HOLLYWOOD/LYME–In the preceding months, our very own Movie Man , Kevin Ganey, has ‘penned’ reviews of what have become some of the leading films now vying for the most coveted Oscars on Sunday evening.
Kevin’s crystal ball was clearly working well because in each case, he correctly predicted that these movies would be nominated for Oscar awards.
Check out his compelling reviews at the links below:
About the Author: Though no longer a resident of Lyme, Kevin knows he can never sever his roots to the tree of his identity. When not attending to his job in Boston, he is committed to ensuring a better grasp of current (and past) releases of cinema to his home community as he strives to leave his own mark in the same field that has always been his guide to understanding life. If you enjoy his published reviews here on LymeLine.com, follow him on his website at ‘The City of Cinema‘ and read more of his unique insights into entertainment.
It’s not every day when a movie about a child’s toy touches the souls of its audience and brings awareness to social issues. Then again, we are living in extraordinary times we never anticipated (the Red Sox and Cubs both have World Series championships, and American politics resembles trashy reality TV).
In fact, perhaps it is an even more fertile era to bring all the inequalities of society to the masses?
When Barbie (Margot Robbie) suddenly thinks about death in the matriarchal utopia of Barbieland, she is instructed by the wise, but incredibly battered, Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) to venture to the Real World and find the girl, who is playing with her, and resolve whatever distress she is experiencing. As she makes her way through the Real World, she discovers life is, in fact, not as perfect as she and the other Barbies and Kens have trusted it to be.
While accompanying his girlfriend in her quest, unappreciated “Just” Ken (Ryan Gosling) discovers Patriarchy, which he intends to introduce to the rest of the Kens in Barbieland.
With elaborate colorful sets (there have been rumors that this caused a shortage in supplies of pink paint) reminiscent of the golden and silver era of Hollywood, accomplished director Greta Gerwig throws in familiar storytelling themes about consciousness, ranging from the creation and fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. This is in addition to cinematic references dealing with similar themes, particularly the opening scene parodying 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The characters and audience must wrestle with the discrepancies between the hopes and ideals of Barbieland, where young girls can pretend they have successful careers filled with proper recognition and achievement, and the bitter reality of the Real World in which women still struggle for equality and are held to different standards (and sometimes are even blamed for men’s failures).
This is all perfectly summarized in a rant that my mother still raves about, delivered perfectly to the national treasure that is America Ferrera.
Photo by Sandra Gabriel on Unsplash.
Patriarchy still exists, one man assures Ken, it is just better hidden now. Throw in the charming and silly humor peppered throughout the movie (particularly the performances of Ryan Gosling and Will Ferrell as antagonists we actually want to see more of), and simple-yet-extravagant special effects, and we have ourselves a film that will be immortalized as a classic.
Having spent much of my formative years in an all-guys environment (thank you, Xavier High School), Barbie exposed me to the daily frustrations experienced by women across the globe from dealing with benign assumptions to malicious violations of human rights.
And having not been Mattel’s target market for Barbie while growing up, the movie introduced me to the expanded universe of Malibu Barbie and her friends (who would have expected Michael Cera to steal a scene as Alan?).
As Award Season is set to conclude with the Oscars on March 10, we cannot help but observe the irony that Ryan Gosling was given a nomination for Supporting Actor as Ken, while star Margot Robbie, who took us through a transformative experience, got nothing for her performance. Like Ken in his new enthusiasm for Patriarchy, Gosling was given the glory for Barbie’s own movie, which even he lamented.
When we learn that nominations for the awards take place akin to political lobbying, should it be a surprise that such omissions happen? Have we learned nothing after all these years that once people find an easier route that compromises morals, they will exploit it?
Barbie is, without question, one of the best movies of the year. I do not see it taking home the prize of Best Picture, I believe it will go to Oppenheimer (see the review here).
But even if Barbie wins it all, I do not believe Margot Robbie will always remember and be proud of this movie because of the Oscar in her house, but rather the countless women who have spoken to her since its release about how it touched their souls, and recognized them and their own personal struggles wrestling with patriarchy.
About the Author: Though no longer a resident of Lyme, Kevin knows he can never sever his roots to the tree of his identity. When not attending to his job in Boston, he is committed to ensuring a better grasp of current (and past) releases of cinema to his home community as he strives to leave his own mark in the same field that has always been his guide to understanding life. If you enjoy his published reviews here on LymeLine.com, follow him on his website at ‘The City of Cinema‘ and read more of his unique insights into entertainment.
In my last “View,” I considered General Lafayette’s life and crucial role in America’s War of Independence and reviewed his first visit to Old Lyme in 1778 (also see below.)
My inspiration for this topic was the installation of Lafayette Trail markers commemorating stops he made in what is now known as his “Farewell Tour” in Old Lyme and my hometown, Fredonia, N.Y. in Aug.,1824 and June,1825, respectively.
I review that incredible farewell tour in this essay. This essay completes the saga about the almost mythical “hero of two worlds,” Lafayette.
Further, it is the bicentennial of the Tour and there are rumblings of a sweeping tribute; and perhaps even some local acknowledgement.
In 1824, at the invitation of President James Monroe and Congress to “visit the “adopted country of your early youth, which has always preserved the most grateful recollection of your important services;” Lafayette began a tour of the then 24 states of the Union on its 50th anniversary.
President Monroe, the last Founder-President, felt that “it was important for the younger generation to recognize that freedom and democracy had come at a great cost.” Voters should remember those words when you vote on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 — the apparent GOP nominee seeks, in his own words, to “terminate elements of the U.S. Constitution.
The invitation could not have come at any better time for Lafayette.
