Historic Meals

Peeling Apples

A subseries of Trundlebed Tales podcasts is Travel Times, which focuses on unusual hobbies or travel opportunities. Usually I interview someone who has repeatedly done whatever the activity is to give you an insider’s view. This particular one I ended up interviewing myself about eating a historic meals at museums, at historic restaurants and at one time only events.

I talk about museums like Living History Farms, Greenfield Village/The Henry Ford, New Salem, and Connors Prairie, plus stand alone events like the Iowa City Public Library Titanic fundraiser, Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Mansfield Years at Ushers Ferry and the Lewis and Clark class at the Iowa Geographic Alliance.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/trundlebedtales/2012/01/20/travel-times-historic-meals

Looking for Laura Memories

Last year I celebrated Laura’s birthday on my podcast by discussing how birthdays were celebrated in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Stream it at the link below

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/trundlebedtales/2011/02/08/trundlebed-tales-ep-5–celebrating-lauras-birthday

or find it for free under podcasts – Trundlebed Tales on iTunes.

http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/trundlebedtales-blog-talk/id412309121

This year I’m planning on doing a podcast on her birthday again, but this time I’d like people to share their best or most special Laura memories. You can post them as comments here, e-mail them me at info@trundlebedtales.com or I hope call in live and share them.

And I hope everybody will tune in Feb. 7, 2012 at 9:30 pm ET, 8:30 pm CT, 7:30 pm MT, 6:30 pm PT

Stream it online

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/trundlebedtales/2012/02/08/ep-27-celebrate-laura-ingalls-wilders-birthday-on-air

or call in to either just listen or talk at

Call in (714) 242-5253 or toll free 1-877-633-9389

Gene Stratton-Porter

Gene Stratton-Porter was a very impressive person.  Stratton-Porter wrote environmental, romantic fiction and naturalist non-fiction. She had parlayed that into a role in converting her work into film. Until her untimely death in the then novel event of a car crash,  her films were some of the highest grossing films of the era and she was considered one of the most powerful women in Hollywood.

Read more about Stratton-Porter’s work and why I love her here:
http://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2011/07/19/book-laddie-a-true-blue-story

Today several of Stratton-Porter’s homes have been restored as museums. The one I’ve been to is in Geneva, Indiana (the Geneva furtherest east in Indiana – there are two), but her Wildflower Cabin in Rome City, Indiana has also been restored, and the wildflowers she had gathered from around state to preserve are still protected on the grounds. The Rome City site has just released a brand new website. They are also on Facebook and Twitter. Spread the word.

http://www.genestratton-porter.com

8th Grade Exams Online

I just had a gift show up in my Twitter feed. Normally when I see a reference to an online Eighth Grade test I just sigh. Probably 95 percent of the time it’s the same fake test, most likely written to prove a point in the 1950s although that isn’t solid. Earlier references are still sought for even if absolutely no luck finding any. See it here:

http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1895exam.asp

Under different names and presented as if from different locations it actually was passed around widely even before the Internet showing up in newspapers, newsletters, museums and even library files. With the coming of the Internet it’s only picked up speed and is now more frequently showing up today than ever before.

So I was thrilled and shocked when I clicked on the link in my Twitter feed to instead find two apparently legitimate tests. I’m passing on my good luck.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/century-old-8th-grade-exam-can-you-pass-a-1912-test/2012/01/04/gIQAxjC00P_blog.html

Be aware that part of these tests are hard today because they are very content specific. If you haven’t been taught to this test, especially an awful lot of current events for the specific year it was written, you will miss questions.

Save the USS Iowa

The USS Iowa battleship was built in 1943. It played an important role in each conflict of the United States since then. It has gone on its last mission. It is currently mothballed, but its future is in doubt. An effort has been launched to save the ship as a museum for future generations.

The campaign to raise money from Iowans:
http://www.savetheiowa.com

The historic naval museum that wants to take on the USS Iowa:
http://www.battleshipiowa.org

Mary J. Holmes famous writer

Mary J. Holmes is the best selling author that you probably have never heard of. Holmes was a leading author of the 19th century, but she slowly fell out of favor. I knew about her because she was one of the favorite authors of my Great-Grandmother. She was such a favorite author that she named her oldest daughter, my grandmother, after a character in the collection of short stories Homestead on the Hillside. It was because of that I started to collect Holmes books and discovered that there is frustrating little information about her. Then Ann Romines pointed out in Constructing the Little House that Millbank, the only novel mentioned by name in the Little House series, was written by Holmes. I admit I never made the connection. That has made me love Holmes even more. I frequently look for people tweeting about Mary J. Holmes and admit I almost never find any. So I was delighted to find this wonderful post.

http://www.stompinggrounds.com/blog-best-selling-author-you%E2%80%99ve-never-heard-of%E2%80%A6

Call for Papers CSAA 2012

Incredible book video

Galleycat on Twitter tweeted the link to this incredible video. Frankly it just makes my head hurt thinking about how much work this took. It’s literally incredible. Take a look.

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/celebrate-the-joy-of-books_b45160

Laura Ingalls Wilder FAQs

Here is my brand new video of Laura Ingalls Wilder FAQs.

Social Security’s Patty Duke Reunion

I was too young to remember The Patty Duke Show‘s initial run, but I loved seeing it in reruns. Not only is Patty Duke a truly enjoyable actress, I also love identical twin movies and shows. That’s part of why I adore the original version The Parent Trap. So I was absolutely delighted when I stumbled across this true reunion of The Patty Duke Show most of the cast returns in this Social Security commercial. It includes an update of the opening. OK so there’s no plot and it lasts a minute and although it’s not terribly clear, I think that’s Patty’s real life husband taking the place of the high school boyfriend on the show, but it’s great to see them all again and it’s wonderful to see the cast again.

If you’re unfamiliar with the original, here is the opening,  in which acting legend Patty Duke starred as lookalike cousins, all American Patty and cosmopolitan Cathy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXhiKZz0wEo

Patty and Cathy say how easy it is to sign up online:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xTKDa5WcBs

Patty and her little brother Ross:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3dHCryF0pI

Patty and her Poppo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyX8nh_WiSg

Patty and Cathy visit the Doctor who questions identical cousins:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTTUBWL8d1A

Cathy files for Social Security online:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCyO9W1AjDU

Patty and Cathy redo the opening and have a reunion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFsPGjiD2Kw