Quebec Trip, July 2010

We'll we kind of got away from updating our little blog over the past few months. Looking through photos on the computer this morning, I realized what a cool time we had in Quebec this year.

Each July for the past four years, we have loaded up the car and driven to Quebec city for the Festival D'Ete (Summer Fest). With lots of things to do, cultural attractions, and most importantly tons of live music, the two week festival is a great time. A $50 pass gets one into any outdoor venue for the length of the festival.

We typically stay for a few days and time our visits around bands that we want to see. This year, we saw Rush and The Black Eyed Peas. We also took the opportunity to walk around the old city, eat at a few really cool places (Bistro Sous Le Fort) and visit the fort that once protected the city. Interesting note: Quebec City is the only walled city in North America.

Check out the photo album below.

More about Skylar

Okay, most everyone has seen the photos on Facebook. Still it seems like I should take a second to put some photos of Skylar up here on the blog. Sky's been a good girl in her first week. The kids, I mean the parents, have not gotten a whole lot of sleep. Watching them wander around with drawn faces and red eyes does bring back a few memories.

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Evangeline and Skylar

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Evangeline, Hannah and Skylar

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Erick and Skylar - Love how she has her hands to her face..."oh my"

Skylar Says Hi

Ok, I know we're just proud grandparents, but this is the cutest. She actually says 'hi. Click here to watch

Baby Skylar!!!!!

We would like to welcome the newest member of our family, our granddaughter Skylar! She was 6lbs 10 oz and 19.5 inches long. She has a full head of hair and is extremely alert. She was born on November 1, 2010 at 9:27pm. We are so excited to finally meet her. Erick and Evangeline are doing well and are happy parents. She is absolutely beautiful.

click here to watch the movie

Two Day Trip to Vegas

Just got home from a short two day visit to Las Vegas. I flew in early Thursday morning to meet with some folks who are planning a tradeshow there in 2011. The ability to fly just about anywhere direct, is one thing that I really miss about living in Chicago. Reaching Las Vegas by noon from the East Coast required a 7am flight from Hartford to Dallas, then a 90 minute layover before flying to Vegas. All told, the trip took 8 hours.

It was one of those fast two day fly-work-sleep (a little)-work-fly trips. I landed, went to the hotel to check email, make a few phone calls and clean up before the reception that night. Afterwards, I went back to my room to sleep until about 2:30am, when it was time to stare at the walls and daydream about sleep. By the time I took the red-eye home at 12:30 am on Saturday, I was pooped. Check out this photo of people playing slots in the airport at midnight (who are they?). You can't hear it, but the Wheel of Fortune theme song is looping endlessly in the bacground.

I'm told that Vegas is an ideal trade show city, that people will fly there because of the many things to do outside of the exhibit hall. For those like me, that don't gamble, rooms are cheap, restaurants are plentiful and good, and there are plenty of activities. I might even want to visit the race car track nearby. Sources report that people can take three or four laps in a real NASCAR. Maybe I'll make the trip there one day as a visitor.

A Weekend with Mom and Dad

Mom and Dad came for a long weekend in Connecticut. Mom, in particular, was excited because she had recently uncovered some long lost relatives who lived and died in Simsbury, Connecticut more than 200 years ago. A serious genealogist, Mom could not wait to visit the local historical library to learn a little bit more about who these folks were and how they lived.

Successfully completing our mission on Saturday, we determined that there are some good secondary sources about at least one of the families, the Holcombs. While at the library, I ran into one Lawrence Phelps, a middle age guy wearing a Boston Red Sox shirt. He was on a quest to find the original Phelps' homestead and final resting place of the Mr. Phelps who first settled Simsbury. Lawrence told me that he was the 11th generation to live in the area, and that he had touched the gravestones of 9 of his forefathers but was missing this one. The original Mr. Phelps passed away before the town cemetery was started and likely was buried on his homestead. Wherever that was. A cool story.

After leaving there, we drove around West Hartford for a while before finally stopping at Ben & Jerry's for a cone. The power of ice cream always amazes me. It has the ability to take one back to their child hood. At one point on the ride home, I glanced over at my mother. She was sitting there with her feet dangling off the seat, eating her cone and giggling. Could have been 10 years old again. Wicked cool.

Our search of the local cemetery today did not turn up any Holcomb headstones. We'll have to head back there when we have a little more time. Some of those old headstones are a little hard to read.

While visiting the cemetery today, we snapped these shots of my folks. Luckily, I was able to nab a shot or two of the photo shy Susan in her natural habitat. Good work indeed.

