Chris Pearce's Blog, page 14

Why Portland, OR is called the City of Roses

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone)

Roses are an integral part of Portland, Oregon. Its prosperity, growth, and development have been linked to them for more than 100 years. The city has the ideal cool, damp climate for roses, and pioneers were soon growing them in their gardens.

One of these early settlers was Leo Samuel, founder of the Oregon Life Insurance Company in 1906, a firm now known as the Standard Insurance Company. He moved to Portland from California in 1871 and grew roses next to his sidewalk. He would leave a pair of shears on the fence so people could cut a few roses and plant them near their own sidewalks for others to snip. The practice caught on and before long residents and businesses all over town were planting roses at the front of their property. The insurance company still plants roses outside its head office in downtown Portland.

Some attribute the “City of Roses” name to Samuel. More definite evidence comes from Charles Paul Keyser, who was Portland Parks Superintendent from 1917 to 1950. He claims that the city was “christened the City of Roses” by visitors to a convention held by Portland’s Episcopal Church in 1888. They couldn’t have helped but see the abundance of roses along the footpaths and must have thought it a fitting name.

In the same year, Georgiana Burton Pittock, wife of pioneer publisher Henry Pittock, invited friends and neighbors to her house in downtown Portland to show their roses to one another. She had set up a tent in her garden for this purpose. Together they formed the Portland Rose Society. The first annual Rose Show was held by the society in 1889. From 1890, residents began planting the Mme. Caroline Testout rose on their curbs and by 1905, the city boasted 200 miles of rose-lined streets. It is thought that the name City of Roses was being used more and more by that time.

The multitude of roses helped attract 1.6 million visitors to Portland in 1905 for the four-month long Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition to commemorate the first return expedition across the continent. Near the end of the exposition, Mayor Harry Lane suggested the city needed an annual rose festival. The first Portland Rose Festival was held in 1907. This event confirmed Portland’s status as the City of Roses. The city’s population tripled from 90,000 to 207,000 during this decade.

In 1915, Jesse A. Currey persuaded the Portland government to set up a rose garden to save hybrid European roses from being destroyed by bombing during World War I. The city’s International Rose Test Garden was established in 1917. This garden as well as the festival and the Rose Society have all gone from strength to strength over the years.

Today, the International Rose Test Garden at Washington Park has 10,000 rose plants and 550 rose varieties on 4.5 acres. The best time to see the roses in bloom is June. The Annual Spring Rose Show is held at the Lloyd Center Ice Rink, which is transformed each year into a rose garden of more than 2,000 blooms. It is the country’s largest and oldest rose show and is now part of the Portland Rose Festival. The festival is held each year in May and June and has over 60 events, including parades, bands, fireworks, car and boats races, carnival rides, and more. The Grand Floral Parade has become America’s second largest floral parade and Oregon’s largest spectator event, with half a million people watching it.

Portland has a number of beautiful gardens apart from the International Rose Test Garden. Peninsula Park Rose Garden on the north side is actually older and has 9,000 roses of 65 varieties. In southeast Portland, Ladd’s Addition Rose Garden is even older and has 3,000 plants. It is surrounded by a number of outstanding private gardens.

Several of Portland’s sports teams and venues have adopted the city’s rose theme. Popular local teams include the Rosebuds hockey team and the Rose City Rollers roller derby team. The Rose Garden sports complex is the home of the Trail Blazers basketball team. Cyclists compete at the Alpenrose Velodrome. Also, Portland conducts a Rose Bud and Thorn Pageant. Many local businesses include “Rose” or “Rose City” as part of their name.

Portland has a number of nicknames but the most common is the City of Roses or just Rose City. Interestingly, the name has never been made official by Council Resolution, despite resolutions establishing the great blue heron as the city bird and Portlandia as the city song. Residents still plant roses at the front of their houses.

How did Hartford, CT become known as the ‘Insurance Capital of the World’?

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone)

Hartford, Connecticut is one of the oldest cities in the United States. Originally called Newtown, the settlement was founded in 1635 by Pastor Thomas Hooker who led about 100 people to the area from Massachusetts Bay Colony. In the early years, its economy was mainly based on agriculture. It soon became an important trading center and developed a thriving port on the Connecticut River. Produce such as molasses, coffee, spices, and rum were shipped to England, the Far East, and the West Indies.

Merchants were increasingly worried about the risks associated with their trade. Fires, storms, and accidents had always been a concern, but it was the piracy threat that was perhaps the biggest problem for many operators. After piracy in the New World had been more or less contained for many years, it increased again along the US eastern and gulf coasts and in the Caribbean by the early nineteenth century. Barbary pirates were still active along the northern and western coasts of Africa. In the Far East, powerful Chinese pirate fleets were flourishing by this time.

Informal insurance arrangements began in 1794 when Hartford merchant Jeremiah Wadsworth and some associates started providing fire insurance. When many of the city’s merchants met at a local inn one day in 1810, fire at their warehouses was their main immediate concern, and they formed the Hartford Fire Insurance Company. They agreed to set up the firm with working capital contributions of $15,000, a very substantial amount of money in those days.

Other insurance companies soon followed. The Aetna Insurance Company was set up in Hartford in 1819 and the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company started in 1846. Phoenix Insurance was founded as the American Temperance Life Insurance Company by business, civic, and religious leaders in the city in 1851. Travelers Insurance Company was established in 1864 and the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company started in 1866.

Hartford grew strongly in the nineteenth century and soon became the country’s leading center for insurance. Policies were taken out with the city’s insurance companies by organizations and individuals far and wide. Abraham Lincoln insured his home in Illinois with the Hartford Fire Insurance Company. When fire raged through New York’s financial district in 1835, Hartford Fire Insurance Company president Eliphalet Terry traveled to the scene and assured policyholders that claims would be met. He had to use his personal wealth to do so. The company also paid out in the New York fire of 1845 and the Chicago fire in 1871.

