Saturday, May 30, 2015

Oswego, New York 5/30/15

We were off to spend a day in Oswego, New York.  While Oswego is a town of only 18,000 it is the location of an important part of our US History.  We began our day in Oswego at the Safe Haven Museum.  Our Docent for the day was this wonderful lady Lois who volunteers 4 days per week, and is presently their only docent.  She is energetic, cheerful, an incredible wealth of information and at 87 her energy and smiles will surpass most of us on our best days.  While this museum houses many wonderful pictures and some oral histories, the true gem of the day was the journey that Lois took us on.

In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt came up with a plan to receive from Italy, 1000 refugees of World War II.  Each refugee was required to sign a contract that stated that they agreed they would leave the United States when the war was over. One thousand of 3,000 applicants were chosen.  Priority was given to families, and those that had been in concentration camps.  Young men of fighting age were not allowed to apply.  On the date of departure only 982 of the refugees arrived to board the U.S.S. Gibbons, headed to America to escapes the horrors of Hilter.  It is unknown what happened to the other 18.  Each person was required to wear a 'casual baggage tag', a stark reminder that they had no legal status past visitor.  The voyage was dangerous as there were submarine attacks and points where German planes flew overhead.  But the ship arrived safely in a port in New Jersey. Soon after arrival, however, the refugees became suspicious when they were told to load a train that would take them 200 miles to Oswego, NY.  Many of the refugees feared they were set up to travel on to a concentration camp.

Oswego, NY was chosen by Roosevelt because it was the site of some old Army quarters, Fort Ontario, that was not being used at that time.  The fear of the refugees grew worse upon arrival at Fort Ontario when they saw outside of their train windows a camp that was enclosed with fencing topped with rows of barbed wire. The new arrivals were sure they had been fooled into being shipped off to a concentration camp and they refused to disembark at Fort Ontario. Eventually the US troops took the celebration feast that had been set up for these new arrivals and carried this food to each individual at their seats on the train.  The story is that one lone man convinced the group that because they had not eaten this well in years they should all get off the train.

The refugees were set up in barracks that had been converted to small apartments with cots, a trunk and a few wooden chairs.  The community had a church that all religions shared, a health center, a theater house, a bowling alley and a gymnasium.  These buildings were all left behind from when this facility served as an Army location.  The new residents were quarantined for 30 days.  Upon their arrival, the local Oswego residents came and looked through the fence at them and these new residents felt like they were on display like monkeys in a zoo.  But quickly that sentiment changed as the local residents would come to the fence every day and toss over toys and shoes and even a bike. The stories Lois told us could not help but bring some feelings of hope in mankind as we were reminded of the horrors that brought these people here to begin with.

All residents in the camp were required to learn English and all of the children went to school.  For some of the children of this war torn world, this would be the first school they had ever attended. After the 30 days of quarantine the residents were allowed out in the community for 6 hours a day, but they were required to sign in and out when they left.  This was a good time for the people living here.  The people could sleep without fear, the children could run and play and they enjoyed foods they had not been able to get for years during the war.

Eventually the war ended on September 2, 1945.  By this time President Roosevelt had died and Truman was in office.  While most Americans supported these refugees remaining when the war ended, the U.S. Congress said they had sign agreements that they would depart after the war ended and they were all informed that they were not welcome to stay.  Buses were then arranged to take anyone interested across the Rainbow Bridge to Canada to obtain visas where they were able to return with stamped visas from Canada as immigrants and then apply to remain.  All but approximately 100 chose this option.  All that returned to the US from the Rainbow Bridge were welcomed with open arms to Oswego.  Most, while appreciative, did not like the harsh winters and would eventually leave the area for more weather comfortable US locations. This was such a feel good museum, though sad that more could not have been helped.  Those that came were from many countries and many professions.  Check the pictures below for some of these details on the diversity of people.

Next we went to tour the Fort.  The original fort on these grounds was erected in 1755 during the French and Indian War. This fort was attacked and destroyed by British forces during the war of 1812.  The five main buildings at the current fort were erected from 1842-1844.  As the years passed, the fort would be used for various things including the refugee camp discussed above.  We toured the grounds, officer's quarters and enlisted men areas. From the fort we could also see the Lighthouse in the harbor.   For more discussion on this fort in its early days, there is much available at the following link: Fort Ontario

After a great lunch we were off to the H Lee White Maritime museum.  Here we viewed various old maritime artifacts and also got to tour both the Army LT-5 (John F Nash) that was used at D-Day and also the Derrick Barge Number 8.

