From my photo archives - September of 2017, Owego, New York. I figured you were tired of my flower posts and decided to randomly select pictures on my phone.
I've (mostly) been staying home the last couple of days.
Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.
Taken on a recent sunny day.
Joining Lisa at Lisa's Garden Adventure for her #ShadowshotSunday.
Earlier, I introduced my Wordless Wednesday readers to the historic Harris Diner in Owego, New York , where my guest photographer and I had lunch earlier in January.
This diner recently celebrated its 100th birthday.
Here are several photos she took. The diner was darkish and if she had used flash, there would have been glare off the glass and stools. But I think she still did a good job.
I wonder if the owner is a Yankees fan.
Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.
Taken in a historic diner in Owego, New York.
Joining Lisa at Lisa's Garden Adventure for her #ShadowshotSunday.
On a recent visit to the small town of Owego, New York, a friend and I ate at a diner which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary.
It's a small place, but it's everything you want a small town diner to be.
Not only that, but the sports memorabilia that line the walls of this small gem makes it even more special. A lot of it is devoted to baseball, especially the New York Yankees.
Hard to see because of how I took the pictures, but much of this (not all) is devoted to the New York Yankees. If you are wondering why no pictures of the exterior, it was quite cold outside.)
Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.
Welcome to Tioga County, New York, the county just west of the Binghamton, New York area. We are visiting Tioga County virtually today, partially because I enjoy visiting its county seat, the Village of Owego, and partially because there are a lot of interesting things to discover.
Let's start our journey in the Village of Owego.
One year, there was some remodeling and I took this picture of art posted on a wall built during the reconstruction.
An antique piano.
A little hard to see, but this is the Baker Foreman's Fountain. This is a memorial to a fireman's son who was killed in an accident in 1913. The fountain was restored in 2019. This photo was taken in October 2019, I believe shortly after the renovation was finished. I couldn't get close to it because it was still roped off.
Each year, my spouse and I visit the Tioga County Historical Society in late November and early December. One year, I found this picture hanging in the basement, where the offices are (I was visiting a seasonal gift shop down there). In talking to staff, I was told this is a colorized Matthew Brady print f an 1863 photo of Abraham Lincoln. What a find! (The piano above also belongs to the Society.)
Let's also visit the rural areas of Tioga County. These next photos were taken at a couple of farms during an open house event.
I believe this was taken at Twin Brook farms near Owego.
Tioga County chickens.
Englebert Farms in Nichols, New York, during an open house several years ago. This farm was the first certified organic dairy farm in the United States. It is still family operated by a family who has been in this country since at least 1848. Their farm store is a treasure. This picture was taken near or at the farm.
Art, history, an unexpected find in a basement, and scenery - I hope you enjoyed today's post.
"T" day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. My theme: Gardens, history, art, and the unexpected".
Welcome to my "A" entry in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.
My theme this year is Gardens, History, Art and The Unexpected.
One of the pleasures of travel, even travel an hour or two outside your home area, is finding the unexpected.
For example, who would expect to find art in the bathroom of a library
in rural Andes, New York? But that's exactly what I found last summer. This
mural was created by artist Diane Lockspeiser of Long Island. She worked on the mural in May and early June of last year.
One of the beautiful details of this mural. I blogged more about the mural here.
So, how did I make my way to Andes?
Years back, the grandfather and uncle of my then best friend lived in
the Catskills mountains outside of a hamlet in Delaware County, New
York. My friend and her siblings and mother would spend summers up
there, escaping New York City for the rural life. Her father would join
them on weekends.
In the early 70's, I was invited twice to
visit the family for a week up in Delaware County. I was back a handful
of times to that house in the years since (after her parents moved up there), but
never to other nearby villages I had remembered from those visits when I
was younger. The last time I was at the house was after the funeral of my friend's father in the early 2000's.
One of these hamlets (it was a village when I visited, but they dissolved the village in 2002) is Andes, population approximately 1,000. Andes is located in a setting of hills, winding roads, and farmland and was the center of the Anti-Rent War of 1839-1845. Some called that uprising the Second American Revolution.
Much of Andes' downtown is on the National Register of Historic Places. I don't know if the library building is that old but the library itself celebrated its 100th birthday last year. Some renovation work was done in 2020 during its pandemic closure.
Art pops up in other unexpected places, such as this signage in Ahwaga Park, in Owego, New York.
Or, in poet Robert Frost's former home in South Shaftsbury, Vermont. Notice who signed the painting.
Or, finding art near ruins of an old historic mill next to an operating motel in Arkansas. (Would you like to learn more about the Johnson's Water Mill? If so I'll include that in an A to Z post).
I can't promise that each post will feature the unexpected, but I hope you will join me for more of my journeys through my photos.
Let's return to the O Tannenbaum exhibit at the Tioga County historical society and look at some more of the tree decorations. These have some interesting origins.
This tree has a backstory. Above is this year's tree, which the family calls Kelli's Amusement Park Tree, in honor of Kelli Ford, who loved Amusement Parks and their rides. She spent many happy hours with friends at the Tioga County Fair each year, and the family would go to an amusement park on their vacations.
