Louise Arner Boyd Calendar Blog, June 19, 1935 / "All For Roosevelt Here!"

Along with her eight Arctic expeditions and numerous international tours, Louise took many cross-country tours in her chauffeured touring car starting in 1919! Always a diligent observer, Louise kept diaries and journals from all her trips. The following entry is from a stop in Iowa during the "Great Depression" where she and her chauffeur, Cameron, received some unvarnished 'Hawkeye" sentiment!

1935 US Motor Tour – June 19, 1935
Iowa Sunny and clear! Cold. Windshield wiper fixed. Garage man told Cameron all for Pres. Roosevelt here! If Hoover or a ‘Yellow Dog’, they’d vote for the dog! Under Hoover they got 7 cents for wheat and Roosevelt 52 cents and as high as 70 cents. To grow and harvest cost 42 cents so now have a good profit!

Louise's 1935 Cross-Country Tour Journal

Louise Arner Boyd 2013 Calendar Entry / June 25, 1937

On board the expedition vessel, Veslekari, Louise writes home to her secretary, Mrs. Roche, about her recent undersea discovery. Using early echo-sounding technology, Louise and her crew discover a previously unknown undersea mountain range NE of Jan Mayen Islands between the Norwegian and Barents Seas. The letter, written in a palpably excited tone, describes Louise's plan to immediately contact the American Geographical Society (her sponsoring scientific organization) and the press in Tromso, Norway to the discovery as she fears the crew members will not remain silent for long. This discovery along with her many other expedition accomplishments would result in the mountain range being officially named the Louise A. Boyd Bank and her being honored by the American Geographical Society as the 1938 recipient of the Society's prestigious Collum Medal. The hand-written letter (seen below) is in the Marin History Museum's Louise Arner Boyd collection.

First page of letter dated June 25, 1937

The Veslekari

Part 1: Earth Day

Did YOU know? Earth Day History


The History of Earth Day in America began on April 22, 1970.  With an estimated 20 million Americans involved, an environmental resurgence began.  The passage of the Clean Air Act in ( December, 1970) signed by Nixon was designed to control air pollution by enforcing regulations that protect people from air pollutants such as acid rain and gasoline emissions.  The Clean Water Act of (1972 ) (interestingly enough, vetoed by Nixon, to be overridden by the Senate)  provides for the removal of toxic substances in the water and to ensure that public recreational spots are free of contaminates in the water.  The Endangered Species Act of (1973) signed by Nixon, to protect endangered species from extinction due to development projects that reduced their habitat.  All of these acts were enforced by the EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, a federally run agency that uses recent scientific information to enforce environmental measures to make sure that citizens throughout America are protected against pollution. They also make sure businesses are adhering to policies inhibiting pollution in order to ensure a healthy society.  They also protect species that were previously threatened by unfair business practices. 

This awareness has continued to promote better living practices in American and world wide.  With global warming and the resulting climate change humanity's existence is at stake.  Every year everyone comes together on Earth Day to celebrate how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful world and that only through preservation of our planet will it last.


Here is the official Earth Day website that will give you plenty of activities and community outreach opportunities to spread awareness to the human impact on our environment.
http://www.earthday.org/2013/about.html

Part 1: The History of the May Day Celebration

This week’s Did YOU Know? series is about the celebrated May Day festivals occurring all around the world starting on the 1^st of May.

Part1: The History of May Day

Through my research into the history of this festival; I have traced our practice of May Day in Marin to the Irish Celtic celebration of the summer solstice called Bealtaine.  The Celtic revival, a cultural reemergence of Irish history and religion, previously suppressed by British influence, reinstituted this Celtic pagan celebration based on the lunar cycles.  This astrological event marks the Sun’s progression from the spring equinox to the summer solstice. 

A have included a video of a woman who describes the Bealtaine festival in the ritual aspect of the celebration.  She talks about easy ways to access objects that can be used to express your creative side.  She also includes where to go for workshops to get in touch with your spirit animals that represent fertility and nature.

