tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88189266286798759222024-03-04T22:37:11.017-08:00Mark Twain Stormfield Project 1908-2012Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger148125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-25933163631093009642013-08-27T11:06:00.003-07:002013-08-27T11:06:46.504-07:00The Mark Twain Book FairThe Annual Mark Twain Book Fair is <span class="pageheader">Labor Day Weekend, August 30 – September 2</span>. Daily from
9am to 5pm. Redding Community Center, Lonetown Road (Route 107) Redding
CT. Free parking, no admission fee, bargains abound, air-conditioned
comfort, handicapped accessible, refreshments sold.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The Mark Twain Library Book Fair is the oldest – and one of the largest –
in New England. The library was founded by Samuel Clemens, - a.k.a. Mark
Twain – in 1908. And the Book Fair is still one of the
library's principal fundraisers.
<br /><br />This fund raising concept goes back to the very beginning.<br />
<br />
Coley Taylor described the
early days of the fair in 1985: <br /><br />"Mark Twain donated a
large number of books from his own collection to the library. They were
housed in the seldom used old chapel facing the ancient but still used
Umpawaug Cemetery. A librarian was on hand Wednesday and Saturday
afternoons. Twain secured donations from many friends, including Andrew
Carnegie, and publishers. At a meeting to promote the library on October
7, 1908, he read a statement that he had composed for the occasion.<br /><br />There
was a woman's group that met fairly often to sew clean strips of rags
of all colors and fabrics for making braided rugs to sell at an annual
fair for the library building fund. We children went to the meetings
too; there were no baby-sitters then; we could roll the long strips into
balls. It was my job to turn the ice-cream freezer for the cake-and-ice
cream binge later.<br /><br />The annual fair was held in August to attract
the summer people, who would leave for their homes by Labor Day. There
were not many in Redding but the lake resorts near Danbury and a noted
summer colony in nearby Ridgefield provided the necessary crowds,
together with local residents. All kinds of things were sold at the
fair: cakes, pies, jellies, pickles, canned fruits in glass jars,
salads, the rag rugs, and second hand furniture, which was grabbed up as
antiques. A long picnic table under a tent was loaded with food,
provided luncheon for the guests- at a price, of course."<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.marktwainlibrary.org/8support-folder/book-fair.htm">http://www.marktwainlibrary.org/8support-folder/book-fair.htm </a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-64122272882807497942013-04-21T09:13:00.001-07:002013-04-21T09:13:29.328-07:00Mark Twain Dies in Redding, April 21st, 1910<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiohhzs-PqGtmDQDjKWe01-ULGmaJgPQ2kNQVHqV_rPA-8H2wVFAPzYUN0TaY52ce5jzB27kRNMe52C7l3lGjL8vzNZiRO4l6BY0nsezW3sQAxW_ZDcMSeMe2IuXBjPjlOrjUYK8F-NoxbVxT3P/s1600/twain-redding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiohhzs-PqGtmDQDjKWe01-ULGmaJgPQ2kNQVHqV_rPA-8H2wVFAPzYUN0TaY52ce5jzB27kRNMe52C7l3lGjL8vzNZiRO4l6BY0nsezW3sQAxW_ZDcMSeMe2IuXBjPjlOrjUYK8F-NoxbVxT3P/s1600/twain-redding.jpg" height="320" width="251" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">"The report of my death was an exaggeration."</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"> <br />
Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born in Florida, Missouri, on November 30,
1835 and died in Redding, Connecticut on April 21, 1910. <br /> <br /> His
legacy stills lives, his popularity continues to grow, his writings are
still being published and his quotes still ring true... I'd say it was
an exaggeration too.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Last Day at Stormfield</span><br />By Bliss Carman, Collier's Weekly<br /><br />At Redding, Connecticut,<br />The April sunrise pours<br />Over the hardwood ridges<br />Softening and greening now<br />In the first magic of Spring.<br /><br />The wild cherry-trees are in bloom,<br />The bloodroot is white underfoot,<br />The serene early light flows on,<br />Touching with glory the world,<br />And flooding the large upper room<br />Where a sick man sleeps.<br />Slowly he opens his eyes,<br />After long weariness, smiles,<br />And stretches arms overhead,<br />While those about him take heart.<br /><br />With his awakening strength,<br />(Morning and spring in the air,<br />The strong clean scents of earth,<br />The call of the golden shaft,<br />Ringing across the hills)<br />He takes up his heartening book,<br />Opens the volume and reads,<br />A page of old rugged Carlyle,<br />The dour philosopher<br />Who looked askance upon life,<br />Lurid, ironical, grim,<br />Yet sound at the core.<br />But weariness returns;<br />He lays the book aside<br />With his glasses upon the bed,<br />And gladly sleeps. Sleep,<br />Blessed abundant sleep,<br />Is all that he needs.<br /><br />And when the close of day<br />Reddens upon the hills<br />And washes the room with rose,<br />In the twilight hush<br />The Summoner comes to him<br />Ever so gently, unseen,<br />Touches him on the shoulder;<br />And with the departing sun<br />Our great funning friend is gone.<br /><br />How he has made us laugh!<br />A whole generation of men<br />Smiled in the joy of his wit.<br />But who knows whether he was not<br />Like those deep jesters of old<br />Who dwelt at the courts of Kings,<br />Arthur's, Pendragon's, Lear's,<br />Plying the wise fool's trade,<br />Making men merry at will,<br />Hiding their deeper thoughts<br />Under a motley array,--<br />Keen-eyed, serious men,<br />Watching the sorry world,<br />The gaudy pageant of life,<br />With pity and wisdom and love?<br /><br />Fearless, extravagant, wild,<br />His caustic merciless mirth<br />Was leveled at pompous shams.<br />Doubt not behind that mask<br />There dwelt the soul of a man,<br />Resolute, sorrowing, sage,<br />As sure a champion of good<br />As ever rode forth to fray.<br /><br />Haply--who knows?--somewhere<br />In Avalon, Isle of Dreams,<br />In vast contentment at last,<br />With every grief done away,<br />While Chaucer and Shakespeare wait,<br />And Moliere hangs on his words,<br />And Cervantes not far off<br />Listens and smiles apart,<br />With that incomparable drawl<br />He is jesting with Dagonet now.<br /><br />[Copyright, 1910, by Collier's Weekly.] </span></span></span><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-59065694281849071482012-08-29T11:41:00.000-07:002012-08-29T11:41:42.740-07:00http://www.daveshellenberger.com Recaps Mark Twain Conference in Redding<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Be sure to read David Shellenberger's recap of our Twain Conference on August 18th in Redding, Connecticut.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Link:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.daveshellenberger.com/first-annual-mark-twain-conference#.UDq1HCVajLc.facebook"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>First Annual Mark Twain Conference in Redding</b></span></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-73353075862512061272012-08-28T17:39:00.002-07:002013-08-27T17:35:46.614-07:00Mark Twain Lego House and Lego Mark Twain<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
I'm hoping we get to host this amazing lego magic down in Redding soon:</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcmpk1cHiwaMDSmPUTt2kMY7gv6NnumqLY5A54e7ZJv-g2TkpsEXdVJSyENo8Pq4JSjClLX43_iJaXOOfvcJX_-ssuXSNTUbOE_h7wbmWrs58giwRSKBmKqrhm0g2NfusE861ACSPMBa4u9gMp/s1600/lego-twain-house-front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcmpk1cHiwaMDSmPUTt2kMY7gv6NnumqLY5A54e7ZJv-g2TkpsEXdVJSyENo8Pq4JSjClLX43_iJaXOOfvcJX_-ssuXSNTUbOE_h7wbmWrs58giwRSKBmKqrhm0g2NfusE861ACSPMBa4u9gMp/s1600/lego-twain-house-front.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEEk9_Tt5gTbynP75O2DmapSOt6wMgAt49IiNIJZSCTdkr30KbNPyxQ5yiqjYo2JmEyMtqXPWtT3zC5CogbtoHzWqxV5IqXgmUUyOp2uO_xminV4OqwS7SVrwNvsghyfAKlK1su__wg2HSQcDJ/s1600/lego-twain-house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEEk9_Tt5gTbynP75O2DmapSOt6wMgAt49IiNIJZSCTdkr30KbNPyxQ5yiqjYo2JmEyMtqXPWtT3zC5CogbtoHzWqxV5IqXgmUUyOp2uO_xminV4OqwS7SVrwNvsghyfAKlK1su__wg2HSQcDJ/s1600/lego-twain-house.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhejRyULuHj_Wc8hX-bvZ14iGIOVKPr4OII_5RsZL0T0VNUraPOEWa3kdTS-a9pKmr5N7v-NDDt6Kaq4nx4kqw3o6UtPEVJobQTJQgKcuSMZGYAxKnAEseA6aFn5_UxSiOxluaiJ31GpQs_5pAq/s1600/logo-mark-twain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhejRyULuHj_Wc8hX-bvZ14iGIOVKPr4OII_5RsZL0T0VNUraPOEWa3kdTS-a9pKmr5N7v-NDDt6Kaq4nx4kqw3o6UtPEVJobQTJQgKcuSMZGYAxKnAEseA6aFn5_UxSiOxluaiJ31GpQs_5pAq/s1600/logo-mark-twain.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-54110429444032914332012-08-23T15:43:00.001-07:002012-08-23T15:43:39.311-07:00Highlights from Our 1st Annual Mark Twain Conference at Redding<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">My Top Ten Reasons Twain's time in Redding is of Importance...</span><br /><br /><br /><b>1. The Mark Twain Library</b><br />To the best of my knowledge- The Mark Twain Library is the only library in the World that Mark Twain personally founded, funded and filled with books.<br /> <br /><b>2. Clara's Wedding and Nina's Birthday</b><br />Clara Clemens was the only of Twain's daughter to wed and give birth. Both of these events took place at Stormfield in Redding. Clara wed on October 6th, 1909 and Nina was born on August 19th, 1910.<br /><br /> <b>3. Albert Bigelow Paine and Twain's Biography</b><br />Paine was the one who let Twain know of a 75 acre farm for sale just over the hill from his own home in Redding in the Winter of 1906. Twain's secretary, Isabel Lyon, voiced her approval of the "country home" idea and in March of 1906 the purchase was made. Additional properties were purchased and under the watchful eyes of both Paine and Lyon, Stormfield was completed in June of 1908. Twain arrived soon after and would remain in Redding until his passing in April of 1910. In 1912 Bigelow Paine published Twain's biography (which was written in Redding) and in essence from 1906 until Paine's passing in 1937, he (along with Clara Clemens) pretty much controlled how the World viewed Twain as the literary executors of his pages and manuscripts.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b>4. Twain put Redding on the Map</b></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