His life became fraught after returning to France in 1781. He viewed himself as a “missionary of liberty,” having drafted one of the basic charters of human liberties, the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen,” with Thomas Jefferson; which he presented to France’s National Assembly on July 11th, 1789, a few days before the storming of the Bastille, which marked the onset of the French Revolution. The Declaration, which contained the principles that inspired the French Revolution, was discussed, and edited by the Assembly and became the preamble to the new French Constitution of 1791.
Imprisonment:
The French Revolution devolved into the Reign of Terror, which included the guillotining of thousands — and Lafayette, a moderate who supported a constitutional monarchy, began to openly criticize the powerful political group behind the violence, Robespierre and the Jacobins.
His situation turned dire and he fled the country, denounced as a traitor. He was captured and imprisoned by the Austrian government for five years as a dangerous radical and enemy of monarchy, who might lead an Austrian revolution. He was not released until Napoleon Bonaparte and his armies conquered Austria in 1797; and after two years of exile in Holland, Lafayette returned to France in 1799, whereupon he declined to participate in Napoleon’s government.
Rather, as a fervent opponent of slavery, he resumed his correspondence with British abolitionists and American statesmen on the emancipation of slaves and began again to follow the developments of the anti-slavery movements in England, France, and the United States.
The Farewell Tour:
The Marquis de Lafayette by Gilbert du Motier. Public Domain.
Lafayette traveled more than 6,000 miles from August 1824 through September 1825, making stops in each of 24 states; with more than 170 stops in New England alone. The Tour relied on steamboats, stagecoach, canal barge and occasionally, horseback; and according to the American Battlefield Trust, was characterized by a fast pace, often at night, with frequent unscheduled stops to meet “off-schedule” with the public.
Note that he also made repeated stops in New York City, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., which I have not reflected. Myaccount of his travelogue is assembled from several sources and I have tried to present the breadth and scope of his tour and what I consider the historic highlights. Further, this is not meant to be a precise day-by-day chronological record of the tour.
He left Le Havre, France on July 13, 1824 aboard the American merchant vessel, Cadmus, accompanied by his son, Georges Washington de Lafayette; and was greeted on August 15th when he landed at Staten Island with a 13-gun artillery salute from the batteries of Fort Diamond, accompanied by cannon volleys from U.S. Navy and merchant ships in the harbor. He traveled to Manhattan the following day and was welcomed by the “first triumphal parade in NYC history.” A few days later, he headed north; and was escorted along Connecticut’s coastal towns and cities by companies of cavalry. He encountered the “eagerness of the citizens to see and be introduced” to him, while “thronged with multitudes.”
He made 19 stops between Westport and New London; stopping in New Haven on August 21st to tour Yale. He visited Mrs. Faith Trumbull, widow of Jonathan Trumbull, who was Connecticut’s Governor during the Revolution.
He crossed the Connecticut River by ferry from Old Saybrook to Old Lyme to have breakfast on Aug. 22nd with Richard McCurdy, the youngest son of John McCurdy, with whom he had stayed whilst his troops were quartered on Old Lyme’s South Green on July 27, 1778. Note that he eventually made 28 stops in Connecticut; including the 19 on the coast.
He continued north from New London through Providence and Stoughton, Mass.; and arrived in Cambridge, on August 25, settling in the Boston area until the end of August. He visited former President John Adams at his home, “Peacefield,” in Quincy, and attended Harvard’s Commencement.
In September he visited Portsmouth, N.H., and its Naval Shipyard; and then headed south again to Boston and the Old North Church, stopping in Lexington, Concord, Salem, Marblehead, and Newburyport.
Next on his itinerary were Worcester, Tolland, Conn.; and then, Hartford’s Old State House, which was completed in 1796, and Middletown, Conn.
The Grand Tour:
He began the “grand tour” or “great circle route” in October and visited Philadelphia, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. He stopped at Fort McHenry, where he was greeted by veterans of the War of 1812, some of whom still bore their wounds. Displayed in the center of the fort, was the tent that General Washington had used in 1776 at the Battle of Dorchester Heights, which ended with the withdrawal of British troops from Boston.
He arrived in Washington on November 23rd, where he was the guest of President Monroe; and addressed Congress on December 10.
In Virginia, he paid his respects at Washington’s tomb at Mount Vernon, visited Jefferson at Monticello, James Madison at his home, “Montpelier,” and the Yorktown Battlefield.
In early March,1825, Lafayette and his entourage set out from Washington and headed south to the Carolinas and Georgia; and then west to the new states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana; — all the way to New Orleans.
In May, he went up the Mississippi by riverboat to the new states (i.e., since the original 13) of Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. He sailed the Ohio River to Pittsburgh.
La petite finale:
From Pittsburgh, he traveled through Pennsylvania and reached New York state via Meadville, and Erie. He stopped in Fredonia on June 4,1825, and from there, proceeded to Buffalo via steamboat from Dunkirk on Lake Erie. He visited Niagara Falls and went to Albany by way of the nearly-completed Erie Canal. From Albany he traveled directly to Boston, where he began his second New England tour by laying the cornerstone of the Bunker Hill Monument on June 17, 1825.
On June 23, he continued his Tour, through Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, with two final stops in June at Montpelier, and then Burlington, ending the Tour at Lake Champlain.
He returned to Washington and on September 6, 1825, his 68th birthday, a banquet was held at the White House by President John Quincy Adams. The following day, after delivering a farewell speech at the front entrance to the White House, Lafayette departed for France aboard a newly built frigate of the U.S. Navy, the Brandywine, named to honor his first major battle of the War of Independence. where he was wounded on September 11, 1777, He arrived safely back in France in early October.