The family decorates the tree every O Tannenbaum (the ornaments are auctioned off at the end of the exhibition). Kelli Ford died in a car accident in 2004 when she was only 17. This tradition of the annual tree is a beautiful tribute to her family's love for her.
Finally, a Buffalo Bills tree. The Bills are an American Football team out of Buffalo, New York, and many people in this area are their fans.
Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.
From O Tannenbaum, the annual Christmas display and silent auction held at the Tioga County (New York) Historical Society.
It's a Bee-Butterfly? I think it's Bee-Utiful.
A decorated carriage. After all, it's a historical society.
Gift Shop one view.
Gift Shop another view. There used to be a wonderful store in the town called The Hand of Man and I see their hand in the gift shop.
The exhibits range from trees (I'll show more in December) to exhibits on vintage toys.
Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for #WordlessWednesday.
The movie Barbie was a tremendous success here in the United States and worldwide, grossing over $1.38 million U.S. dollars. I still haven't seen the movie, but I owned a Barbie in my youth, and I would love to see the movie one day.
Earlier this month, I had the next best thing.
The annual O Tannenbaum Christmas display and auction at the Tioga County, New York Historical Society is up and running, and the entries will be on display until December 16. Many of these trees (actually, just the ornaments) are auctioned off in a silent auction. A clipboard with a sheet is next to each tree and people write their bids there.
This year there were at least three Barbie inspired trees.
I did get a closeup of this tree, which included some Hallmark ornaments.
For those of my readers who celebrate Christmas, do you do themed trees in your house?
A couple of Christmas pictures today from the Tioga County Historical Society's gift shop, Owego, New York.
Dolls - some of these may have come from a shop open in Owego for many years, The Hand of Man, now, sadly, closed due to the owners' retirement.
The same for these Santas. That's what someone told me, anyway.
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Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.
Let's take another quick visit to Owego, New York, once named "The coolest small town in America".
Since 1976, Owego has had an indie bookstore, Riverow Books. This is one of their traditions:
Christmas trees made out of books!
I hadn't been there since COVID, so I don't know how new this third tree is. The items in the middle of the tree are books that have been cut to make works of art. It's hard to see, but I didn't have a good place to set up the photo as there were people around and I didn't want to get them in the photo.
Next spring, Owego will be even cooler because a second bookstore is opening in the village. It will be called Spellbound Books.
Imagine...a village of just around 3900 people having two indie bookstores.
The town Owego is in (a town in New York is a subdivision of a county), also called Owego, has around 19,000 people, incidentally.
Riverow, (and Owego) incidentally, are well worth the visit.
Normally, my December 7 post pays tribute to the date as the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
I decided to do something a little different today.
I searched the thousands (yes, thousands) of photos on my phone for a photo taken on December 7.
Look what I found - taken on December 7, 2019, in the village of Owego, which I had blogged about last Wordless Wednesday.
Fitting, right?
Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.
Owego, New York, named (several years back) "The Coolest Small Town in America", has survived a lot, including several bad floods.
But always it springs back.
Let's celebrate the last day of November with some photos I took during a visit earlier this month.
The Candyman Can. (A local chocolate shop is moving into this storefront).
And Owego Stands with Ukraine.
Remember the good old days?
When I was growing up in the 50's and 60's, building toys were popular. These photos were taken Saturday at the Tioga County Historical Society annual Oh Tannenbaum event. Some of these predate me, coming from the 30's and 40's.
Erector sets and Tinker Toys. The Erector Junior set above was from World War II, when metal to make toys couldn't be spared. The war effort needed metal more, so they were made from wood.
More erector sets and sets for steel workers.
Saturday, a mystery was solved for me. Do you see, in the center, a tube calling itself "Block City" and the white blocks (not quite like Legos) underneath? I owned one of those sets.
I just couldn't remember what this was called but I loved building with those white lego like bricks.
You'll see something else in these photos, too, or, actually, you won't see something.
Pictures of girls.
Because these were meant for boys. Toys for boys.
I guess I was fortunate. I got to play with Tinker Toys, Block City, and Lincoln Logs (not pictured) back in the 50's.
Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for #WordlessWednesday.
Last week, my spouse and I visited the Tioga County (New York) Historical Society, which has its annual Christmas display, "Oh Tannenbaum".
Each year they have a different display of toys or something similar. This year, the theme was Westerns.
I couldn't take good pictures due to not wanting to get close to other museum goers, but I got this picture of a display of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans memorabilia.
Here are some other Oh Tannenbaum posts of mine from past years:
Oh Come O Ye Memories (that year, the theme was the circus).
And this song immediately came to mind, complete with a fan made video including clips of Roy Rogers.
Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.
Last Saturday, I visited a conservatory at a local garden center in Owego, New York.
Most people would be looking at the plants. I did, too, but the sky inside the dome was interesting. So interesting that we returned several days later to try to find something that was out of stock on Saturday, and I took even more pictures.
This is the conservatory from the outside. Saturday was one of our rare December sunny days.
Inside a nook, a small wooden bird.
Usually, our skies are more like this, taken November 29.
One more view of the tropics before we return to reality.
Joining, once again, Yogi and the other sky watching bloggers at #SkywatchFriday.