"<span class="st"> <em>I am keeping a hotel</em>, and no train comes or goes without bringing me a guest or robbing me of one."<br />-Twain's own entry in Stormfield's Guestbook</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="st">During his time in Redding many of his closest friends and associates visited his Redding estate and the press Worldwide reported on him and his visitors just about every day. William D. Howells, Laura Hawkins Frazer, Billy Burke and Helen Keller are a few of the individuals that visited.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="st"><br /></span> </div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b><span class="st">5. The Open Space his estate Preserved</span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="st">From 1906 to 1909, Twain purchased roughly 320 acres in Redding which eventually whittled down to 268.21 acres. Of those 268+ acres, 160 acres were preserved as Open Space and hiking trails. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="st"><br /></span> </div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b><span class="st">6. Jean's Return</span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="st">Jean L. Clemens had suffered with Epilepsy since she was 15 years of age. Following her mother's death in 1904, her condition worsened and in 1906 she left the family for remote treatment. In April of 1909 she returned to live in Redding.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="st"><br /></span> </div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b><span class="st">7. The Lyon-Ashcroft Scandal</span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="st">One of the most intriguing mysteries from Twain's time in Redding involves Isabel Lyon and Ralph Ashcroft. Were they plotting to steal Twain's fortune or did Clara hold a grudge against them? This continues to be debated.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="st"><br /></span> </div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b><span class="st">8. Twain's passing at Stormfield</span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="st">Because Twain's funeral was held in New York City and Twain had lived in New York City prior to moving to Redding, many presumed he had lived in NYC the entire time. He died in Redding at 6:22pm on April 21, 1910.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="st"><br /></span> </div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b><span class="st">9. Little Known Redding Tie-ins to Redding</span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="st">Did you know Mark Twain's Estate was annually settled here in Redding until 1964? Or that his last will and testament begins... "I, Samuel L. Clemens, of Redding, Connecticut..." Or that the "scottish mantel" at the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford was found in Redding in the mid 1950's and returned? There's a lot of neat connections to his life via Redding.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="st"><br /></span> </div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b><span class="st">10. Redding was Twain's Final Residence and he loved it here.</span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="st"><br /></span> </div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
New York Times: "Do you like it here at Stormfield?" <br /><br />Samuel L. Clemens: "Yes, it is the most out of the world and peaceful and tranquil and in every way satisfactory home I have had experience of in my life."</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
"Give me a breath of Redding air once more and this will pass."</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
-Twain on his final trip home to Redding in mid-April 1910</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
To see the full slideshow (84 slides) with photos and additional information on the list above, download my Powerpoint "<a href="http://www.historyofredding.com/Twain-Redding-short.ppt">Mark Twain's Redding</a>" </div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-732740532570805302012-08-21T15:54:00.003-07:002012-08-21T15:54:43.150-07:00Highlights from the Mark Twain Conference in Redding, CT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7ILWDu1fAyKNAAKfaUqSFHAJVE5N5T87mJGJd1fByblF8IKwTZQ0N4hyphenhyphen8HDmm6fiWRwnqJQaFNrddPkiBdAuYCP2ruC9pjiuTg2Uzj-YjWwDHhAUyB2YGIwvcC1kjj2HfCgsVoqngeeqJjtp/s1600/james-and-laura.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7ILWDu1fAyKNAAKfaUqSFHAJVE5N5T87mJGJd1fByblF8IKwTZQ0N4hyphenhyphen8HDmm6fiWRwnqJQaFNrddPkiBdAuYCP2ruC9pjiuTg2Uzj-YjWwDHhAUyB2YGIwvcC1kjj2HfCgsVoqngeeqJjtp/s1600/james-and-laura.JPG" /></a></div>
<br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After our conference on Saturday August 18th, 2012, PBS Director Producer James Nicoloro interviewed Mark Twain Scholar and Pitzer College President, Laura Skandera Trombley, in the Mark Twain Room at The Lobster Pot for his upcoming Documentary, "Redding's Mark Twain." </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Following the interview, I took Laura and Dr. Ann Ryan up to see (new) Stormfield; The original Stormfield burned down in 1923, but the (new) Stormfield is very similar and they loved it. Then it was down to the Redding Roadhouse. < Shocker, huh? </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-62614176159330616992012-08-16T18:02:00.000-07:002012-08-16T18:02:09.666-07:00Meet the Speakers at our 1st Annual Mark Twain Conference in Redding<h2 style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Our Featured Speaker is:</h2>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Laura S. Trombley<br />Author and President of <a href="http://www.pitzer.edu/">Pitzer College</a></h3>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Laura is an internationally renowned Mark Twain scholar, authoring
several books and dozens of scholarly articles on Twain. She appeared in
Ken Burns's Mark Twain documentary and, as a graduate student,
discovered the largest known cache of Mark Twain letters.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
She will speak on her latest book: <em>Mark Twain's Other Woman</em></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidFkidljyE4C0hoJsANQ3KFe1KVjAD884b2gW5Q7eQIckv8-HwSnDr3y31-K49YjEw3Q-guAC4bSjcX3dGyMb7m-O9TP8i5yXxNnn4PdAUt3VVA42BgK5Vl-ZB0Vg4mXIbBDMeb9I3_4k-CxAj/s1600/cover-twains-other-woman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidFkidljyE4C0hoJsANQ3KFe1KVjAD884b2gW5Q7eQIckv8-HwSnDr3y31-K49YjEw3Q-guAC4bSjcX3dGyMb7m-O9TP8i5yXxNnn4PdAUt3VVA42BgK5Vl-ZB0Vg4mXIbBDMeb9I3_4k-CxAj/s320/cover-twains-other-woman.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
In addition to <em>Mark Twain's Other Woman</em>, Laura's other works on Twain include <em>Mark Twain in the Company of Women</em> and <em>Constructing Mark Twain: New Directions in Scholarship</em>.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-718543028473208772012-08-16T12:41:00.001-07:002012-08-16T12:41:21.916-07:00Meet the Speakers at our 1st Annual Mark Twain Conference in Redding<h2 style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Our Fourth Speaker is:</h2>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Susan B. Durkee<br />Portrait Artist/Historian</h3>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Susan's Powerpoint presentation will walk us through her latest portrait of Isabel V. Lyon, Mark Twain's personal secretary. </div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjufeLNxKOOP8o_Cz4IGkBM72YkzQc6l2H3Fi3Mj1xDY7nNQ3VqDkb3hBByuDNCQnm9ofF4Yr5QJ9LXyf7nByIC-pPXPyrcMmGmt0EMdFg0Rw1wQyhwuXKQYZPd1_V_IyTpIeGeRM9TDNz4apYg/s1600/Isabel%252314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjufeLNxKOOP8o_Cz4IGkBM72YkzQc6l2H3Fi3Mj1xDY7nNQ3VqDkb3hBByuDNCQnm9ofF4Yr5QJ9LXyf7nByIC-pPXPyrcMmGmt0EMdFg0Rw1wQyhwuXKQYZPd1_V_IyTpIeGeRM9TDNz4apYg/s1600/Isabel%252314.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
An award winning artist, Susan works out of her spacious West Redding, Connecticut studio,</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
The Lobster Pot, that sits on Mark Twain's initial property purchase in Redding. This property was the home of Isabel Lyon from 1907 to 1909, which is a special tie-in to the portrait.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<div>
Susan graduated from Greens Farms Academy, attended one year at the
School of Fine Arts at Boston University and received a Bachelor of
Arts from the University of Vermont.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Her work is displayed in private collections throughout the country
and she has been featured on 4 Cable Television Shows, appeared in
several publications as well as a Portrait Artist in the Spring 2004
National Geographic article on Greenwich, Connecticut.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Susan has also been invited to participate in many prestigious
Juried National Art Shows including: The Oil Painters of America,
American Women Artists, and the Salmagundi Club in New York.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Susan specializes in traditional grand manner style portraiture.
