green-corner-nursery

Milkweed Pods for WWII Effort

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 18:44:35 GMT

Children Gathered Milkweed Pods for WWII Effort

It has been a few years since my father passed away. But one story he shared with me of his young teenage years offered more than just a 13-year-old's memories of childhood; it tendered a fragment of our nation's history when even small children could make a big impact on the war efforts. This patriotic call to serve led my father to walk the railroad tracks, fences, and creeks near his home in search of a valuable commodity: Milkweed.

The common milkweed is treasured by many because it provides crucial habitat for the monarch butterfly. Although there has been much debate over whether it’s a weed or a desirable plant, a true patriot cannot question milkweed’s heroic place in our great American history. In 1944, this raw material was highly sought after in the war against Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany.

Milkweed seeds contain delicate white hairs (each attached to a seed) referred to as “floss.” When the seed pod cracks open, the seeds are carried aloft by the wind. This ingenious evolutionary adaptation is also utilized by the cottonwood tree, the dandelion, and many other species.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not been discovered.”

In an era before the widespread use of synthetic fibers, the value of milkweed floss lay in its natural buoyancy. During WWII, life preservers were critical to Allied success, and the manufacturers began using the floss as stuffing. To the armed forces, whose airmen and sailors fought so much of the war on or over the seas, this common plant was invaluable.

Milkweed floss, however, was not the manufacturer’s first choice for life preserver stuffing. After the Japanese gained control of the Dutch East Indies (today Indonesia) during the war, they cut off the main U.S. supply of floss which came from the tropical kapok tree. Kapok seeds are also distributed naturally by wispy strands of cotton-like fiber. Luckily for the Allied forces, milkweed proved to be an acceptable substitute. Unfortunately, it would take almost three years to produce a sufficient commercial crop. The government had no choice but to make the unusual and urgent call:

“School children of America! Help save your father’s, brothers’, and neighbors’ lives by collecting milkweed pods.” *

With labor at a premium both in the city and the countryside, children were enlisted in the cause, spending untold hours searching for milkweed.

Onion sacks were used to carry the collected pods. My father would fill the onion sacks he procured from his grandfather's store, fill them with the pods, and then hang them over the fences to dry. A young collector received 15 cents per bag, with an additional 5 cents if the pods were dried. Two bags of pods contained floss for one life jacket. The U.S. military’s call for the collection of 2 million pounds of floss resulted in enough floss to fill 1.2 million life jackets.

World War II required continual sacrifices – large and small – of the general public: scrap drives, war bonds, blackouts, rations cards, and higher taxes were just a few examples.

Our country’s children proved that heroes can come in small packages ... just like the common milkweed.

In Loving Memory of my Father, Robert Lawrence Norton

*From a brochure produced by the Soil Conservation Service for War Hemp Industries.

Ira Allen's Balloon Ascension

Fri, 21 Jun 2024 15:40:27 GMT

In 1888, Professor Ira Allen Ascended from Ross Park in a Hot Air Balloon!

The property here at 454 Pine Street in Williamsport has seen many changes since Michael Ross, co-founder of Williamsport, first owned this special piece of downtown. Originally set aside as a burial site for his own family, the property was to be gifted to the city of Williamsport by Michael Ross. His good intentions failed, however, when he unfortunately passed away prior to the incorporation of the city in 1866, and the deeded property fell into the hands of his descendants who neglected the graveyard. Ross and his family, along with the rest of the "tenants" of the old Pine Street Cemetery, eventually had to be moved to the then new cemetery on Washington Boulevard where they now "rest in peace."

Feel free to read more about this in the "Williamsport History" section under the "About Us" tab here on our website.

So after the graveyard was removed in the late 1860's, but before ground was broken to start the construction of the old City Hall in 1893, Williamsport enjoyed this property once called "Ross Park" when only whispers of the cemetery (and a few missed headstones) remained.

Even though the park itself did not receive the care it deserved, there is a piece of our history that historical investigator Bruce Huffman shared with me that is worthy of remembering. Together with Bruce's research, a single photograph housed in the James V. Brown Library's collection paints a vivid picture of the crowd that came out to see the performance of a well-known aeronaut, Professor Ira Allen, that Fourth of July in 1888.