The John F Nash was built to serve WWII and was part of the D-Day attack at Normandy France. While many of the Army's tugs would later be decommissioned and scrapped, this ship served as a Great Lakes tug from 1946-1989.

While at the museum we also toured the Derrick Barge Number 8.  This is a 200 ton barge that served the New York State Canal system for 60 years.  The barge, powered by a steam engine was capable of lifting 150 tons.

The day proved to be yet another most informative day in an unexpected location.

Casual Baggage Tag
Safe Haven Museum
Safe Haven Museum
Safe Haven Museum
Safe Haven Museum
Safe Haven Museum
Fort Ontario
Officer's quarters
Fort Ontario
Barracks and Mess Hall Enlisted
Fort Ontario
Fort Ontario Barracks,
Two men Per Bunk Times 2 Bunks High
Fort Ontario
Oswego Harbor West Pierhead Lighthouse

US Army LT-5

 Pilot House
US Army LT-5
Captain's Quarters
US Army LT-5
Derrick Barge Number 8 constructed 1925

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Kingston, Ontario 5/28/15

We did a wonderful day trip to Kingston, Ontario.  We began our day leaving out of Cape Vincent, NY, taking the ferry to Wolf Island, Ontario.  Wolf Island, Ontario seemed nice, but when we learned that the ferry to Kingston was out of service and a smaller ferry had been employed, we decided that we should head to the Kingston Ferry right away.  This turned out to be a good decision as it took over 2 hours to get on the ferry from Wolf Island heading out for Kingston.

Kingston is a town rich with history.  We began our Kingston day visiting Fort Henry.  This fort was originally constructed during the war of 1812, with a much larger construction replacing it in 1830. The fort was built both to protect the navel dockyard and also to protect the Rideau Canal.

The docents at Fort Henry, dressed in period costume, were knowledgeable and quite informative.  We learned how being an officer was a 'purchased' position only.  Officers also never carried a rifle and only carried a sword. Officers had a cook and their own dining rooms where they dined with other officers.  At officer meals 4 topics of discussion were forbidden: women, politics, shop talk and religion.

Enlisted men could petition to marry only after having served for 14 years.  The married quarters were incredibly small (shown below) and separated from other married couples only by a curtain. Each married quarter consisted of three small beds, no matter how many children one had (one bed for the enlisted man, one for the wife and one for all of the children). Also unique to the enlisted was enlisted men were given: 1 lb bread, 1 lb. potatoes and 3/4 lb meat each day.  Wives were given 1/2 this amount and children 1/4 this amount.  Enlisted men did not have a cook and normally all the enlisted men would pool their daily food rations together and trade off cooking for the group.

While in Kingston we also visited the Kingston Penitentiary Museum.  The prison originally opened in 1835 and when opened there was no categorization of prisons including no difference made for woman or youth or degrees of offense.  The youngest offender housed in this penitentiary was an 8 year old pick pocket.  This prison, was eventually termed a maximum security prison.   On its closure on 9/30/13 it was one of the longest continuous use prisons in the world.

Many of the punishments displayed in this museum, from early times, seemed a bit barbaric, at least for today.  We learned, however, how the Canadian prison system has been reformed  greatly. Prisoners today in Canada are evaluated upon entry concerning what factors caused them to end up there. Each prisoner is given an individual incarceration plan today.  Part of that plan includes education, with it being mandatory that each inmate successfully complete the 10th grade level of education work. Also included in that plan are completion of job skills training, sometimes detox and most often counseling.   Life sentences today in Canada technically mean 25 years (if the prisoner has successfully completed their incarceration plan) with a lifetime of supervised probation on the outside.

We later spent a short time walking around downtown Kingston.  The downtown area has many historical buildings that are simply beautiful.

Last we drove along the shore of the Thousand Islands....yes the birthplace of Thousand Island Dressing.  We took the bridge over the Thousand Island area to return back to the United States.