Happy Mothers Day

The day dawned crisp and clear. Pancakes and eggs are the kick-off to a wonderful lazy day in Connecticut.

The realization that Susan and I will celebrate our twentieth anniversary this year has put me in a reflective mood as of late. One of the manifestations of that has been the urge to sort through old photos and try to associate snippets of memory with them.

Here's an old one of Susan with Hannah in the summer of 1996. I don't remember where this one was taken. We lived in Grayslake at the time, yet for some reason I think this photo was taken in Shaker Heights. People have also said that the two of them look alike. This photo appears to confirm that. Case closed.


Monica, Mom and I are shown in this 1971 photo taken in the front yard of our Taylor Road home in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. I think we lived in that house from 1970 – 1974, before moving out to the house in Bainbridge my folks built.


Lastly, here's a picture of Gavin, Erick and I raking leaves in the fall of 1993, I think. Take a look at the big grin on Erick's face. Check out Gavin jumping in the leaves. There must be ten of these leaf raking photos in this roll. In one Gavin is preparing to jump, in the next one – POOF. I think this photo is post poof.

Happy Mother's Day to All. Enjoy this day and the ones that follow. It is a gift from God. May good memories always be with you.

RPI Ballroom Competition 4-10-2010

Here are the videos that Jeff promised. Hannah did a wonderful job! She placed 9 times and brought home 8 ribbons, including a 2nd place in Silver Cha-Cha and 1st place in Bronze Jive!!!



Ill post more soon! Suz

RPI Tournament and Saratoga Battlefield Tour

Yesterday, Susan, Hannah and I set off early for the RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic) Ballroom Competition in Troy, New York near Albany. The morning session was reserved for the smooth and standard dances that aren't Hannah's favorites, with the afternoon reserved for traditional Latin and rhythm dances like the Cha-Cha, Rumba, Jive and Swing.

Knowing that we had a few hours before the events where Hannah would really shine, Susan and I drove north to visit The Saratoga National Battlefield Park near Lake Saratoga. OK, I think I dragged Susan. Once a history geek, always a history geek.

The 1777 Battle of Saratoga, or battles of, were pivotal to the American cause in the Revolutionary War. New York and most of New Jersey had been lost in 1776 after the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 2nd. France was on the sidelines waiting for a signal that the young American country could succeed. The capture of Burgoyne's army at Saratoga was that signal and the War of Independence took a dramatically different turn after that.

There's something about seeing the terrain in person that get's lost in a book. Standing on Bemis Heights inside the American lines, one can see why Gates and Kosciuskoo choose the location that they did, why the British tried a flanking maneuver at Freeman's Farm and why Benedict Arnold's final assault was so pivotal.

That's right, Benedict Arnold, the famous traitor was a hot headed but talented officer who rallied American troops that had been repulsed from the Balcarres Redoubt assault and brought them in behind the Breyman Redoubt as Daniel Morgan's Continentals attacked from the front. This rolled up the British flank, forcing their retreat and ultimate surrender. Arnold was shot in the leg during that assault and carried a limp for the rest of his days. A 'boot' monument marks that spot today.

Just finished reading an excellent biography on George Patton. A brilliant tactician, his strategies often boiled to “hold him by the nose and then kick him in the A$$.” Standing there 233 years later, one can clearly see that's exactly what Arnold did.

Susan will post more today about the competition. Hannah came back in the afternoon and took home eight ribbons including a first, second and third place.

93 Degrees Yesterday

It's hard to believe that the mercury hit a whopping 93 degrees yesterday, especially on April 7th in Connecticut. It would seem that we've transitioned from a four season climate to a two season one: hot and cold.

Last week we had quite a bit of rain and some flooding. No real damage to anything, just created a traffic nightmare as the number of roads over Talcott and Avon mountains were reduced.

Had a nice Easter, 85 and sunny. The whole family was here. We hope that yours was outstanding as well.

Gavin, Evangeline and I visited the Wadsworth Antheneum, Hartford's art museum, the day before EASTER. They both had a paper to turn in and needed to do some research there. I'm always a sucker for art museums, so I went along for the ride.

For a small town like Hartford, they have a really impressive collection. There were several Picassos, Rembrants and Van Gogh's - including this self potrait. I imagine that between the Colts and the big insurance companies that there has been some significant patronage over the years.

This coming weekend, Hannah will compete at the RPI in greater Albany. She's to move up and will dance at the Silver level. Hopefully, we'll have a few new photos and what not to share via the blog.

Take care all.

Websites and Blogging

Hannah and Susan left this morning at 5am for Cambridge, Massachusetts and the Harvard Invitational Ballroom Tournament. Left to my own devices for the day, I managed to keep up with the laundry and didn't even turn anyone's socks pink.