Part 2: May Day in Kentfield

Part 2: May Day in Marin

Kentfield’s May Day festival began in 1909.  The Tamalpais Center was established that year as a gift from Mrs. A.E. Kent which included almost 30 acres of land.  The event center was designed to create a place for educational and entertaining activities for everyone in Marin County.  The May Day festival was considered the most celebrated event at the Center.  

The school kids wore different colored ribbons to identify their schools in competitive events such as potato sack races and pole dancing.  At the end of the celebration a Queen of May was crowned, an honor every woman aspired to receive.

                                         Sack and Pole Dancing in 1909, courtesy of UC Libraries

As I was looking through the Marin History’s collections I found one of the flags that was presented at the festival from 1913, exactly 100 years ago.

May Day is such an interesting event and how it evolves either in a traditional manner or new age context the festival will live on as a moment to embrace the blessings that spring brings!

In Part 3 I will talk about how we celebrate it in Marin in 2013!

Part 3: How May Day is Celebrated in Marin in 2013.

The closest example of May Day celebrations in the Bay Area, despite countless hikes and workshops in Marin, is this event at Berkely's botanical garden on May 5th from 2:30-3:00.  Morris Dancers will preform a routine that is similar to dances practiced in May Day celebrations.  The event is free with admission, adult is $10,
to the botanical garden. For more information visit:

http://events.berkeley.edu/index.php/calendar/sn/bot.html?event_ID=64332&date=2013-05-05&filter=Event%20Type&filtersel=

Curate your life

Recently I was forced to go through my things at my parents’ house.  I was unsure what to keep and what to get rid of.  I was able to convince my parents to keep storing big-ticket items, like my old dollhouse and rocking chair, with a promise of grandchildren in the future.  Smaller toys, however, had to go to my house or goodwill.  I wanted to keep it all, but I also did not want my house to look like a children’s playroom!  The entire experience got me thinking about how to decorate and showcase toys from my past in a sophisticated way.  

This week’s Curate Your Life blog is dedicated to answering that very question!

Barbies

Most of us played with Barbies, dolls, GI Joes, or some other kind of action figure.  My sisters and I loved to play Barbies, and with three girls we managed to accumulate lots of Barbies and accessories.  When it came down to what to get rid of, I found myself unable to discard certain Barbie clothes.  They were the dresses my sisters and I fought over every time we played Barbies, and were therefore what I remembered most.  Here is how I displayed them in my home.

Framing clothes, or even the dolls themselves, in keepsake frames can be used to highlight all types of childhood toys!

LEGOS

LEGOs were a great toy for both girls and boys.  My Dad hated playing Barbies, but we would play with LEGOs for hours.  We played until our fingers hurt from pulling the pieces apart and putting them back together!

Here are some great ways to add color to your home and highlight your past love of LEGOs!

LEGO people make great wall art!
Would this work with Polly Pockets? Image from
http://cheezburger.com/7074794496 

   

Image from:http://furdancs.blog.hu/
This blog has lots of ideas on how to use LEGOs 

Image from: trendland.com

Toy Cars

I never played with little toy cars, but I know they were popular.  I am sure there are many men out there that have little toy cars hidden around their parents’ home.  If you have a collection of miniature cars, maybe you can make an art piece for your wall.  

This is an image of David T. Walker’s installation entitled Car- Atlas Rainbow.  This art piece, made of 1,500 toy cars, is installed on the floor, but something similar could be done on a wall in your home! 



Toy Planters

While doing my research for this blog, I came across the idea of using toys to make planters.  You can use old tonka trucks or hollow plastic toys.  I can't wait to spruce up my garden with these whimsical planters! 

Image from: www.moredesignplease.com

Troll Doll planter!
Image from: puppylovepreschool.blogspot.com

Tonka Truck Planter! Image from: www.thisoldhouse.com

Please share how you highlighted your favorite childhood toys in your home!  

Check back for next week's blog about highlighting your photograph collections!