She has been commissioned to paint individual, civic and corporate
portraits.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Among her corporate clients are U.S. Tobacco, the Cancer Research Institute, and Baylor University Medical Center.</div>
<div>
</div>
Although her concentration is focused mainly on formal portraiture,
Susan has also been successful in painting seascapes, landscapes, and
still lifes.
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-23027342933216383182012-08-16T12:27:00.003-07:002012-08-16T12:27:56.029-07:00Meet the Speakers at our 1st Annual Mark Twain Conference in Redding<h2 style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Our Third Speaker is:</h2>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Brent M. Colley<br />Historian</h3>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Brent's presentation is a visual Top Ten List of why Mark Twain's time in Redding is of importance.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
84 slides filled with rare photos and commentary on everything you ever wanted to know about Twain's time in Redding.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
You have to be there to see and hear it. :)</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
The 1st Annual Mark Twain Conference at Redding, Connecticut is Saturday, August 18th from 1pm to 5pm. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-58649782413340873002012-08-16T12:17:00.000-07:002012-08-16T12:21:00.407-07:00Meet the Speakers at our 1st Annual Mark Twain Conference in Redding<h2 style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Our Second Speaker is:</h2>
<h3 style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
James Nicoloro<br />Producer/Director</h3>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
James will be speaking about Albert Bigelow Paine and sharing a sneak preview of his latest documentary:</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
The Redding Mark Twain- <i>Twains last 22 months of life at his home in Redding, Connecticut</i><br />
<br />
"What little I knew of Mark Twain came from a vague recollection of
reading Tom Sawyer and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in high
school. To a high school student like myself, the books seemed remote,
the dialogue difficult. But no matter, Twain seemed to be part of my dna
and there was nothing I could do about it. Who didn't known the name
Mark Twain. At the turn into the 20th century he was one of the most
famous people in the world. You could not overestimate his popularity.
Time magazine recently called him our first super star. Author and
critic, William Dean Howells, his literary confidant and friend of 40
years, gave him a more measured appraisal, calling him the Lincoln of
our literature."</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<a href="https://jamesnicoloro.wordpress.com/author/jamesnicoloro/">https://jamesnicoloro.wordpress.com/author/jamesnicoloro/</a></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Below is a look at James' impressive career:</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="postitle" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<h3 class="false">
<span class="title">Morton and Luise Kaish Century Masters Video Profiles</span>
</h3>
<h4>
<b>
<span class="org summary">Nicoloro Productions</span>
</b>
</h4>
</div>
<div class="orgstats organization-details current-position" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</div>
<div class="period" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<abbr class="dtstart" title="2012-04-01">April 2012</abbr>
– <abbr class="dtstamp" title="2012-08-16">Present</abbr>
<span class="duration"><span class="value-title" title="P5M"> </span>(5 months)</span>
<span class="location">The Century Association exhibition room</span>
</div>
<div class=" description current-position" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
In production on two short profiles of the work of Morton Kaish, painter
and Luise Kasih, sculptor, for The Century Association exhibit, Luise
& Morton Kaish Kx2:II. (7 West 33rd Street, New York, New York.).
</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<div class="position experience vevent vcard summary-current" style="display: block;">
<div class="postitle">
<h3 class="false">
<span class="title"> </span></h3>
<h3 class="false">
<span class="title">Producer/Director</span>
</h3>
<h4>
<b>
<span class="org summary">Nicoloro Productions</span>
</b>
</h4>
</div>
<div class="orgstats organization-details current-position">
</div>
<div class="period">
<abbr class="dtstart" title="2009-06-01">June 2009</abbr>
– <abbr class="dtstamp" title="2012-08-16">Present</abbr>
<span class="duration"><span class="value-title" title="P3Y3M"> </span>(3 years 3 months)</span>
</div>
<div class=" description current-position">
Research/Fundraising: Alice Austen A photographic Life<br />
Research, pre-production: The Redding Mark Twain<br />
Production: Art Deco New York with Barry Lewis
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<div class="position experience vevent vcard summary-past" style="display: block;">
<div class="postitle">
<h3 class="false">
<span class="title"> </span></h3>
<h3 class="false">
<span class="title">Producer/Director</span>
</h3>
<h4>
<b>
<span class="org summary">Roger Wilco</span>
</b>
</h4>
</div>
<div class="orgstats organization-details past-position">
</div>
<div class="period">
<abbr class="dtstart" title="2011-01-01">January 2011</abbr>
– <abbr class="dtend" title="2011-06-01">June 2011</abbr> <span class="duration"><span class="value-title" title="P6M"> </span>(6 months)</span>
</div>
<div class=" description past-position">
Produced and Directed a 13-part series on the high-end collector car
market for Discovery Network. "What's My Car Worth" was shot on location
in Scottsdale, AZ, Ft Lauderdale and Amelia Island, Florida, Charlotte
Motor Speedway, Charlotte NC.
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<div class="position experience vevent vcard summary-past" style="display: block;">
<div class="postitle">
<h3 class="false">
<span class="title"> </span></h3>
<h3 class="false">
<span class="title">Producer</span>
</h3>
<h4>
<b>
<a class="company-profile-public" href="http://www.linkedin.com/company/thirteenwnet?trk=ppro_cprof"><span class="org summary">Thirteen/WNET</span></a>
</b>
</h4>
</div>
<div class="orgstats organization-details past-position">
Nonprofit; 201-500 employees;
Broadcast Media industry
</div>
<div class="period">
<abbr class="dtstart" title="1998-04-01">April 1998</abbr>
– <abbr class="dtend" title="2010-01-01">January 2010</abbr> <span class="duration"><span class="value-title" title="P11Y10M"> </span>(11 years 10 months)</span>
</div>
<div class=" description past-position">
WNET/Thirteen, New York<br />
Producer/Director 1998-2010, Walking Tour Series, New York Voices, Reel New York,Jonathan Pond Specials, Health Specials<br />
<br />
Walking Tour Series with David Hartman and Historian Barry Lewis<br />
<br />
A Walk Down 42nd Street (Emmy nominated)<br />
A Walk Up Broadway, A Walk Through Harlem (Emmy nominated), A Walk
Around Brooklyn (Emmy nominated), A Walk Through Greenwich Village<br />
A Walk Through Central Park, A Walk Through Newark,A Walk Through Hoboken <br />
A Walk Through Queens, A Walk Through the Bronx (Cine Golden Eagle)<br />
<br />
Short Subjects<br />
<br />
Designed for Pleasure (Asia Society), Asa Ames (American Folk Art Museum),Tibetan Art (Rubin Museum)<br />
Take me out to the Ballgame (NYPL), Art of Empire (New York Historical Society, Chagall (Museum of Biblical Art)<br />
Seduction of Light (American Folk Art Museum), Twixt Art and Nature (Bard Graduate Center), Protecting the Word (Morgan Library)<br />
The Glass House of Phillip Johnson, Gehry’s IAC building, Dutch Water Colors, DNA barcode (New York Botanical Garden)<br />
<br />
Producer/Director - Series, Producer/Director - Documentary<br />
Producer - Live and live on tape, Producer – Fund Raising<br />
Manager Broadcast Operations, Graphic Designer (print and video)<br />
Photographer, Offline Editor - Avid, Final Cut/Final Cut X<br />
Effects - Photoshop/After Effects, Line Producer, Camera
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<div class="position experience vevent vcard summary-past" style="display: block;">
<div class="postitle">
<h3 class="false">
<span class="title"> </span></h3>
<h3 class="false">
<span class="title">Senior Producer</span>
</h3>
<h4>
<b>
<a class="company-profile-public" href="http://www.linkedin.com/company/kcts-television?trk=ppro_cprof"><span class="org summary">KCTS Television</span></a>
</b>
</h4>
</div>
<div class="orgstats organization-details past-position">
Nonprofit; 51-200 employees;
Broadcast Media industry
</div>
<div class="period">
<abbr class="dtstart" title="1983-04-01">April 1983</abbr>
– <abbr class="dtend" title="1998-12-01">December 1998</abbr> <span class="duration"><span class="value-title" title="P15Y9M"> </span>(15 years 9 months)</span>
</div>
<div class=" description past-position">
Manager of Broadcast Operations, Pledge Producer, Senior Producer </div>
<div class=" description past-position">
<br /></div>
<div class=" description past-position">
The 1st Annual Mark Twain Conference at Redding, Connecticut is August 18th 1pm to 5pm at the Mark Twain Library. Space limited to 80 people.</div>
<div class=" description past-position">
<br /></div>
<div class=" description past-position">
</div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-59337919446281266162012-08-14T16:00:00.000-07:002012-08-14T16:00:27.950-07:00Meet the Speakers at our 1st Annual Mark Twain Conference in Redding<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the Lead-off Spot... </span></h2>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Steve Courtney </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Publicist and Publications Editor </span></h3>
