A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day......Sept 26, 07....Massachusetts ~ "The Old Bay State"

Mama_Bear | JustAmy | The Mayor

[Mama_Bear]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 200,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

We're
"On the Road Again"...

Please join "A Few of FR's Finest" as we make a cyber-visit to another state in this great Union of ours.

These are the states
we have presented to date:

05-23-03 Alabama 06-27-03 Maryland 07-11-03 Vermont 07-25-03 Utah 08-05-03 Texas 08-22-03 Nevada 08-26-03 Wash DC 09-05-03 Tennessee 09-17-03 Florida 09-19-03 Minnesota 10-03-03 New Mexico 10-14-03 Georgia 10-17-03 Louisiana 10-22-03 Michigan 11-04-03 South Dakota 11-14-03 California 01-09-04 South Carolina

02-06-04 West Virginia 02-20-04 Oregon 03-09-04 Pennsylvania 03-30-04 Wyoming 04-13-04 Mississippi 04-27-04 Missouri 05-25-04 Indiana 07-21-04 Virginia 08-18-04 Colorado 09-29-04 Idaho 10-20-04 New Hampshire 12-07-04 Hawaii 02-09-05 Maine 03-09-05 North Carolina 04-13-05 Arizona 06-15-05 Iowa 10-19-05 Alaska

"I shall enter on no encomium upon Massachusetts; she needs none. There she is. Behold her, and judge for yourselves. There is her history; the world knows it by heart. The past, at least, is secure. There is Boston and Concord and Lexington and Bunker Hill; and there they will remain forever." -- Daniel Webster, 1830

"By the sword we seek peace,
but peace only under liberty."

On November 19, 1620, a shout went up aboard the Mayflower: "Land!" Everyone rushed on deck. Barely visible many miles away a strip of shoreline could be seen. The Pilgrims dropped to their knees and wept with joy, thanking God. After sixty-six days and nights on the Atlantic, God had delivered them to the New World. Two days later the vessel reached Provincetown Bay in what would become the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The 102 settlers aboard the Mayflower hold a rightly revered place in the history of America. Before disembarking, before even setting foot on the new land, these settlers blazed a new trail in participatory government, a trail that would guide a new nation toward democracy.

On November 21, 1620, the Pilgrims and other colonists met in the cabin of the ship and forty-one men signed an agreement that became known as the Mayflower Compact. This was the earliest attempt at self-government in the New World.

Click the graphic below....

From June through September of 1692, nineteen men and women, all having been convicted of witchcraft, were carted to Gallows Hill, a barren slope near Salem Village, for hanging. Another man of over eighty years was pressed to death under heavy stones for refusing to submit to a trial on witchcraft charges. Hundreds of others faced accusations of witchcraft; dozens languished in jail for months without trials until the hysteria that swept through Puritan Massachusetts subsided.

Fast-forward to 1775 and the
Revolutionary War

Click here for an excellent
Revolutionary War Time Line




***Touring Massachusetts***

Massachusetts is special in New England as the epicenter of several major chapters of Colonial and Revolutionary War history. Visitors can see the rock where the Mayflower supposedly landed in Plymouth; examine the sites of the 1692 Witch Trials in Salem; see where Henry David Thoreau developed his ideas about living close to nature in Walden; and walk the paths where the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired in Lexington and Concord.

When visiting Boston, be sure to take "The Freedom Trail". It is a 2.5 mile red-brick walking trail that leads you to 16 nationally significant historic sites, every one an authentic American treasure.

Freedom Trail Information
Historic Homes and Sites
90 Great Things to do in Massachusetts
Visiting Salem
Massachusetts Beaches

Cape Cod lays claim to the majority of cranberry production in the United States. Its history began back when the Indians introduced cranberries to the Pilgrims in the early 1600s. The Pilgrims learned the benefits of cranberries quickly and began using them as a remedy against scurvy--similar to the way the English used limes. A recipe for cranberry sauce first appeared in The Pilgrim Cookbook in 1633 and forty-four years later ten bushels were sent back to King Charles II of England. The Pilgrims made other uses for cranberries including using the fruit to make dyes and poultices and whalers and residents used cranberries as a major source of Vitamin C.

More information available at Time for Cranberries

Thank you, JustAmy, for your research
and contributions on the subject
of Massachusetts cranberries! :-)


Apples and cranberries are a delightful combination!

Two-crust piecrust
12 oz. cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup maple sugar
6 cups sliced apples
1/4 cup arrowroot powder dissolved in 2 Tbsp. cold water

Line a 9-inch pie plate with piecrust dough and reserve the rest for making lattice. Place cranberries and maple sugar in a saucepan. Peel and core the apples and cut into 1/2-inch slices; add the slices to the cranberry/maple sugar mixture (which could also be called a syrup) as you go. Bring syrup to a boil and cook, stirring, for several minutes until cranberries begin to pop. Stirring constantly and quickly so not to create lumps, add the arrowroot/water mixture and cook another minute more, continuing to stir. Let cool slightly. Pour into pie shell. Make a lattice to cover the cranberry/apple mixture and bake at 350°F degrees for about 45 minutes.