With actions like this, strong growth in Hartford’s insurance industry was assured, especially with insurance companies in other cities often failing to pay out. The city’s insurance industry expanded nationally and internationally and the city eventually became known as the ‘Insurance Capital of the World’. Assisted by its insurance industry, Hartford became the wealthiest US city after the Civil War, an honor previously held by New Orleans. Hartford also became a leading manufacturing and publishing city in the nineteenth century.

Its reputation as the insurance capital was enhanced over coming decades as its major insurance companies continued to grow and diversify. The Hartford Fire Insurance Company launched the Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company in 1913, and took over the Columbian National Life Insurance Company in 1959 and the ITT Corporation in 1970. Now known as the Hartford Financial Services Group, or the Hartford, it has become one of the largest insurance and investment companies in the US with revenue of $9.2 billion in 2008 and with operations around the world. It still has its headquarters in Hartford.

Other early insurance companies in Hartford have also grown enormously. Aetna has a range of health insurance products and is a Fortune 100 company with revenue of $31 billion in 2008 and investments worldwide. Phoenix offers life insurance and annuities and has nearly $14 billion in reserves. The Travelers Companies is now America’s largest insurance company with a market value of $23.3 billion in 2008. The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company provides property insurance and was taken over by Munich Re in April 2009. Most of these companies remain headquartered in Hartford or nearby and insurance is still the city’s largest industry.

With the recent tough economic times, some of Hartford’s insurance companies have left the city for suburban areas to take advantage of cheaper rents and better parking, while some have reduced their workforce. Going against the trend is Aetna, who is moving 3,500 staff from Middletown, 16 miles from the city, to Asylum Hill adjacent to the downtown area. Today, there are 106 insurance companies in Connecticut. Nevertheless, with takeovers and cutbacks affecting the industry, some analysts no longer regard Hartford as the insurance capital of the world. It seems other cities are now vying for this title, such as London and Iowa.

History of the Connecticut Opera, Hartford, CT

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone)

The Connecticut Opera Association in Hartford, Connecticut was established as a non-profit company in March 1942 by Frank Pandolfi, an Italian born tenor and teacher. Labeled the ‘Little Caruso’ by Sigmund Romberg, Pandolfi had Broadway experience, although he didn’t perform with the Connecticut Opera. He had been putting on productions in Hartford for his students when he realized there was a great demand for opera productions in the city, and formed the new opera company.

Its first production was Carmen, starring mezzo-soprano Winifred Heidt along with Eugene Conley, performed at the Bushnell Theatre on 14 April 1942. Built in 1930 with a Georgian Revival exterior and Art Deco interior, the theatre seats 2,800 people in a magnificent auditorium featuring ‘Drama’, one of the largest hand-painted ceiling murals in the US. Despite its size, there was sufficient demand in the first season for eight different productions, soon reduced to four or five, and later to three.

The emphasis in the early years was on famous international opera stars and Pandolfi brought the likes of Placido Domingo, Joan Sutherland, Rise Stevens, Beverly Sills, and Mary Dunleavy to Hartford. This was partly due to its proximity to New York and partly because of the artists’ fondness for the pint sized Pandolfi. The company celebrated its twentieth anniversary with a dinner for him in Hartford on 19 March 1962. That week was declared Connecticut Opera Week by the state’s governor, John Dempsey.

According to Peter Russell (see http://operaandthekitchensink.blogspot.com/2008/09/more-connecituct-opera-memories.html), the quality of the performances and artists in the 1960s and 1970s varied considerably and cast changes were frequent, usually at the last minute, and often resulted in a lesser performer. He recalls “Frank Pandolfi and his wife Carmela not even attempting to conceal their dismay at some of Marti’s [tenor Bernabe Marti] squeezed high notes.” He comments that Hartford audiences were kind and forgiving and only recalls them booing a performer on three occasions.

Pandolfi left Connecticut Opera in 1974, after 32 years as its general manager. The company changed direction and concentrated its efforts on young and rising artists mainly in the local area rather than on international stars. It also pioneered innovative threatrical sets, lighting, and costumes. The company launched Opera Express in the mid 1970s, which has taken performances to over three million seniors, disadvantaged citizens, and youths throughout the New England region. More recently, as part of the Magic of Opera program, it was taking about 1,000 children a year behind the scenes at the Bushnell for a close look at opera production. In the 1980s, the company won national and international acclaim for its productions of the operas Aida and Turandot.

By the late 1990s, the company was going through another change of direction. Its new management structure included a split of artistic and administrative activities, with the general director position replaced by an artistic director and a managing director. The company aimed to attract the stars but also nurtured new talent and maintained its outreach program. These aspects were reflected in its mission statement: “Connecticut Opera produces quality opera featuring well-known and emerging artists, stage directors and conductors, offers opera education and outreach programs that engage diverse communities, and introduces and encourages further appreciation of opera, while exercising fiscal responsibility.”

On 12 February 2009, the Connecticut Opera closed its doors after 67 seasons, making it the sixth oldest opera company in the US. Its last production, Don Giovanni, at the Palace Theater, Waterbury, had poor ticket sales. Donations from corporations and individuals also fell. These factors caused the company to suffer financially and its bank accounts were frozen, leaving it with no option but to close down. Two more productions planned for 2008-09, The Daughter of the Regiment and La Boheme, were canceled. At the time of its closure, the company had 2,000 subscribers and an annual budget of $2 million. Ticket prices were from $25 to $100.

Connecticut Opera board chairman John Kreitler blamed the collapse on economic conditions. It is not the only arts organization to be effected by the downturn. Opera and ballet companies as well as orchestras across the country are struggling. The Metropolitan Opera in New York canceled four productions for 2009-10, while the city’s Opera Orchestra dropped two 2008-09 performances. Also, the Los Angeles Opera laid off 17 staff, the Miami City Ballet retrenched eight dancers, and the Baltimore Opera has filed for bankruptcy. Umbrella group Americans for the Arts estimated that 10,000 arts bodies could go out of business in 2009. Memories of the Connecticut Opera live on for thousands of people.

