Sauder Village (Archbold, Ohio)

 

Last Saturday we drove to Sauder Village in Archbold, Ohio, a little less than 2 hours from our home. The Historic Village opened in 1976. Eric Sauder who owned the manufacturing business Sauder Furniture (sort of pre-fab particle board cabinets, TV stands, desks, etc. that are covered with wood-grained laminate; the buyer assembles the marked parts) wanted to preserve the area’s pioneer history in a living history setting. The activities vary depending on the season. October 25th-26th was the closing weekend of the village’s season, though there are some candle-lit tours around Christmas. The village is out in the countryside of northwest Ohio. That part of Ohio was settled by Europeans a bit later than other areas in the state. It was known as Black Swamp; once the swamps were drained, it made good agricultural land.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part of this final weekend was a Woodcarvers Show and Sale in the exhibit hall. Since my husband does woodworking, I thought this might interest him some. In honor of the founder’s woodworking and cabinetry skills, there are old-fashioned woodworking tools displayed in several of the village buildings as well.

 

 

 

 

Most of the houses and buildings (log schoolhouse, barn, homes, church, depot) were relocated from the area a few miles around the tourist village. They represent primarily 1834-1890 era. There is a small section that represents native Indian culture. Artisans demonstrate the making of brooms, pottery, wooden toys, blown glass, metal forging, tin items, baskets, weaving, spinning, cooking (open-hearth and cast iron stove), drying herbs.

 

Kids “attend” school. There is a grist mill.

 

Many of the artisan products are sold in the gift store or the old-fashioned general store or in the artisan’s shop. A museum features the story of Sauder, some local history, but lots of it is filled with historical items like stoves, buggies, quilts. A fun reminiscing trip for oldsters. There is a fairly large quilting supply store in one section with all kinds of fabric and patterns and supplies.

The village has a bakery, a café, a restaurant, a sweet shoppe, a small open-air train (extra charge), buggy rides (extra charge).

The bakery and restaurants and gift shop are accessible to the public free of charge. We were expecting to pay $14 each as seniors to tour the village, but we were the recipients of a generous gift. The lady behind me in the ticket line asked if the two of us would like to be part of her group. She had free coupons from Groupon for free admission for up to 8 people; there were only 5 in her family. She saved us a lot of money.

 

Saturday was Butchering Day. I was wondering how they were going to kill the pig with little children standing around for the demo. They did that away from the demo and even slit the throat to let the blood drain a little before they hauled the 250 pound porker in front of the group. They had a big tub of scalding water. With chains wrapped around the body so they could control it and bring it back up, they submerged the pig so some of the bristles would fall off. It took 4 or 5 men to haul it onto a table where they used scrapers to continue taking off the hair and removed  the toe nails as well. Finally, they cut the head off and put it in a pan. We had already stood around 30-40 minutes and decided not to wait for them to slit the pig open. It was all to be carted off to a shed for processing. We stopped by the shed several hours later. They were going to make head cheese, but I saw none. Lots of ribs. LOL

 

 

The Barn Restaurant had a lunch buffet. Rather mediocre food; nothing special. My husband headed for the woodcarving show and I headed for the bakery where I bought some iced pumpkin cookies. It was quite windy that day. I ate one of the cookies in the bakery dining area before heading back to the village to look around a bit more.

Sauder Heritage Inn is attractive lodging adjacent. There is also a campground with RV pads and hookups or tent camping. You don’t have to visit the village to use these accommodations. An outlet store of the company’s furniture also was nearby.

 

When I headed to the village after lunch, an old car was parked in front of the welcome center.

 

We were home by 5 p.m. We drove through a part of Ohio new to us and enjoyed our outing.

The Last Hurrah

 

A mild sunny day calls for a walk through the neighborhood. The leaves are falling at a good clip now, some trees almost bare.

I set out for the pond west of my house.

It’s a pleasant walk in a quiet residential neighborhood.

It’s surprising what you notice if you slow down and really look: burst cattails, fluffy milkweed pods.

