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James H. Hyde, Editor
Photo: Mark Hyde Copyright © 2006 All Rights Reserved. |
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Dominick Dunn: A Remarkable Man, A Remarkable Life
By James H. Hyde
Noted novelist and Vanity Fair columnist, Dominick Dunne, has lived a life most people would find suitably fictitious, but hopelessly short on chance.
It’s packed with a remarkable range of diversity, adversity and a Blackberry with an endless list of the names and phone numbers of everyone who is someone in the world of celebrity. Yet as glamorous as it’s been, it hasn’t been all tinsel and glitter for Dominick Dunne. On the contrary, he has persevered through unimaginable suffering to emerge Phoenix-like to become one of today’s true literary American icons.
He exclusively recounted his extraordinary life to me in a remarkably revealing interview.
For this indomitable soul, life has been like biking down a washboard dirt road—jarring, scary and impossibly thrilling. He’s seen the world from envied pinnacles, and valleys so low they blister the imagination.
He’s a straight-talking Nutmegger who suffers no charlatans and lays bare the wicked. The latter he does with abandon. He seeks justice incessantly, a wearisome passion spawned by cruel and wrenching personal tragedy.
His accounts of celebrity trials in novel form have been read by millions, and his many columns about the well known and well-to-do have been de rigueur for countless readers of Vanity Fair’s cologned pages.
Nick's roots and family are classically New England. His well-heeled parents—his father a famous heart surgeon, and his mother a prized debutante—were both Connecticutters.
They were aristocratic, but lacked the necessary pedigree to be granted bona fides to be listed in the Social Register. As wealthy Irish Catholics, they found themselves ever on the cusp of a Hartford society whose true wink-and-nod acceptance they could never gain.
Anxious to leave Hartford after World War II, during which he won a bronze star for heroism, Nick was drawn first to New York's TV lights, and then to Hollywood's garish lights. There he carved out a niche among movie stars and heartily indulged his obsession: celebrity.
His fabled Hollywood life began as a fluke and mushroomed in stature to others’ biting envy. An invitation to one of Nick and wife, Lenny’s, parties was highly prized. But, as glorious as it was, it all ebbed badly, and the low tide that quickly followed reeked.
Hollywood was and is a social bonfire. Dominick Dunne played with it and suffered third-degree burns to 100% of his psyche.
It would become a large back-monkey; it’s addictiveness both potent and consuming. And addiction to that led to dependence on alcohol and cocaine. That volatile mix in turn put loud, scandalous words—words derogatory, yet honest, about some well-known people--in Nick’s mouth at well-attended cocktail parties. The Hollywood elite was not amused and it characteristically rejected him.
Bitter, depressed and blackballed, Nick slumped into an old Ford and headed due north to the Cascade Mountains for wound licking, respite and introspection. But a flat tire intervened, and for the ensuing six months he lived in an Oregon cabin with no phone and no TV. More importantly, there was no booze, no cocaine and no Hollywood.
During that half year, Nick reclaimed his life and essence, and re-sculpted his raison d’etre. He also vanquished the back-monkeys on his own with nothing to numb withdrawal's nagging sting.
Ready to fledge for a new life, instead of returning to Hollywood, he headed to New York and Connecticut, where destiny was pouring the foundation of his future.
Connecticut was—and still is today—Dominick Dunne's home. He has a New York apartment, the necessary perch from which to spy the glitter, but it's in Connecticut that he prefers to write his novels, and it's easy to see why. There's distinct serenity at his cozy and inviting house; a Corinthian oasis filled with books of all manner and description.
Having endured what Nick has, a tailpipe hosing would seem the only painkiller to others more brittle. But not for him, not that he didn’t mull it. His brother’s suicide, however, stymied that notion. Instead, he broke through unthinkable gloom and despair to become one of America's most popular authors and columnists, and the reporter du jour on the Larry King Show during the O. J. Simpson trial.
About the Author: The complete interview, conducted and written by James H. Hyde is on NewEnglandTimes.Com, an ezine covering travel, tourism, real estate and famous New England lifestyles. The interview can be read here at http://www.newenglandtimes.com/dominick_dunne/dd_index.shtml. It recounts the rise, fall and rise again of a remarkable, persistent and funny man who has thrilled us for years with books about the crime and punishment of the rich and famous.
The British Invasion:
A Great New England Getaway for Motorcar Lovers
By James H. Hyde
If you’re a fancier of British motorcars (or any old cars), there’s a real treat awaiting you. It occurs every September in Stowe, Vermont, one of the great New England getaway destinations.
The concept of this gathering began sixteen years ago over a pint of ale in Mr. Pickwick's Restaurant, which is cozily tucked into Ye Olde England Inne in Stowe. Between frothy sips, friends Chris Francis, the inne's owner, and Michael F. Gaetano, discussed their shared enthusiasm for British motorcars. For both men, a dream emerged from where great ideas are born, and the British Invasion is its legacy.