History of Hartford Public High School, Hartford, CT

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone)

Hartford Public High School in Hartford, Connecticut is the third oldest school still in existence in the United States. Among public secondary schools, it is the second oldest behind the Boston Latin School, which dates to 1635. The Hartford school was founded as Thomas Hooker’s Latin School in 1638, two years after Hooker founded Hartford and the Connecticut colony. The Reverend Hooker, a Puritan, had led a group of 100 people who left Massachusetts Bay Colony due to its lack of universal male suffrage and settled at Hartford. He set up the school to prepare young men to join the Puritan ministry.

Apart from its status as one of the oldest schools in the US, Hartford Public High School is perhaps significant for the number of buildings it has occupied over the years and the extensions to them. It is thought that the school was initially run from Hooker’s home in Prospect Street. This street in downtown Hartford was a dirt track in the 1630s. Residents of this model Christian community took education seriously. Pupils were called scholars and were trained in scripture, Latin, and English. The school was known variously as the Latin School, Free School, Free Grammar School, and in the 1700s as Hartford Grammar School. Its location is believed to have changed many times as Hartford and the school grew in size.

By the early 1800s, there was a move in a number of states to educate women and to give more emphasis to the teaching of English rather than a purely classical course of studies. In Hartford, the First School Society led by John Barnard decided to push for a high school to be established in the town. Barnard had attended Hartford Grammar School before going to Yale University, and was later the first US Commissioner of Education. On 1 December 1847, the school added an English course, admitted females, and became the Hartford Public High School. The school now had a program to educate young people going into business and finance, as well as those studying the classics. It was also a major step forward for the girls, who had been taught at the likes of the Hartford Female Seminary, although they remained well and truly segregated from the boys.

The design of the new wooden building was state of the art at that time, with one big classroom on each floor. But the school wasn’t large enough for the rapidly growing town. In 1869, an imposing brick building was constructed at Asylum Hill just to the west of downtown Hartford. It was extended eight years later, by which time the school’s reputation for excellence had spread nationwide. Unfortunately, a fire destroyed the building in 1882. Everything was gone except for some records kept off site and some items in the safe. Lessons continued in the Batterson Building, Asylum Avenue.

A grand new school building was designed by architect George Keller and built at the same site on Asylum Hill, facing Hopkins Street, in 1883. Hartford Public High School added to its expertise in classics and business studies by soon leading the way in science facilities, housing a Hall telescope, observatory, laboratories, and fossil collection. This included six brownstone slabs with dinosaur footprints and conifer fossils 200 million years old donated by James Batterson. These are still in the school’s possession. The school building was extended in 1897 and its two steepled towers became a famous landmark. Before long, a manual training wing was built, and another building was constructed in 1914 for business and industrial courses. This doubled the size of the school. However, the whole complex was demolished in 1963 for the new interstate 84 highway.

A new school was built in Forest Street in 1963 in the old Nook Farm literary area, which had been home to the likes of Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Parts of the old school had been salvaged and taken to the new site, such as the observatory, telescope, statuary, and architectural fragments including the original 1883 brownstone owl, the school’s official mascot. Recent extensive renovations have been carried out at the school. In an ambitious project, the building was stripped back to its frame and rebuilt with many of the historic features of the old Hopkins Street building loved so much by the community. The renovations were completed in 2008.

Hartford Public High School has about 1,500 students in grades 9-12 and offers studies in four academies or smaller learning communities: Green Technology and Engineering, Law and Government, Nursing, and Freshmen. The Freshmen Academy is for grade 9 students, while the other three academies focus on specialized studies for those in grades 10-12. The school is known for producing sports champions in football, basketball, athletics, swimming, and wrestling. It has also produced two Hartford mayors, George Athanson and Eddie Perez.

History and significance of lapis lazuli gemstones

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone)

Lapis lazuli is a semi-precious gemstone that is deep blue in color but with a hint of purple and with flecks of gold pyrite. The first part of the name comes from the Latin word “lapis”, meaning stone. The second part comes from the Persian word “layhward”, which is where the stone was first mined. This word has come to us via the Persian word “lazhward”, meaning blue, or the Arabic word “lazaward”, which in Latin became “lazuli” or blue stone.

The history and significance of lapis lazuli goes back 6,500 years. It was first mined in Badakhshan province, Afghanistan, and was traded quite widely from early times.  The stone has been found at a number of pre-dynastic Egyptian sites, as well as Mesopotamian, Indus Valley, Greek and Roman sites, and as far away as the Caucasus region and Mauritania.

The ancient Egyptians used it as an amulet, or ornament, worn to fend off evil. They also used it as a cosmetic by crushing the stone and using it to make a paste like eye shadow. Queen Cleopatra herself, as well as aristocrats and priests, had their eyelids painted with this substance.

Egyptians buried their dead with a lapis lazuli scarab, or gemstone cut in the form of a beetle, to provide protection and guidance in the afterlife. Inlays of the stone were found in King Tutankhamun’s tomb. Eye-shaped lapis lazuli amulets set in gold held enormous power. These were used on the last day of the month to make an offering to the supreme being, who was believed to place an image of one on his head on this day. The Egyptians also used it as a symbol of truth. The stone was of such significance that they believed they could touch God’s robes by meditating about the stone’s color.

The Persians believed that the reason the sky is blue is because the earth sat on a huge slab of lapis lazuli. In ancient Sumeria, more than 6,000 quality statuettes of animals and birds, and also beads, seals and dishes of lapis lazuli, were found in the royal tombs. It is thought that the lapis came from Badakhshan. Sumerian poetry refers to lapis lazuli as appropriate for royalty. The Babylonians also used it as jewelry for royalty. People in ancient Rome used lapis to make jewelry and amulets. The Romans also regarded it as a potent aphrodisiac.