 

 

At the edge of the pond, I heard a plop but didn’t turn quickly enough to see what dove out of sight. Probably a turtle.

 

 

Glad I am not the person who has to rake up all of the leaves.

 

Some of my neighbors are into the spirit of autumn and Halloween.

 

 

We haven’t had any trick-or-treaters in the past 3 years; I don’t think this year will be any different.

I won’t be involved in that part of Halloween, but I can still enjoy autumn, especially with such inviting weather.

 

Hope your Sunday afternoon was as nice as mine.

The Strangest Song

What would you think if you heard that a person with a tested IQ of 55 could sing in dozens of languages and many musical styles including operatic arias? That a child of 6 could pick up a child-sized accordion and play songs with no instruction? Such is the case of Gloria Lenhoff who has Williams syndrome.

Until I read The Strangest Song by Teri Sforza (Prometheus Books, 2006), I would have been incredulous. Gloria was not formally diagnosed until age 30. She was physically and mentally challenged, but doctors didn’t understand what was wrong. It wasn’t until the 1990s that Williams syndrome became widely recognized and studied. The lack of a label may have been a blessing in disguise, as her parents, especially her father Howard, once they recognized her passion for music and natural talent did all they could to nurture this bright side of their “strange” daughter. If Howard had been given the diagnosis of Williams syndrome with its list of disabilities and negativity spouted by doctors, he probably would not have been the advocate for developing this trait. He challenged his daughter to be her best, and she rose to his expectations.

 

Williams syndrome is a genetic defect on Chromosome 7. This was not discovered until the  mid-1970s. The majority of people with the syndrome have some heart abnormalities, joint problems, poor vision, inability to comprehend simple math, poor spatial perception among other problems. Just as in Down syndrome, the facial features are distinctive. Once you have met a Williams syndrome person, you can easily identify others with the syndrome. They are small in stature with an elfin face (turned up nose, wide mouth, oddly spaced teeth). When Gloria was 30 and finally told she had the syndrome, she and her father attended a picnic in the park of a support community. Howard didn’t know exactly where the group was in the park, but when a child ran past that startled him because she looked just like Gloria had at that age, he simply followed and he and Gloria found themselves surrounded by mini Glorias.

 

Howard heard anecdotal evidence that convinced him that there was a link between the genetic disorder and unusual musical talent. He was a scientist, and he tried to get the researchers to study this phenomenon. It was quite apparent that Williams syndrome children had an unusual interest in music. At early ages (even 3 months in one case), as soon as they heard music played or sung they focused raptly on the source. They had poor attention span most of the time, but they could listen to music for hours, with a look of joy on their faces. Eventually, some testing and studies were done. There were some savants like Gloria who once they had listened to a song several times, even in foreign languages, could sing it back flawlessly. She proved to have perfect pitch as well, as was the case for many Williams people. Those whose parents fostered this interest in music by presenting opportunities to play instruments or have voice lessons performed well despite the fact that they could not read music. A few managed to read music after many years of study, but most never could grasp it. If taught by Suzuki-type instructors on one-on-one teaching that was willing to ignore standard pedagogy, the Williams people progressed well. Remarkably, they retained the music from then on. The repertoire stayed fresh and accessible even decades later. Oddly, a trait of Williams syndrome is an over-sensitivity to sound. They can hear whispers from quite a distance, making out every word.

 

These children were a delight to work with. They performed the music they had learned by rote repetition with great expressiveness and phrasing. They picked up the tunes quickly. In one test, Williams people were tested against controls of normal children who had had music lessons to see how well they did with rhythm. Most mentally challenged children are unable to correctly copy rhythmic patterns. The Williams children blew the results out of the water. When they were tested for language/vocabulary abilities against Down syndrome children, the Down children gave simple answers in 60 seconds like fish, dog, cat. The Williams children gave answers like ibex, tyrannosaurus, armadillo. However, further testing discovered that though they had large vocabularies and understood roughly the meaning, they did not pick up on nuances. They were also unable to understand irony or sarcasm. To them, if it was as if a person was telling a lie.

