A Visit to Robeson Elementary Center

Flat Stanley took to school in honor of Annie's 9th birthday! He met her class of 3rd graders and met her teacher as well!
When we showed up Annie was working on a report on the country of France. We brought a snowman cake so everyone took a welcome break and shared cake!


Someone you may find of interest is Annie's teacher:

He is known in school for his cool accent and his name will sound familiar: Mr. John Brennan!

His family is from Ireland, though he was actually born in England.

Here is some really fun information he shared with me:

"My Brennan’s are from Mayo. Brannan and Brennan are the same name – just different spelling. I think we have the same coat-of-arms.

I was the first born child from my family to be born in England . Dad’s from Mayo in the west and mum is from Cavan in the border of Northern Ireland . She was the only protestant family in her village of Catholics ! She used to go to the north to shop – much cheaper.

Our name means “sorrow”."

Who knows...Maybe he's a relative? (That would be awesome because he's great fun!) We should all dig a little and find out!

A Trip to Amish Country

The Culbert family grocery shops at Shady Maple, in the heart of the Amish Country, Lancaster County. Here life stand still on Sundays where stores are closed in keeping with the observance of the Sabbath Day of rest. The Amish still shun modern conveniences, choosing instead to travel by horse and buggy. The women still hand make their clothing and the Amish dress "plainly". They are aptly named "plain people", while we, on the outside, are called the English.


The Amish are very devout in their faith. They take very seriously the Biblical commands to separate themselves from the world.
The Amish are primarily farmers. Their children attend one room Amish schoolhouses, but only go to school up to 8th grade.


In this close up you can see Flat Stanley holding on to the buggy just waiting for a ride. There are no Amish people in this photograph out of respect for their faith. The Amish do not like to be photograph because the Bible warns against creating idols and images, and they consider a photograph an idol.

PA's Mecca of Hunters: Cabelas

We traveled to Hawk Mountain Wildlife Preserve and were sorely disappointed because we couldn't hike the trails! It was the first day of hunting season, so for safety reasons, the trails were closed.


So plan B... we went to Cabelas! Cabelas in Hamburg, PA is known far and wide for its 250,000 square feet of taxidermied animals, fish tanks, hunting, fishing and camping supplies and anything outdoorsy.


This statue graces the front of the Cabelas building and is to represent the frontiersman (such as Davey Crocket and Daniel Boone) and the native American working together to survive the wild. Flat Stanley has taken the helm!

Having Fun in the White Stuff!

Here's Flat Stanley making snow angels. The average November temperature in Morgantown, PA is 43.1 degrees. How does that compare with your average? The average snow fall in November is between 0.1" to 3". We've gotten about 3" so far! I can't imagine what winter will be like!


Okay, so Stanley wasn't the only one enjoying the snow. Luke was loving it as well!

Adventure in Philly

November 25, 2008

We (Emily and Kelly) took a trip to Philadelphia, and among other historical places we were able to get up close and personal with the Liberty Bell.



A few important facts:


It is now located at 6th and Market Street in Philadelphia, PA.


The bell was originally cast at Whitechapel Foundry (England) in 1752 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of William Penn's Charter of Privileges for Pennsylvania (this was Pennsylvania's constitution). In this constitution William Penn spoke of the freedoms and liberties he believed people in Pennsylvania and all over the world should have. Because he believed in freedom for everyone, the following words are inscribed on the Liberty Bell:


Leviticus xxv:x: "Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof"
The first part of that verse says "And you shall hallow the fiftieth year...". It is very fitting that this verse should be used as it was the 50th anniversary of PA being an organized commonwealth. I think it's neat that one of our country's dearest symbols quotes the Bible, don't you!


Also inscribed on the bell is the quotation:
"By Order of the Assembly of the Province of Pensylvania for the State House in Philadelphia."
This is just saying that the leaders of Pennsylvania are the people that have asked the bell to be cast. But see if you can find something odd about that quote. Look carefully. Hmmmm...I'm sure you've found it by now! They spelled Pennsylvania wrong. Yikes! Well actually, back in the mid 1700's people couldn't agree on how to spell it, so the British foundry workers who cast the bell decided on just one "n". I personally prefer 2 "n's" as that looks more like our founder, William Penn's, name!


After the bell was shipped to Pennsylvania from England it was hung in the State House steeple. The State House (also known as Independence Hall) is where the 2nd Constitutional Convention was held and where our Declaration of Independence was signed. The bell cracked during testing. The assemblymen ordered the bell to be melted down and recast. They paid John Pass and John Stow (both of Philadelphia) to do this. They added more copper to make a stronger bell, but when the bell was finished no one liked the sound of it. If you can believe it, because of the unpleasant sound, Pass and Stow melted it down AGAIN and cast the bell we have today. If you look closely at pictures of the bell, you will see Pass and Stow's names inscribed on it.
The Liberty Bell (this 3rd bell) hung at the State House, and was rung for many important occasions, but it too eventually cracked and continued to crack. Though it was repaired by a process called "stop drilling", the bell was deemed unringable when it was struck in honor of Washington's Birthday in 1846. It would never ring again.


The Liberty Bell was replaced in the steeple by a bell called the Centennial Bell (given as a gift to Philadelphia in 1876 to celebrate our 100 years as a country.) The Liberty Bell now has a new home called the Liberty Bell Center. This is where we were able to see it.


Here is Flat Stanley hanging on for dear life:


(Of course we photo-shopped him in for fun! No one's allowed to touch the Liberty Bell!)