While bumming around the house, I got started on my latest project: a website for the Simsbury Farmer's Market. I had responded to a call for volunteers in the Simsbury Post. As it turns out, they were looking for someone to build a website and blog as well as start an email newsletter. For some reason, I volunteered... and I'm quite glad that I did.

This weekend's assignment was to create a simple place holder site and style sheet that could be used for a larger site. Most of my work has been industrial and business to business, so the look and feel of this site were a little bit different. Plenty of work still to do, but it's headed in the right direction. Check it out: http://www.simsburyfarmmarket.com.

I've also spent a bunch of time on bouldenhistory.org, our family genealogical site. Having studied history in college, I've always been drawn to my past. Working on the lineage charts has helped me understand the connections that link one generation to the next, and encouraged me to learn more about the individuals on the chart.

The narrative histories collected by my father have provided an education. I never knew that William Louis Boulden fought in the War of 1812 and used his bonus to buy his wife out of indentured servitude from the governor of Delaware. Neither did I know that her descendants came to the colonies because they were on the wrong side of Oliver Cromwell in the English Civil War.

Pretty cool stuff. Alright, no more blogs about Boulden history for a while.

Derrick Leaves for the US Army

Over 100 of Derrick's family and friends gathered last Saturday evening at Simsbury's Coon Club to say goodbye to him. He left the next day to be sworn into the United States Army at Westover Airforce Base in Massachusetts before proceeding to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri for 10 weeks of basic training. Upon completion, he will progress to Advanced Infantry Training (AIT) and ultimately Jump School at Fort Benning, Georgia before joining the 82nd Airborne's Rangers.

Susan and I provided our home made pizza for the event. It took most of the day, but we were able to provide sheets of Cheeseburger, Barbeque Chicken and Roasted Red Pepper for the event. In the spirit of the Coon Club, a hunter's getaway, there was also Southern Barbeque and a roast leg of venison grilled over an open flame. A good time was had by all, except for my belt which suffered repeated assaults as it was loosened throughout the night to cope with all of the food.

Derrick, Erick, Gavin and Fred had really become the four Amigos over the past year, doing everything together. Derrick was in many ways like a third son to us. In fact, he joined us on our August trip to the Jillson Cottage in Empire, Michigan. A polite, respectful young man, we wish him the best and will hold him in our thoughts and prayers throughout training and his eventual deployment.

Gavin and Erick have not rushed down to the recruiter to join up and follow Derrick. They are both continuing in their present course at Tunxis Community College. More to come.

Holy Croos Ballroom Competition 3-13-10

Yesterday, Hannah competed at the Holy Cross Ballroom competition. She had to be at the bus by 5 am and then I left at 7am. While she was dancing her heart out I was video taping her. I left at 2:30 to return home and poor Hannah did not get home until after 11:30pm. I always love watching her dance so I thought I would post a few of her dances for viewers to see:)

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Itching for Spring

Yesterday it got warm. The weather channel reported a balmy 57 degrees. It warmed the face and the back of your neck as you walked around outside. The kind of warmth that hadn't been seen around these parts in at least five months.

It was also the perfect day to take one's dog for a long walk. Setting out just after 1pm, Sadie and I walked nearly eight miles up Iron Horse Boulevard and alongside the Farmington River. A few miles down stream from the Tarrifville rapids, the river meanders through farmlands and open fields. Thank goodness that the Town of Simsbury and the State of Connecticut set aside large tracts of land adjacent to the river as a nature preserve, closing it to development. The combination of the openness, lighting and warmth made it just beautiful.

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This was also the first time that little Sadie (all 80lbs of her) had the chance to spend some time with other dogs. The first dog she encountered was an Irish Setter. Approaching very gingerly, she touched noses and then backed away quickly. OK, a little intimidated. Later in the walk, we ran into a Jack Russell terrier who had the nerve to bark at her, sending a terrified Sadie behind my legs. I could almost hear her say "Dad, protect me." After the taunting by that 12lb dog, she was done. Geriatric Labradors sent her scurrying for cover. We'll have to work on this.

Before leaving, I spent a little time looking at content management solutions for www.bouldenhistory.org. Wordpress has been suggested by a number of sources as a great 'off the shelf' content management solution. While researching Wordpress, I came across this cool blog posting about Haiti, from Dispatches from a Fragile Island. Unable to stay on task, I had to check out the photos. I know nothing about the author or his project, but was struck by the photos: happiness in the midst of tragedy.

