Steamboats

Rumsey monument and house where he lived.

If I asked you who invented the steamboat, you would probably respond, Robert Fulton. Most people do. But not if you're from West Virginia. We all know that James Rumsey invented the steamboat. We learned that in grade school in West Virginia history.


So recently when Ward and I visited Shepardstown, WV,  it was my goal to find where Rumsey lived and worked on this engineering feat. We tracked down his home and the monument marking where he launched his first steamboat. Success. How exciting to see my grade school lessons come to life all of these years later.
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But wait, there's more.

Who really invented the steamboat?

Like many significant inventions, there were several people working on the same thing at the same time. John Fitch and James Rumsey were two of these people. They both demonstrated a successful steamboat within a few months of each other in 1787. Rumsey demonstrated a less successful design in 1783. There was an an extreme rivalry and a nasty battle* between them for the rights to the first viable boat. The battle included pleas to George Washington, whom they both knew personally, for help. Washington didn't get involved. In the end, they both received federal patents on the same day, August 26, 1791. (But we all know, that before the patent, Rumsey was first.)

Now you may wonder, what about Robert Fulton? Where does he enter into all of this? Robert Fulton was the first one to make the steamboat a successful commercial venture with a route between New York City and Albany, NY, 20 years after Rumsey first demonstrated it. By the way, Fulton met Rumsey in France when all of the steamboat designs were being talked about and demonstrated. Another connection of Rumsey to the invention of the steamboat.

*We saw Wynkoop's Tavern in Shepherdstown where Fitch stayed while he was allegedly was spying on Rumsey.

Sources:
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Fulton
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Rumsey
 http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/mssc/steamboats/booklets1.htm
Shepherdstown Walking Tour Pamphlet

"Devil in the White City"--a book club discussion

The book for this month's book club was The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson. The book takes place during the Gilded Age in Chicago and describes the players and events leading up to the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. It also tells the story of a serial killer who used the fair to further his wealth and killing opportunities. The story of the world's fair is complex. It involves personality conflicts, city competitions, new technologies, illnesses, deaths, labor unions, acts of God, politics, and fires among other things. The story of the serial killer is disturbing but fascinating. The amazing thing is that these stories are true.

What did the critics think? Devil is the White City was on the best seller list when it came out in 2003 and has won numerous awards. Most critics liked it for Larson's ability to tell a story, pay attention to details, and build suspense. Some thought his writing was too obvious and didn't like it.


What did my book club think? (and a few others that I talked with who read the book)
Things we agreed on:

• We all liked the book.
  
• We were amazed by how much we didn't know about Chicago and the "Fair that changed the world" before reading the book.
• The building of the fair could have been a stand alone story.
• The book seemed well researched.
• The serial killer part was very creepy and disturbing.

Things we didn't agree on:

• Some thought the serial killer story was disturbing but interesting reading. Others thought that it was unnecessary and would have been just as happy if it had not been in the book.
• The book was written as two parallel stories that didn't really cross. Some thought the switching back and forth between the stories built suspense. Others found it cumbersome to reorient to a different story every chapter.
• Some found parts of it slow reading with details of the construction and committees. Others found  those parts interesting.
• Some would recommend Devil in the White City with few reservations while others would only recommend it to a select audience. All agreed that any recommendation would be accompanied with a warning about the serial killer part.

What did I think? Wow! But don't read the parts about the serial killer before you go to bed.

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But Wait, There's More
Did you know that among other things, the 1893 Chicago World's Fair introduced us to Cracker Jacks, Juicy Fruit gum, shredded wheat, and the Ferris Wheel?


Note: One of my pet peeves is a review of a movie or book that gives away most of the story. So when I discuss a book, I will only do it in the broadest sense in case you want to read it later. I'll always try to have a link where you can get more information if you want.

Food Waste Friday--February 17, 2012

It's time for Food Waste Friday, when the Frugalgirl encourages us to post pictures from the previous week of wasted food from our household. This accountability hopefully will help us to be more careful with our food and maybe save some money. 

Here it goes for this week.

This was the week for green waste. First there was the green jello that I made for Ward when he needed something mild to eat. He swore that he was going to eat the rest of it, but it has been in the fridge for almost two weeks. I think it's time to go. Next there's the green Shamrock Shake from McDonalds that Theodore purchased. Apparently, the mint flavor was too strong for him so he'd didn't finish it. Also there's the green vase with flowers in it. Oh, wait. That's not waste.* I just think they're pretty. I prefer to have no waste, but at least this week, we're not wasting anything that is really good for you.

* I guess there's a whole discussion to be had about cut flowers and waste since they will eventually be thrown away, composted or whatever. I don't know about the rest of you, but sometimes I need to learn to relax and just enjoy something without thinking too much about it. I try to do this with cut flowers. I am especially enjoying this bunch because the cats are leaving them alone. Usually they chew them with several messy results.

 

Second Look--February 15, 2012

During these winter doldrums, I am finding the Second Look harder to do. However, I was rewarded this week with some surprises. My idea was to do a post about the different evergreens we have in the yard.  However, a funny thing happened on my way to the evergreens. I found one lone crocus blooming. Then in another area that was overgrown, I found snow drops. I had forgotten that we even had those. Also, I found buds emerging from a set of daffodils--a result of the warmer weather we had in January, no doubt. These exciting finds reminded me of why I take a Second Look.

Here's what I saw this week.

Crocus

Hydrangea bud

Snowdrops

Daffodil buds

Evergreens around the yard.

Food Waste Friday--February 10, 2012

It's time for Food Waste Friday, when the Frugalgirl encourages us to post pictures from the previous week of wasted food from our household. This accountability hopefully will help us to be more careful with our food and maybe save some money. 

Here it goes for this week.
 

We did pretty well again this week with the big stuff. However, I lost another peanut butter sandwich in my desk at work.Technically it wasn't bad, but it had been there long enough I didn't want to eat it. Therefore, I put it out on our patio for the critters to eat.

Some of the critters that come to our patio for snacks.