_________

THE BALLOON ASCENSION
by Bruce Huffman

A unique experience in the history of Ross Park occurred as part of the July 4th celebration in 1888. On that day, around 6 pm, Professor Ira Allen, a well known "aeronaut" who had travelled from Dansville, N. Y., slowly arose in a hot air balloon. "Ross Park and the adjacent streets, house tops, barn roofs and trees were all filled with an anxious crowd of people," it was reported.

Unfortunately, because the balloon was not properly inflated, the "ascension" did not go well. The airship barely rose above the tree tops to the northeast before landing "on the roof of the Market Street station of the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad," badly tearing the balloon. "The illustrious navigator of the air" was unharmed but "the affair was a great disappointment to the sweltering mass of humanity."

"With a determination to prove to the citizens of Williamsport that he is not a humbug as a balloonist," Professor Allen scheduled another ascension the next evening. This attempt was deemed much more successful by the "large gathering of people in Ross Park and vicinity." Rising to a considerable height and while the balloon was "on the upward flight, the nervy aeronaut performed some blood curdling feats on the trapeze, swinging from the bar with one hand, whirling around it and hanging from it by his feet."

The airship then descended rapidly over Market Street "and the Professor stopped on the gymnastics business." After skirting through an apple tree the balloon landed on the house of Dr. Lewis Ayres, on East Fourth Street. The crash caused some damage to Dr. Ayres' roof and demolished the chimney. Professor Allen escaped with a few bruises.

Still, the onlookers were pleased and Professor Ira Allen was congratulated on his balloon ascension, "as it was a grand one and gave the utmost satisfaction" to those who witnessed it.

Researched and written by Bruce Huffman, Historical Investigator

Excerpts from the Sun and Banner and Gazette and Bulletin newspaper

_________

The quotes that Bruce used in the above story were much appreciated. Bruce said to me in an email that he had "found that much history is lost by leaving out the colorfully descriptive writing style of the times."

I have to agree!

In addition to this blog, my first attempt EVER at creating something (hopefully) worthy of YouTube, can be seen by using this link to watch a fun four-minute Doodly video I created in honor of Professor Ira Allen's entertaining feats that thrilled the citizens of Williamsport in July of 1888.

(And YAY, something you can share with your children as well.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=w2Kd_cHTMdE&feature=youtu.be

Enjoy!!

Board of Health: 1912 Annual Report

Wed, 29 May 2024 14:29:51 GMT

The Old City Hall offered up a Piece of History from 1912

“The Annual Report of the Board of Health for the Year 1912 to the Select and Common Councils of the City Williamsport, Pa” was found in the ceiling here at the City Hall Grand Hotel during our renovations in 2017. It truly thrills me when a piece of history seems to find US!

According to this report, Williamsport experienced a measles epidemic that Spring, with 565 cases reported by the end of the year. Although there were no deaths directly resulting from the measles, the board did not mince words pertaining to the repercussions brought about by the residents of the city:

“The foolish carelessness of many parents in permitting their children to be exposed to its contagion is to be deprecated, as many children are left with sequels of this disease, which includes abscesses of ears, diseased eyes and throats, as well as furnishing the soil for the development of tuberculosis, either at the time or later in life, thus causing physical defects which prevents innocent children from getting out of life what they are justly entitled to.”

Cases of chickenpox and diphtheria were reported in smaller numbers, spread by what the board identified as “carelessness.” Of the 45 cases of diphtheria, only one death was reported, proving the value of “antitoxine” which was the only remedy used at that time. Twenty-seven cases of scarlet fever were reported in the same year. According to the board, the most fatal of the infectious diseases was pneumonia, with 76 deaths that year, and no good means of prevention or treatment.

There were 25 cases of typhoid fever in 1912, “only” four of which resulted in death. The board attributed this low number of fatalities to infected food as opposed to epidemic tendencies, and proudly stated that “vaccination, as a preventative of typhoid fever, has now proved itself to be one of the great beneficial discoveries of modern medicine.”

Tuberculosis took thirty lives in 1912, all but four of them resulting from consumption of the lungs and the remainder from illness affecting other parts of the body. The board commended the efforts of the “State and Anti-tubercular organizations” for no increase in cases over that of 1911. “Owing to its peculiar insiduousness it is hard to overcome, but far-seeing sanitarians freely predict that the time is not far distant when the great white plague will be overcome.”

Williamsport’s Annual Report in 1912 stated the most fatal of infectious diseases that year was pneumonia.