 

Besides this musical facility, Williams people had an unusual ability to remember faces. They were friendly and empathetic to a marked degree. Sadly, they recognized that others saw them as strange. They could not fit in in a normal way. Daily life presented many challenges. Unable to understand mathematic concepts, they could not handle money. They got lost every time they went to a mall, no matter if it was the hundredth time. They got lost on academic campuses. Changes on a bus route caused problems.

 

They beamed when their musical talent was applauded; Williams people have a deep desire to please. During some of the tests, the researcher had to keep a poker face because any nod of the head or smile would be interpreted as being pleasing, and they then would do whatever they thought had brought that response. They followed instructions well, but needed explicit instructions. At a music camp established for them, the counselor who had them moving to music, told them to go toward the opposite wall. Normal children would have turned around once they reached the wall and kept going. The Williams children stood there for minutes staring at the wall until the adult realized what was happening and told them to turn around and continue moving.

 

Howard Lenhoff’s dream that his daughter could somehow make a living from her music didn’t happen. She sang at concerts, including at some symphonies, and played her accordion in groups, but they were sporadic and usually poorly paid gigs. If you Google Gloria Lenhoff, you can see some videos of her performances. She moved to an institution with group homes in Mississippi from California and her parents followed since they were retired. I see on the internet that she was as of 2011 in Stewart Home School in Frankfort, Kentucky; Howard died that year, also. She was still taking advanced music lessons, still unable to read music, but still wowing people with her musical abilities.  She will be 60 years old next February.

 

Williams people create tantalizing questions about how much of personality and ability is genetically based. Also, it appears music is compartmentalized in the brain in ways scientists had not recognized before. Perhaps, by studying Williams people, scientists could better understand the workings of the human brain, but not much has been done since the 1990s.

The book made a point of expressing that what we term as disabled may be more accurately thought of as differently abled. The mystery of being human and all that entails seems to run a gamut, and each expression of humanness is valuable and to be treasured.

Tracks

I started Robyn Davidson’s Tracks Sunday night and finished it by Monday afternoon. It is a fairly short book. It has been made into a movie which is to be released in the United States soon. (Maybe already has but not in my area.) Ms. Davidson made a trek of 1700 miles across the Australian outback by camel in 1977.  It is an adventure book in some ways, but also deals with her feelings about her life. More than half of the book described the two years she spent in Alice Springs learning about caring for and training camels and earning enough to buy the 3 camels she needed for the journey. I don’t know how faithfully the movie will stick to the details of the book. It should have gorgeous scenery and be worth the time just for that.

I learned a lot about camels so I found the early part of the book interesting. I didn’t particularly like Ms. Davidson, but certainly the things she discovered about surviving in the desert and relating to people (Aborigenes, station settlers) would be true for more than just her.

Have you seen this movie? Read this book? How did you like it?

Great Books

The activities director at my retirement community noticed on a service to which she subscribes to give ideas for each month that October includes Great Books Week. She has scheduled an activity in the library for Wednesday afternoon. She has printed a crossword puzzle game related to the theme and the participants will be making book marks. I am to gather up any books on the list she gave me for display purposes. We have less than 3% of the books; I personally have read about 5% and many of those in high school and college literature classes. The list came from Good Reads. It doesn’t spell out the criteria thoroughly but mentions that it tried to be cultural, era, and language inclusive. That sounds good, but some of the titles aren’t even transliterated into the Roman alphabet but left in Arabic, Persian, and something I can’t even identify. Obviously, my Midwestern library users probably haven’t read those.

 

I would make a distinction between great books and good books. I think great books can only be recognized over time and usually by experts in the field of literature. It is still subjective of course. Good books, however, are more personally identified, depending on an individual’s criteria. What I consider a good book may not appeal to another reader at all.