<br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mark Twain House & Museum Publicist and Publications Editor Steve Courtney won the 2009 Connecticut Book Award for </span><a href="http://www.josephhopkinstwichell.com/" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Joseph Hopkins Twichell: The Life and Times of Mark Twain’s Closest Friend</a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> (University of Georgia Press, 2008). His most recent book, published to acclaim in the fall of 2011, is ‘The Loveliest Home That Ever Was’: The Story of the Mark Twain House in Hartford (Dover), with a Foreword by Hal Holbrook and photographs by John Groo. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the past decade, Courtney has frequently written and spoken on Samuel Clemens’ friend </span><a href="http://www.josephhopkinstwichell.com/bio.php" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Twichell</a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> and his role in literary and social history. He co-edited, with Peter Messent, </span><a href="http://www.josephhopkinstwichell.com/letters.php" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Civil War Letters of Joseph Hopkins Twichell: A Chaplain's Story</a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> (University of Georgia Press, 2006). He founded and leads an </span><a href="http://www.josephhopkinstwichell.com/events.php" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">annual eight-mile walk</a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> in the Hartford area commemorating similar autumn and spring walks Twichell and Clemens took. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Courtney is also a freelance editor and researcher, having worked in this capacity on a major new biography of William Gillette, the American stage portrayer of Sherlock Holmes; a work on the ethical basis of American political philosophy; a history of the Ensign Bickford corporation; and a major biography of inventor and industrialist Joseph Gerber. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He has been a journalist for 36 years, more than twenty of them at The Hartford Courant in Hartford, Connecticut. There he was a bureau chief, copy editor, book reviewer, interviewer and writer on scientific, historical and literary subjects, including an acclaimed series on the then-little-known work of Yale biologist Thomas Steitz, the 2009 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry. Courtney was Deputy Editor of Northeast, the Courant's Sunday magazine, for five years, and served as President of Sunmag, the national organization of Sunday magazine editors. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Courtney received his Bachelor of Science degree in History from Charter Oak State College in 1997. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-13952947082759330822012-08-11T15:39:00.003-07:002012-08-11T17:07:34.806-07:00Bringing Mark Twain To Life!<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b><span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">Fundraising Dinner Party and Performance by Alan Kitty (famed Mark Twain impersonator) </span></b><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;"><b>DATE:</b> August 18, 2012, Saturday TIME: 6:30-10 pm</span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;"><b>PLACE:</b> The Mark Twain Room</span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">Redding Roadhouse</span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">406 Redding Road</span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">Redding, CT </span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;"><b>PRICE:</b> $125 </span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">Please make </span><span class="style_3" style="line-height: 22px;">checks payable to Unicorn Writers’ Conference, Inc.</span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_3" style="line-height: 22px;">Seating is Limited for this magical event so sign up now!</span><span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;"><b>CONTACT:</b> Jan Kardys</span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">203-938-7405</span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;"> 917-280-5709</span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;"> </span><a class="style_4" href="https://sn2prd0102.outlook.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=Uc1Fcd8yrkeESViTSlT_C_DIzlnsQ88IDLe-3PhAIhJH7r12o0l6bISzVLKbtIq7wQN6ESj2t1Y.&URL=https%3a%2f%2fch1prd0102.outlook.com%2fowa%2fredir.aspx%3fC%3dzv78vVneEUu3-WUvYwCurny6S_mhE88IjN08ZVI5iPIUQdgSfrBK_yoFlF9bGxqh4SEV4coZ2lw.%26URL%3dmailto%253aJan.Kardys%2540gmail.com" style="line-height: 22px;" title="https://sn2prd0102.outlook.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=Uc1Fcd8yrkeESViTSlT_C_DIzlnsQ88IDLe-3PhAIhJH7r12o0l6bISzVLKbtIq7wQN6ESj2t1Y.&URL=https://ch1prd0102.outlook.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=zv78vVneEUu3-WUvYwCurny6S_mhE88IjN08ZVI5iPIUQdgSfrBK_yoFlF9bGxqh4SEV4coZ2lw.&URL=mailto%3aJan.Kardys%40gmail.com">Jan.Kardys@gmail.com</a><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;"><b>DETAILS:</b>
Unicorn Writers’ Conference is thrilled to host a private dinner party
in the Mark Twain Room of the Redding Roadhouse,and performance of
“Mark Twain’s Last Stand,” starring famed Twain impersonator, actor, and
playwright, Alan Kitty. </span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b><span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">Menu includes:</span></b><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">Salads: </span><span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">(choice of one)</span></div>
<ul>
<li><span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;"></span><span class="style_2" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 22px;">Mixed Green</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">Caesar or </span></li>
<li><span class="style_2" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 22px;">Roadhouse Clam Chowder </span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">Entrees: (Choice of One)</span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<ul>
<li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">Chicken Breast with Scallion Mashed Potatoes & Sauteed Spinach</span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"></span><span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;"> </span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">Atlantic Salmon with Rice and Grilled Asparagus</span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"></span><span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;"> </span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">Bone In Pork Chop with Scallion Mashed Potatoes & Green Beans</span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"></span><span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;"> </span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">Wild Mushroom Fusili with Cream, Herbs & Parmesan</span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"></span><span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;"> </span></li>
<li><span class="style_2" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 22px;">Seared Filet Mignon with Herb Butter, Roasted Potatoes & Spinach</span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">Desserts: Chef’s Choice</span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">Books, Mark Twain gifts, and paintings by famed artist Susan B. Durkee (</span><a class="style_4" href="https://sn2prd0102.outlook.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=Uc1Fcd8yrkeESViTSlT_C_DIzlnsQ88IDLe-3PhAIhJH7r12o0l6bISzVLKbtIq7wQN6ESj2t1Y.&URL=https%3a%2f%2fch1prd0102.outlook.com%2fowa%2fredir.aspx%3fC%3dzv78vVneEUu3-WUvYwCurny6S_mhE88IjN08ZVI5iPIUQdgSfrBK_yoFlF9bGxqh4SEV4coZ2lw.%26URL%3dhttp%253a%252f%252fwww.susandurkee.com%252fthe-mark-twain-gallery.htm%29" style="line-height: 22px;" title="https://sn2prd0102.outlook.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=Uc1Fcd8yrkeESViTSlT_C_DIzlnsQ88IDLe-3PhAIhJH7r12o0l6bISzVLKbtIq7wQN6ESj2t1Y.&URL=https://ch1prd0102.outlook.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=zv78vVneEUu3-WUvYwCurny6S_mhE88IjN08ZVI5iPIUQdgSfrBK_yoFlF9bGxqh4SEV4coZ2lw.&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.susandurkee.com%2fthe-mark-twain-gallery.htm)">www.susandurkee.com/the-mark-twain-gallery.htm)</a><span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;"> available for sale. </span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">Nationally
acclaimed Mark Twain impersonator, Alan Kitty, has been interpreting
the nineteenth century iconic author for more than thirty years. During
that time, he has shared Twain’s style and humor in an original
theatrical monologue, through corporate dinner speeches, and in original
works that convey the author’s presence in minute detail.</span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">On
August 18, 2012, Kitty will take the stage to deliver “Mark Twain’s
Last Stand” - a portrait of Twain the author, speaker and social critic
known to all; and husband and father, Samuel Clemens, known only to
close friends and associates.</span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">So eat, drink, and enjoy this private performance in Twain’s last</span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">hometown of Redding, CT.</span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b><span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">Please send your checks to: </span></b></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">Unicorn Writers’ Conference, Inc.</span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;">PO Box 176, Redding, CT 06876</span><span class="style_2" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 22px;">Please include your Entree and Salad selection along with your
check.</span><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<span class="style_2" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 22px;">Additional
questions: Contact Jan Kardys, Chairman, Unicorn Writers’ Conference,
Inc. </span><br />