Lapis lazuli was sometimes called sapphire in ancient times. For example, the ancient Greeks told of a sapphire that included gold, but it was thought to be lapis lazuli. Pliny mentions “sapphirus” as a stone with flecks of gold, which fits the description of lapis. Job 28:6 in the Hebrew Bible has a similar reference. People in the Middle Ages believed it helped them to maintain healthy limbs. They also felt that it rid the soul of envy, error and fear. Lapis was once used as a medicine. Ground to a powder and mixed with milk, it was used as a dressing on ulcers and boils.

Lapis lazuli was used in medieval painting. A bright blue pigment called ultramarine was produced by crushing the stone to a powder and removing its impurities. Many works of art from this period used ultramarine. With the introduction of oil painting in the Renaissance, ultramarine’s brilliant color was reduced. Also, ultramarine was expensive. For these reasons, it declined in popularity. It was still used until the early 19th century when a synthetic version was available.

It was used in commesso, or florentine mosaic work, developed in late 16th century Florence. This art form involved making pictures out of thin, stylized pieces of semi-precious stones, including lapis lazuli among others. The pictures appear on tabletops and wall panels. The range of subjects included emblems, floral patterns and landscapes.

Lapis lazuli inlay was used in church murals and wall panels, and in palaces. It was favored for churches because it doesn’t fade, unlike many blue dyes and paints. Gemstone cutters use it for rings, beads and cameos. It is quite a soft gemstone, is suitable for carving, and is often used in sculpturing and for jewelry, boxes, vases and ornaments. It can be sensitive to pressure or high temperature.

It is September’s birth stone, and is associated with seventh and ninth wedding anniversary jewelry gifts. As well as warding off evil, it encourages harmony, friendship, and peace of mind. Sometime lapis was more highly valued and sought after than gold. It was felt that dreaming of lapis would help find everlasting love, and that thinking about the stone would help clarify matters. The stone is regarded as among the most powerful gemstones and to be used carefully.

It is thought that lapis lazuli has healing properties and can be used with other stones to help cleanse and purify the body. Lapis can activate the body’s seven major chakra or energy centers of crown, brow, throat, heart, solar plexus, hara (just below the navel) and root (at the perineum).

Lapis is sometimes called the “balance stone” and can change negative views to positive ones. It is supposed to be a stone of meditation and contemplation, and of friendship. It also signifies power and wisdom as well as inner strength. Lapis lazuli is supposed to promote psychic abilities, insight and good decision making. It can help creativity and result in an expansive mind, tapping on one’s inner ability.

In the 1980s, Afghan fighters against the USSR carefully pulled apart unexploded landmines and ordnance, using the actual explosive to mine lapis lazuli. They would then sell it to help fund further resistance to the Soviets.

Today, the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan remain the best source of lapis lazuli. Other countries with deposits include Angola, Burma, Canada, Chile, Pakistan, Russia, the United States, and also Argentina where its quality is regarded as second only to Afghanistan.

Gemstones in the Bible

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone)

Precious stones were highly regarded in ancient times. The Scriptures tell us that people used them in necklaces, rings and bracelets. Royalty had crowns laced with gems and their gowns were often adorned with them. Gemstones were highly sought after, often for their arresting qualities such as their brilliant colors. When the Israelites left their land, they took large quantities of stones with them. When they were in Palestine, they bought stones from the caravans that came from the East.

Due to difficulties in translating early versions of the Bible, we are not always sure which stones are being referred to. The ancients didn’t identify stones by their composition or crystalling form but from their color or use, or where they came from. This means that any analysis of particular gemstones in the Bible could be open to interpretation. This factor should be kept in mind when discussing the various stones mentioned in the Bible.

There are many biblical references to gemstones but the most important are considered to be those in Aaron’s breastplate (Exodus 28: 15-20 and 39:10-13), the stones in the foundations of the wall of New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:18-21) and the precious stones that were among the King of Tyre’s treasures (Ezekiel 28:13).

Aaron was Moses’ brother and led the tribe of the high priests. His breastplate is one of the earliest accounts of an array of gemstones as decoration and symbols. It is described in the Bible as the breastplate of judgment or decision. It had twelve precious gems, one for each of the Israelite tribes, and was inscribed with their names. The stones were set in four rows: a sardius, topaz and carbuncle in the first row; an emerald, sapphire and diamond in the second; a ligure, agate and amethyst in the third; and a beryl, onyx and jasper in the fourth row. Each stone was set with an ouch, or clasp or buckle, of gold.

From the time of Aaron in the 13th century BCE, high priests wore a breastplate or gorget of cloth similar to that worn by Aaron. The priests wore these garments whenever they were communicating with God over the course the Israelites should take. Josephus felt that the breastplate represented the earth, and the priest’s girdle as the ocean that went around it. He took the twelve stones to be the months or Zodiac signs. The priests’ bells and pomegranates represented thunder and lighting, and their headdress signified heaven.

After Solomon’s temple was destroyed and the Jews were taken captive to Babylon in the 6th century BCE, they always hoped for Jerusalem’s restoration. Successive foundations of the wall of New Jerusalem were garnished with various precious stones. From the first foundation to the twelfth foundation, stones used were jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolyte, beryl, topaz, chrysoprasus, jacinth and amethyst respectively. The wall itself was made of jasper. The stones are very similar to those worn by Aaron and successive high priests.

Regarding the treasures of Hiram I, 10th century BCE king of Tyre, Ezekiel (28:13) describes the Garden of Eden as having “every precious stone”, including beryl, carbuncle, diamond, emerald, gold, jasper, onyx, sapphire, sardius and topaz, and that “the workmanship of thy tablets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou was created”. Tyre was the center of a large trading empire which traded with Egypt, Arabia and Mesopotamia and the king became quite rich. Hiram helped Solomon build his temple.

