We celebrated our hometown's history yesterday evening at a concert by the
Delaware Symphony Orchestra at the College of Marine Studies' Virden Center, here in Lewes.
The concert was part of a year-long celebration of the
375th anniversary of our town, which began in 1631 when a group of (Dutch) Europeans attempted to set-up a trading post that they called Zwaanendael.
From that small, and ultimately futile beginning (the settlers failed to get along well with the established population and were eventually attacked and destroyed), flow almost four centuries of history. Based on that settlement, we lay claim to being the First Town in the First State. It all started here (You're welcome).
We used to have a symphony concert in Lewes every summer. For some years the concert was part of a larger Summer Arts Festival which included some great acts. One year, before the girls were born, we got to see the folk-singer
Odetta.
A feature of the festival each year was a pops concert by the Delaware Symphony. It always ended with a rendition of the
1812 Overture, performed with a battery of historic iron cannon blasting away in the finale. If you have never heard the
1812 Overture with real cannon, you are missing a wonderful musical experience.
I still remember the first time we attended the concert. It was held at that time at Cape Henlopen State Park and as the show started, a thick fog rolled in from the Atlantic. By the time the cannon were fired, we could no longer see the orchestra. The cannons' muzzle-flashes lit the fog all around us. It was like being inside the thunder-head cloud during a major thunderstorm.
This weekend's concert was in a large field alongside the Virden Center. We all brought lawn chairs and blankets. Many people enjoyed picnic dinners and gatherings of friends and
family.
Karen and I packed a light supper of pita and hummus with carrots and zucchini. We sat and chatted with Andy and Lynn, who joined us for the show, and then sat back to enjoy the music.
The evening was fine. The week's heavy heat and humidity finally broke with an evening breeze, clear skies, and a hint of thunderstorms on the northern horizon. It was perfect evening to
put your feet up and listen to the music.
The Delaware Symphony has new leadership since the days when they used to come down for a concert each summer. The program was still "Pops," but I think it was a more adventurous set than had been the case in the past. They started with
Fanfare for the Common Man, which Karen and I both love, and continued with a set of variations on
America by
Charles Ives. Ives was one of America's first great composers and his approach to music -- standing it on its head, warping, twisting and resculpting familiar tunes -- appeals to my musical tastes.
There were also Sousa marches, but they threw in a Sousa dance number, described by the conductor as a "Victorian Tango." That's an interesting notion, isn't it?
The
1812 Overture was well-played, even without the cannons, and they finished with a traditional
Stars and Stripes Forever, guest-conducted by the Delaware Secretary of State, whose budget helped support the event.
After a brief pause to let the sun settle, there was a fine fireworks finale. A good time was had by all.
I've walked and driven past this sign at least once a week for years. It always struck me as odd, but I never really looked closely at it to figured out why.
Andy Southmayd and I played a round at The Rookery this afternoon. It was hot. Very hot.
This is Lily that is growing in my side garden. It's somewhat squeezed between a huge Butterfly Bush and a mass of Four O'Clocks.
North Country Golf Club
Alburg Golf Links
Alburg looks like a wide-open course; it has sweeping views of Lake Champlain and a variety of elevations. It is a links-style course in some places and a mountain-meadow style in others. All holes feature an impenetrable rough. There is water, but most balls are lost in 10-inch grass.
The Tyler Place is a large campus on the Vermont shore at the northern end of Lake Champlain. It sits about a mile south of the US/Canada border. There is an Inn, a wide variety of cabins, clubhouses, a pool, boat dock, tennis courts and more.
While the kids are "at group", the adults are free to laze about, explore, or join in a variety of organized activities. Karen and I traditionally try to make the canoe trip, the mountain hike, and the kayak trip.
This year, since I have a new digital camera, I was brave enough to take my old digital camera out on the Lake in a kayak for a photoset from water-level. I spent a lot of time on, and in, the water this summer. I tried out a small hobie cat sailboat. It was fitting, as I brought two novels from the Aubrey/Maturin series along for the week. My internal dialogue, as I sailed along, was all in 19th-century sailing terminology. It's a good thing no one was along to hear that.
I love Mystic Seaport. I am a fan of sailing ships and the sea. I repeatedly devour historical, tall-ship novels. I love to wander among old sailing ships, wood, cordage and canvas.
Christina is a budding naturalist and Colleen loves the grace of many kinds of fish. She's always seen the beauty in jellyfish.