<div class="paragraph_style_3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="style_2" style="line-height: 22px;"> </span><a class="style_4" href="https://sn2prd0102.outlook.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=Uc1Fcd8yrkeESViTSlT_C_DIzlnsQ88IDLe-3PhAIhJH7r12o0l6bISzVLKbtIq7wQN6ESj2t1Y.&URL=https%3a%2f%2fch1prd0102.outlook.com%2fowa%2fredir.aspx%3fC%3dzv78vVneEUu3-WUvYwCurny6S_mhE88IjN08ZVI5iPIUQdgSfrBK_yoFlF9bGxqh4SEV4coZ2lw.%26URL%3dmailto%253aJan.Kardys%2540gmail.com" style="line-height: 22px;" title="https://sn2prd0102.outlook.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=Uc1Fcd8yrkeESViTSlT_C_DIzlnsQ88IDLe-3PhAIhJH7r12o0l6bISzVLKbtIq7wQN6ESj2t1Y.&URL=https://ch1prd0102.outlook.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=zv78vVneEUu3-WUvYwCurny6S_mhE88IjN08ZVI5iPIUQdgSfrBK_yoFlF9bGxqh4SEV4coZ2lw.&URL=mailto%3aJan.Kardys%40gmail.com">Jan.Kardys@gmail.com</a><span class="style_1" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-64051512997631206372012-08-06T08:40:00.002-07:002012-08-06T08:52:04.314-07:00Mark Twain Event- Saturday, August 18th<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Saturday, August 18th, starting at around 1:00 at The Mark Twain Library a wonderful free to the public Mark Twain Immersion. </span><br />
<br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Steve Courtney</b> from The Mark Twain House will talk about his book, <b><br /></b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>James Nicoloro</b> director/Producer will talk about and show his Film Trailer of his upcoming Documentary, "Mark Twain and Redding". <b><br /></b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Brent Colley</b> Redding/Twain Historian will give another wonderful talk about Twain/Redding History, </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A <b>Mark Twain Scholar from Elmira College</b> will talk, </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Pitzer College President, <b>Laura Twombley</b> is coming all the way from California to give a talk about her book "Mark Twain's Other Woman" and <b><br /></b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Susan Boone Durkee</b> will share her knowledge of Isabel Lyon</span>.</li>
</ul>
<br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Then after the Library event...in the evening, The Redding Road House will be having its Mark Twain Room in full Twainiac decoration...with a dinner and guest speaker Mark Twain himself, (famed Mark Twain interpreter <b>Alan Kitty</b>). </span><br />
<br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><u>Space is limited to only 70</u> for the Road House dinner event so make your reservations now..contact: </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Jan Kardys, President Unicorn Writers Conference: <a href="mailto:jan.kardys@gmail.com">jan.kardys@gmail.com</a></span><br />
<br />
<u><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /></u><div style="color: orange; text-align: center;">
<b><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><u style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This event is a fundraiser for the Unicorn Writer Conference, a 501 non-profit</span></u></b></div>
<div style="color: orange; text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></u></b></div>
<span id="role_document" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="0" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong><u> </u></strong></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-64698908631549333612012-06-11T09:06:00.001-07:002012-06-11T09:08:03.727-07:00WPKN.org Radio Discussion- Twain & Keller<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVQ_xuLG-i9UYoa4AGmdOPlgpZrbZK-ie-NFOmdaGJw9o5imc98aIcd4j_OCfBEjAA7VCX4Rd80AdvQ1PeTKgkI5VM6aefEJwqxLLIvOtVlACqWtC2DyrxmCrVOu7Ajw_k3I_uNRSydRAhc0B/s1600/wpkn-radio-show.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVQ_xuLG-i9UYoa4AGmdOPlgpZrbZK-ie-NFOmdaGJw9o5imc98aIcd4j_OCfBEjAA7VCX4Rd80AdvQ1PeTKgkI5VM6aefEJwqxLLIvOtVlACqWtC2DyrxmCrVOu7Ajw_k3I_uNRSydRAhc0B/s400/wpkn-radio-show.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left to Right- Lisa Burghardt, Dolly Curtis, Brent M. Colley</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
On Sunday, June 10th I traveled down to Bridgeport with the Easton Historical Society's Lisa
Burghardt to discuss the Twain & Keller Exhibit (currently on display at Easton Public Library) with Dolly Curtis and Dave Schwartz of WPKN 89.6 FM.<br />
<br />
We were scheduled for 30 minutes, but as it turned out, we ended up needing a little more time and stretched it to 45 minutes. The Twain & Keller topic has a knack for inducing extensive conversation. :)<br />
<br />
We had a great time. Dave and Dolly are a lot of fun to work with and we look forward to future shows on WPKN 89.6 FM.<br />
<br />
If you would like to listen to the show, you can do so here: <br />
<a href="http://archives.wpkn.org/bookmarks/listen/37141">Twain & Keller > Easton and Redding, Connecticut's Special Connection on WPKN 89.5 FM</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-63090614677197632742012-06-08T08:03:00.000-07:002012-06-08T08:03:43.133-07:00Why did Helen Keller move to Easton, CT?After World War I, Helen Keller became active in relief efforts on behalf of those blinded in the war. This effort marked the start of the work that occupied Keller for the rest of her long career.<br /><br />Keller worked concurrently with two organizations, the American Foundation for the Overseas Blind and the American Foundation for the Blind. Besides serving as a director of both, she held many different staff positions and, over forty years of extensive and near-constant travel, became the most prominent and recognizable spokesperson for the blind and the deaf-blind.<br /><br />In 1929 Keller began a fund-raising drive to provide an endowment for the American Foundation for the Blind. She wrote thousands of letters soliciting funds, including one to Gustuv Pfeiffer, who contributed $500. He followed with further contributions and, after Keller visited him in 1931, he gave the foundation 150 shares of preferred stock in his pharmaceuticals corporation. In 1932 Pfeiffer accepted an invitation to serve on the foundation's board of trustees and became one of its most active members, heading both the budget and executive committees.<br /><br />In 1938, Pfeiffer convinced Keller to move her small household (including a secretary and a helper) from Forest Hills, New York, to Aspetuck. He provided the land, donated much of the building cost, and helped to raise the rest. Keller named the home Arcan Ridge, after a cottage in Scotland. Although Keller was a citizen of the world, and her extraordinary contributions to humanity are associated with many other locales, Arcan Ridge was her home and her retreat. If not central in her work, it was central in her life, as she expressed in a letter to the Pfeiffers:<br /><br />"How wonderful it all is! You, Mr. and Mrs. Pfeiffer, have so taken me by surprise with your delightful plotting and planning, I can hardly speak... There is no counting the treasures to which the key symbolically opens the door. It means a home in New England to which affection and memory have ever bound me, a place nearer Heaven where Teacher is, a sanctuary where rural solitude will again sweeten my days."<br /><br />To friend Keller wrote:<br /><br />"We have never loved a place more than Arcan Ridge. It is a Colonial house surrounded by meadows, woods, brooks, and the old New England stone walls you will remember. I am especially delighted with my study which has spacious bookshelves, thirty-five cubbyholes and windows hospitable to the sun."<br /><br />In 1946, while Keller was in Europe championing the plight of wounded soldiers and civilian victims of World War II, her cherished house burned to the ground. When she returned, Pfeiffer provided lodging in one of his other nearby houses and, with contributions from other neighbors and friends of Keller, began to build another house on the same site. This 1946 house, 163 Redding Road, was Keller's home for the rest of her life.<br /><br />She produced her later writings, notably the 1955 biography, Teacher, during sojourns in Easton. After a stroke curtailed her activities in 1961, she spent all her time in Easton, until her long and productive ended in June of 1968. <br /><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-2619022544423361872012-05-31T08:37:00.001-07:002012-05-31T08:38:33.380-07:00Radio Discussion: Twain & Keller – Easton & Redding’s Special Connection on WPKN 89.5 FM 10pm Sunday, June 10th, 2012<br />
<div class="yiv1608556150msonormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"> WPKN 89.5 FM 10pm Sunday, June 10th, 2012</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">There has been so
much interest in the Twain & Keller Exhibit currently on display at Easton
Public Library, that a radio program has been planned for June 10 to discuss
Twain & Keller’s relationship, </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">their
friendship and the interesting life parallels they shared <span style="color: black;">on WPKN 89.5 FM.</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
<div class="yiv1608556150msonormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">The show will be produced by David
Schwartz and hosted by Dolly Curtis with guests Brent M. Colley and </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Lisa Burghardt <span style="color: black;">sharing more
about these two </span>world-renowned individuals who just happened to select Easton and Redding,
Connecticut as their final
residences.</span></div>
<div class="yiv1608556150msonormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="yiv1608556150msonormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="yiv1608556150msonormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">You can hear this program on your radio
on WPKN 89.5 FM or on the internet at <a href="http://www.wpkn.org/" target="_blank">www.WPKN.org</a> Sunday, June 10<sup>th</sup> at 10pm. After
the program airs, the show will remain on <a href="http://www.wpkn.org/">www.WPKN.org</a> for the remainder of June under “current