Honoring Arlene Oakley

After nearly 100 years on this earth, Susan's grandmother, Arlene Oakley, passed away recently. Mrs. Oakley was a bright, driven, woman who loved to travel. A long-time educator, she worked hard to improve the lives of those that she touched.

A few years ago during the Christmas holidays, she and I were able to connect through American History. Returning home, she sent a box of books that she thought I would enjoy. As I write this, I am working my way through one of those books: A Benjamin Franklin Reader, by Walter Isaacson. A collection of Franklin's writings throughout his long life, it has given me a better understanding of Franklin than any biography could. Thank you!!

Marisue Besse, my Mother-in-Law (at left in the photo below with her mother), wrote the following memorial.

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Arlene Oakley
1913--2010

Arlene Rockleman Oakley was born to Amil and Ida Rockleman in 1913 in Lakeview, Michigan. She married Harry Oakley in 1934. She taught in a two-room schoolhouse until the couple moved to Charlevoix, Michigan where their first daughter, Marisue, was born in 1937. Their younger daughter, Linda, was born in 1940 in Bloomington, Indiana.

In 1950 Arlene went back to school and got her bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University. She taught in Redford Union, a suburb of Detroit. Her master’s degree is from Wayne State University. Her PhD dissertation was never completed. She was the principal of Westland School in Redford Union. She founded an alumnae sorority, Kappa Kappa Alpha at Western Michigan. She was its first president. Mrs. Oakley was on the Detroit lecture circuit. She inspired other women to pursue their education and gain independence through a career. She is listed in Who’s Who of American Women.

Arlene and Harry retired to Sun City Center in 1977. In 1983 she lost Harry to a heart attack, and in 1987, her younger daughter, Linda also died of a heart attack.

Arlene Oakley for many years was active in Armchair Travelers and two bridge groups She served on the boards of Mary Martha House in Ruskin and the Community Foundation of Sun City Center. She traveled more than 70 countries on four continents. Many she visited several times. She died at 97 in Ocean City, New Jersey, where she had moved in January to live with her granddaughter. She is survived by her daughter Marisue, five grandchildren, and eleven great children.

Cold Friday in February

Bone chilling might really be the best description for the cold. It's the kind of day when the snow crunches beneath your feet and nose freezes shut. People will say that they like the seasons, that they could never live in a place in California, Arizona or Florida because one doesn't get to really experience winter.

Surely Arizonians enjoy summer. The leaves fall in California and the spring rains come in Florida. So, what they're really saying is that they like Winter. I have to admit that the Holiday season would seem strange without snow and cold. However, nose freezing cold and a tank of heating oil per month come along with that joyous noel cheer. It seems like there out to be some sort of a trade there.

One must continually guard against becoming an old grouch. It sneaks up on us. We start to get a little bit inflexible about this, the next door neighbor's eccentricities become annoyances instead. Pretty soon we're trying to find the best shuffleboard game. We'll I don't think I'm there yet.

You see, the fall colors here in New England are just breathtaking. A slight chill in the air lets you know that winter will be here one day, but today requires no more than a sweater in compensation.

Talcott Mountain State Park. Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

A little more than five years ago, in October 2004, we made our first trip to Connecticut as a family for one long weekend. That Saturday we piled into Susan's Trailblazer and drove all around suburban Hartford, looking at places in Avon, Simsbury, West Hartford and more. Brilliant oranges, vibrant reds and muddy yellows jumped from the trees. It was beautiful.

The five autumns since then have been more or less spectaular. Some years the colors are a little muted. I think it has something to do with the amount of rain in the summer. Still, they have all been wonderful.

Since the holidays ended, I've been struggling with what to post in the blog. I took the trash out this morning, crunched through the snow and found my inspiration. The cold and the seasons aren't the only things to report. Marisue joined us in mid January for a nice visit, and the boys have started their spring semesters at Tunxis. Both are taking full schedules.

More to follow

Bouldenhistory.org

Yesterday afternoon Bouldenhistory.org, a website for those interested in the history of the Boulden family and its collateral lines, went live.

Perhaps I am overstating things a bit. A temporary site went live while the main site is under development. Visitors to the page today will learn that the site is intended as a colloborative venture for Boulden geneological research around the world. They will also be able to see a sample post and communicate with the web development team through the admin@bouldenhistory.org email distribution list.

Posting the notice on this blog seemed a logical thing to do as many of the people who read the blog are Bouldens themselves. So, tell us what you'd like to see. Do you have old stories, diaries, rememberances that you would like to have preserved? How about old pictures?

Send them along with your comments to admin@bouldenhistory.org