• 552 original documents pertaining to the Salem witch trials of 1692 have been preserved and are still stored by the Peabody Essex Museum.
   
• Boston built the first subway system in the United States in 1897.
   
• Although over 30 communities in the colonies eventually renamed themselves to honor Benjamin Franklin. The Massachusetts Town of Franklin was the first and changed its name in 1778.
   
• Norfolk County is the birthplace of four United States presidents: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, John Fitzgerald Kennedy and George Herbert Walker Bush.
   
• The Fig Newton was named after Newton, Massachusetts.
   
• The visible portion of Plymouth Rock is a lumpy fragment of glacial moraine about the size of a coffee table, with the date 1620 cut into its surface. After being broken, dragged about the town of Plymouth by ox teams used to inspire Revolution-aries, and reverently gouged and scraped by 19th-century souvenir hunters, it is now at rest near the head of Plymouth Harbor.
   
• The Basketball Hall Of Fame is located in Springfield.
   
• The American industrial revolution began in Lowell. Lowell was America's first planned industrial city.
   
• 1634: Boston Common became the first public park in America.
   
• 1891: The first basketball game was played in Springfield.
   
• Massachusetts holds the two largest cites in New England, Boston, the largest, and Worcester.
   
• The creation of the Cape Cod National Seashore, which was formerly private town and state owned land, marked the first time the federal government purchased land for a park.
   
• Robert Goddard, inventor of the first liquid fueled rocket, was born and lived much of his life in Worcester and launched the first rocket fueled with liquid fuel from the neighboring town of Auburn.
   
• Quincy boasts the first Dunkin Donuts on Hancock Street and the first Howard Johnson's on Newport Ave.
   
• Glaciers formed the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard during the ice age.
   
• The first U.S.Postal zip code in Massachusetts is 01001 at Agawam.
   
• Brewster has become the de facto "Wedding Capital of Cape Cod" because of its many small and larger inns that cater to weddings.
   
• The birth control pill was invented at Clark University in Worcester.
   
• The signs along the Massachusetts Turnpike reading "x miles to Boston" refer to the distance from that point to the gold dome of the state house.
   
• Harvard was the first college established in North America. Harvard was founded in 1636.
   
• In 1838 the Boston & West Worcester Railroad was the first railroad to charge commuter fares.
   
• The Boston University Bridge on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston is the only place in the world where a boat can sail under a train driving under a car driving under an airplane.
   
• John Adams and John Quincy Adams are buried in the crypt at the United First Parish Church in Quincy.
   
• Princeton was named after the Reverend Thomas Prince, Pastor of the Old South Church in Boston, and one of the first proprietors of the town. Princeton was incorporated in 1759.
   
• The Pilgrim National Wax Museum in Plymouth is the only wax museum devoted entirely to the Pilgrim's story.
   
• In 1908, Miss Caroline O. Emmerton purchased The House of the Seven Gables - built in 1668 - restored it to its present state and, in 1910, opened the site to the touring public. The seven-gabled house inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne to write his famous novel of the same name.
   
• The Boston Tea Party reenactment takes place in Boston Harbor every December 16th.
   
• Balance Rock in Lanesborough is named in honor of a 25' x 15' x 10 boulder that balances upon a small stone below it.
   
• The 3rd Monday in April is a legal holiday in Massachusetts called Patriot's Day, the day the Boston Marathon is held each year.
   
• The first Thanksgiving Day was celebrated in Plymouth in 1621.
   
• Charles Goodyear in Woburn first vulcanized rubber in 1839.
   
• Elias Howe of Boston invented the first sewing machine in 1845.
   
• The first nuclear-powered surface vessel, USS Long Beach CG (N) 9, was launched at Quincy in 1961.
   
• The USS Constitution 'Old Ironsides', the oldest fully commissioned vessel in the US Navy is permanently berthed at Charlestown Navy Yard.
   
• Revere Beach was the first public beach in the United States and is host to Suffolk Downs horse racing track, Wonderland dog racing track and a 14-screen cinema complex.
   
• The official state dessert of Massachusetts is Boston cream pie.
   
• Milford is known the world over for its unique pink granite, discovered in the 1870's and quarried for many years to grace the exteriors of museums, government buildings, monuments and railroad stations.
  

With appreciation to the following
websites for text and images...

Puritans Become Pilgrims
Salemweb.com
Visit New England
Massachusetts Facts and Trivia





And a special 'thank you' to JustAmy and The Mayor for
their contributions to our cyber-visit to Massachusetts.

03-27-07 ~ Hall of Fame #19 ~ Final

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 09-24,25-07 Military Tribute

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' Every Thursday at the Finest The guy's good, folks!

[Billie]

HI!! Gosh, I'm glad I refreshed my comments and see you here!

