It's Monday morning, and I should be refreshed and ready to come up with something semi- interesting to talk about here. I hate missing so many days of blogging, but I don't have too many ideas lately.
Our daughter Allegra is having a great time in Grand Rapids, Mich. I guess I can tell you about that. She is a young adult delegate to the UCC's General Synod, a convention of sorts that happens every two years. She attended the 2007 one in Hartford.
Allegra loves learning about U.S. history and happily on Saturday she was able to visit the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum (not sure if that is the correct name). She said it was really interesting.
We're glad she has the interest in history that Ralph and I had worked hard to impart to her and her brother.
And it worked! He enjoys learning history too.
She's returning Wednesday afternoon - two flights. I'll try my best not to be nervous while she is in the air.
Hope everyone has a great Monday.
Showing posts with label History lesson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label History lesson. Show all posts
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, November 2, 2008
A history lesson, Connecticut style
Now that Ralph is participating in NaPoBloMo (he shocked me when he told me he got involved!) I feel I should be writing more posts.
Call it friendly competition. Call it jealousy. Anyhow today I have a short and sweet history lesson to share.
It is inspired by a photo I took through the windshield two weeks ago, on the way to the University of Hartford to visit our children.
This is the scene from I-91 Northbound as you approach downtown Hartford, the "Insurance Capital of the World."
You can see the Travelers Insurance logo, a red umbrella, on the building in the center. My focus is on the old factory on the left featuring the eye-catching blue dome.
Cool, huh? It was built in 1855 by Hartford native Samuel Colt, an inventor who became a wealthy industrialist.
Briefly, very briefly, here is some of what I found on Wikipedia and other sites about Colt. He was born July 19, 1814, one of seven children.
He founded Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Co. in the 1830s. His standardized gun design required uniform machined parts, which led to the growth of the machined parts industry which thrives in Connecticut to this day.
In 1855 he built a huge factory, Colt's Armory, on the banks of the Connecticut River in Hartford in an area known as the South Meadows.
Although Colt didn't invent the revolver, he is credited with popularizing it.
Quoting from one Web site, the factory's "massive scale and Russian-style dome symbolized the power and international aspirations of the manufacturing revolution that unfolded within."
Colt had the dome topped with a rampant colt, made of cast bronze, apparently to ensure that Hartford residents and visitors alike would be intrigued to learn more about him and his life story.
He died on Jan. 10, 1862. He was just 47.
The Colt revolver has been called the gun that won the West.
As I said, this is a brief history lesson. I hope you learned something.
I would still like to find out why Colt chose an onion-shaped dome for his factory, other than to attract attention. But that would take research. And I don't feel like doing any. So there.
It's a blog post, not a term paper, right?
Call it friendly competition. Call it jealousy. Anyhow today I have a short and sweet history lesson to share.
It is inspired by a photo I took through the windshield two weeks ago, on the way to the University of Hartford to visit our children.
This is the scene from I-91 Northbound as you approach downtown Hartford, the "Insurance Capital of the World."You can see the Travelers Insurance logo, a red umbrella, on the building in the center. My focus is on the old factory on the left featuring the eye-catching blue dome.
Cool, huh? It was built in 1855 by Hartford native Samuel Colt, an inventor who became a wealthy industrialist.
Briefly, very briefly, here is some of what I found on Wikipedia and other sites about Colt. He was born July 19, 1814, one of seven children.He founded Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Co. in the 1830s. His standardized gun design required uniform machined parts, which led to the growth of the machined parts industry which thrives in Connecticut to this day.
In 1855 he built a huge factory, Colt's Armory, on the banks of the Connecticut River in Hartford in an area known as the South Meadows.
Although Colt didn't invent the revolver, he is credited with popularizing it.
Quoting from one Web site, the factory's "massive scale and Russian-style dome symbolized the power and international aspirations of the manufacturing revolution that unfolded within."
Colt had the dome topped with a rampant colt, made of cast bronze, apparently to ensure that Hartford residents and visitors alike would be intrigued to learn more about him and his life story.
He died on Jan. 10, 1862. He was just 47.
The Colt revolver has been called the gun that won the West.
As I said, this is a brief history lesson. I hope you learned something.
I would still like to find out why Colt chose an onion-shaped dome for his factory, other than to attract attention. But that would take research. And I don't feel like doing any. So there.
It's a blog post, not a term paper, right?
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