shows/David Schwartz” and “June 10.”</span></div>
<div class="yiv1608556150msonormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="yiv1608556150msonormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">About the Guests:</span></b></div>
<div class="yiv1608556150msonormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">In an effort to encourage a
re-awakened interest in Mark Twain related research and tourism here in
Connecticut, Brent Colley has been uncovering Connecticut's Twain 'Connections'
in towns and cities across the State since 2008; This summer’s focus is: Redding
and Easton. More of these Twain ‘Connections’ can be seen at his blog: <a href="http://twainproject.blogspot.com/">http://twainproject.blogspot.com</a>. To
date he has connected 57 towns and cities to Twain.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="yiv1608556150msonormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Lisa Burghardt, who co-curated the Twain & Keller
Exhibit with Colley and Heather Morgan, is President of the <span class="yshortcuts">Historical Society</span> of Easton, a historical researcher
and genealogist. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">WPKN located on
the campus of UB is listener supported and has been on the air for the last 30
years with daily 24 hour programming. The program is produced and
engineered by David Schwartz as a public service. For further information
please contact Dolly Curtis at <a href="http://us.mc1811.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=dollycurtistv@aol.com" target="_blank">dollycurtistv@aol.com</a> or Brent Colley at <a href="http://us.mc1811.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=bcolley@snet.net" target="_blank">bcolley@snet.net</a> or Lisa Burghardt and HSE
at <a href="http://us.mc1811.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=heastonct@gmail.com" target="_blank">heastonct@gmail.com</a> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
<div class="yiv1608556150msonormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-26518470848105438762012-05-29T08:14:00.002-07:002012-05-29T08:26:03.831-07:00About the Stormfield Project<b>The Mark Twain Tourism Project:</b><br />
<br />
<b>This project showcases the towns and cities across Connecticut that have Twain 'Connections.' </b><br />
<br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" />
<style>
st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }
</style>
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="content">
<span class="marktwain"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Stamford</b></span><span class="marktwain"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">, Connecticut-</b>
</span>Edward Quintard, M.D. (1867-1936) was born in Stamford, CT,
the son of Edward Augustus and Mary (Skiddy) Quintard.</div>
<div class="content">
<br /></div>
<div class="content">
During his storied career, Edward was an outstanding medical
practitioner and educator, but also was the personal physician to many
celebrities. Perhaps the best known was Samuel Langhorne Clemens -- better
known as the best-selling author Mark Twain -- Quintard was the physician of the entire Clemens family and in was at
Twain's deathbed in Redding on April 21st, 1910.</div>
<div class="content">
<br /></div>
<div class="content">
Stamford Connection #2 is: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="bold">Henry<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>and Samuel Ferguson of Stamford-
who helped Mark Twain write his newspaper article on the </span>Clipper Ship
Hornet. On their return voyage to California,
Clemens (Twain) further interviewed the Ferguson
brothers and Captain Mitchell. They let him examine their diaries, excerpts of
which he incorporated into an article titled “Forty-three Days in an Open Boat.
Compiled from Personal Diaries.” Submitted to Harper's New Monthly Magazine,
they published it in December 1866. Thirty-three years later he reworked
portions of it, gave the story a new title, My Debut as a Literary Person and
handed it in to The Century Magazine, where the article appeared in November
1889.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="content">
In this work, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) stated it was not
the Jumping Frog story that launched his literary career, but the saga of the
survivors of the clipper ship Hornet.</div>
<div class="content">
<br /></div>
<div class="content">
<a href="http://www.stamfordhistory.org/hornet.htm">http://www.stamfordhistory.org/hornet.htm</a></div>
<div class="content">
<br /></div>
<div class="content">
See more stories from more towns: </div>
<br />
<b></b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://twainproject.blogspot.com/2009/10/connecticut-mark-twain-connections.html">List of Towns and Cities that have Twain 'Connections' </a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-70908342921232238252012-05-17T18:50:00.004-07:002012-05-17T18:58:51.245-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilMXZxx1eZOPL_NckV2pwwrM7pzsCMD-Cu_A8SFia9Z2pGdSGuargBt1t6dSbmts0ncNuFLCcqJqCqreGifFsUNXe72tjyrW1LfKCkALwIzRTyU2mW0i1xsG_19THYeKm-PwiibilupMtCbD5i/s1600/twain-keller-exhibit-up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilMXZxx1eZOPL_NckV2pwwrM7pzsCMD-Cu_A8SFia9Z2pGdSGuargBt1t6dSbmts0ncNuFLCcqJqCqreGifFsUNXe72tjyrW1LfKCkALwIzRTyU2mW0i1xsG_19THYeKm-PwiibilupMtCbD5i/s320/twain-keller-exhibit-up.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="page">
<b class="header">Now Open- @ Easton Public Library in Easton, Connecticut-</b></div>
<div class="page">
</div>
<div class="page">
<b class="header">Twain & Keller</b>: <span style="color: #660000;"><b><span class="header"><span style="color: #990000;">Easton
and Redding, Connecticut's Special Connection</span></span></b></span><br />
<br />
Curated by Brent M. Colley, Heather Morgan and Lisa
Burghardt</div><p></p>
<blockquote>
"<i>He entered into my limited world with enthusiasm
just as he might have explored Mars. Blindness was
an adventure that kindled his curiosity. He treated
me not as a freak, but as a handicapped woman seeking
a way to circumvent extraordinary difficulties. There
was something of divine apprehension in this rare
naturalness towards those who differ from others in
external circumstances</i>."<br />
-Helen Keller on meeting Mark Twain</blockquote><p></p>
Their paths crossed at pivotal points in both their
lives: A series of failed business ventures had pushed
Twain into bankruptcy and Keller was being pressured
to decide whether she should continue with her studies
or devote herself to the cause of the deaf and blind.
In a roundabout way, it was Henry H. Rogers who championed
for both of them, corrected their situations and fortified
a friendship that would continue until Twain's passing
and beyond.<br />
<br />
This exhibit is a celebration of their friendship and
the interesting parallels between these world-renowned
individuals who just happened to select Easton and Redding,
Connecticut as their final residences. <br />
<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://historyofredding.com/epl/twain-keller-exhibit.htm">Online Version of the Twain & Keller Exhibit</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-35379080753963456072012-03-11T16:37:00.004-07:002012-04-04T08:11:11.332-07:00Mark Twain and Helen Keller<p></p><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mark Twain and Helen Keller’s Relationship</span><br /><br />They first met in March 1895 at a luncheon held in Keller’s honor at West 34th Street in NYC. It was the home of Laurence Hutton, an editor and critic who was Twain’s friend and one of Helen’s early benefactors.<br /><br />Henry Rogers was there with Twain and about a dozens others to welcome & wish Helen well during her stay in NYC where she had come to study speech at the School for the Deaf.<br /><br />During the luncheon the two spent time together and Helen seemed to feel more at ease with Twain than with any of the other guests. Hutton later said: “He was peculiarly tender and lovely with her-even for Mr. Clemens- and she kissed him when he said good-bye.”<br /><br />Helen had read some of his work and asked him to explain the origin of his pseudonym “Mark Twain”. After explaining its meaning to steamboat pilots he added that the name suited him because he “was sometimes light and on the surface, and sometimes-”<br /><br />“Deep,” she interrupted, surprising him with her quickness and intelligence.<br /><br />“His voice is truly wonderful,” she later recalled. “To my touch, it was deep & resonant…he spoke so deliberately that I could get almost every word with my fingers on his lips.”<br /><br />“Mark Twain has his own way of thinking, saying and doing everything. I can feel the twinkle of his eye in his handshake. Even while he utters his cynical wisdom in an indescribably droll voice, he makes you feel that his heart is a tender Iliad of human sympathy.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">How she felt the “twinkle of his eye”</span><br />When Helen was talking with an intimate friend, her hand went to her friend's face to see, "the twist of the mouth." In this way she was able to get the meaning of those half sentences which people complete unconsciously from the tone of the voice or the twinkle of the eye.<br /><br />To the astonishment of all the guests at this luncheon, Helen shook the hands of all the guest and thanked them by name as they left.<br /><br />For whatever reason, Twain decided to quickly pat her on the head as he passed by, to his astonishment…she knew who did it!<br /><br />He later said: “Perhaps someone else can explain this miracle, but I have never been able to do it. Could she feel the wrinkles in my hand through her hair?”<br /><br />He found out how when she visited him at Redding in 1909: “I smelled you” was her honest reply.