Kingston, Ontario from the ferry
leaving Wolf Island, Ontario
Fort Henry, Ontario
Officer individual quarters.
Look closely at the chair on the left.
The straps are used to make this chair a recliner.
Fort Henry, Ontario

Officer Ante Room
Fort Henry, Ontario
Fort Henry, Ontario
Cook's area for the Officers
Fort Henry, Ontario
Wine Cellar
Fort Henry, Ontario
Cannon room
Fort Henry, Ontario
School Room
Fort Henry, Ontario
Bakery-each oven could cook 100 loaves
at a time.  Take a look at the utensils hanging on the walls
that were used to reach the loaves at the back of the oven.
Fort Henry, Ontario
Married Quarters, separated by only curtains
Beds folded up during the day to provide more room.
Fort Henry, Ontario
Enlisted Man's Kitchen where they had to cook for themselves.
Fort Henry, Ontario
 
Kingston Penitentiary Museum

Kingston Penitentiary Museum

Kingston Penitentiary Museum

Kingston Penitentiary Museum
 Kingston Penitentiary
Kingston Penitentiary Warden's House
Kingston City Hall 1844
Kingston City Hall 1844, Back Side

 Kingston City Hall 1844 Interior
 Kingston City Hall 1844 Interior
One of Many Stained Glass Windows
Council Chambers
Kingston City Hall 1844
St. George's Cathedral 1825
Kingston, Ontario Downtown
Kingston Empire Life Building 1936
Kingston, Ontario, Downtown

Thousand Islands, Toronto, Canada


Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Sodus Point NY 5/22-26/2015

We are staying on the banks of Lake Ontario in Sodus Point, NY.  Sodus Point, founded in 1794, is a quaint town with a few local restaurants, a marina and of course the Lighthouses.  The evening sunsets over the lake are spectacular and the weather for the most part is still a bit crisp.

Our visit to the lighthouse museum was interesting.  The docent gave us a lot of information on the battle that happened in Sodus Point during the war of 1812.  This battle resulted in the town of Sodus Point being burned to the ground.  We learned about how both sides treated officers differently than enlisted men, protecting their deceased bodies during war to be collected by family members later. When the war was settled, all boundaries (US and Canadian) were reset where they were prior to the war.  More detail on this can be read at: war of 1812 and Sodus Point  

We then toured the few local artifacts in the museum and climbed the lighthouse tower. Last we learned of why there were two lighthouses.  After the construction of the breakwater, soil accretion greatly altered the shape of the shoreline and the new shoreline point was no longer being properly marked by the old light house.  Eventually the first lighthouse was only creating confusion and was put out of commission.  At this point only the second lighthouse was retained.

While here in Sodus Point we did a day trip to the Corning Glass Museum (about an hour drive away).  While this was a return visit for Teri, the museum is so interesting, she wanted to return. This is one of the more interesting museum we have been to and we highly recommend you visit it if you get a chance.  

At the museum one is taken though a global 3500 years of glass with thousands of artifacts to view. There are several glass making demonstrations that are informative and stunning to watch.  We learned how some colors are only achieved by heating the glass longer and also how on completion of a piece that piece must be brought to cool slowly in a kiln to keep it from cracking.  The demonstrations took us from sand to finish and are incredible to watch.

While we have provided a few pictures within, take some time to look at the Corning website as it provides a better understanding of all that this wonderful museum has to offer. Corning Glass Museum)



Sunset from our Campsite
Another Sunset (with no modification to the color)
Sodus Bay Lighthouse: First Lit 1825
Sodus Outer Light: First Lit 1837
The Silver
 
Imagine having to swim in these Ladies?
Both stockings and bonnets were not optional, nor was color
and they are 100% wool.
The one on the right was for the guys.
Sodus Bay Lighthouse at the Top of the Tower
 Glass Demonstration
Corning Glass Museum
 Glass Demonstration
Corning Glass Museum
 Glass Demonstration
Corning Glass Museum
 Glass Demonstration
Corning Glass Museum
 Glass Demonstrations
Corning Glass Museum
 Corning Glass Museum
 Corning Glass Museum
 Corning Glass Museum from 25 BC
Corning Glass Museum from 10 AD
Corning Glass Museum

Corning Glass Museum

Corning Glass Museum
Corning Glass Museum
Corning Glass Museum
Corning Glass Museum
Corning Glass Museum