Samuel F.B. Morse (you also know him for his code) completed his full-length portrait of Lafayette in 1826, and it is displayed in the City Hall portrait collection in New York City Hall.
The William G. Pomeroy Foundation:
Established in 2005 to increase awareness, diversify, and expand the national bone marrow registry; they have expanded their focus to include community history and have provided grants for roadside markers and plaques; and since their founding in 2005, have funded more than 2,000 signs across the United States in six marker grant programs.
To Old Lyme’s benefit, these programs have included Lafayette’s farewell tour; via their agent, The Lafayette Trail Inc., whose mission is to document, map, and mark Lafayette during the Tour and to “educate the public and to promote a broader understanding of Lafayette’s numerous contributions to American independence and national coherence in preparation for the 2024-25 tour bicentennial celebrations.”
An Interesting Note:
While at Bunker Hill, his son arranged for trunks filled with the local soil to be transported with him back to Paris; and when his father died on May 20, 1834, he was laid to rest next to his wife at the city’s Picpus Cemetery; and his son covered his coffin with the soil they had taken from Bunker Hill. The American flag has flown over his grave continuously since the end of WWI.
In closing, “May God bless America and may God protect our troops.”
Author’s Thoughts: Even today, this would be a whirlwind tour. I wonder who arranged the trip and how was it done in such detail. Lafayette was “rockstar,” in The Sixties’ sense, which is high praise, indeed. I have also given this designation in an earlier “View” to Israel Putnam, of Brooklyn, CT, who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
About the Author: Tom Gotowka is a resident of Old Lyme, whose entire adult career has been in healthcare. He will sit on the Navy side at the Army/Navy football game. He always sit on the crimson side at any Harvard/Yale contest. He enjoys reading historic speeches and considers himself a scholar of the period from FDR through JFK. A child of AM Radio, he probably knows the lyrics of every rock and roll or folk song published since 1960. He hopes these experiences give readers a sense of what he believes “qualify” him to write this column.
Sources: Lafayette’s Farewell Tour Auricchio, L. “Vita: Lafayette; Brief life of an American champion: 1757-1834.” Harvard Magazine. March-April,2015. Baker, J.W. “The Imprisonment of Lafayette”. American Heritage. 06/1977. Duncan, M. (2021) “Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution.” New York: Public Affairs Books. Feinman, P. “The Lafayette 1824-1825 Bicentennial: Are You Ready? The Institute of History, Archaeology, and Education (IHARE). 11/29/2021. Feinman, P. “Lafayette in New York: The Third of Four Trips.” IHARE. 12/27/2021. Fowler, A. “Welcome Lafayette: The Revolutionary War Hero’s 1824 Tour in Connecticut.” Yankee Institute. 08/21/2023. Gotowka T. “A Special ‘View from My Porch’ in Recognition of Independence Day: CT’s General Israel Putnam was a ‘Man of Legendary Courage’, a Brooklyn ‘Rock Star’.” LymeLine. 07/04/2022. Icher, J. P. “The Lafayette Trail: Mapping General Lafayette’s Farewell Tour in the United States (1824-1825)”. The American Battlefield Trust. 08/23/2022. Jones, W. “Rekindling the Spark of Liberty: Lafayette’s Visit to the United States, 1824-1825.” The Schiller Institute. 11/2007.
Paper-white narcissi have a beautiful fragrance, which can make you “feel refreshed and ready for the February day.” Photo by Ashkan Forouzani on Unsplash
This winter, as in other winters; when I need a blossom boost, I enjoy the fragrance of paper white narcissus that I planted in tall glass vases. I surrounded the bulbs with seashells from White Sand Beach here in Old Lyme and kept them in a dark cool area keeping the shells and the bulbs moist as the roots developed.
Maureen Haseley-Jones is “The English Lady.”
When the bulb foliage reached about six inches, I moved the bulbs in their vases into indirect light, which encourages the blooms to open. Each morning on entering my lounge, I am met with the fragrance of these beautiful bulbs, which makes me feel refreshed and ready for my day.
I keep extra bulbs in a brown paper bag in the vegetable retainer in the refrigerator. I plant these bulbs when the first blooms have gone by and with this method, I have a succession of blooms and fragrance permeating my home into spring.
Before you know it, spring will be upon us together with the anticipation that resides in all of us gardeners, which is to get outdoors and plunge our hands into the soil.
That being said, there is so much to look forward to and I feel I must once again stress the importance for all of us to garden organically.
In this country and around the world, the results of pollution and chemicals are just some of the factors that are causing climate change. We are in a crisis, with invaders that have already battered down the gates and invaded our gardens. These invaders are destroying Mother Nature and your health in the form of poisonous pesticides and herbicides. The main producers of these poisons are Monsanto, Bayer and other biological monsters, who have been decimating our planet, our soil, human health and committing all those crimes purely for selfish profit.
Bees, for example, have been killed in the millions, because the EPA under the Trump administration allowed the spraying of over 14 million acres of land, with poisonous chemicals. Please note folks, that bees pollinate 70 percent of the world’s food and their demise is our demise.
Last year was recorded as the hottest year on record. Drought in the west of this country, resulted in dry tinder conditions, causing devastating fires that brought death and destruction to people in California, Oregon and Colorado. This extreme weather pattern continues here, bringing tornadoes and extreme flooding, followed by even stronger hurricanes due to the rise of our oceans, which is the result of warming water.
The effects of drought caused by climate change can be devastating. Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash.
Across the world, extreme weather patterns have also had a tragic effect on extreme drought in Africa causing famine and death to that region and terrible earthquakes as we have seen in Turkey, Northern Syria, Japan and China. I am glad that the government in this country has begun to seriously address the Climate Crisis, but much more needs to be done.