Let’s now turn to the major individual precious stones mentioned in these biblical references and the significance of each gem, in alphabetical order:

– Agate was the second stone in the third row of the breastplate and thought to represent the Aser tribe of the Israelites. The stone was associated with health, longevity and wealth. It was brought to Palestine by merchants from places such as Babylonia, Persia, Saba and Reema in their caravans (Ezekiel 27:22). Agate was considered to have medicinal powers into the Middle Ages, supposedly countering poisons, contagious diseases and fever. Agate comes in various bright colors. Red agate was meant to improve eyesight.

– Amethyst represents the Issachar tribe. It appears in the breastplate, the wall foundations, and among the king’s treasure. This stone was thought to prevent intoxication. Drinkers would wear an amulet of amethyst for this reason. It is supposed to provide deep and pure love. It is a brilliant purple, close to the color of red wine.

– Beryl is thought to represent the Nephtali tribe and is in the breastplate and the wall foundations. It can be pale blue to yellowy green, although it can also be white or rose. It relates to happiness and everlasting youth.

– Carbuncle relates to the tribe of Juda, is in the top row in the breastplate, and in the King of Tyre’s treasure. It is a glittering red color. Holding it up to the sun makes it look like burning coal.

– Carnelian is a blood red color or it can be a pale skin color, and is in the first stone (sard) in the breastplate. It also appears in the king’s treasure, and in the celestial city’s wall foundations. Carnelian was an important stone in preventing misfortune.

– Chalcedony is one of the stones in the wall foundations. It is milky or grayish in color and is translucent. It was supposed to get rid of depression.

– Chrysolyte belongs to the tribe of Zabulon. It is a stone in the foundations of the wall. Orangey yellow in color, it gladened the heart, helped people get over a fear of the dark, and drove away the devil. It was supposed to cure eye diseases.

– Chrysoprasus is a green agate and is a foundation stone.

– Diamond was in the breastplate and one of the precious stones in the king’s treasure. It signifies purity, preserves peace and prevents storms.

– Emerald is represented by the tribe of Levy. It is in the breastplate, the wall foundations and the Tyre treasures. It glitters and is a brilliant green. Emerald is actually a green beryl. It was supposed to preserve or restore sight. It signifies immortality and incorruptibility.

– Hyacinth is a foundation stone. It is reddish-orange in color and gave second sight.

– Jasper is in the breastplate and represents the Benjamin tribe. The New Jerusalem wall itself was made of jasper. It is opaque, comes in most colors, and gives courage and wisdom.

– Ligurus is a stone in the breastplate and the wall foundations, and relates to the tribe of Gad.

– Onyx appears in the breastplate and belongs to the Joseph tribe. It relates to marital happiness. Its color is white and black, and sometimes includes brown.

– Sapphire is found in the breastplate, wall foundations and king’s treasure. It represents the Dan tribe. It is a beautiful blue color and promotes constancy, truth and virtue.

– Topaz also features in all three of the important biblical references to precious stones. It signifies friendship and happiness.

There are various other biblical references to the gemstones found in the priests’ breastplate, New Jerusalem’s wall foundations, and the King of Tyre’s treasures, as well as to other stones, but these three and their stones are generally regarded as the most important.

History of pocket watches

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone)

We have always wanted to know the time of day. In the Stone Age, sticks were put in the ground, and people saw how the direction and length of shadow changed throughout the day. Sundials were developed as early as 5,500 years ago in Egypt. Personal sundials were around in Roman times. By the 1270s, mechanical clocks appeared on towers in English and Italian cities. As technology improved, clocks became smaller until eventually they were small enough to put on a wall or table in a house. Soon they were small enough to fit in one’s pocket. Thus a pocket watch was an extension of clock-making technology rather than an invention in its own right.

A pocket clock is mentioned in a letter by Italian clockmaker Bartholomew Manfredi in 1462. He offered the Marchese di Manta a “pocket clock” superior to that of the Duke of Modena, who must have already owned one of these gadgets at the time. Spring-driven clocks were invented in Italy in the late 1400s. Using this technology, German locksmith Peter Henlein first made a portable watch during a period of asylum between 1504 and 1508. It could run for forty hours without rewinding. He created the first pocket watch in 1524.

Early pocket watches were cumbersome, box-shaped or drum-like contraptions, more suited to wearing around the neck than trying to squeeze into one’s pocket. But watch-making soon spread through Europe and England. Henry VIII probably wore a watch on a chain around his neck.

They were not particularly accurate though. Large clocks kept better time, but neither clocks nor watches had minute hands until much later. Pocket watches became noted as ornaments rather than as useful timepieces. A variety of craftsmen, such as watchmakers, casemakers, enamelers, jewelers and engravers, came up with elaborate cases and dials. French watches, in particular, were quite decorative and expensive. It became the fashion among the aristocracy to wear and show off their pocket watches, their accuracy being of secondary importance. As accuracy of pocket watches improved, the extravagant styles diminished.

The invention of the balance spring in 1675 by Dutchman Christian Huygens meant that clocks and pocket watches were accurate enough to add a minute hand. By this time, a good watch was accurate to about ten minutes a day. Improvements in escapement, or the working mechanism of a watch or clock, further improved accuracy, as did jeweled bearings to reduce friction. Abraham-Louis Breguet created a self-winding watch in 1780.

An assortment of craftsmen were used to make pocket watches. The division of labor was quite pronounced. Separate individuals would make the rough castings, case, spring, dial and hands. A watchmaker would then put all the parts together. One of the reasons watches were so expensive was because there were so many people involved. Raw materials weren’t cheap either. And of course everything was made by hand. This was the norm until mid 19th century when mechanization of pocket watch production started in the United States. Pocket watches then became more affordable.

They became popular on coaches and with other travelers. The use of pocket watches became widespread with the development of the railways in the mid to late 19th century. Trains had to run to a timetable and passengers had to know what time their train was arriving and departing. Pocket watches were also carried by railroad staff so they could keep their trains running to timetables. With more and more trains, accidents could occur if a train was running late and passing through an area where another train was running on time, especially on single-track lines.