It’s an event that’s far more than a walk through a field of shiny cars. It’s a culture-fest during which hard-core, motorcar evangelists stroll from car to car, buy memorabilia in the tents or revel in soft-ribald legends for the crowd. The latter tales, richly embellished, are spiked delightfully with a tongue-in-cheek irreverence.
Those in attendance are a patchwork congregation of the devout, British and not, who share an ingrained passion that rubs incessantly for moments like this when nothing else matters.
As to who has the best car.... Pshaw! The cars here are all magnificent specimens of a uniquely British art form, and while one may well be better than another, it's all a matter of personal preference.
As we wandered about, the cars' owners spoke animatedly about their pastime. They buy rare parts from each other, trade items of interest and swap interesting anecdotes of their affairs with their cars.
Their devotion goes well beyond mere hobby, passing far over the border of obsession and finally settling near what satisfies the primal itch for perfection. And these cars are perfect, immaculate, impossibly well-maintained examples of an ardent lust for British brands.
Bentleys, Aston Martins, Jaguars, Spitfires, MGs, Land Rovers and the proudest of the proud, the stately Rolls Royce, persistently beckon Invaders to "have a look under the bonnet."
If you’re a car enthusiast, this is a New England getaway well worth the trip. This year, it’s scheduled for September 15th , 16th and 17th, and for those three days the British invade, and this slice of Vermont becomes a peaceful English countryside full of a magnificent automotive past, the only things missing are the hedgerows.
About the Author: James H. Hyde, author, award-winning writer and editor and syndicated columnist, is ownerand editor of http://www.NewEnglandTimes.Com, an ezine covering travel, tourism, real estate and famous New England lifestyles. You can contact Chris Francis about this year's event at NewEnglandTimes.Com
Articles about New England Museums
Six Great Museums in Southern New England
By James H. Hyde
The museums listed below have been chosen from each of the Southern New England states. Each is primarily historical in nature and each offers a wealth of information about their core topics.
The Barnum Museum in Bridgeport, Connecticut, offers a remarkable collection that P. T. Barnum picked up around the world.
Phineas Taylor Barnum, was arguably the greatest showman of all time. He had a knack for finding and exhibiting people, animals and a range of oddities, some of them hoaxes, such as the Feejee Mermaid. While the Barnum & Bailey Circus continues as a living testament to his talent for promotion, he was also a politician and journalist and enormously influential both here in the U.S. and in Europe during the 19th century.
Barnum’s own fascination with curiosities strange and bizarre convinced him that his contemporaries of the era were likewise captivated and he set out to make collecting and displaying same his career.
Much of what he collected, the story of his life and the stories of other museums he’s started appear in this remarkable museum.
The Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Nature Center, located in Mashantucket, Connecticut, has collected, cataloged and meticulously chronicled bygone cultures, giving new life to a tribe that struggled hard against extinction. In fact, it offers more resources and learning opportunities vis-a-vis all Native Americans than does even the Smithsonian.
There's great and reverent balance at The Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Massachusetts. It's not just about the English Colonists (Pilgrims), the first Massachusetts settlement or The First Thanksgiving.
The curators have taken great care to place emphasis on the important role the Wampanoag Native People played in the opening scene of American history.
The site comprises six major attractions: The 1627 Pilgrim Village; Hobbamock's Homesite; The Mayflower II; Nye Barn; Thanksgiving: Memory, Myth & Meaning, a special exhibit; and the Crafts Center.
The 1627 Pilgrim Village has been recreated in minute detail and the staff, in period dress, goes about their daily activities as if the Plantation was still the epicenter of the New World.
Likewise a historical site, Old Sturbridge Village, in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, brings the early to mid 1800s to life vividly, with considerable detail and historical accuracy. Here one can learn about the emphasis on the agrarian lifestyle that characterized much of the nation during the period. Each building was brought to the site from around the region to make up a village typical of the period in rural New England.
Much more than a museum or historical site, Sturbridge Village is quintessentially New England in its essence and character. It can deliver a powerful learning experience at the old village, provide a wonderfully romantic weekend or fully satisfy the insatiable curiosity of an ardent site seer.
To some people, freedom comes in the form of an automobile or airplane, but to sailors, sitting at the helm of a sailboat, be it a sailing dinghy or 12-meter, the freedom involved trumps that provided by cars and any other form of transportation going away. If sailing were a religion, then The Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol, Rhode Island, is Jerusalem, the Vatican and Mecca combined.
The name Herreshoff is synonymous with sailing in many circles by virtue of the designs the family has conceived. It's a name that equates to excellence in sailing vessels and generations have sailed and raced Herreshoff boats.
While boats, model boats, designs, history and sailing are the focus of the museum; it's also the repository of all things relating to the America's Cup.
Finally, if you're in Newport, Rhode Island, taking a stroll along Cliff Walk is a must. It will take you along a path that snakes between some of the biggest and most beautiful mansions in the world, and the ocean.
The Vanderbilts, who built their fortune in the railroad industry, were icons in Newport society and prodigious builders in the city.
Frederick W. Vanderbilt built Rough Point, an enormous English Manorial house in 1889 on one of the choicest pieces of real estate on the East coast. It's on a windswept promontory whose rocky shore juts into the Atlantic.