As gardeners, it is our task to help counteract these negative changes by using only organic methods of gardening on our own plots of land; what we do in our own gardens contributes to healing the planet. Over the span of 25 years on my radio show WRCH 100.5 FM and through my Garden Earth lectures, I have received a commitment from thousands of people to discard all poisonous herbicides and pesticides and to garden organically. The response had been tremendously positive in the production of organic gardens grown in healthy soil.
It begins with what you put into the soil for the growth of the plants, and this is accomplished by adding liberal doses of my favorite stuff – aged manure, which is manure that you may procure, either from the farm or in bags from the garden center.
The following, is a paragraph from a book I am writing on gardening and the vital importance of the humus component to our gardens:
In 1937, Franklin D Roosevelt said that ‘the nation that destroys its soil destroys itself’
America has not heeded that warning. Precious soils in this country and around the world are being destroyed by dangerous practices in industrialized agriculture and poisonous chemicals, which completely disrupts our ecosystem and poisons all living things.
In your own garden you can build and retain a rich growing environment by building the humus component—we are all carbon-based creatures as is all life on earth. Not only humans but also our soil microbes need carbon to flourish. And to attract carbon from the atmosphere into your soil, you need to build the humus component.
HOW TO BUILD THE HUMUS COMPONENT
Do not till soil—tilling breaks up soil structure.
First step – Add composted manure three times each season—beginning in spring when the soil has reached a temperature of 50 degrees. If the soil has not reached that temperature, the soil organisms are not able to work with the bacteria in the manure to produce nutrients for the roots of the plants. Purchase a soil thermometer to check the soil’s temperature. This year, following deep frosts, the soil temperature may reach 50 degrees by the end of April to early May. Add the manure again in July to continue to nourish your growing plants and again in October to protect and nourish the roots of your plants through the winter. Manure is not a fertilizer; it builds soil structure and works with all the soil animals to keep a healthy, disease-free growing environment.
Second step – Add wood chips in the form of brown, fine bark mulch or wood chips that you produce from your garden or aged wood chips with a combination of leaves, twigs and branches.
These two major steps build the humus component. If you do this in your garden, not only will you help to heal the planet but you will also produce the healthiest of gardens.
A question I am often asked is, ‘Can I put manure over mulch for example on my midsummer garden in July?’ The answer is a resounding ‘Yes’ – the manure together with nature’s moisture and your own irrigation enables the manure to find its way easily into the soil and the roots of your plants.
WHAT EXACTLY DOES HUMUS DO?
Humus acts like a sponge and can hold 90 percent of its weight in water.
Due to its negative charge, plant nutrients stick to humus for nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus and other elements,. This, in turn, prevents these nutrients from washing away and acts as nature’s slow-release fertilizer throughout the year.
Humus improves soil structure making it loose and friable, which helps plants root in the soil with better access to nutrients, water and oxygen.
Humus also helps to filter’ toxic chemicals from the soil, much like carbon-based water filtration systems that filter toxins from your water.
We cannot control industrialized agricultural practices, however, in your own garden you can make a difference. Feed the soil, and it will feed the plants.
This week I spoke with my friend Ann, who lives in Cheshire, in England, which is next door to my home county of Shropshire. Ann is an avid gardener and she told me that her daffodils are well above the soil and last week she started to plant seeds in the greenhouse. I was so envious, when Ann told me of her garden bloom, but our time will soon come.
PLANTING SEEDS
February 20 to March 20 is the time for serious indoor seed planting here. Check which garden centers are stocking organic seeds or go online for the organic varieties – one company that I use is “Botanical Interests”. Do not go overboard when buying packs of seeds as there are about 500 seeds in each packet. If you do purchase too many – have a seed sharing party with gardening friends.
Equipment to have on hand for seed planting are cheap envelopes (you probably have envelopes you discard from your mail), fresh sterilized potting soil mix, and sphagnum moss. Also seed trays, egg cartons and cardboard milk containers that are cut down also work well. Make sure all containers are scrupulously clean. Sphagnum moss works well as a planting medium as the moss can prevent a soil born fungus that causes “damping off” which causes seeds to rot before germination. I have, together with many gardening friends, used this method for years and have not lost seeds to “damping off”.
It is recommended to have a good supply of moss on hand for seed planting. Photo by Zach Reiner on Unsplash.
For tiny seeds, I use the moss as the planting mix and for larger seeds, I install a topsoil base and a layer of the moss on top of the soil. I mix fine seeds with sand before I sow; this method helps to loosen them up. Soak the seeds overnight before planting and just before planting spray them with warm water, never cold as cold water can delay germination. When they have germinated, water gently.
The best method of watering seedlings is to water from the bottom. But, if you feel you must top water, just mist with a fine sprayer, otherwise you will drown the delicate seeds, washing them out of the planting mix. Use new sterilized soil when seeding and do not use any leftover soil from last season, Leftover soil from the previous year can develop disease, which can ruin your seedling crops. If you are growing seedlings on a windowsill, place them on a south or west-facing sill; seedlings need light, not heat to thrive.
WINTER CARE OF HOUSEPLANTS
I love my houseplants year round but in winter the blooming ones in particular lift my spirits. I talk to my plants enjoying my cyclamen and my blooming cacti, and the different foliage on the ivy, philodendron and spaphyllum which also clean the air in a stuffy home environment.
Keep your houseplants away from draughts and direct heat. If you are able, place humidifiers and air purifiers in the rooms of your home, which will benefit not only the plants but also your own health. Place pebble trays under the plants and keep the pebbles moist for additional humidity.
