Linda A. Tancs's Blog: The Long and Short of It, page 194
July 4, 2016
More Than Cheese
By Linda Tancs
Edam is a semi-hard cheese that originated in the Netherlands and put its namesake city on the map. But there’s more to this city than its cheese. In fact, shipbuilding is a prosperous part of its history, giving birth to Halve Maen (Half Moon). That was the ship assigned to Henry Hudson by the Dutch East India Company to chart a new route to Asia. Instead, bad weather found him charting the river in New York that now bears his name. Prized today for quaint shops and canals, it also boasts a fort with spectacular views of the wetlands. And, oh, about the cheese: the cheese market was the hub of the city in the Middle Ages where farmers brought their cheeses to be weighed, sold and exported all over the world. Re-enactments of the market’s hustle and bustle are held on Wednesdays during the summer from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Look for signage to Kaasmarkt.
June 30, 2016
A Treat in Newark
By Linda Tancs
The Robert Treat Hotel in Newark, New Jersey, is named for Captain Robert Treat, a colonial leader who was the governor of Connecticut and also is known as the founder of Newark. The first hotel in the city listed on both the State and National Registers of Historic Places, it was completed in 1916 and now celebrates 100 years. It’s also the first luxury hotel in Newark, no doubt the draw for the likes of four U.S. presidents, Martin Luther King Jr. and Albert Einstein. Thanks to premier area attractions like the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the Newark Museum (the state’s largest museum) and the Prudential Center arena, the Park Place jewel is poised to remain a stalwart in the city’s ongoing development and revitalization.
June 29, 2016
The Birthplace of Los Angeles
By Linda Tancs
The oldest section in Los Angeles is the plaza area known as Olvera Street. Also known as El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, Calle Olvera and La Placita Olvera, it’s located two blocks from Los Angeles City Hall. A popular attraction for both tourists and locals, it’s home to the oldest house (now a museum and visitors’ center), Avila Adobe, saved from demolition in the 1920s by Christine Sterling. She later realized her dream of creating a market plaza that would celebrate the area’s Spanish and Mexican heritage. Today, Olvera Street remains a bustling marketplace with music, food, crafts and folklore celebrations. Free guided tours of El Pueblo are conducted by volunteer docents, Las Angelitas del Pueblo, Tuesday through Saturday at 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. The tours start at the Las Angelitas del Pueblo office, located next to the Old Plaza Firehouse.
June 28, 2016
The Pride of Norway
By Linda Tancs
One of Norway’s best loved attractions is just an hour’s drive north from Oslo. There you’ll find Skibladner, the world’s oldest paddle steamer, ploughing Lake Mjøsa, Norway’s largest inland lake. The pride of Norway, the oldest preserved paddle steamer in timetabled service is celebrating 160 years of sailing this year. Skibladner sails between the villages and towns around Lake Mjøsa as she has always done: Lillehammer, Moelv, Gjøvik, Hamar and Eidsvoll. Sailings began on June 22 and continue through August 14.
June 27, 2016
A Wild Dam
By Linda Tancs
Named for famed Wild West figure William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, the Buffalo Bill Dam in Wyoming is a concrete arch-gravity dam on the Shoshone River. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it’s located six miles west of Cody (founded by the man himself) on the Yellowstone Highway. When completed in 1910 it was the tallest dam in the world. Visitors may stroll to the top of the dam, view exhibits and a short movie in the visitor center or rent a self-guided audio tour. The site is open seasonally through September.
June 23, 2016
World’s Steepest Cogwheel Railway
By Linda Tancs
A feat of engineering, the cogwheel railway system was invented by Colonel Eduard Locher-Freuler in the 1880s. It enabled gradients of up to 48 percent and made possible the construction of a railway up Switzerland’s Mount Pilatus. Eliminating the need for a tiresome ascent on foot, the system started out in 1889 as a steam coach and was later electrified in 1937. From Alpnachstad to Pilatus Kulm, the world’s steepest cogwheel railway gives visitors to Lucerne a bird’s-eye view of lush meadows carpeted with Alpine flowers, sparkling mountain streams and imposing rock faces.
June 22, 2016
Old Money in Morris County
By Linda Tancs
During The Gilded Age, a series of grandiose mansions owned by the wealthiest Americans found their place among pastoral settings in Morris County, New Jersey. One famous couple, in fact, built dueling mansions owing to their inability to warm up to one dwelling or the other. That duo was Marcellus Hartley Dodge (heir to the Phelps Dodge fortune) and Geraldine Rockefeller (niece of Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller), the richest couple in the nation. Her property, Giralda Farms, was a private estate when she purchased it in 1916 and represents one of the largest remaining tracts of open space in southeastern Morris County. Once a corporate park, it’s now preserved for public use through funding as the new 136-acre Giralda Farms Preserve at Loantaka Brook Reservation. The site includes a 1.2 mile network of hiking and off-road biking trails, meadows and hardwood wetlands and uplands, carriage trails, specimen trees and a pond. This weekend brings a music and arts festival to the site on Sunday featuring the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.
June 21, 2016
Center of the Universe
By Linda Tancs
The center of the universe in Buddhist cosmology is the mythical Mount Meru (not to be confused with the active stratovolcano of the same name in Tanzania). It’s depicted at the base of a snow-white pagoda in Myanmar known as Hsinbyume in the form of circular terraces representing the mountain peaks. The imposing structure was commissioned centuries ago by Prince Bagyidaw to honor the memory of Princess Hsinbyume (literally, White Elephant), who died during childbirth. Climb the stairway to the top and you’ll be rewarded with sweeping views of the banks of the Irrawaddy River and its accompanying vistas north of Mandalay.
June 20, 2016
North Carolina’s First Park
By Linda Tancs
It’s a banner year for North Carolina’s Mount Mitchell State Park, its first state park created 100 years ago, marking the centennial of the state’s parks system that has grown to nearly 250,000 acres set aside for conservation, recreation and education. The locale also enjoys the distinction of hosting the highest point east of the Mississippi, the dramatic summit of Mount Mitchell. Rangers hold regularly scheduled educational and interpretive programs about the park.
June 16, 2016
Juneteenth
By Linda Tancs
The liberation of black American slaves in Texas occurred on June 19, 1865, and an annual celebration of the end of slavery is held on the day. Known as Juneteenth, the first celebration in Texas came in 1867, and it became a state holiday in 1980. Like any Texas occasion, food is plentiful. A typical celebration includes barbecue, smothered chicken, collard greens and red desserts and beverages (such as red velvet cake and strawberry soda).
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