The American Railway Association met in 1887 to discuss standards for watches. While officials were still procrastinating, a train accident causing eight deaths occurred at Kipton, Ohio, in 1891 because an engineer’s watch stopped for four minutes. Soon after this, a chief time inspector was appointed to develop a timepiece checking system and precision standards for all pocket watches used by train staff.

The General Railroad Timepiece Standards of 1893 stated that pocket watches used on the railways had to be “… open faced, size 16 or 18, have a minimum of 17 jewels, adjusted to at least five positions, keep time accurately to within 30 seconds a week, adjusted to temps of 34 to 100 (degrees) F, have a double roller, steel escape wheel, lever set, regulator, winding stem at 12 o’clock, and have bold black Arabic numerals on a white dial, with black hands”. Railroad workers today are still obliged to keep their watches accurate, or face discipline.

The demise of the pocket watch began in the late 19th century when wristwatches were first manufactured. This followed their invention by Patek Philippe in 1868. Women took up the new trend but men still preferred pocket watches, considering wristwatches as unmanly. But males on the frontline in World War I found that wristwatches were more convenient, and male fashion changed from that time. Wristwatches were more practical in occupations such as pilots and nursing.

Pocket watches enjoyed a brief resurgence in the late 1970s when men’s three piece suits became fashionable again. Some men at this time put a pocket watch in their vest pocket, which was the original purpose of it.

Today there is a niche market for pocket watches for males. However, a jacket is usually needed as they can be uncomfortable in trouser pockets. Women’s clothing, with its lack of pockets, isn’t usually practical for the carrying of a pocket watch. A gold-cased pocket watch is often given to an employee for long service or at retirement.

Biography: Cecil Rhodes, founder of De Beers diamonds

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone)

Cecil Rhodes was born in Hertfordshire, England, in 1853 and died in South Africa in 1902 of heart failure, aged just forty-eight years. He is best known for founding De Beers, a diamond company that once had a ninety per cent share of the world’s diamond market. He was a great supporter of colonialism, founding Rhodesia, now Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Rhodes, the son of a vicar and one of six boys, was a sickly child who had asthma as a teenager. His parents felt he would be better off in a warmer, drier climate. They took him out of Bishop’s Stortford grammar school and shipped him off to the colony of Natal in South Africa. His brother Herbert ran a cotton farm there. He soon developed an interest in agriculture and set up Rhodes Fruit Farms.

The agricultural ventures didn’t fare too well and at age 18, he headed to the Kimberley diamond fields in Northern Cape Province. He and business partner C. D. Rudd soon moved to the old De Beers rural property. Depression was badly affecting the diamond industry in the mid 1870s, but the pair stayed on the fields and consolidated their interests. They won the contract to pump water out of the major mines. In 1880, they founded De Beers Mining Company with capital of 200,000 pounds.

Rhodes split his time between Africa and England, going back to England in 1873. He studied at Oxford for one term in that year and another term in 1876, returning to South Africa in between his studies. A lecture by John Ruskin on colonialism had a lasting impression on him and reinforced his views on and support for British imperialism. He also became a Freemason while at Oxford. The shortcomings he saw in this movement led him to want to set up a secret society that would bring about British worldwide rule. His first will included details of this proposal. He was ruthless in gaining contracts with local farmers to mine the diamond-rich soil. De Beers soon had a virtual monopoly position in the diamond market.

He successfully ran for the seat of Barkly West in the Cape House of Assembly in 1880. It was a rural seat of mainly Boer voters. Rhodes kept the seat until his death 22 years later. He was prime minister of Cape Colony from 1890. He passed laws that favored the owners of mines and industry. His controversial Glen Grey Act removed black people from their own land so it could be developed. He was keen to implement British imperial policies, to the extent that he felt he could oust the Boer government of Transvaal in 1895. He supported an attempted overthrow which became known as the Jameson Raid, but it failed and Rhodes lost the prime ministership of Cape Colony, although he kept his seat. The raid led to the Second Matabele War in 1896-1897 and the Second Boer War in 1899-1902. Rhodes went to the front line during the Boer War but the military regarded him as a nuisance who wanted to run the show rather than take orders.

Before his time as prime minister, Rhodes was using his own wealth and that of others to expand his interests in the area that is now Zimbabwe. He obtained mineral concessions from the local chiefs and convinced British government representatives in the area to set up British protectorates using treaties. This made his mining activities “legal” and allowed him to gain more investors. He wanted British settlers and local politicians to run things rather than the Colonial Office back in London. This didn’t win him many friends in England nor among the British missionaries who preferred to be ruled by London. Rhodes won the day as he had the money to pay to administer the northern territories, something the Colonial Office was unwilling to do.

He used underhanded methods to gain mining concessions in these areas for his British South Africa Company. In 1888, he sent agents to obtain a mining concession from local chief Lobengula of the Ndebele area, telling him that the impact would be minimal. This was contrary to what was in a detailed document that said the mining companies could basically do whatever they liked. The chief signed it. When he found out what was in the contract, he tried to nullify it but the British government wouldn’t do anything. In fact, Rhodes got a charter from the government to acquire new concessions and to rule across a huge territory in the 1890s, from the Limpopo River to the central African great lakes, using the same deceitful methods.

It wasn’t all success for the ruthless Rhodes. When his agent attempted to win a concession in Katanga, he was given his marching orders by Msiri, the area’s chief. Rhodes was also rebuffed by three chiefs in Tswana who went to England and were able to keep the area under the rule of London. His response showed his pro-settler approach and his attitude towards the indigenous African people: “It is humiliating to be utterly beaten by these niggers.”

Rhodes struck trouble in Matabeleland and Mashonaland too, where the tribes rebelled against white settlers. His response was to use his British South Africa Company to defeat them in the Matabele Wars of 1893-94 and 1896-97. Soon after one of the tribal leaders was killed in the second war, Rhodes strolled unarmed into enemy territory and somehow convinced them to lay down arms, ending the war.

