*Boss – Architectural term: A raised ornament, such as one at the intersection of the ribs in a vaulted roof

PHOTOS: : This Washington National Cathedral is not the only cathedral where the moon landing is celebrated, Blue Peter, a children's show in Britain had a contest for children to design bosses for York Minster Cathedral in Yorkshire. A six year old Rebecca-Rose Welsh, the youngest winner, designed a Man on the Moon for their vaulted ceiling which had been destroyed after a disastrous fire.

Gathering Moon Rocks. NASAexplores - student sheet

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Moonrock at the Air and Space Museum

Photo of the moonrock at the Air and Space Museum

The National Museum of Air and Space now also hosts some American icons from the National Museum of American History. They have various educational programs and activities all of which can be requested in advance: (A favorite of my groups is the paper airplane contest!)

Educational Programs and visits

Discovery Stations

Science Demonstrations

The Washington National Cathedral/Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul requires appointments for groups and charges a small fee for tours. The most popular tour is the architectural tour of the 2nd largest Gothic cathedral in the US and 6th largest in the world! US History is represented by windows, statuary, and even the pulpit! Visitors are welcomed and a donation is suggested. As a house of prayer for all people, one is invited to attend worship services.

Space and Technology Window

Cathedral Statistics

Educational Tour Information and Touring Options

Group Visit Request Form

Worship Times

Close Up Tours

Figure It Out Friday

What is the connection between these two?


The connection between these two stars is Ida and Isidor Straus - the elderly couple who perished together on the Titanic. They were a devoted couple and Mrs. Straus refused to get into the lifeboat without her husband and Mr, Straus refused to take up a space that could be used for a woman or child.

The flag represents the White Star Lines who owned the Titanic and the red star represents Macy's.

R.H. Macy had been a sailor who became a merchant, the red star was the tattoo he had on his arm.

The Straus family, one of the great Jewish families in America, bought the store from Mr. Macy and moved it to its present uptown location. Mr. Strauss was not only a well-respected businessman, but also one dedicated to public service and philanthropy. He also served briefly as a US Representative.

There is a plaque dedicated to them at the New York Macy's on 34th Street- just ask any employee where it is. There are also other tributes to the Straus family in New York . (There might be one in Georgia as well.)

Macy's isn't just the largest single department store in the world, it is now the largest retail chain.

It is also interesting to note that during the past century the red star was the symbol of Communism, whereas the Macy's red star represents Capitalism.

So the next time you visit your local mall or watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade, or even visit their flagship store in New York City, look up at the star and
remember Ida and Isidor Strauss: an eternal love story.

Mrs Straus almost entered Lifeboat 8, - then she turned back and rejoined her husband, she had made up her mind: "We have lived together for many years. Where you go, I go." Colonel Gracie and other friends tried to persuade her, but she refused. Mr and Mrs Straus went and sat together on a pair of deck chairs (Encylcopedia Titanica)
******************
Previous Tour Marm Titanic Posting
Photo of Straus Memorial Plaque


* The Isidor and Ida Straus Memorial is located at the intersection of Broadway and West End Avenue at W. 106th Street in Manhattan.
* New York City public school]] P.S. 198 in Manhattan]] is also named after the Straus'.
Straus Memorials and Cemetery PhotosFigure It Out Friday, Titanic Memorials,

Figure It Out Friday #9

Figure It Out Friday #8

Answer:

Myths About Hands

Well, we’re in the mist of student tour season and there are several myths that abound in the Washington, DC/Virginia area.

The most prevalent myths have to do with the hands of President Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial and the hands of the five Marines and the Navy Corpsman (Pharmacists Mate) at the United States Marine Memorial (Iwo Jima) in Arlington, Virginia.

This is where you can really tell if your tour guide is competent:

The myths concerning the Lincoln Memorial that range from the significance of the number of steps leading to it as well as the two ‘faces’ that are supposedly on the back of the statue and one on top of his head. I hear these bogus explanations every time I’m there with a group.

The myth of the seated Lincoln’s hands at the memorial is this: The hands represent ‘A’ and ‘L’ in sign language.

But one can understand where this myth emanated; it’s just a result of historic fact extended into an incorrect assumption.