James B. Duke, who made two fortunes, one in electric power and the other in tobacco, was the benefactor of Duke University. He purchased Rough Point in 1922, but died in 1925 after bequeathing much of his enormous financial empire and Rough Point to his daughter Doris, a twelve-year-old and only child.
She lived at Rough Point periodically throughout her life. But, instead of living extravagantly, blissfully unaware of the needs of others, Doris became an enormously generous philanthropist.
At just 21 years of age, she established Independent Aid, which became the Doris Duke Foundation. Throughout her life she supported medical research and was a child welfare advocate. By some estimates, she donated as much as $400 million dollars to worthy causes, often anonymously.
Rough Point is a trip back in time to the Gilded Age with a remarkably divergent art collection and is well worth a visit.
About the Author: Jim Hyde, an author, award-winning writer and syndicated columnist, is editor and co-owner with his wife, Terry, of a top-ranked New England Website, NewEnglandTimes.Com, which covers travel, tourism, real estate and lifestyles. For more information about this and other New England museums go to http://www.newenglandtimes.com.
The Barnum Museum
Phineas Taylor Barnum was arguably the greatest showman of all time. He had a knack for finding and exhibiting unusual people, animals and a range of oddities, some of them hoaxes, such as the Feejee Mermaid.
While the Barnum & Bailey Circus continues as a living testament to his talent for promotion, he was also a politician and journalist and enormously influential both here in the U.S. and in Europe during the 19th century. He could tomanipulate the press in ways that render today's spin doctors inept hacks.
P.T. Barnum, as he was best known, was born in Bethel, Connecticut on July 5, 1810. After his father's death in 1826, rural life faded as his ideal, and he was drawn to the city lights of Brooklyn, New York, where he worked for a short time as a store clerk.
His own fascination with curiosities, strange and bizarre, convinced him that his contemporaries of the era would be likewise captivated, so he set out to make collecting and displaying peculiarities his career. His reading of the sentiments of the times was right on, and people gathered in large numbers at the various venues he built, in particular, the American Museum in New York.
The first of his endeavors involved Joice Heth, whom he billed as "The Greatest Natural & National Curiosity in the World."
Telling those interested that the story-telling, African American woman was 161 years old, he convinced his audiences that, as a slave, she had tended to a young George Washington.
When a prominent physician pared back her true age to 80 after her autopsy, Barnum insisted that her body was a fake and that she was still performing elsewhere.
In 1841, Barnum founded and built the American Museum in the heart of "Old New York City." It comprised an eclectic blend of sensational and gaudy attractions, including Tom Thumb and the Feejee Mermaid, natural history with exhibits displaying taxidermy and menageries, and art, wax figures and a Lecture Room and theatre in which Shakespeare was performed.
To many historians and social scientists, the American Museum was the bedrock of New York's urban evolution.
Remarkably perceptive of the changing demographics of the city and the confluence of different cultures, Barnum adjusted the exhibits, shows and educational materials to accommodate different cultures and tastes as well as each strata of the social classes of the times. There was literally something for everyone.
The public response was almost as varied as the museum's diversity. Some loved the museum/theatre and some were appalled by it.
The flames of that outrage were fanned by Barnum's support of temperance, and on July 13, 1865, the American Museum was burned to the ground. It has never been determined who set the fire. He subsequently built a new museum further uptown, which also burned down.
He is perhaps best known, however, for two special finds: Tom Thumb and Jenny Lind.
It was in 1842 that he discovered Charles Sherwood Stratton, whom he dubbed Tom Thumb, a man who stood only 25 inches tall and weighed a mere 15 pounds at age 11.
Barnum invested two years in training Tom to sing, dance and mime, then embarked on a world tour with his tiny friend who performed for fascinated domestic and European audiences, including royalty and Abraham Lincoln. Tom Thumb became a "must see" in the American Museum.
Jenny Lind, whom Barnum called "The Swedish Nightingale" was a musical prodigy. She could play the piano at age four and developed an extraordinary singing voice, which she amply demonstrated to the influential and political, including President Millard Fillmore, General Winfield Scott, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Washington Irving and others.
The Barnum & Bailey Circus, which he dubbed "The greatest show on earth" is his most enduring legacy.
Mixing politics with his passion for the bizarre enabled Barnum to serve a one-year term as mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and he served two terms in the Connecticut legislature.
The Barnum Museum is an excellent chronicle of the life and times of Phineas Taylor Barnum and very much worth a visit.
About the Author: Jim Hyde, an author, award-winning writer and syndicated columnist, is editor and co-owner with his wife, Terry, of a top-ranked New England Website, NewEnglandTimes.Com, which covers travel, tourism, real estate and lifestyles. For more information about this Great New England museum, as well as articles on other New England museums go to http://www.newenglandtimes.com.
The Herreshoff Marine Museum
The Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol, Rhode Island, is hallowed ground for sailors worldwide as one of New England's greatest museums.
It comprises a number of Herreshoff boats, historical and family exhibits, and the pinnacle of sailing races, the America's Cup Hall of Fame.