Spray houseplants every few days with lukewarm water and once every couple of weeks, put the plants in a sink or bathtub and allow lukewarm water to run freely over the plant to remove dust from the leaves and clean salt residue from the soil. The exception to the spray or soak rule is African violets, as African violets do not do well with wet leaves.
Aphids and white fly thrive indoors in winter and an organic sulphur solution called Safer works well to clean the soil of insect eggs and from the foliage. Perhaps you are fortunate like me to have Ladybugs in your home in winter; if so, allow these useful creatures to roam freely; the ladybug menu is aphids and white flies.
The best time to repot houseplants is from April through June but if a plant has become root bound with no visible soil, then you can repot them in February. Water the plant to loosen the roots from the soil, turn it sideways on a newspaper and gently slide it from the pot.
Cut away any dead roots and repot in fresh potting soil in a clean pot that is only two inches larger than the original. With the plant firmly in place and the soil one inch from the rim, water it gently and do not fertilize with an organic fertilizer until April. Plants need this dormant period to recharge.
A few suggestions for trouble free foliage plants in the home are Rubber plants, Spider plants, Ivy, Philodendron, Monstera and Spaphyllum. If you have a sunny window Aloes, Succulents and Cacti do great and are a trouble- free variety.
Blooming plants sitting side by side with foliage plants, enjoying one another’s company, give one an impression of a miniature garden.
A few suggestions of houseplants that bloom are Cyclamen, African Violets, Kalanchoe, Primulas and Paper white narcissus. To prevent pets from chewing on the plants, add some cayenne pepper to the water when watering. I also enjoy my herbal plants, which sit in a sunny window. My favorites are Rosemary, Basil and Parsley which are great additions to any recipe.
POWER TOOLS
Check any power tools that require maintenance or repair. February or March is the time to get them into the repair shop, because as soon as the weather breaks the shops get busy and you may not get your lawn mower back until August.
Check all tools and implements in the garage or shed. If you did not clean them off at the end of last season, plunge the shovels and spades into a bucket of sand; sand is an abrasive and will clean off any leftover soil and manure residue. Oil the wooden handles of tools with Linseed oil or some inexpensive vegetable oil; oil feeds the wood and keeps the handles splinter free. At the same time, check your hoses and fittings that may have sprung leaks since last year.
Make a shopping list of new tools that are needed – there are lots of sales in late winter for you to get a good deal. However, I suggest that you buy only quality tools and hoses; as the saying goes, “you get what you pay for”. Also check that there is enough twine, bamboo rods, wire ties or nails and peat on hand.
BUYING MANURE
In March or early April, when soil and manure are available. purchase bags of composted manure from the garden center. On the other hand, if you have a farm close in your local area, that sells aged manure, acquire a small truck to acquire a load. If you decide on that method, ask the farmer for manure from the bottom of the pile – aged stuff. Manure needs to be at least six months old before applying to your soil, as fresh manure will burn your plants.
ALL THINGS PAINT-RELATED
Check the paintwork on your wooden fences, arbors, decks and any other outdoor wooden structures. Then, purchase paint supplies so that on a dry day in March for painting, everything will be on hand.
It is time to think about painting those fences. Photo by duong chung on Unsplash
Don’t forget to put paintbrushes on your list – I have a feeling you forgot to clean your old brushes last season, which means they are stiff as a poker, also remember sandpaper, brush cleaner and if possible, buy eco conscious paint. If you are painting benches and garden seats on a dry day, put them under cover before sundown.
White walls in the greenhouse reflect light so any areas that need retouching, use white paint. It’s so rewarding to see how much lighter and brighter the greenhouse is after a touch of paint and the glass is cleaned. However meticulously clean and tidy your greenhouse, you may find that white fly, greenfly and scale insects have found their way inside the greenhouse for warmth and so it may be necessary to spray with an organic spray. I mix an organic spray of orange peels in white vinegar and allow it to sit for two weeks before spraying – this works well and is very economical.
Walking around a garden that looks and feels good in mid-winter is a real pick-me-up. Patterns emerge created by paths, walls and hedges. As you walk, enjoy the shapes of shrubs, the shadows of evergreens and the strong silhouettes of tree trunks and enjoy their shape and bark without foliage.
BIRD-FEEDERS
I love to watch the birds in their quick flights across the garden to alight on the feeders, and their sudden bursts of song when the sun peaks through. It is so much fun to watch the “pecking” order and see the blue jays, who can be bullies and red cardinals, who—like the blue jays—can be rather territorial. Bringing up the rear, come the finches and house sparrows. And sometimes a bird appears that I do not recognize and out come my binoculars and Peterson bird book.
Keep your bird-feeders well-stocked to ensure you enjoy visits from as many feathered friends as possible. Photo by elvis bueno on Unsplash.
If you notice squirrels swarming the bird feeders, add some cayenne pepper to the birdseed; if that occurs do not be concerned as the heat from the cayenne does not affect birds. And you may choose a spot away from the feeders to sprinkle cayenne-free birdseed on the ground so the squirrels can also enjoy a meal.
Winter has its own distinctive fragrance, the fog, in the morning when the air is very heavy, thick and damp—a dampness even more bone-chilling than rain. I can deal with that for a while in the knowledge that in about six weeks I will be inhaling the healthy nose-clearing fragrance of the soil, rich and brown, well manured or covered with wood mulch, shredded leaves or salt hay.
Winter fragrances are a potpourri, one moment sharp and cold like the north wind, whereas spring’s flavors are light and sweet.
