It looks like this year is going to be a HUGE year for history geeks like me.
It will be the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. There will be a lot of festivities here in Boston commemorating that event, especially because of the U.S.S. Constitution.
Continue reading “This year will be a big year of historic anniversaries”
Yesterday Kelly and I put Rerun and Thumbelina in the car, drove up to Lowell to pick up my Aunt Donna, and then drove to New Hampshire to see Liz, Dan, and the kids. Once again the dogs ran around with their cousin Ralph for a while, and poor little Ralph was so excited to see us that he literally peed everywhere. And I did not help keep a clean carpet either, as I accidentally tracked dirt and mud into the house myself. That’s because I am a genius. Really.
Geoff here – as Kelly posted earlier we had a pretty good experience at the National Urban League conference this weekend. The career fair (as they called it) was quite good, and I managed to make some good contacts for some local jobs. One HR manager we spoke to actually said she was going to hand carry my resume down to the head of the department. I would say that is a good thing. I also got some superb advice on my resume, and I am in the process of making those adjustments.
Yesterday Kelly and I stayed late after our church service in order to help out with some of the yard work. I guess we needed the distraction and it was nice to do something constructive rather than something meaningless. The toughest part (and the part we were specifically asked to do) was preparing an area where a new row of hedges will soon be planted. The head of the property committee (I am a member) asked me to use the rotor tiller we keep at the church to help break up the dry, packed soil. So I did, and Kelly assisted me by raking and shoveling out all of the loose soil.
You can find all of the photos (along with my commentary) at http://bostonharborislandjune2011.shutterfly.com so go check them out.
-Geoff
Geoff here – I had the chance to go to Fort Warren for some history programs and to meet with some of the staff and talk about Civil War history and living history. It was just me this time, but I hope to bring Kelly with me sometime because I think she would love it.
Especially since this year is the 150th anniversary of the outbreak and the first year of the Civil War, I have been trying to get back into the world of Civil War history. The people I spoke with at Fort Warren were really great, and several of them were highly encouraging. They seemed to be interested in possibly having me come out there sometime to do some talks. How awesome would that be?
It was particularly meaningful for me to be at Fort Warren this month. It was on June 13, 1861 that the 11th Massachusetts Infantry, the “Boston Volunteers”, were sworn into the Federal service there at Fort Warren. For those Beaulieus that may be reading this, this was the unit that Moses Beaulieu joined. So it was somewhat personal for me. For those of you who have never seen it, here is their recruiting poster that I found.
I took a lot of pictures, but I don’t want to put too many here. If you would like to see the rest of my photos (and the Harbor Islands are really beautiful if you have never seen them) from my day trip we will be putting them up in an album on Shutterfly. Once I have the link I will post it here.