To some people, freedom comes in the form of an automobile or airplane, but to sailors, sitting at the helm of a sailboat, be it a sailing dinghy or 12-meter, the freedom involved trumps that provided by cars and any other form of transportation going away.
If sailing were a religion, then The Herreshoff Marine Museum is Jerusalem, the Vatican and Mecca combined. It is one of the great New England museums for sailing and boating enthusiasts anywhere.
Every sailor worth his or her salt has heard the name Herreshoff, not once, but many times. Indeed, Herreshoff is synonymous with sailing in many circles by virtue of the designs the family has conceived.
It's a name that equates to excellence in sailing vessels, and generations have sailed and raced Herreshoff boats.
While boats, model boats, designs, history and sailing are the focus of the museum, it's also the repository of all things relating to the America's Cup.
Write's Halsey C. Herreshoff, the current president of the museum, "The America's Cup is the Holy Grail of yacht racing. It is much more. This Cup, in competition for a period of 150 years, is the oldest and most distinguished trophy in all sport, outdating the World Cup, Davis Cup, Stanley Cup, Walker Cup, and all others of significance."
The Herreshoff family was intertwined with the design of many of the American yachts that vied for the coveted cup from the very beginning of the competition in 1851. In fact, their designs and participation in design kept the cup in America until 1983 when sailing went hi-tech.
That's when the whole nature of the competition changed, and in this writer's opinion, not for the better. Instead of remaining a gentlemen's sport, the desire to win involved expenditures of millions of dollars in complex experimental designs, ship-building, rigging and promotion.
Indeed, sponsors became the norm, making the classic racing boats look like NASCAR racecars, their sails festooned with advertising decals.
The Herreshoff Museum section offers excellent specimens of the family's designs and harkens back to the day, not that long ago, when yachts were constructed of wood, not fiberglass, and the craftsmanship was elegant.
Captain Nat Herreshoff's model room displays his famous half models and is accessible by appointment.
The A. Sidney DeWolf Herreshoff Room chronicles the family's history as well as the birth and development of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. There's also the collection of Herreshoff family portraits.
What many people, sailors included, may not know is that the Herreshoff family was involved in the design of more than sailing yachts. They also designed torpedo boats for the military.
If you're a sailor or interested in the sport, this museum is not to be missed on any New England getaway.
About the Author: Jim Hyde, an author, award-winning writer and syndicated columnist, is editor and co-owner with his wife, Terry, of a top-ranked New England Website, NewEnglandTimes.Com, which covers travel, tourism, real estate and lifestyles. For more information about this Great New England museum, as well as articles on other New England museums go to http://www.newenglandtimes.com.
The Mashantucket Pequot Museum
The Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, in Mashantucket, Connecticut, is without doubt the world's largest and most comprehensive Native American museum and research center in existence today, and most certainly one of the great New England museums, if not one of the greatest in the entire nation.
In an independent survey, nine out of ten visitors rated the museum, "Better than the best museum they had visited in the past 5 years."
Of it," several highly reputable media outlets say: "[It] sets a new standard for user-operated media" - The Boston Globe; "An immediate hit with families" - New York Magazine; and, "Magnificent, [it] brings the Native American story vividly to life" - Connecticut Magazine.
This museum has collected, cataloged and meticulously chronicled a bygone culture, giving new life to a Pequot tribe that struggled hard against extinction.
In fact, it offers more resources and learning opportunities vis-a-vis Native Americans than does even the Smithsonian.
It and its Website provide a mother lode of information, not just about the Pequot Tribe, but all Native American cultures as is evidenced by the following:
"Our ancestors can no longer speak for themselves. It is up to us to speak for them. If they could speak today, they would say, 'Look at this museum. They have not forgotten us. We have survived,'" says Wilma Mankiller, former principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
In all, there are four full acres of permanent, extravagantly detailed exhibits and two libraries, one for children, which offer a remarkable selection of materials detailing the histories of all Native peoples in both the U.S. and Canada.
There are also in-depth descriptions of how all of the Native nations and tribes interpret everything from daily living to creation, which offer fascinating insights into how their cultures evolved.
Many of the exhibits are life-size dioramas that provide robust and fascinating representations of how the Pequots lived over time and under very difficult and challenging conditions, especially when ice covered much of the continent.
They amply demonstrate the extraordinary adaptive genius of a people whose knowledge and wits not only helped them survive adversity but thrive through it.
In addition, natural history is engagingly traced over thousands of years to provide a holistic understanding of the Native American experience.
There are also ample opportunities for learning through interactive experiences, including your family's participation in local archeological digs or making bags from buckskin, among many others.
As far as educational excellence goes, if museums were universities, The Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center would be Harvard, Yale and Stanford combined.
The museum generously documents every detail of the origins, fall and rise of the Pequots, who have, since the 1960s, reclaimed some of their land on which they have cleverly built Foxwoods Casino and Resort, a success story worthy of the utmost admiration.