In total, the Board of Health for the city of Williamsport, reported 481 deaths for the year 1912. The greatest number occurred in the month of December, largely due to the 70 deaths from pneumonia. This number reportedly broke all records that year and increased the “death rate to about thirteen per thousand on an estimated population of 35,000, deducting stillborns and accidents.”

“FACTS BY THE NUMBERS” from 1912

I hope you find these as interesting as I did!

146 animals were received and buried at the dump, the majority being cats and dogs.
1,898 rooms were fumigated with formaldehyde gas for contagious diseases.
878 houses were placarded for contagious diseases.
610 births reported (146 less than the previous year – by reason of doctors failing to report).
315 marriages were reported with one or both parties being a city resident.
481 deaths were reported (an increase of 37 over the previous year, wholly due to the unusual deaths from pneumonia).
360 school children were vaccinated against smallpox at the cost of $.50 per child.
100 - 500 is the number of dollars it cost the city for each case of smallpox.
3,700 is the number of dollars appropriated to the Board of Health in 1912 by the councils of the city.
157 dairies were inspected, 10 of which were considered “extra good”; 105, first class; 41, second-class; and one in third-class, which was forbidden to sell milk in the city.
1903 cows were found in these dairies.
ZERO complaints were received as to the quality of the water supplied by the city.
16,871 one- and two-horse loads of garbage and refuse were received at the dump at the foot of Locust Street.
335 separate nuisances were reported and examined that year.

(Shown Here: Student Nurses Lab at the Williamsport Hospital in 1935. Photo courtesy of James V. Brown Library.)

Looking for Josh

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 15:54:45 GMT

I Went There Looking for Josh.

~ KELLY MIFSUD

Published on Kelly's Facebook Page • September 19, 2023

I don’t know that I said much when Josh Butters passed away 5 years ago, but he has been heavy on my mind recently. Maybe it has to do with this time of year and the nostalgia I often feel, or maybe it has to do with a large shift I have been going through in my personal and professional growth, resulting in my looking back at my former self, life and relationships. Who’s to say really? All I know is that I have felt his presence.

My best friend from college drove up from Philadelphia last weekend for a photo session and said she was drawn to book a room and have me take photos at City Hall Grand Hotel. She wound up reserving a space on the third floor, designed and built by Josh, not knowing there was any sort of connection. When Josh’s sister Maranda found out, she insisted on giving me a tour of the building, and yesterday that’s what I did.

I did not go to City Hall Grand specifically to photograph the rooms, I went there looking for Josh. I felt like he had called me in. This was his way of helping and inspiring me with Kelly Ann M Photography when I needed it most. You may not get it, and that’s fine. My words, thoughts and way of storytelling aren’t typical.

Josh wasn’t typical. Like [this photograph], he was a mixture of dark with light. Moody and loving. Rough and tender. He would tell me to shut up and stop crying about something and then 20 minutes later he’d write me a poem. He was a genius and an artist, always creating something stunning out of an object someone else may cast aside.

If you have not stayed at City Hall Grand, you need to. I cannot believe there is a place as incredible as this one located right here in Williamsport.

Josh once told me, “If we are going to choose to live here, we need to make it beautiful.” And that he did.

You may not physically see him in these photographs, but he is everywhere. He is in every detail. I can see his mark in every paint color, bed frame, doorway, table, mirror - every piece of furniture and bit of interior design he dreamed up and breathed life into.

I see him, right down to the handprint he left behind.

It all says:

Josh was here.

And it's beautiful.

The Butters Family would like to thank Kelly for this beautiful tribute to Joshua P. Butters, the creative genius behind the "Hulk" Industrial Rooms and Third Floor Lobby here at the City Hall Grand Hotel. We miss him more than words can say.

President McKinley's Funeral Train

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 17:27:48 GMT

It Takes a Village ...

When we first started this project in 2016, my family all had different duties to perform to bring this idea of a boutique hotel to life. My duty was to come up with a theme for each room based on the history of Williamsport.

Seem easy? Well ... I am not ashamed to tell you ... I had one course of action: take what's available, and then run with it!

For the first nineteen rooms (covering three phases of construction) I turned to our local library. Not knowing me from Adam, I have to admit there was a slight hesitation on the part of the librarians at the James V. Brown Library , which, by the way, has a beautiful story to tell about its own history. I basically marched in one day with nothing but a smile and an idea, hoping I would find a few people that were as excited as I. If you know me, you know that is quite a challenge, as it is hard to keep my enthusiasm in a box. But I did manage to sell my idea to a willing (although not so enthusiastic) candidate.