<br /><br />Twain’s Letter to Mrs. Henry Rogers Asking $$$ to Support Keller’s Education (Twain himself was bankrupt at this time)<br /><br /><br />“For & in behalf of Helen Keller, <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Mr. Rogers will remember our visit with that astonishing girl at Lawrence Hutton’s house when she was 14 years old. Last July, in Boston, when she was 16 she underwent the Harvard examination for admission to Radcliffe College. She passed without a single condition. She was allowed only the same amount of time that is granted to other applicants, & this was shortened in her case by the fact that the question-papers had to be read to her. Yet she scored an average of 90, as against an average of 78 on the part of the other applicants.<br /><br />It won’t do for America to allow this marvelous child to retire from her studies because of poverty. If she can go on with them she will make a fame that will endure in history for centuries. Along her special lines she is the most extraordinary product of all the ages</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">I beg you to lay siege to your husband & get him to interest himself and Messrs. John D. & William Rockefeller & the other Standard Oil chiefs in Helen’s case…[to] pile that Standard Oil Helen Keller College Fund as high as they please; they have my consent</span>.”<br /><br />The result of this letter was that Mr. Rogers personally took charge of Helen Keller’s fortunes, and out of his own means made it possible for her to continue her education and to achieve for herself the enduring fame which Mark Twain had foreseen.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Twain's Reaction to this News: </span><br /><br />“<span style="font-style:italic;">It is superb! And I am beyond measure grateful to you both. I knew you would be interested in that wonderful girl, & that Mr. Rogers was already interested in her & touched by her; & I was sure that if nobody else helped her you two would; but you have gone far & away beyond the sum I expected—may your lines fall in pleasant places here, & Hereafter for it</span>!<br /><br />Ever sincerely yours, <br />S. L. CLEMENS.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Examples of Public and Private Praise for Keller from Twain:</span><br /><br />“…<span style="font-style:italic;">at sixteen years of age this miraculous creature, this wonder of all the ages, passes the Harvard University examination in Latin, German, French history, belles lettres, and such things, and does it brilliantly, too, not in a commonplace fashion. She doesn't know merely things, she is splendidly familiar with the meanings of them</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Has Miss Sullivan taught her by the methods of the American public school? No, oh, no; for then she would be deafer and dumber and blinder than she was before. It is a pity that we can't educate all the children in the asylums</span>!”<br /><br />-from a Mark Twain Speech<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Below is a letter from Twain to Helen in 1903:</span><br /><br />Riverdale - on - the Hudson<br />St. Patrick's Day, 1903<br /><br />Dear Helen:<br /><br />I must steal half a moment from my work to say how glad I am to have your book and how highly I value it, both for its own sake and as a remembrance of an affectionate friendship which has subsisted between us for nine years without a break and without a single act of violence that I can call to mind. I suppose there is nothing like it in heaven; and not likely to be, until we get there and show off. I often think of it with longing, and how they'll say, "there they come--sit down in front." I am practicing with a tin halo. You do the same. I was at Henry Roger's last night, and of course we talked of you. He is not at all well--you will not like to hear that; but like you and me, he is just as lovely as ever.<br /><br />Every lovingly your friend (sic)<br />Mark<br /><br /><br />“<span style="font-style:italic;">Blindness is an exciting business, I tell you; if you don't believe it get up some dark night on the wrong side of your bed when the house is on fire and try to find the door</span>.”<br /><br />- Mark Twain quoted by Helen Keller, in her book Midstream<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Keller Visits Twain in Redding:</span><br /><br />Helen Keller visited Twain for three days in January of 1909. She was 28 years old and had recently released her second major work: “<span style="font-style:italic;">The World I Live In</span>”<br /><br />The copy Twain received was inscribed: <br /><br />“<span style="font-style:italic;">Dear Mr. Clemens, come live in my world a little while/Helen Keller</span>.”<br /><br />In response, he had said that she must come to his world first, and to bring Annie (Sullivan) Macy & John Macy with her. <br /><br />“<span style="font-style:italic;">I command you all three, to come and spend a few days with he in Stormfield.</span>”<br /><br /><br />Of all the visitors to Stormfield none wrote a more vivid description of the place than Helen Keller. <br /><br />Nothing escaped her senses, from the “<span style="font-style:italic;">tang in the air of cedar and pine</span>” as she made her approach to the smell of “<span style="font-style:italic;">burning fireplace logs, orange tea and toast with strawberry jam</span>” which were served shortly after her arrival.<br /><br />That which she could not see was “spelled” into her hands by her teacher, Annie Sullivan Macy, a.k.a. “The Miracle Worker” as Twain called her.<br /><br />It was not generally known that Keller had a great sense of humor, but it was one of the things Twain liked best about her.<br /><br />When he showed her to her room on the first night at Stormfield, he told her that if she needed anything, she would find an ample supply of cigars and bourbon in the bathroom.<br /><br />When he gave her a tour of the billiards room, he offered to teach her the game. She took the bait and innocently replied, “<span style="font-style:italic;">Oh Mr. Clemens, it takes sight to play billiards</span>.” Not the way his friends played, he answered. “<span style="font-style:italic;">The blind couldn’t play worse</span>.”<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br /><br />More Examples of Keller’s Sense of Humor</span><br /><br />When she met Dr. Furness, the Shakespearean scholar, he warned her not to let the college professors tell her too many assumed facts about the life of Shakespeare; all we know, he said, is that Shakespeare was baptized, married, and died.<br /><br />"<span style="font-style:italic;">Well,</span>" she replied, "<span style="font-style:italic;">he seems to have done all the essential things.</span>"<br /><br />Once a friend, who was learning the manual alphabet, kept making "<span style="font-style:italic;">g</span>," which is like the hand of a sign-post, for "<span style="font-style:italic;">h</span>," which is made with two fingers extended. <br /><br />Finally Miss Keller told him to "<span style="font-style:italic;">fire both barrels</span>."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Back to the Visit to Twain’s Stormfield</span><br /><br />The highlight of Helen’s visit came on the final evening when Twain read to her his short story: <span style="font-style:italic;">Eve’s Diary</span>.<br /><br />He sat in a big armchair by the fire while Helen followed the story with an ecstatic expression on her face. At the very last line: “<span style="font-style:italic;">Wherever she was, there was Eden</span>.” (Twain’s tribute to his wife Livy) Helen became tearful.<br /><br />In her journal, Twain’s secretary wrote: “<span style="font-style:italic;">She quivered with delight, and he was shaken with emotion & could hardly find his voice again. It was a marvel to behold</span>.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />In the Guestbook of Stormfield she wrote:</span><br /><br />“<span style="font-style:italic;">I have been in Eden three days and I saw a King. I knew he<br />was a King the minute I touched him though I had never touched a<br />King before</span>.” <br />~ A Daughter of Eve. Helen Keller Jan. 11<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Twain understood her meaning so completely that he wrote beside it: <br /></span><br /><br />“<span style="font-style:italic;">The point of what Helen says above, lies in this: that I read the ‘Diary of Eve’ all through, to her last night; in it Eve frequently mentions things she saw for the first time but instantly knew what they were & named them- though she had never seen them before</span>.”<br /><br />In Keller’s ‘<span style="font-style:italic;">The Story of My Life</span>’, she recalls the joy of learning the names of things after she acquired the gift of language: “…<span style="font-style:italic;">the more I handled things and learned their names and uses, the more joyous & confident grew my sense of kinship with the rest of the World</span>.”<br /><br />As a way of thanking Annie Sullivan Macy for helping to bring Helen’s imagination to life, Twain handed her a small souvenir before she left Stormfield. <br /><br />It was a postcard on which he wrote: <br /><br />“<span style="font-style:italic;">To Mrs. John Sullivan Macy with warm regard & with limitless admiration of the wonders she has performed as a *miracle-worker</span>.”<br /><br />*It would take 50 years for the term “miracle-worker” to catch on, via the Broadway show about Annie by playwright William Gibson.<br /><br />Twain was amazed that Helen had been able to transform everything around her into a reality only she could imagine.<br /><br />“<span style="font-style:italic;">A well put together unreality is pretty hard to beat</span>,” was his response to a friend who remarked that Helen’s “<span style="font-style:italic;">concept of things…must lack reality</span>.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">In Huckleberry Finn- written long before he met Helen – Twain wrote:</span> <br /><br />“<span style="font-style:italic;">it’s lovely to live on a raft…nothing to hear nor nothing to see</span>.”<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Twain and Keller had a Lot in Common:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1.</span> Mark Twain was a pre-mature baby with little hope of surviving, let alone succeeding.