In fact, Foxwoods has awakened surrounding communities, sleepy shoreline towns mostly, by providing invigorated economies that never existed before and single-handedly revived flagging tourism in Southeastern Connecticut.
A visit to what one newspaper called the "most ambitious new museum in America" is both educational and fun, and a must for anyone interested in the true history of this country, as well as one of the truly great New England museums.
Due to the sheer volume of information and number of activities available at this remarkable institution, I would recommend a visit to the museum's Website to plan out your outing before you go.
About the Author: Jim Hyde, an author, award-winning writer and syndicated columnist, is editor and co-owner with his wife, Terry, of a top-ranked New England Website, NewEnglandTimes.Com, which covers travel, tourism, real estate and lifestyles. For more information about this Great New England museum, as well as articles on other New England museums go to http://www.newenglandtimes.com.
Old Sturbridge
Old Sturbridge Village, in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, is a "living history" museum. It functions very much as a New England town of the 1830s would have, and it's fascinating and enlightening to see how skills—long forgotten by most of us—were employed in a variety of ways to make such a village thrive.
As an historical site, Old Sturbridge Village brings the early to mid 1800s to life vividly with considerable detail and historical accuracy. Each building was brought to the site from other towns around the region to make up a Village typical of the period in rural New England.
Here one can learn about the emphasis on the agrarian lifestyle that characterized much of the nation during the period.
Much more than a museum, historical site or simply a great New England museum, Old Sturbridge Village is quintessentially New England in its essence and character. It's steeped in Yankee ethics, tradition and ingenuity and the surrounding area is peaceful and inviting.
This great NewEngland museum is about as complete an early 1800s town as one can find anywhere. Its exhibits are living characterizations of a far simpler time; a lifestyle replete with differing beliefs, religious and philosophical, that blended here into a unique, harmonious environment that flourished as the nation grew.
In fact, a visit to the village gives one a hint of utopia, a social concept carefully nurtured in nearby parts of New England during the 1800s.
Staff members here, laboring at early American chores in authentic period dress, are happy to demonstrate their crafts and trades and are very knowledgeable about the lifestyle, technology and culture of the era they represent. Having them as living, oral-history reinactors with the exhibits and visitors adds enormously to what one sees in each building, field or common.
The village complex comprises two parts: The common and center village, where social interaction occurred; and the countryside, where the farming was done.
One learns best by doing, and Old Sturbridge Village knows well how to teach. Visitors may build a stone wall (using lightweight foam "rocks") and small-scale snake-rail (zigzag) fences; assemble a small-scale post-and-beam structure; pump water using a hand pump on the Common; "raise" a bucket from its various components in the Cooper Shop; try on a straight-lasted shoe in the Shoe Shop, and more.
There are also various opportunities to interact with the times at the farm, including harvesting activities (pulling root vegetables, digging for potatoes, picking corn, threshing and winnowing grain, etc.). In January and February, visitors can take a turn at dipping tallow candles.
Old Sturbridge Village is open year-round and each season brings related special events. As for holidays, special focus is given to Washington's Birthday, Independence Day, and Thanksgiving, the three major holidays in the Village's period.
Also new to the Village is an exploration of the history of Christmas traditions in December. The Village is decorated for the month of December, known as "Spirit of the Season," and offers several candlelight evenings.
If you're interested in a way of life long since past, you can recapture it here in all of its fullness. It's a must stop on any New England getaway.
About the Author: Jim Hyde, an author, award-winning writer and syndicated columnist, is editor and co-owner with his wife, Terry, of a top-ranked New England Website, NewEnglandTimes.Com, which covers travel, tourism, real estate and lifestyles. For more information about this Great New England museum, as well as articles on other New England museums go to http://www.newenglandtimes.com.
Plimoth Plantation
New England is rich in many things; prevalent among them are history, art and many diverse cultures. There are museums throughout the region that chronicle the past in many contexts. The best New England museums are, in fact, packed with all manner of fascinating artifacts, books, articles, furniture and the keepsakes of Native Americans, presidents, statesmen, the works and wisdom of our Founding Fathers, farmers, manufacturers, art, science and the sea faring, to name but a few.
For the purposes of this article about the Best New England Museums, I've chosen a "living history" institution from Massachusetts for its exemplary exhibits and realism.
Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Massachusetts, serves as a microcosm of what life was like when the Pilgrims arrived here in 1627.
The sense of history here at the Plantation resonates from every part of it. There's great and reverent balance here. It's not just about the English Colonists (the Pilgrims), the first Massachusetts settlement or the first Thanksgiving.
The curators have taken great care to place emphasis on the important role the Wampanoag Native People played in the opening act of American history.
In addition, the curators explain the evolution of Thanksgiving from its true origins, the food on that first Thanksgiving table and explores its evolution from how it began to the turkey-and-football event we know it to be today.
The Plantation comprises six major attractions: The 1627 Pilgrim Village; Hobbamock's Homesite; The Mayflower II; Nye Barn; Thanksgiving: Memory, Myth & Meaning; and the Crafts Center.
The 1627 Pilgrim Village has been recreated in minute detail and the staff members, in period dress, go about their daily activities as if the Plantation was still the epicenter of the New World.
