Saturday June 4, 2011 10:00 AM, Jones Mountain Rd.
Join the Rochester Historical Society on one of their popular hikes to the Jones Mountain/Fassett Basin area of West Rochester. Learn about how these families contributed to Rochester’s effort in the Civil War. See where the Joshua Whitney family, featured in the original play “Ransom” lived during that period. The hike will be led by Bruce Flewelling and Joe Schenkman.
Meeting place will be at the parking area on the Jones Mountain Rd, which is off the West Hill Rd. Bring a snack or lunch, water, insect repellant and a camera. Hiking shoes or boots are recommend. The hike will take approximately 4 hrs and is rated as moderate. For information call Bruce Flewelling at 767-3263
City Point, Va Christmas Dec 25th 1864
“ And now you and Mr. Jones must write me the particulars of your doings and how you get along and I must know whether you have got a hired man or not and them potatoes must need sorting over by this time for will rot in deep piles and you need the room in the cellar where Carey potatoes are to spread your own. On the Recpt of this write to me directly.
Joshua Whitney
In the love of the savior I send you my love and best affections.”
Beautiful! For all the art-lovers out there, this is just beautiful!
A thought to share with family, friends, and colleagues in the arts during the aftermath Vermont’s recent disaster, so wonderfully articulated by Karl Paulnack of the Boston Conservatory:
Art is part of survival; art is part of the human spirit, an unquenchable expression of who we are. Art is one of the ways in which we say, “I am alive, and my life has meaning.”
Surviving a disaster is initially a relief, but facing the challenges of recovery pulls at the fabric of our being—assessing losses and resources to begin the rebuilding our lives and communities. As adrenaline is quickly dissipates, we dig deeper into ourselves for the sustaining energy and spirit to cope with a changed reality.
Fears and emotions not easily processed are pushed further inward, becoming unconscious compulsions that drive our actions. Art is a means to release these feelings, to make them conscious, a way to express feelings when words fail us.
Paulnack further stated, ” Music allows us to move around those big invisible pieces of ourselves and rearrange our insides so that we can express what we feel even when we can’t talk about it.” I agree wholeheartedly with his statement and think that this one of the essential roles of art in general.
As we move forward in our recovery process, I request that those of you who find expression through the arts put some thought as to how your work can help those in your community find understanding, acceptance, and restored harmony with the natural forces that rearranged our lives.