If you find you have spent year after year throwing good money after bad, then it may be time to get a professional design. If that is so, don’t hesitate! If you want work to begin in the spring, a design takes time to complete. You may want to contact a professional landscape designer like my son Ian, whose company website LandscapesbyIan.com shows his lovely, natural landscape creations. Ian will work with you and your budget.
Have a great month and I’ll see you in your garden in March.
About the author: Maureen Haseley-Jones is a member of a family of renowned horticultural artisans, whose landscaping heritage dates back to the 17th century. She is one of the founders, together with her son Ian, of, The English Lady Landscape and Home Company. Maureen and Ian are landscape designers and garden experts, who believe that everyone deserves to live in an eco-conscious environment and enjoy the pleasure that it brings. Maureen learned her design skills from both her mother and grandmother, and honed her horticultural and construction skills while working in the family nursery and landscape business in the U.K. Her formal horticultural training was undertaken at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in Surrey.
In August, 2022, the Lafayette Trail marker on Old Lyme’s South Green that commemorates a visit by General Lafayette to the McCurdy house in 1824 was unveiled.
The marker joins another on the Green that recognizes Old Lyme’s role in the women’s suffrage movement—American suffragist and activist Old Lyme resident, Katharine Ludington, was a founding member of the Old Lyme Equal Suffrage League, the last president of the Connecticut Women’s Suffrage Association, and the first New England director of the League of Women Voters. Her name is also on a plaque honoring the state’s suffrage leaders in the south corner of the Connecticut State Capitol building.
The marker was of some interest to me because I grew up in Fredonia, N.Y., which had a visit by Lafayette on June 4, 1825. The Leverett Barker mansion, which eventually became the community’s library and historic museum; was lit for his arrival with candles at each window; scorching a window sash. One could not be a regular patron of Fredonia’s public library without gaining some appreciation for Lafayette’s role in our War of Independence.
Fredonia held a ceremony on June 4, 2023 formally acknowledging the Town’s newly-installed Lafayette Trail marker on the grounds of the Darwin R. Barker Historical Museum.
This “View” is about Lafayette and the era and events that formed the foundation on which America’s values, continuing greatness, and world prominence was established.
Portrait dated 1803 of George Washington (1732–99) by Gilbert Stuart (1755–1828). Public Domain.
It is also appropriate to reflect on Lafayette as we acknowledge the anniversary of George Washington’s birth on February 22. (George Washington was born in Virginia on February 11, 1731, according to the then-used Julian calendar. In 1752, however, Britain and all its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar which moved Washington’s birthday a year and 11 days to February 22, 1732.)
I review General Lafayette’s life and important role in America’s War of Independence in this essay, and consider his first visit to Old Lyme in 1778; and then his remarkable “Farewell Tour” of the United States in the following “View;” but first, discuss the events that inspired the essay’s title.
On June 26, 1917, General John J. Pershing, the newly-appointed Commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, and 14,000 United States infantry troops landed at the port of Saint Nazaire in France, shortly after the United States first entered World War I.
On that July 4th, Paris celebrated American Independence Day; and Pershing and a battalion of his troops made a symbolic march through Paris, ending in the Picpus Cemetery at the grave of the Marquis de Lafayette; where speeches were made at the tomb in tribute to Lafayette’s contribution to America’s War of Independence.
Pershing’s aide, Colonel Charles E. Stanton, provided the day’s most memorable speech: “America has joined forces with the allied powers, and what we have of blood and treasure are yours. It is with loving pride we drape the colors (i.e., the American flag) in a tribute of respect to this citizen of your great republic. And here and now, in the presence of the illustrious dead; we pledge our hearts and our honor in carrying this war to a successful issue. Lafayette, we are here!”
Terminology:
“Congress” refers to the Continental Congress, which served as the government of the 13 American colonies and later, the United States, from 1774 to 1789; proclaiming independence from Great Britain and its king in 1776 by adopting the Declaration of Independence. “Army” is the Continental Army of the United Colonies, and later, the United States, during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775 by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Congress; and created to coordinate the military efforts of the individual colonies and their militias under a single Commander in Chief, George Washington.
The Marquis:
Lafayette was a wealthy aristocrat, born into a family of noble French military lineage in 1757. He was christened Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, and commented in his autobiography that “I was baptized with the name of every conceivable saint who might offer me protection in battle.”
The Marquis de Lafayette in 1791 by Joseph-Désiré Court. Public Domain.
When he was two years old, his father perished in battle with the British during the Seven Years War. His mother and grandfather both died when he was twelve; and he inherited the title, great wealth, and extensive landholdings, making him one of the richest young men in France. At thirteen, he received his appointment to serve in the King’s Musketeers as a junior commissioned officer and began his education at the Military Academy at Versailles. Note that it was common for nobility to be given military ranks at a young age during this period in France. In 1773, and due to the influence of his future father-in-law (below); he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the prestigious Noailles Cavalry Regiment.
He married Adrienne de Noailles in 1774, the daughter of the Duc d’ Ayen. One of the most prominent and influential families in France; they had close ties to the British royal family.
Notably, he attended a dinner party in August, 1775 at which Great Britain’s Duke of Gloucester, the estranged younger brother of King George III, railed against his royal brother’s policies in the American colonies and praised the exploits of the Americans at the opening battles of the American Revolution at Lexington and Concord; which was later memorialized by Ralph Waldo Emerson in the “Concord Hymn” as “the shot heard round the world.”
Lafayette had found his cause. He and his friend and mentor, German-born French military leader, Baron Johann de Kalb, met with Silas Deane of Wethersfield, CT in December, 1776 in his role as the Continental Congress’ first envoy to France.
Congress had sent Deane to France to secure financial and military assistance and to investigate the possibility of a formal alliance.