<br /><br />Helen Keller lost her vision and hearing at 19 months and had little hope for success.<br /><br />Both “survived” and became successful Authors, Public Speakers and Celebrities.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2.</span> Over the course of her life Helen came to accept religious and political beliefs quite different from those of her family and friends.<br /><br />In 1906, Twain pondered what future audiences (100 years later) would say about his unpublished comments on religious bigotry and social hypocrisy…<br /><br />He noted that “<span style="font-style:italic;">The 2006 edition (of his Autobiography) will make a stir when it comes out</span>.”<br /><br />Example: <br /><br />“<span style="font-style:italic;">In religion and politics people's beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination, from authorities who have not themselves examined the questions at issue but have taken them at second-hand from other non-examiners, whose opinions about them were not worth a brass farthing</span>.”<br />- Autobiography of Mark Twain<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3.</span> They both dealt with people who wished to take advantage of them.<br />"<span style="font-style:italic;">As she had her entire life, the luminous Helen inspired intrigues and power struggles, as her acquaintances and advisers fought with one another to gain possession of her</span>." <br /><br />The same can be said for Twain who endured a painful “power struggle” between his daughters and business associates in the final year of his life. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4.</span> They were both well traveled but both chose Fairfield County as their final homes. <br /><br />During her lifetime, Helen Keller lived in many different places—Tuscumbia, Alabama; Cambridge and Wrentham, Massachusetts; Forest Hills, New York, but perhaps her favorite residence was her last, the house in Easton, Connecticut she called "Arcan Ridge." <br /><br />The same can be said about Samuel L. Clemens. He too lived in many places, and yet fell in love with the beauty of his final residence… Redding, Connecticut.<br /><br />“<span style="font-style:italic;">I was never in this beautiful region until yesterday evening. Miss Lyon and the architect built and furnished the house without any help or advice from me, and the result is entirely to my satisfaction</span>.”<br /><br />“<span style="font-style:italic;">It is charmingly quiet here. The house stands alone, with nothing in sight but woodsy hills and rolling country</span>.”<br /><br />-Samuel L. Clemens letter to Dorothy Quick dated June 19, 1908<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />5.</span> Both died of heart disease.<br /><br />Helen Keller lived at 163 Redding Road in Easton, Connecticut. She died in her sleep on June 1, 1968 at the age of 87. The cause of her death was arteriosclerosis heart disease (Twain died of Heart troubles too. His were tied to his life long smoking habit).<br /><br />Twain died in the twilight hours of April 21, 1910, at the age of 74. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6.</span> Since their deaths, their names have lived on…<br /><br />“<span style="font-style:italic;">She will live on, one of the few, the immortal names not born to die. Her spirit will endure as long as man can read and stories can be told of the woman who showed the world there are no boundaries to courage and faith</span>.”<br /><br />Eulogy by Senator J. Lister Hill of Alabama<br /><br />To celebrate the 176th anniversary of Twain's birth Google painted its logo using its patented "Doodle" to render the world of Twain's Tom Sawyer, who famously cajoled friends to whitewash a fence for him.<br /><br /><br />Mark Twain and Helen Keller's Relationship will be showcased at Easton, Connecticut's Public Library starting May 1st, 2012.<br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"><br />ch_client = "bcolley13";<br />ch_width = 500;<br />ch_height = 250;<br />ch_type = "mpu";<br />ch_sid = "Chitika Default";<br />ch_backfill = 1;<br />ch_color_site_link = "#0000CC";<br />ch_color_title = "#0000CC";<br />ch_color_border = "#FFFFFF";<br />ch_color_text = "#000000";<br />ch_color_bg = "#FFFFFF";<br /></script><br /><script src="http://scripts.chitika.net/eminimalls/amm.js" type="text/javascript"><br /></script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-1964469377236653802012-03-07T07:47:00.004-08:002012-03-07T07:56:48.863-08:00A Mark Twain Tourism Trail in Connecticut? Why Not?!Last week I came across a new website launched by the Connecticut Office of Tourism called <span style="font-style:italic;">My Connecticut Story</span>.<br /><br />The homepage said-<br /><br />"TELL US WHERE YOUR PASSION LIES. WE WANT TO HEAR ABOUT THE CONNECTICUT PEOPLE, PLACES, AND EXPERIENCES YOU LOVE MOST."<br /><br />And I thought- "What a Great Opportunity to Promote the Twain Tourism Trail."<br /><br />My entry is available by following the link below:<br /><br /><a href="http://myconnecticutstory.com/gallery/most-popular/0/414/P0/"> My Connecticut Story</a><br /><br />The contest runs until May 25, 2012 so VOTE OFTEN!<br /><br />Thank you!<br /><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-34234669175344829902012-03-02T12:00:00.001-08:002012-03-02T12:02:08.822-08:00Map of Twain's ConnecticutI have updated the Google Map I created several years ago to include all the towns and cities in Connecticut connected to Mark Twain:<br /><br /><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=214659930646851067727.00047612b721882d1dbd7&msa=0">Mark Twain's Connecticut</a> <br /><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-79058353007942919792012-02-14T13:26:00.000-08:002012-02-14T13:48:27.111-08:00Mark Twain on Love and Marriage<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7pjDWre8G9K8jrZMOXsfE0I1aoqPVtV7nIiJ8tSofGfdWlRIvLIpxoR3Tde4RoQ3XixG64plqt60r4b-G1Zt9nIj1g7LoUPDOxhjMZC8WAJetnJa3kvzJ0fJaS6h5Bkkubf2fDRIyECU0YuEd/s1600/twain-letter-88.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 257px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7pjDWre8G9K8jrZMOXsfE0I1aoqPVtV7nIiJ8tSofGfdWlRIvLIpxoR3Tde4RoQ3XixG64plqt60r4b-G1Zt9nIj1g7LoUPDOxhjMZC8WAJetnJa3kvzJ0fJaS6h5Bkkubf2fDRIyECU0YuEd/s320/twain-letter-88.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709108004573285890" /></a><br /><br />Hartford, Nov. 27/1888<br /><br />Livy Darling, I am grateful — gratefuler than ever before — that you were born, & that your love is mine & our two lives woven & welded together!<br /><br />SLC<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mark Twain on Love-</span><br /><br />"Love seems the swiftest, but it is the slowest of all growths. No man or woman really knows what perfect love is until they have been married a quarter of a century."<br />- Twain's Notebook<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Mark Twain on Marriage-</span><br /><br />"Marriage -- yes, it is the supreme felicity of life. I concede it. And it is also the supreme tragedy of life. The deeper the love the surer the tragedy. And the more disconsolating when it comes."<br />- Letter written to Father Fitz-Simon, June 5, 1908<br /><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-72264651861088013472012-02-13T05:06:00.000-08:002012-02-13T05:11:28.570-08:00Life Lessons from Mark Twain<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl975Aj1c5BI1gQXDpLOw9gXkjXKIIr6Y9PNQy3Ft477EthIOkUpZGngz_JHXy4DT0I1IVuE2LS184rGA6XTDJIqMuKsEqoFooXYkWAmjjvFnSDcPZROL1iazjQTvpcf09ASfIijh1CZYtX5id/s1600/SLC1908-NYC.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl975Aj1c5BI1gQXDpLOw9gXkjXKIIr6Y9PNQy3Ft477EthIOkUpZGngz_JHXy4DT0I1IVuE2LS184rGA6XTDJIqMuKsEqoFooXYkWAmjjvFnSDcPZROL1iazjQTvpcf09ASfIijh1CZYtX5id/s320/SLC1908-NYC.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708607003111862466" /></a><br /><br /><br />"... life does not consist mainly -- or even largely -- of facts and happenings. It consists mainly of the storm of thoughts that is forever blowing through one's head." -Mark Twain<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br />The lesson:</span> There are two lessons that can be learned from this quote.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">One:</span> Be mindful that each one of us awakens each morning and faces an internal battle with our thoughts, feelings and personal desires. Take that into consideration when interacting with other people and realize that their position on a topic or reaction to your opinion is based solely on their perceptions.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Two:</span> Give yourself a break. A lot of what's floating around up there has nothing to do with reality. Focus on the positives, ignore the negatives and if you really want something- stop dreaming about it, set some goals and go get it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-66366598842726355122012-02-11T11:17:00.001-08:002012-02-11T11:24:06.438-08:00Forever a Reddingite...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja8ZTELMSnungRPIan4HQWn50__WiVI1sUzbIc01Bk_MvgPhAC7eFmc3OYR3cxwPaXmtBocS_s-n47IwYMrP5Txsfvply_aXPh5MhnjnhqKC3bA0YSqCLNu2uhoGrLx7LcdTdhPqHhVFozT_ig/s1600/twain-sculpture-2008.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja8ZTELMSnungRPIan4HQWn50__WiVI1sUzbIc01Bk_MvgPhAC7eFmc3OYR3cxwPaXmtBocS_s-n47IwYMrP5Txsfvply_aXPh5MhnjnhqKC3bA0YSqCLNu2uhoGrLx7LcdTdhPqHhVFozT_ig/s320/twain-sculpture-2008.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5707960477051980594" /></a><br /><br />The opening line of Mark Twain's last will and testament begins...<br /><br />"I, Samuel L. Clemens of the Town of Redding."<br /><br />And he is very much a part of the Town of Redding one hundred+ years later.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8818926628679875922.post-91052016177654717722012-02-11T10:47:00.000-08:002012-02-11T11:15:15.591-08:00Lead By Example"It's noble to be good, and it's nobler to teach others to be good, and less trouble."<br />- Twain's remarks at the opening of the Mark Twain Library in Redding, Connecticut 1908.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0