His company presided over an area of 440,000 square miles north of the Limpopo River to Lake Tanganyika by the mid 1890s. The name of this region became Rhodesia, due to Rhodes popularity with white settlers. Within a few years, the vast territory was divided into two separate territories: Southern Rhodesia and Northern Rhodesia. In his will, Rhodes stated he wanted to be buried at Matobo Hills in Southern Rhodesia. The spot is now called World’s View. When he died in 1902, the local chiefs attended the burial and gave him the royal salute, which is thought to be the first and only time a white man was honored in this way.

Rhodes’ racist and expansionary views were included in his will: “I contend that we are the finest race in the world and that the more of the world we inhabit the better it is for the human race.” His view was that Britain, the United States, and Germany would be the dominant powers and ensure peace. Rhodes had little interest in British politics, except for his support of the nationalist party in Ireland to which he gave much money. In southern Africa, he was supportive of teaching both English and Dutch in Cape Colony schools, and removed legal impediments the English had imposed on the Dutch.

He never married and didn’t seem to keep company with women. His sexuality has been frequently questioned. He has been linked to a number of male companions, but there is no evidence he maintained a sexual relationship with any of them. This was the way in Victorian times, which were far less open than now. The men he associated with were often young, fair, and athletic. He shared a house with an employee, Neville Pickering, in the 1880s. The relationship was described as an “absolutely lover-like friendship”. Pickering died soon after a riding accident and Rhodes was deeply upset. He was known to have friendships with several of his other male workers from time to time.

Strangely, he was stalked in his last years by Catherine Radziwill, a Polish princess. She was already married but claimed that Rhodes was engaged to her, or that the two were having an affair. She actually proposed to him but Rhodes declined her. She wasn’t happy and sought revenge by accusing him of being involved in loan frauds. She even took him to court over the matter but the accusations turned out to be false. The whole episode may suggest she was simply after his riches, one way or another. She would have known of his poor health and that he might not have long to live.

Rhodes died as one of the richest men in the world. He established the Rhodes Scholarships for British residents, countries formerly under British rule, and Germany. Land at Table Mountain that he left to South Africa is divided between a university campus, gardens, and a conservation area. De Beers still commands a forty per cent share of the world’s diamond production.

Zoo review: San Diego Zoo, San Diego, California

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone; written in 2009)

The San Diego Zoo has been one of the city’s most popular attractions since it opened in 1916. It is set on 100 acres at Balboa Park, just one and a half miles north of downtown San Diego. The zoo is home to more than 4,000 animals of 800 species or subspecies and over 700,000 plants from around the world.

The various exhibits recreate the native environments of the animals. Monkey Trails, opposite the zoo entrance, opened in 2005 and has over 30 species of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and birds set in a tropical forest. You can see the animals from the elevated walkway through the canopy. There are endangered monkey species such as Schmidt’s guenons, golden-bellied mangabeys, and mandrills who will stare right back at you. Look carefully for clouded leopard who are solitary and often well hidden. The pygmy hippopotamus might be hard to find too as they too are usually solitary.

Tiger River is another jungle environment, complete with mist, tropical trees, and vines. Look closely and you might see that tigers have five toes on their front paws and four on their back paws. The large front paws are used to bring down their prey. You will also see fresh water crocodiles from Australia, less dangerous than their larger salt water cousins. Fishing cats from Asia can be seen swimming as they hunt for fish and amphibians.

Ituri Forest replicates an equatorial rain forest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Here you will see different species play together. Watch as a swamp monkey grabs the tail of a spotted-neck otter, or rides on its back. The otters will climb low trees, perhaps mimicking the monkeys who watch on. An otter might bump a monkey, and then roll away when the monkey grabs at its tail. But the otter doesn’t retreat far, seemingly enticing the monkey to try again. Hippopotamus are also in Ituri forest and may come up to the underwater viewing window to check out the humans.

Another good example of how different species can get on well together can be seen at Absolutely Apes. Here orangutans and siamangs live together and get on quite well in a natural environment similar to their original habitats. The exhibit is full of trees, sway poles, and ropes. The viewing area allows visitors to get quite close. One of the orangutans, Karen, had open heart surgery in 1994.

An Asian tropical rain forest is replicated at Sun Bear Forest with its palms, ferns, ficus trees, bamboo, and ginger. Sun bears are the world’s smallest bear. They are very active and agile and like to sit high in the canopy. Two cubs were born on 24 October 2008. When five sun bears first moved into the zoo in 1989, they tore up their habitat within a month and even placed logs as bridges, with one escaping.

The Gorilla Tropics exhibit includes features native to the gorillas’ habitat, including waterfalls, rocks, and open meadow, making them feel very much at home. Young gorillas can be seen rolling down the grassy slope. One or two gorillas often watch the visitors in the viewing area. Baby Frank was born to Azizi on 4 September 2008 and can be seen on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11am until closing. Other babies at the zoo include an anteater, and a giraffe born on 16 April 2009 who is six feet tall and weighs 156 pound.

You will get a clear view of four giant pandas from elevated viewing paths at the Panda Research Station. Bai Yun and Shi Shi are on loan from China. Bai Yun gave birth to Hua Mei in 1999, the first giant panda to be born in North America and survive to adulthood. Giant pandas are small at birth, weighing just 3-5 ounces. Adult pandas spend 12 hours a day eating 20-30 pounds of bamboo shoots. You can find out much more about them at the Giant Panda Discovery Center.

The polar bears have a cold environment created for them at Polar Bear Plunge where the water is kept at 58 degrees Fahrenheit. The viewing area allows you to see them underwater as they frolic in their 130,000 gallon pool. They are curious and sometimes come right up to the window. Diving ducks share the pool with the bears. Behind the polar bears are the Siberian reindeer. You will also see the Pallas’ cat, a small fluffy cat from central Asia which has round pupils and a coat that changes with the seasons.