He also promoted the American cause amongst French aristocrats and military officers; offering commissions to men who were willing to enter American service.
Deane promised Lafayette a commission as major general and the command of a division if he would travel to America; but also recruited the services of other foreign soldiers.
Deane negotiated a shipment of arms, munitions, and other supplies with the French that made possible an important victory at Saratoga in October, 1777. The battle was a turning point in the War and led the French to recognize the Colonies’ independence and continue their military assistance.
Note that Benjamin Franklin and Arthur Lee joined Silas Deane in Paris and the three were appointed by the Continental Congress as the diplomatic delegation to France. They worked together to negotiate a Treaty of Alliance and Treaty of Amity and Commerce with France, signed on February 6, 1778.
Lafayette was determined to join the War of Independence, perhaps even seeking to avenge his father’s death.
His wife was pregnant, and both King Louis XVI and his father-in-law opposed his decision. The King prohibited Lafayette’s departure, fearing that it would anger Britain.
Nevertheless, he and de Kalb sailed to the newly declared United States in 1777, seeking the commissions that had been granted by Silas Deane.
TheGeneral:
Following his safe arrival in Charleston, Lafayette spent a month traveling to Philadelphia, mostly on horseback; where he met with a Congress reluctant to promote him over more experienced colonial officers. He was not yet twenty years old and had no experience in combat. However, his willingness to serve without pay and his connections with the supportive French secured him his commission as major general on July 31, 1777.
He met with George Washington, Commander in Chief of the Continental Army at the City Tavern in Philadelphia.
Historian James R. Gaines reports that Washington was concerned about the teenage aristocrat’s ability to act in any command capacity. Lafayette’s arrival had been preceded by a series of disreputable men recruited by Silas Deane; and Lafayette was just, “The latest French major general foisted on him by the Congress.” Washington had been, “Trying to sweep back a tide of counts, chevaliers, and lesser foreign volunteers, many of whom brought with them enormous self-regard, little English and less interest in the American cause than in motives ranging from martial vanity to sheriff-dodging.”
Consequently, Lafayette served on Washington’s staff in Philadelphia for six weeks. Washington was taken by the young man’s ebullience and dedication to the American cause; and by the fact that he was a fellow Mason. Lafayette was in awe of the American Commander in Chief; and the two men formed a bond. In a matter of weeks, he was riding at Washington’s side on parade.
In September, Lafayette was put to the test in the Battle of Brandywine Creek, near Philadelphia. He fought with distinction on the front line and rallied the troops. Defeated by the overwhelming strength of the British army, he managed an orderly withdrawal of the Continental Army, despite his wounds; enabling them to safely retreat and reorganize.
His wounds at Brandywine incapacitated him for two months. Upon his return, he was given command of a division. Both he and de Kalb endured the hardships of the encampment at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777 -1778.
Lafayette fought with distinction in several skirmishes and battles with the British in the following years; and I present a few key milestones in the following.
Note that de Kalb was killed in action in 1780 at the Battle of Camden Court House in South Carolina.
Lafayette’s first visit to Old Lyme:
In late July, 1778.Lafayette stayed with John McCurdy whilst his troops were quartered on Old Lyme’s South Green, which was much larger then.
I draw from historian Katharine Mixer Abbott’s “Old Paths and Legends of the New England Border” in describing Lafayette’s brief stay. “Above stacked arms among shadowy elms on the green in Old Lyme waved the white fleur-de-lys, and our yearling stars and stripes. Major General Lafayette, in yellow satin waistcoat with the red and white trimmings of the blue coat fastened with gold buttons. Lafayette had ordered a night’s rest for Varnum’s and Glover’s brigades.”
Note that Varnum and Glover were not among the “lesser lights” of the Revolutionary War. General Varnum served at the battles of Red Bank, NJ in 1777 and the Battle of Rhode Island in 1778. He was also at Valley Forge.
General John Glover’s 14th Continental Regiment of Marblehead, Mass. comprised primarily of seamen, mariners, and fishermen, was a highly diverse brigade of volunteers who distinguished themselves in two crucial operations.
In August 1776, the Continental Army was soundly defeated at Brooklyn Heights and nearly trapped by the British army. In a surprise nighttime operation in the wind and teeming rain, Glover and his regiment ferried Washington’s 9,000 men, horses, artillery, and supplies across the East River to the relative safety of Manhattan; saving them from entrapment.
On Christmas night in 1776, Glover’s regiment ferried Washington’s army of 2,400 men, horses, and artillery across the Delaware River in a blinding snowstorm for a surprise attack on the morning of December 26, 1776 on 1,400 Hessian soldiers garrisoned at Trenton, NJ. Washington attacked, defeated the Hessian garrison, and turned the tide of the war.
Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, MMA-NYC, 1851. Public Domain.
Lafayette petitioned Washington to allow his return to France in February,1779 to work with American emissaries Benjamin Franklin and John Adams and negotiate additional troops and supplies with the government of Louis XVI,
He arrived back in America in April, 1780 with the news that the King had agreed to send French troops and relocate six ships of the line from the French fleet in the Caribbean in support of the Americans.
In July, General Rochambeau arrived near Newport, R.I. with an army of 5,300 infantry men and 450 officers to join the Continental Army and fight alongside Washington.
The following year, Lafayette was given independent command and sent to Virginia to conduct “hit and run” guerrilla actions against forces led by the traitor, Benedict Arnold; and then shadow the army of Cornwallis. Washington and Rochambeau marched their combined force south to Virginia and joined Lafayette’s troops on September 9th, entrapping British General Cornwallis’ 8,800 English, Hessian, and provincial troops.