 

Writing style and skill play a part in both categories I suspect. However, some rather poorly written books do get designated as “great books”. An example would be  Uncle Tom’s Cabin. It’s “greatness” comes more from its impact and influence on society in attitudes about slavery. I think besides social impact, staying power thru generations of readers, most great books touch upon universal truths about the human condition or perfectly represent an era. Besides the Great Books list from Good Reads, I am going to throw into the display a list of “best or favorite books” gathered from librarians by Brodart, a library supplies vendor. I don’t see the list on their site anymore, but here is another spot that shows the list: Favorite Novels of Librarians It is a bit dated, having been compiled in 1999. It also limited itself to 100 titles. Our library has about 25% of these books. They are all English language books. I find it interesting that on both of these lists which are ranked in order, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice sits in the number one spot.

 

Since I have ruled myself out as being qualified to decide what is a great book, I don’t have any criteria re great books, other than I think the test of time should be part of the process. I will, however, share some of what makes a book good for me. Writing quality, character development, plot do count. I want the author to draw me into the story quickly, sustain my interest, and make me care about the characters and how they will fare.

 

Genre and subject matter do influence what I read. When in library school, we had an assignment to sample books in various genre. With a few exceptions such as Ray Bradbury, I never connected with science fiction characters. Maybe there was too much emphasis on technology and alien worlds for me. I enjoy mysteries and suspense, but I don’t want the outcome to be obvious. I gave up on Mary Higgins Clark; though she is a skillful story teller, I almost always guessed the perpetrator/cause of the “mystery” long before it was revealed.

 

I don’t consider myself a widely-read individual. Books with gore, demonology, gratuitous violence, vampires, graphic sex don’t even get the cover opened. I gave up on Patricia Cornwell as her books became more extreme and bizarre. When she moved from Scarpetta to a policewoman as her main character, the excessive vulgar language became a deal breaker. I will overlook bad language if the book is riveting enough. I read Grisham, for example, and he is no Puritan re language.

Now that I read digital books, I find a lot of mediocrity in writing skill and character development. Poor editing and proof-reading are rampant in ebooks as well. A good sounding plot falls flat. I do try new styles occasionally such as a steam-punk novel which I found to be pretty good. Being frugal, I have downloaded a lot of free books that once started don’t always get finished. I buy print books at library book sales for a dollar or two and will take a risk on unknown authors, but if I had paid $10, $20, or more I would have regretted it. 

 

I have been astonished at people who have told me they never read fiction. I am pretty eclectic as I enjoy biographies, memoirs, nature stories, historical books, and other non-fiction as well as romances, historical fiction, mysteries, fantasy, sometimes Westerns. I have grown tired of bonnet books (Amish fiction) this past year. I read several to get an idea of what my library users were reading, but very few sustain my interest. I find the story lines too similar. These days there are very few books on the best sellers lists that tempt me. I do read reviews in magazines and newspapers. My husband is more industrious in seeking out books of interest. I admire people who have the drive and passion to seek out good books for themselves.

What kinds of books interest you? What makes you think them good?

Mrs. Consumer

Today I went to a fundraiser sale held at a Christian academy. Most of the items had been in a store called Hither and Yon which was using space in the back of a furniture store. Home decorative items and furniture donated to raise money for schooling in Zambia made up most of the merchandise. They decided rather than running a store, they would now hold sales twice a year. I bought a small candle globe. We are not allowed to burn candles in Grace Village property, but I can use an LED tea light or I may fill it with shells or other items. Or I could display a candle, but not light it. For a few dollars for a good cause, it was a purchase with potential.

The academy is several blocks south of my house. Just a block away, was a garage sale. There I purchased a queen quilt/comforter. My “summer” comforter in the master bedroom is looking kind of faded and limp. I didn’t even use it this year, but left the heavier one on. This new comforter is fairly heavy, but it looks like spring/summer. Maybe I will even put it on in the winter just to cheer me up. I think it will be a nice change.

