Thursday, 8 September.

My high school is gone!  Torn down.  It was a pretty building.

A museum attraction called Erie Canal Village was created decades ago.  My parents contributed an old building to the cause.  Moving it across town was a big event.  The Village grew to be truly village-sized, but now, sadly, it’s a ghost town.  What makes it especially disappointing is that the Erie Canal was begun in 1817 in Rome.  In 1967 the town had a large sesquicentennial celebration, without any Canal Village. Now that the bicentennial is just around the corner, I’d assumed there would be an even larger event.  But with the Village in total decay, I guess not.

Also in my hometown is the grave of Francis Bellamy, author if the Pledge of Allegiance.  It’s nicely maintained in the city cemetery, which is a pretty nice one, as cemeteries go.  I’d never noticed before.

Lastly, in the 1960’s, largely thanks to Senator Robert Kennedy, a recreation of a revolutionary-era fort was built: Fort Stanwix.  I’ve visited about a dozen forts this year, so I can speak with some knowledge that this one is a winner.  People are dressed in period clothing, there is an education center with multiple movies, and the fort itself is excellent.  Anyone interested in the era should make plans to visit.

The drive to Chestertown to see my brother was fun, but not extraordinary. Some of the road curves that once excited the nerves are hoo hum on a bike.  Along the way I noticed that the only establishment I ever worked at that didn’t begin with “U.S. Navy” is gone.  No great loss.