The thatch-roofed buildings offer a plethora of period artifacts that give ample insight into how the English Colonists lived, dressed, ate and interacted back in 1627, as well as how they survived against daunting odds. The staff members are extremely well versed in the history of Plimouth, and can expound at length on virtually any relevant topic.
Hobbamock's Homesite gives visitors a very realistic view of how the Wampanoag People, who have lived in Southeastern New England for thousands of years, went about their daily lives. A traditional wetu (house) provides the same level of detail found in the English houses and realistically displays how different the Native lifestyle was from the colonists'.
When one compares the luxury and spaciousness of today's ocean-going cruise ships to the Mayflower II, an exact replica of the original Mayflower, one wonders how the English colonists made the voyage, safe, sound and sane.
The size of the ship and the quarters of those who sailed aboard her are highly suggestive of a claustrophobic encounter of the worst kind. Imagine yourself 1 of 102 passengers and 18 crew on a ship 106 feet long with a beam 25 feet wide for a day, much less months.
Nye Barn conserves a great deal more than just history and architecture. The Plantation's staff members are the caretakers of breeds of animals common during the 1600s, but extremely rare now. Breeding stocks for these beasts of burden are very low, but the Plantation is doing an exemplary job of helping the animals thrive and multiply.
The Crafts Center offers basket weaving, as well as pottery, joiner (furniture making) and tailoring as it was done by the colonists. Skilled craftspeople are happy to answer your questions about how they ply their trades, many nearly extinct, as well as how what they make was crafted at a time when there was no electricity.
About the Author: Jim Hyde, an author, award-winning writer and syndicated columnist, is editor and co-owner with his wife, Terry, of a top-ranked New England Website, NewEnglandTimes.Com, which covers travel, tourism, real estate and lifestyles. For more information about this Great New England museum, as well as articles on other New England museums go to http://www.newenglandtimes.com.
Rough Point, the Newport R.I. Home of Doris Duke
Rough Point, in Newport, Rhode Island, was one of Doris Duke's several very private retreats, and it gives a wonderful glimpse of the Gilded Age prevalent in Newport during the late 1800s. There are any number of elegant, sprawling "summer cottages" built by the likes of the Vanderbilts and Astors in Newport, but this one is a particularly precious example of a deliciously opulent period in our history.
If you're in Newport, Rhode Island, for a great New England getaway, taking a stroll along Cliff Walk is an absolute must. It will take you along a path atop towering bluffs and snakes its way between some of the biggest and most beautiful mansions in the world on one side, and the ocean on the other, but Rough Point is a standout for its marvelous furniture and art collections.
Frederick W. Vanderbilt built this enormous English Manorial house in 1889 on one of the choicest pieces of real estate on the East coast. It's on a windswept promontory whose rocky shore juts into the Atlantic. The views of both the ocean and the house are breath-taking.
James B. Duke, who made two fortunes, one in electric power and the other in tobacco, was the benefactor of Duke University. He purchased Rough Point in 1922, but died in 1925 after bequeathing much of his enormous financial empire and Rough Point to his daughter Doris, a twelve-year-old and only child.
Doris lived here periodically throughout her life. But, instead of living extravagantly, blissfully unaware of the needs of others, she became an enormously generous philanthropist. At just 21 years of age, she established Independent Aid, which became the Doris Duke Foundation. Throughout her life she supported medical research and was a child welfare advocate. By some estimates, she donated as much as $400 million dollars to worthy causes, often anonymously.
Rough Point contains the Duke family's extensive collections of European fine and decorative arts, including works by Renoir, Bol, Gainsborough and Reynold; collections that took seven decades to build.
In addition, there are collections of oriental porcelain, tapestries and textiles. Doris Duke herself, an active conservationist and preservationist, also collected Islamic and Southeast Asian art and fine furnishings, many examples of which can be found at Rough Point.
During the 1960s Ms. Duke recognized the need to preserve Newport's crumbling, 18th century architecture, which was disappearing quickly, as was the case in many of the oldest U.S. cities. In 1968, she established the Newport Restoration Foundation (NRF).
While her father collected for the decoration of his houses, Doris Duke studied so that she could make informed decisions herself, and let her curiosity guide her to areas of collecting that were sometimes unfashionable at the time.
Masterpiece examples of her Newport collections, heirloom pieces, and collections of Eastern and Western art, are featured in the exhibition, at Rough Point. Three famille verte jars represent a huge variety of Chinese porcelains.
One of a pair of ivory and silver tables made in eighteenth century Russia is an exotic piece, even in these collections, and probably came from the palace of Catherine the Great. A silver mounted saddle made in California for her second husband is a wonderful example of what were known as parade saddles that were owned by all the Hollywood cowboys.
Touring Rough Point will give you an opportunity to bask in history, share the splendor of the various Duke collections and sample the Gilded Age in one of America's oldest and finest cities and one of the great New England museums.
To learn about more New England museums, visit: newenglandtimes.com .