Here it is draped over the bed. I tried to look it over at the sale, but wasn’t able to fully unfold it. The reverse side is solid light blue; there are a few light stains on the blue side.

 

I went from the garage sale to the Warsaw Public Library book sale. I don’t have money to spend on Grace Village library, but I purchased 7 books for $5.50. One of those, a 25-cent book, I did buy for the library and will donate. Of course, I may end up donating the rest as well once I have read them. One is on American country collectibles and decorating. That one I will cut apart and put the photos into my folder.

This afternoon the upholstery decorating ladies came from Columbia City. We ended up with a solid red called berry for the two recliners. The owner of the store did the writing up of the order, though the saleslady accompanied her. Elma, who owns the store with her husband, has been in this business for 50 years. She said she has had many fine upholsterers thru the years, but she considers her current one the best ever. The chairs will be picked up sometime in November (we won’t have an exact date for a few days) and be gone a few weeks.

Now I have started dinner. As it cooks, I will take time to relax and start the crossword puzzle my husband copied from the Wall Street Journal so we could “compete”. I also want to go thru that country decorating book. The autumn leaves are at peak now; unfortunately, we have quite a lot of wind today. Many are already dropping from the trees. My husband said that on his bike ride this morning, he had a carpet of colorful leaves. Autumn is my favorite season.

Though I spent money today, it was mostly for used items, thus saving me money while keeping things out of landfills, a better way to be a consumer.

Ebola Sadness

Reading and hearing about the ebola infections in Dallas saddens me. I had my cervical spine surgery done at Presbyterian Hospital in 2003. I know quite well where Marquita Street (where Nina Pham lives) is. Now this shocking news that the most recent ill health worker actually travelled on an airplane with a low-grade temperature. It blows my mind.

 

We had an employee at Turpin Library who returned to mainland China to see her family. While there, SARS broke out. When she returned she was not allowed to come to work for 2-3 weeks. Fortunately, she did not become ill. You can’t be too careful.

 

I do not believe the CDC when it says hospitals are prepared for ebola cases. I don’t think my local hospital would be ready. I guess now the CDC will send in a team to assist and instruct. Flying by the seat of their pants I would say. Certainly did not protect the public by allowing somebody who had exposure to fly on an airplane. The virus could be transported who knows where; we may find out within the next few weeks. Let’s pray nobody in contact with Ms. Vinson in the airport or on the plane becomes ill or we may face public panic.

 

My husband and I got our flu shots last week. Won’t help with ebola, but a good health practice. I also had my mammogram today. I know a lady who skipped mammograms; she now has stage 4 breast cancer. Don’t skip yours.

A Fine Fall Day

After some cloudy and rainy days, we had sun today. I had wanted to visit Heart of the Lakes Antiques in North Webster for some time. This is one of my favorite area antiques store. I talked my husband into going with me. First, though, we stopped at nearby Tri-County Fish and Game Reserve. I was disappointed. I had hoped to see some colorful trees reflected in the small lakes. I don’t know if I am too late or too early or if this is not a good spot or year for color. Last year near the end of September we saw more color at Shock Lake than this year. Still, it was nice to travel some country roads and walk among nature. I saw one heron take flight.

On the road to Hammond Lake we saw a few colorful trees; and on the main road to the reserve was an interesting silo.

Most of the soybeans and corn are quite dried out and brown and should be harvested soon.

I bought a few things at the Heart of the Lakes antique store including these 4 placemats. Blue, again. LOL.

Then we moseyed on Old 30 to Columbia City to eat lunch, followed by a stop at Columbia House Interiors. I had seen an ad in the Warsaw newspaper that this company is celebrating its 50th anniversary and one of their services is reupholstering. Good news is that most of their fabric is on sale or will be in the next few weeks. We checked out 2 sample books to bring home which we will return in a few days. Once we have selected a fabric, they will visit our home and measure the 2 chairs we are thinking of recovering.

So it was a busy, happy day spent together. My husband even remarked it was fun to be retired and run around.