Daniel Chester French did indeed know about American Sign Language as he had sculpted Thomas Hopkins Galludet and a young girl, Alice Cogswell . Galludet was, the first school for the deaf and currently the only university in the world to primarily accommodate the deaf and hard of hearing. It is located in Washington, DC.

But French did not sculpt the hands of President Lincoln, who was instrumental in getting the formerly named Columbia School for the Deaf established into an ‘A’ and ‘L’. (Since this is a federally chartered private university, the sitting President serves as a patron.)

The best source of this would be the papers and recollections of both Daniel Chester French and his daughter which can be found at Chesterwood, the home of the French family..

On the official website of Chesterwood one can find this :

By the end of October his first model was finished. He modeled the head on photographs and on the death mask made after Lincoln's assassination. Worried about the hands on the arms of the chair, he studied photographs to see how Lincoln usually placed his hands. French even made casts of his own hands for reference.

French also studied the life casts of Lincoln’s hands which can be seen in the museum dedicated to Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre.

The idea of the seated Lincoln is to show him as a great leader and judge; a Soloman-like figure. He is indeed in the seat of judgment which depicts faces, the Roman symbol of law and authority as well as unity. French wanted to convey the duality of his nature: stern and merciful; that necessary qualities for fair judgment and leadership. If one looks at the seated Lincoln and then walks to one’s right and looks at his profile, the expression is stern. The hand on the right (as we see it) is clenched; tension. Walk to the middle at look right up at him, the smile seems a bit crooked, and the bow tie definitely is; this is the transition between stern and merciful. Notice that the right leg is also pulled in, again tension. But take a look to the left, and the hand and leg are relaxed. And then if one goes to the side of the statue and looks at Lincoln’s other profile, he seems benign, with a hint of a smile; this is the merciful side. (By the way, these profiles are the only other 'faces' besides the front view, intended by French; the one in the back, which looks like either Robert E. Lee or Beethoven, and the one on top of the head are illusions, with urban legends to match.)

So again, consult primary documents rather than rely on hearsay and most internet sites.

There is an interesting email exchange here between concerning this question and the answer is a bit up in the air.

(By the way, just in case you were wondering, the number of steps at the memorial (from which ever one you start your count, is significant; they’re the exact number needed to get to the top! Any other explanation: lies, lies, and more lies!)

Now we get to the United States Marine Memorial, which is also known as, Iwo Jima.

No doubt you’ve seen or read, Flags of Our Fathers, and Letters from Iwo Jima and have some idea of the intent and carnage there.

The idea for the memorial came from AP photographer’s Joe Rosenthal’s photo, which is perhaps the best known photo of all of WWII. The massive sculpture by Felix de Weldon depicts five US Marines and one Pharmacists Mate (Navy Corpsman). It is perhaps one of the most exciting and moving pieces of sculpture in the world.

Counting the hands and legs seems to be a preoccupation for most groups and many faith-based groups have been telling that there are actually thirteen hands; the extra one is the, ‘Hand of G-d’.

Now that’s a nice story, but it just isn’t true.

Anyone who has a replica of this famous memorial and can look at it from a bird’s-eye view can tell that there are twelve hands. A pamphlet, The Myth of the 13^th Hand proving this, was written by Thomas W. Miller, Jr., who participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima. The pamphlet can be bought at the Arlington Cemetery gift shop for about $2.50.

My favorite story involving a fellow DC tour guide*, who was known to embellish and make up stories for effect is as follows:

It was right before the Marine Corps birthday, (November 10^th) and I had spoken with my student group about WWII, the history of the United States Marine Corps, Battle of Iwo Jima, and the story and statistics of the memorial. I stressed that there were only twelve hands.

As we got off the bus, my colleague, dressed as Uncle Sam, delivered one of the most poignant stories of the heroes of that battle and described the memorial. His last bit of theatricality was to remove his hat, bow his head, and with tears in his eyes, he looked towards the statue, raising his hand and said, “And the thirteenth hand is the hand of G-d”!

Naturally, my students looked at me smugly, until a voice shot out from behind the statute which surprised everybody! The voice belonged to a Maine who was actually in the sculpture! (Seeing the Marine juxtaposed against figures six times his size, gave some perspective as to how large it was!)