A fav on DWTS? Wow, after last night I think that the racecar driver is the one to beat! Things can change a lot, but he really looked polished doing the foxtrot.

The boxer was AWFUL!! MY GOSH! I expected him to really do well. Hope Mr. Las Vegas goes home tonight. Just. Do. Not. Like. Him. He seems so nice, but I hate looking at him.

How about you? Who'se your pick after they've all danced? :)

[Billie]

WOW! That is a GORGEOUS picture! Hi, Amy - it’s been such fun today seeing another new thread here!

[Billie]

I’m a Westerner, but dang me if New England doesn’t feel like home, too.

Well, you have been sorely missed, whether Westerner or New Englander. :)

[JustAmy]

"Manchester by-the-Sea, Massachusetts.
Manchester by-the-Sea is one of New England's most picturesque harbors."

In addition to history, Massachusetts has sooo many beautiful sights.

[Mama_Bear]

This voice from the Bay State says, "Thank you. Great job!"

Thanks, Lady Jag. I had forgotten that you live in Massachusetts. It's a Fine state, for sure. If I have my way, our next vacation is going to be to New England. :-)

[DollyCali]

I’ll do Rhode Island & North Dakota. (and if aqua cant do Oklahoma, I will)...

geeze. I volunteered for all that w/o the benefit of an adult beverage to loosen my brain.

In for a bit heavy rains. Need to get dogs out yet.. a

[Billie]

I want a bite!!!

[DollyCali]

Did someone from Mass post this THREAD LINK on the state board?????

This is one thread that should have been a two day one.. and I have a feeling it probably will in some respects.

[DollyCali]

did you tell wheelbarrow that one of your far back grandmas was a witch.. (well, they thought she was)

[Mama_Bear]

My father was a “colonial” church architect specializing in restorations; churches, such as this, were often inspirations for churches he designed (I spent many hours w/him as he precisely measured these old treasures). Bil

That is very interesting! I do love the small white steepled churches. I saw lots of them in West Virginia too. So pretty.

[DollyCali]

I want a bite!!!

Well if you insist....

or do you prefer vampires?

[Mama_Bear]

It was interesting too as I recall to see the evolution of HTML & graphic skills with you Lori..

Yes, indeed. I was quite a novice in the beginning. It is interesting how I improved as I went along. (Mostly from watching (actually, copying) Billie, LOL.)

So sorry to hear about your neighbors' car accident. :-(

[Billie]

Yay! Thanks, Dolly! Okay....tentative remaining states to profile:

Montana ~ Lori
Illinois ~ Lori
Kentucky ~ Lori
Oklahoma ~ Aqua
Ohio ~ Dutchess & Dolly
New York ~ GeeBee
Kansas ~ Billie
Rhode Island ~ Dolly
North Dakota ~ Dolly

[Billie]

Have to go - company coming in a few minutes.

[Majie Purple]

Thanks soooo much for the caring commment in # 72...

still not there yet re stuff of life that is knocking my usual joy outta wack...the reasons are many and many reasons are a constant, that’s all i can put into words about it all.

Knowing & feeling the care from You & Others,really helps.

I don’t want to stop keeping in touch/ pinging/posting replying during times like these.

I muster up the want to keep going/trying/hoping/praying/trusting/...No,not i but JESUS musters it up in me.

[Mama_Bear]

....did you tell wheelbarrow that one of your far back grandmas was a witch.. (well, they thought she was)

No, I didn't. I thought everyone had heard that story, probably too many times. LOL.

Yes, wheelbarrow, my 9th great grandmother was one of the Towne sisters who was hanged. Mary Towne Esty (my grandmother) and her sister Rebecca Towne Nurse were both hanged during the summer of the witch hunts in Salem. Their sister, Sarah, was also found guilty but managed to escape the hangman's noose. The Towne sisters were the epitome of humble Christian women. The Salem witch trials was a very dark period in our history.

A wonderful documentary was done on PBS about the sisters, called "Three Soveriegns for Sarah".

[Mama_Bear]

Oh, my goodness! That is very disturbing. LOL

[Mama_Bear]

Oh my goodness ... this is spectacular!! The history is profound. Thank you for all that hard work about my home state. It's so beautifully done ... outstanding!

Thank you for the compliments and for your contributions to our Bay State cyber-visit. I LOVE that house - love the architecture! So pretty with the bunting and flag out front.

Thanks also for all those links. This is exactly the kind of participation that I hope for when I post my state threads! There is no way I can cover even a fraction of the history and points of interest in Massachusetts, so your links and images are very much appreciated.

I didn't know you are from Massachusetts. It's my home state too. Although I never lived there, I was born in Framingham. My family has very deep roots in Massachusetts.

[Mama_Bear]

Most of our Massachusetts time was spent in the historical areas of Boston, Concord, Lexington and Salem.

Those are EXACTLY the places I want to visit!

Thanks again, Amy, for your help. I love the Cranberry information and recipe you provided.

[Mama_Bear]

Darn....I have to leave again for a few minutes. I will be back. :-)