Despite its name, there is something for everyone at the Children’s Zoo. It features over 30 exhibits. Kids can touch the sheep and goats. You will see spider monkeys from Central and South America. They have long and spindly limbs. Their tails are nearly twice as long as their bodies and have a hairless tip and skin grooves, serving as a fifth hand. Naked mole-rats from East Africa are neither mole nor rat. They are quite hairless and have pink and wrinkly skin that doesn’t feel pain. They are almost cold-blooded and are eusocial, with a number of generations living together. Only a few individual mole-rats reproduce.

At Reptile House, there are rattlesnakes, including some from San Diego County, as well as cobras, pythons, and boas. You will see Gila monster lizards, the world’s only venomous lizard. Reptile Mesa has Galapagos tortoises, the world’s largest tortoise, which can weigh over 600 pounds in the wild. Frogs, salamanders, and turtles can be found here too. The matamata turtle has a spiky shell covered with tubercules and flaps of skin, and has a horn-like growth on its snout.

If you want to see various animals and plants from Australia, New Zealand, and New Guinea, visit the Wings of Australasia exhibit. You will see many animals unique to Australia, such as kangaroos and koalas. The aviaries have more than 100 birds from Australasia, including hornbills, lories, Micronesian kingfishers, and the raggiana bird of paradise which has deep red plumes and is Papua New Guinea’s national bird.

San Diego Zoo is at 2920 Zoo Drive, Balboa Park, close to the city center. It is easily accessible by car, bus, or train, and there is plenty of free parking. In early 2016, a one day pass is $50 for adults and $40 for children, and there are all sorts of other packages. The zoo is open from 9am to 5pm in winter, staying open until up to 9pm in the summer months.

What is the 59 Mile Scenic Drive in San Diego, CA?

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone)

The 59 Mile Scenic Drive in San Diego, California allows you to see as much of the spectacular scenery, history, and culture of the city as possible within the space of a few hours. You will need longer if you stop at many of the attractions along the way. The route is marked with blue and yellow signs with a white sea gull.

The journey starts at Embarcadero, near downtown San Diego. Along Harbor Drive, you will see the Maritime Museum and its three historical ships. The Star of India was built in 1863 and sailed around the world 27 times. The Berkeley ferried people to safety following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The Medea served in World War II.

Take the exit to the man-made Harbor Island where you will hotels, restaurants, picnic spots, and walks. There are two golf courses on the island, including one that is part of the North Island Naval Air Station. Back on the mainland, you will pass Spanish Landing before driving onto Shelter Island.

Next, you head to Point Loma with its panoramic views and history. Hides and tallow were exported from here in the nineteenth century when cattle was the staple of San Diego’s economy. The hides were used as currency and were worth $1. You will see the Old Point Loma Light House built in 1855 and positioned 462 feet above sea level. It was found to be too high to guide ships on a foggy day, so another one was built in 1891 and is still used. Whales can be seen from the southern tip of the point in the winter months.

Cabrillo Memorial and Cabrillo National Monument are both in this area. Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo entered San Diego bay on 28 September 1542 and named it San Miguel after Archangel Saint Michael.

The scenic drive then takes you to Sunset Cliffs, a popular surfing spot, and Ocean Beach, noted for its fishing and frequented by a number of bird species. Not far from here is the 4,600 acre Mission Bay Aquatic Park with its 27 miles of beaches. There is a marine life park in the area where you could spend hours viewing dolphins, seals, penguins, otters, sharks, and whales. Nearby, there is another marine life and entertainment park, or you can stop and watch the catamarans and wind surfers.

From there, you drive up to Soledad Mountain with its panoramic views across much of San Diego County. The route then passes the San Diego campus of the University of California and the Salk Institute. Dr Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine. Next are the Birch Aquarium and La Jolla Cove Park and Cave.

You will then visit Pacific Beach, with its ocean front walk, and Mission Beach, with its 74 foot Giant Dipper historic landmark. Soon you will come to Kobey’s Swap Meet, an open air market with a multitude of bargains from Thursday to Sunday.

The route heads inland to the Old Town State Historic Park, a historic Spanish and Mexican area with shops, restaurants, and shops. Catch a free walking tour of the area at 2pm every day. It is well worth stopping at Junipero Serra Museum too. It has artifacts and photos of early San Diego plus great views across Mission Valley to Mission Bay.

Next you will come to Balboa Park, named after sixteenth century Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa. At 1,400 acres, it is very large for a park so close to the downtown area of a major city. It includes many sporting facilities and museums. Within the park is the San Diego Zoo founded in 1916. It is home to thousands of animals and plants from around the world. Animals live in natural, shared environments, just as they would in the wild.

Heading back to downtown San Diego, you will pass the city’s financial district before coming to Seaport Village, a charming waterfront shopping center. Children can ride on the restored Broadway Flying Horses Carousel which dates to 1890. Nearby is the Convention Center and Embarcadero Marina Park where you can see the Coronado Bridge built is 1969. Before this, Juanita and Glorietta, known as the “nickel snatchers,” took people to Coronado by ferry.

Just up from here is the old Stingaree District where saloons, opium dens, and gambling halls did thriving business at the time of the California Gold Rush. You then come to the Gaslamp Quarter District. Alonzo Horton bought the land here in 1867 and it became the center of New Town, now the downtown area of San Diego. He made the street blocks short as corner blocks fetched a higher price. Examples of California and Victorian architecture are plentiful in this area.

Before returning to Embarcadero, you pass the Horton Plaza, renowned for its shopping and dining experiences, and as an entertainment area.

You can get more information on the 59 Mile Scenic Drive at the International Visitor Information Center at the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau on the corner of Harbor Drive and West Broadway. Also, a scenic drive map can be downloaded from a number of websites to help you navigate the route. There is a 31-track CD you can buy and play while you drive from place to place along the route. Each track tells you about the particular attraction you are passing or stopping at.