“I am Private (whatever his name) USMC, and I have been up here three days cleaning this memorial. I have been all over it! There are six individuals: five Marines and one Navy Corpsman. They each have two feet, two legs, two arms, and two hands. Twelve hands and twelve legs. That’s the way G-d makes them, and that’s the only way the Marine Corps takes ‘em!"

The hand of God was there, alright!

QED

And I think you know me well enough to know that this story is NOT an ‘Urban Legend’!

(Any group I conducted that had had him as a guide in the past, was a difficult group. I spent most of my time proving my points and therebydiscrediting him (which I didn't enjoy.). Some teachers still don’t believe me!)

Figure It Out Friday #7 032307

These two photos are connected to one man: This is a real brain-teaser!
Hint: If you know what the logo above represents, you're halfway there...

Worldess Wednesday #5 Answer Technical Problems

For some reason WORD is not allowing me to transfer my posts: My Neighbor: Dr. Ralph Bunche and Figure It Out Friday's, Emily Warren Roebling

I'll try to get them up as soon as I can figure out my WORD problem.

Figure It Out Friday #5

WHAT DO THESE TWO

HAVE IN COMMON?
Emily Warren Roebling
Details will follow in a new post

Figure It Out Friday #4

What do these two have in common?

Figure It Out Friday - Answers for Week 2

The portrait is of Commodore George Dewey standing on the prow of the United States Flagship Olympia, and the sarcophagus is America's official Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of WWI at Arlington National Cemetery.

The link between the two is the USFS Olympia. It was not only Commodore Dewey's flagship in Manila Harbor during the Spanish American War in 1898, but also brought back the remains of the America's official Unknown Soldier of World War I to Arlington in 1921.

Today, the USS Olympia is part of the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia. Their curriculum-based educational programs are excellent.

The next time you are planning to visit Philadelphia with your family or students, consider the Independence Seaport Museum.

Figure It Out Friday Week #3

B B B E G K L N O O R S

FIGURE IT OUT FRIDAY #2

What links these two?


The answer to Figure It Out Friday I:

The clue was New York City's Verrazano-Narrows Bridge which has connected the County of Richmond (Borough of Staten Island) to Kings County ( Borough of Brooklyn) since 1964. It's also where the New York City Marathon begins.

Teachergirl had established that the silhouette was of Robert E. Lee. So if you had figured out about the Verrazano Bridge, Googling/Yahooing Robert E. Lee, New York City, Verrazano, Brooklyn or Staten Island might have given you the clue to the fort. I had also posted a Postcard from New York, so I was in the New York State of Mind!

The fort is Fort Hamilton, which ironically is part of the Washington, DC Military District!

Capt. Robert E. Lee was the Post Engineer (1841-46) at Fort Hamilton which is in the Brooklyn. (Brooklyn is also known as Kings County but was an independent city until it was consolidated into New York City until 1898.)

Even when Lee was in Brooklyn, he wasn't too far away from Richmond! (Bad joke!)

Another Lee/New York Connection: The United States Military Academy at West Point where he was both an outstanding student (1825-1829) graduating second from the top of his class with no demerits, and as Superintendent (1852-55).

An interesting side note: Abner Doubleday, who popularized baseball and took over shortly after Gen. Reynolds was killed during the first day at Gettysburg, was posted as an engineer at Fort Hamilton in the early months of 1861. He was transferred to Fort Sumter where aimed the cannon that fired the first return shot in answer to the Confederate bombardment of the fort on April 12, 1861, thus starting the war.

Visiting: Fort Hamilton has a modest museum which is well worth the visit for history buffs. There are also some splendid vistas of the bridge and harbor.

There are several forts around the New York City area representing the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, the Civil War, and the World Wars. One of the most visited and yet overlooked forts is Castle Clinton; that's where one gets the tickets in New York for the Statue of Liberty!

I have designed a curriculum-based all New York State ETP for a California middle school for this coming April. (Two buses!!!) As I am also conducting it, I shall be reporting on our progress during the course of the program. I'm planning on visiting Ft. Hamilton.

The Educational Tour Marm

FIGURE-IT-OUT FRIDAY # 1

What is the connection between these two?

And why is today's date, January 19, 2007,
significant for one of them?

Answer will appear next Friday!