About the Author: Jim Hyde, an author, award-winning writer and syndicated columnist, is editor and co-owner with his wife, Terry, of a top-ranked New England Website, NewEnglandTimes.Com, which covers travel, tourism, real estate and lifestyles. For more information about this Great New England museum, as well as articles on other New England museums go to http://www.newenglandtimes.com.
Ten Important Things To Know When Hiking Off Trail
New England Poet Robert Frost wrote, "The woods are lovely, dark and deep" in one of his many classic poems, and indeed there’s something fascinating about the pristine New England wilderness that compels us to wander into the region’s wondrous forests simply because of how peaceful they are. To many adults looking for a break from the confines of the nine-to-five cubicle, the forest is as alluring as is an arcade to a kid who’s been in a classroom for too long.
With so much New England forestland begging exploration, hiking is one of the favored pastimes for those who visit here in the spring, summer and fall, whether it be on a recreation path, an established hiking trail of off trail.
Of those options, the last can be the most enjoyable and challenging, but also the most dangerous, including for experienced hikers. It’s off trail hiking that you can get into the serious jam. That’s especially so, if the weather changes and you’re off trail in a sudden snowstorm, rain or a thick fog.
This article offers some safety tips culled from personal experience, as well as the hiking trials and tribulations of others, and offers some ways to avoid getting lost, injured or worse. It also includes what you should do if you encounter some forest residents who consider your intrusion unwelcome.
Before you decide to heed the call of the wild, consider ten potential problems that could challenge even the most seasoned hiker.
First. Make sure you know how to use some basic hiking tools. Read and learn before you head off into the thick, dark yonder. Learning the fundamentals will do two major things: 1. Teach you what to look for to enjoy, such as wild flowers, wildlife and the wonder of nature itself; and 2. Warn you about the dangers posed by wild flowers, wildlife and nature.
Second. The potential for getting lost rises in direct proportion to one’s lack of understanding of the terrain ahead of and behind you. You need to have a fundamental idea about what you’ll encounter, such as: rivers, streams, cliffs, etc. by looking at a map (preferably a topographical map that shows elevations in the terrain) before you start out.
Third. Make sure you have the right hiking boots, good socks and clothing for your hike. Actually, you should have a good backpack in which you can store a change of clothes in case you fall into a river or get caught in the rain. Staying dry is critical if you get lost and have to rough it until you get found. Wearing shorts on a summer hike is fine, but make sure you use sprays to keep mosquitoes and other insects at bay. Deet works best on mosquitoes, but many folks aren’t enthusiastic about its use. There are natural alternatives at most sporting goods stores. It’s particularly important to keep mosquitoes off . They carry a number of encephalitis-type diseases, some of which can be life threatening. Ticks, especially the smaller ones, are well known for carrying Lyme Disease.
Fourth. If you’re new to an area, in addition to knowing something about the terrain, you’ll also need to know if you can reverse an unmarked trail if you encounter a situation that could leave you trapped otherwise. The great danger here is that because you’re off trail, people won’t know where to look for you. That leaves you exposed, and unless you’re experienced in the wild, you face dehydration, malnourishment and the elements, any one of which can be a very serious threat. If you’re going hiking off trail, let someone know, even if it’s your hotel’s concierge, and let him or her know approximately when you expect to return. In addition, to find your way back, you can tie short pieces of fabric to trees, but make sure you remove them when you leave.
Fifth. Watch your step when you’re near a stream or river. Many people, confident that they’re coordinated enough to stoop down to fill their canteens, sometimes find a riverbank a less-than-reliable foothold and themselves falling in. Wet clothing, especially wet socks, can turn into a very serious problem in the wild. Remember too that, river boulders can be notoriously slippery, especially after rain, so if you jump from one rock to another, look for the driest spot on each rock and aim for it.
Sixth. If you find yourself having to cross a river, remember that in water only one foot deep, a fast current can knock you off balance surprisingly fast, especially if you’re on mossy rocks at the bottom of the riverbed. Make sure you cross where the current is relatively slow. If you fall, grab onto a boulder, tree or anything solid to prevent being swept downstream where you may wind up in white water. Even though white water is loaded with air, you still can’t breath in it, and a hydraulic (the point at which water cascades downward like a water fall and churns the water at the bottom of the fall), can trap and pin you under water, unable to either escape or breathe.
Seventh. Hiking near a ravine, cliff or steep mountainside can be a major challenge to many less experienced hikers. Beware of slippery surfaces (moss, sandy soil, loose rocks, dead trees and wet leaves) when you’re walking near the edge.
Eighth. Wildlife encounters with small critters don’t present much of a threat unless that cute, furry little beastie is a raccoon or skunk wandering around in the daytime and acting oddly. Both raccoons and skunks are nocturnal, so if they’re walking around during the day, steer clear. They could have rabies and animals with rabies tend to get very aggressive. Getting sprayed by a skunk is far less of a problem than is being bitten by a rabid one. For encounters with other animals, please see, Animals to Be Aware of when Hiking or Camping, which appears on NewEnglandTimes.Com.