Just before their arrival in Virginia, the French fleet under the command of Admiral de Grasse had encountered and defeated British Admiral Thomas Graves’ fleet near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay; preventing the Royal Navy from reinforcing or evacuating the British force.
War’s End:
The American Siege of Yorktown began on September 28 and ended on October 19, 1781 with the surrender of General Cornwallis. It was a crushing defeat for the British army, leading to the end of the war.
Yankee Doodle:
In the aftermath of the Siege, the surrendering British soldiers marched between the lines of American and French soldiers as their band played a melody called “The World Turned Upside Down;” but acknowledged only the French, refusing to pay the American soldiers any heed. Lafayette was outraged at the slight and ordered his band to play “Yankee Doodle” to taunt the British as they handed over their weapons and returned to Yorktown under militia guard. “Yankee Doodle,” originally embraced by the British military to mock their American counterparts, was named CT’s official state anthem in1978.
Note that music in the Continental Army consisted of fife and drum corps. It was used not only to boost morale, but also for communication and regimentation; and was included in his drill manual, “Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States;” — aka, the “Blue Book,” that Baron von Steuben had drafted for George Washington in 1779.
Lafayette Square:
Monuments honoring Lafayette and Rochembeau and other Revolutionary War figures are located across from the White House in Lafayette Square. On June 1, 2020, amid the George Floyd protests in Washington, D.C., law enforcement officers, with orders from the Attorney General, used tear gas and other riot control tactics to forcefully clear peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square, creating a path for then-President Donald J. Trump and some senior administration officials to walk from the White House to St. John’s Episcopal Church; where Trump bizarrely held up a Bible and posed for a photo op. The methods used to clear the peaceful demonstrators from Lafayette Square were widely condemned as excessive and an affront to the First Amendment right to freedom of assembly.
Just before visiting the church, Trump had delivered a speech in which he urged state governors to control protests by using the National Guard to “dominate the streets,” or he would otherwise “deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem.”
Note that the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 prohibits the use of U.S. military forces to perform the tasks of civilian law enforcement, unless explicitly authorized by Congress. However, the President, under his or her constitutional powers to put down insurrection, rebellion, or invasion may declare martial law when local law enforcement and court systems have ceased to function. The Act does not apply to the National Guard, when acting in a law enforcement capacity within its own state, and under orders from the governor of that state.
In closing, “May God bless America and may God protect our troops.”
Editor’s Note: This is the opinion of Thomas D. Gotowka.
Author’s Comments: i) It is always important to recall America’s history, especially as we move further into this important election year, as one candidate seems to misremember and /or misunderstand the values that have kept America great. ii) I was amazed at the distances that troops moved during the period discussed above. As noted above, In my next “View,” I will cover Lafayette’s farewell tour of the then 24 states, of the United States, which began In 1824, at the invitation of President Monroe.
About the Author: Tom Gotowka is a resident of Old Lyme, whose entire adult career has been in healthcare. He will sit on the Navy side at the Army/Navy football game. He always sit on the crimson side at any Harvard/Yale contest. He enjoys reading historic speeches and considers himself a scholar of the period from FDR through JFK. A child of AM Radio, he probably knows the lyrics of every rock and roll or folk song published since 1960. He hopes these experiences give readers a sense of what he believes “qualify” him to write this column.
Sources: Abbott, Katharine M. (1908) “Old Paths and Legends of the New England Border- The Eastern Coast.” G.P. Putnam & Sons. New York and London. 1908 American Battlefield Trust. “Winter at Valley Forge.” 09/21/2017 Daughan, G.C. “Fight Again Another Day.” History. 09/25/2017 Drury, D. “The Rise and Fall of Silas Deane, American Patriot.” Connecticut History. 10/02/2020. Editors. “Lafayette arrives in South Carolina to serve alongside General Washington.” History. 11/13/2009. Fischer, D. H. (2006) “Washington’s Crossing”. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. Gaines, J. R. (2007). “For Liberty and Glory: Washington, Lafayette, and Their Revolutions.” New York: W. W. Norton & Company. Gotowka, T. “A View from My Porch: The Marquis, Groucho, Sam, and Me” LymeLine. 02/19/2021. Lafayette, M. J. P., “Memoirs, Correspondence and Manuscripts of General Lafayette.” Project Gutenberg eBooks. Released 06/01/2005 Leepson, M. “George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette.” The George Washington Presidential Library. McNamara, Robert. “The Marquis de Lafayette’s Triumphant Tour of America.” ThoughtCo. 02/16/2021. Obituary. “Katharine Ludington.” The Hartford Courant. Hartford, CT. 03/11/1953. p.14. Observer Today. “New historical marker coming to Fredonia to honor Lafayette.” The Observer. 05/31/2023. Old Lyme Historical Society. “The Lafayette Trail marker at the Old Lyme South Green was formally unveiled at the Old Lyme Town Band concert on Sunday.” Facebook. 08/09/2022. Project Gutenberg eBooks. Released 06/01/2005. Parker, A.A. (2010) “Recollections of General Lafayette on his Visit to the United States in 1824 and 1825; with the most remarkable incidents of his life, from his birth to the day of his death.” Keene, N.H.: Sentinel printing company Potter, B. “Lafayette Becomes a General, 1777.” History Highlights. 07/30/2018. Powell, J. “Lafayette: Hero of Two Worlds.” Foundation for Economic Education. 09/01/1997. New England Historical Society. “Lafayette Returns to America.” New England Historical Society. Schellhammer, M. “The Daring Departure of Lafayette.” Journal of the American Revolution. 11/21/2013. Wilde, R. “The Role of France in the American Revolutionary War.” ThoughtCo, 04/05/2023.