And so it began ... one photograph at a time. The J.V. Brown's collection not only fulfilled my needs, it took me down a rabbit hole of which I am still happily sliding in and out. Over the years, I have dealt with several different men and women that serve as protectors of a timeless collection, all of which were wonderful. I cannot thank the James V. Brown Library enough for putting up with my countless visits. And here, I need to throw in a "shout-out" to my friend Rob up at Hoyer's , who waited (I am sure with bated breath) for me to deliver the priceless goods to him so that he could scan them at an extremely high resolution, throw them on a thumb drive, and have them back into the library's hands the next day.

One photograph, say for instance, of the lumber boom, led me to another, and then another, until finally I had enough photographs to get started with a room ... ultimately, Room 309, "The Lumber Room." And if I told you how many hours I have lovingly put into the restoration of each piece of history that adorns the walls here at the hotel, you might just think I was crazy.

One photo alone (the National Guard picture in the main lobby) took upwards of FIFTY hours. Was it worth it? I don't regret one minute of the time spent bringing these old moments back to life.

So now I have a room, a theme, and a half dozen open-aperture flashes of the past. The rest is, well, "History."

However, nineteen historical themes, countless hours of tedious computer work, and more than a hundred restored photos later, I decided I was tapping my resources dry.

"It Takes a Village" to bring something so monumental to the city of Williamsport.

More passionately energized than ever, I became emboldened! Now, armed with a hotel full of what would double as my new portfolio, I reached out to the community. Thinking back to the countless phone calls, none of which were anything but pleasantly received, I am still amazed at the lengths people went to that allowed me to continue to the completion of a final room count of thirty. I actually had to create a "Thank You Lobby" to express my appreciation to the organizations that opened up their photo collections to me. The Legacy Rooms on the first floor, followed by the Market Square Rooms on the second, would not exist if not for the time, effort, and generosity of so many people and the organizations they represent.

It does take a village ... or city ... to bring so much history to the people that not only live here, but to every visitor that enters the doors of our hotel.

And like that day when throngs came out to mourn the loss of their beloved chief on September 16, 1901, we hope that every Williamsporter can take pride in those precious moments that are such a tremendous part of what we represent here at the City Hall Grand Hotel.

Williamsport National Guard Regiment

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 17:17:29 GMT

Soldiers that Speak to Me

To dive into a "blog" was not something that, even a month ago, I ever thought I would be doing. If you know anything about me, you would know that I have a lot to say about .... well ... everything . But if I am going to take this on, and bear with me because this is my first attempt at this new endeavor, I am going to speak for the men and women of Williamsport that no longer have a voice. Yet .... they speak to me .

Upon entering the City Hall Grand Hotel , every guest is greeted by this group of men. After about 50 hours of restoration on a single photo, these members of the Williamsport National Guard Regiment are held very dear to my heart. Fathers, brothers, friends, uncles, sons, husbands ... shopkeepers, blacksmiths, teachers, wagon makers, tailors, carpenters, rat-catchers, chimney sweeps, stonemasons ... all came together to fight in the Civil War. Some look not much older than my 15-year-old. Yet they stand at attention as the civilians in motion behind them blur as a reminder to us that life in the 1860's wasn't just a moment as seen in an old black and white. Their lives, and in some cases, death, knitted the beautifully intricate fabric that became today's Williamsport.

Not too long ago, when we were doing the "Market Square" section of the hotel, a man came in to do our drywall work. Never having seen the inside of the hotel, let alone the mural that is proudly displayed in our entrance lobby, he was taken aback at first glance. He stopped short, to revisit the memories of his great aunt that had a similar photo when he was a child. Her great uncle, he said, was the "third man from the left."

Chester Milheim .

Finally! I had a name to go with a face, and a tremendous reward for my efforts to bring every pixel of this digital replica back from the grave. Chester Milheim ... a soldier that expressed to his great niece that "he just wanted to be a farmer" ... and a soldier that never made it home to follow his dreams.

They all have a story to tell. It is a shame I cannot tell you more.

But the next time you see these men who daily welcome complete strangers to our boutique hotel, remember their sacrifices.

I know that I for one carry a few threads of the fabric they knitted over a century and a half ago.

(A special thanks to the James V. Brown Library who has shared this and several other moments in Williamsport's history with me to restore.)