Ninth. You played football, lacrosse, hockey and baseball and you think you’re in shape, so why worry about a walk through the woods? No big deal, right? Not necessarily. It can be very easy to start the journey convinced that all will go well…until you encounter something completely unexpected and haven’t a clue how to deal with it, or that climbing a hill that looked like a snap took much more out of you than you thought it would. You want to enjoy your hike, not get winded by it. When you expend a lot of energy and moisture, you need to replace it, especially water. But beware of brook and river water, which may appear crystal clear. It’s what the human eye can’t see that’s dangerous. It may contain various parasitic protozoa that can make you dreadfully ill. The only way to make brook or river water safe is with iodine (which comes in various forms and can be purchased at most sports stores) or by boiling it.
Tenth. To avoid an encounter with larger animals, it’s a good idea to make noise as you go along by whistling or occasionally shouting. This works particularly well with black bear and moose that inhabit the woods throughout most of New England. If you should see one, never approach a bear, moose or a deer.
To learn more about hiking and the great outdoors in New England, go to: newenglandtimes.com .
James H. Hyde is Co-Founder and Editor of http://www.NewEnglandTimes.Com He has served as Managing Editor of three magazines, written two syndicated columns, was Editor of "The Desktop," a newsletter about desktop publishing and is co-author of "The Plain English Guide to Desktop Publishing."
About the Author: Jim Hyde, an author, award-winning writer and syndicated columnist, is editor and co-owner with his wife, Terry, of a top-ranked New England Website, NewEnglandTimes.Com, which covers travel, tourism, real estate and lifestyles. For more information about this Great New England museum, as well as articles on other New England museums go to http://www.newenglandtimes.com.
Don't Mess wih a Moose
When you’re hiking and happen upon a moose, they can appear laid back and they can even be approached and fed depending on what season it is, but neither is ever a good idea. If it’s rutting season, approaching a bull moose is like poking a grizzly bear with a stick.
If you come upon a moose that’s close by, leave it alone, regardless of how docile it may appear. And then there's the issue of sex.
Bull moose (males) are most dangerous during the rutting season, much of the fall and into the winter. Mating fatigues them as does walking in heavy snows. They’ve been known to bed down under people’s decks or lean against structures, exhausted. But that's not an invitation to go P"pat the nice moose."
The female of the species, cows, can get very ugly when approached, especially during the spring and summer seasons after they’ve calved or are teaching their youngsters the ways of the wild. You’d get a little ornery too if you’d just passed a 60-pound calf. And getting between a cow and a calf is like standing in mid street during the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. Cows get very protective of their young and have been known to take on wolf packs to save them.
Unfortunately, many people don’t know the charge warning signs and decide to get as close as possible so a picture can be taken of them near a moose. Why not? Moose have been known to walk up to people almost nonchalantly as if they’re inviting interaction. Uh, don’t be too quick to accept the perceived chumminess.
Moose will walk slowly up to a person for one of two reasons: 1. To warn you to get off their turf; 2. Because they expect you to offer up some food. In either case, it’s not approaching to be patted. The smartest thing to do is run until you put something big and hard between you and that moose.
The warning signs that a charge is imminent (which is distinct from meandering in your direction) are:
1. The hair on the hump on its back is raised;
2. The ears are down and back; and
3. It starts licking its lips.
According to wildlife authorities, if you can see it licking its lips, you’re way too close anyway.
More often than not, if you run away from a moose, it’ll probably end its pursuit after a relatively short run. But if one does charge, do your best to run and get behind something solid. If there’s a tree nearby, move around it and away from the charging beast. You’re far more agile than it is, so you could escape it that way, by continuing to encircle the tree or climbing it if possible.
If a moose charges, unless you’re really close to it, it’s usually a warning--bluffs to see what you’ll do. If it doesn’t get the response it wants—your speedy departure--and does charge you, it kicks out with its forelegs when it gets close enough and can cause some serious injury doing that alone. More often, it will knock you down and has been known to use all four hooves on anyone on the ground.
The smartest thing to do under that scenario is to curl up in a fetal position, protect your head with your hands and arms and remain absolutely motionless. Do not move until the animal is well away from you or you may trigger a second attack.
If you are attacked, seek medical attention right away. Injuries do put people into shock, and if you get shocky, you’ll be in no shape to assess your medical condition on your own. If the moose breaks a rib or two, you could suffer a pneumothorax (collapsed lung), which is very serious. So get to the nearest hospital as quickly as possible for a full examination.
For the most part, moose are twig and bark eaters and get their name from the Algonquin Indians for precisely what they eat.
If you see one and have a camera, snap away, but from a safe distance. It’s definitely a "don’t touch/don’t feed" creature.
You can read more about hiking and moose in the ezine section of newenglandtimes.com
About the Author: Jim Hyde, an author, award-winning writer and syndicated columnist, is editor and co-owner with his wife, Terry, of a top-ranked New England Website, NewEnglandTimes.Com, which covers travel, tourism, real estate and lifestyles. For more information about this Great New England museum, as well as articles on other New England museums go to http://www.newenglandtimes.com.
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