PERRYSBURG, NY, HISTORICAL MUSEUM: Window Into the Past

Perrysburg, NY, Historical Museum. Holy Family painting by Mercy Ann Lockridge

A year ago, on this blog, I wrote about my great-great-grandmother’s painting, a family treasure that had been passed down through the generations to me. It is a copy of a famous Renaissance painting by Raphael called The Madonna of Divine Love. We called it The Holy Family. My great-great-grandmother, Mercy Ann Lockridge, painted The Holy Family in about 1865 while living in Western New York near the small town of Perrysburg in Cattaraugus County. I wanted to find a permanent home for the painting and the Perrysburg Historical Museum seemed like the perfect place. So, I donated it to the museum, shipping it from my home in California to Perrysburg. 

Perrysburg Historical Museum.

In July of this year I had a chance to visit Perrysburg and see The Holy Family in its new home, and to meet Steve Stockwell, the Perrysburg Town Historian. When we arrived, he greeted us at the door and gave us a personal tour.

Perrysburg, NY, Town Hall. 

The Perrysburg Historical Museum is housed in the Perrysburg Town Hall, a building that previously was the town school. The museum is open one Saturday a month, or by arrangement. The Holy Family is displayed in a former classroom, surrounded by other historical pieces--artwork, maps, photos and documents. 

The room is packed with books, furniture and cabinets filled with mementos, all tied to the people connected with Perrysburg’s past. I was pleased to see my father’s book, Lutie and Mercy Ann, about the Lockridge family, on display for interested visitors.

Steve Stockwell with antique firefighting equipment. Steve is a volunteer fireman.

Handmade wooden plank toboggan.

Two more rooms of the museum are on the ground floor level of the building and used for the display of larger items. In the room that was once the school gymnasium, antique firefighting equipment and a homemade toboggan are among the items on view.  

Scale model of the J.N. Adam Memorial Hospital.

Close-up of one of the main buildings of the sanitarium.

The other ground floor room is devoted to a huge 3-D scale model of the J.N. Adam Memorial Hospital, once the primary treatment site for tuberculosis patients in New York State. It is located just outside Perrysburg. The hospital operated as a tuberculosis treatment center from 1912 to 1960 and then was used as a mental health hospital until it closed in 1993. I recently read Light and Air, by Mindy Nichols Wendell, a historical novel set in 1935, at a time before antibiotics were widely used to treat tuberculosis. Although the book is written for children, it provides a sensitive look into life at the J.N. Adam hospital at the time. The author was inspired to write the book after a visit to Perrysburg.

Historical photos of the J.N. Adam Memorial Hospital.

Once an architectural showplace, the buildings of the J.N. Adam hospital have since fallen into ruin. Photos on the wall of the Perrysburg Historical Museum and the detailed model help preserve the memory of its grandeur and bring it back to life.

The wealth of local history in the Perrysburg Historical Museum is astounding. Although my ancestors only lived in Perrysburg for about a decade (in the 1870s and 1880s) I felt a real connection to the town. Mercy Ann’s daughter, my great-grandmother, was married in the Lockridge home in Perrysburg in 1875. (I have a copy of the invitation in our family mementos.) 

The former Chapman estate in Versailles, NY.

Among the guests at the wedding were Hiram and Maria Chapman from the nearby small town of Versailles. (Pronounced ver-sales.) Hiram Chapman was a well-known ship captain who sailed on Lake Erie and was a family friend.  It was the Chapman family who loaned Mercy Ann Lockridge their copy of The Holy Family so that she could make her own copy. (See my post of Sept 15, 2025 for the full story.) So, after leaving the museum, we did a short drive from Perrysburg to Versailles to see the Chapman home and the unusual grave marker for Hiram and Maria Chapman in the Versailles cemetery.

Grave marker for Hiram and Maria Chapman, Versailles, NY.

Western New York State is packed with history. Even if you don’t have a personal connection like I do, the Perrysburg Historical Museum is worth a visit if you are in the area and a fascinating window on an earlier time in American life.

The Chapman gravestone is in the shape of a tree trunk.

THE GARDENS AT LAKE MERRITT: One of Oakland's Hidden Treasures

Bonsai garden, the Gardens at Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA.

I first became aware of the Gardens at Lake Merritt after reading Caroline Hatton’s post about her visit to the bonsai garden in June 2025. This past summer, while I was in Oakland, I went there for the first time. While I had walked around Lake Merritt many times, I had somehow bypassed the gardens, which are tucked behind Fairyland, the historic playpark that inspired Walt Disney’s Disneyland. (Fairyland continues to be popular for families with young children.) The Gardens at Lake Merritt are in Lakeside Park at the end of the peninsula and above the boat house.

My family at the garden gate.

An ornate iron gate marks the main entrance to the Gardens at Lake Merritt. Inside the gate are a network of paths leading through the seven acres of themed gardens—a succulent and cactus garden, sundial garden, pollinator garden, rhododendron garden, to name just a few. MAP 

Succulent.

Immediately inside the gate one sees dozens of community garden plots where people have planted flowers and vegetables.

A pair of monarch butterflies.

Poppies gone to seed.

Agapanthus and acanthus in bloom.

We wandered the garden paths through sunshine and shade, eventually circling back to the bonsai garden near the entrance. 

Bonsai Garden.

Inside the bonsai enclosure, tiny trees are artfully displayed, each with an explanatory label. The garden is maintained by volunteers. We talked with several who explained how the trees are cared for and about the art of creating bonsai.

Daimyo Oak, quercus dentata. Donated by Dr. Robert Gotcher.

One of the most impressive tree is the oldest in the garden--the Daimyo Oak. "Historically, this is one of the most important bonsai and the longest in cultivation in the United States. In 1863, during Lincoln’s presidency, Anson Burlingame was envoy to China. This tree was a gift to him as he passed through Japan on his return to the United States. The peninsular city of Burlingame was named after Mr. Burlingame." 

For more about the Bonsai Garden go to Caroline Hatton's post BONSAI AND SUISEKI AT THE GARDENS OF LAKE MERRITT at this blog on June 8, 2026.

We visited the Gardens at Lake Merritt on a sunny Saturday morning in early July. The weather was pleasant, warm but not hot, and the garden was not crowded with people. It was the perfect day for a family outing. Afterwards we ate a delicious lunch at an Ethiopian restaurant on nearby Grand Avenue.

The Gardens at Lake Merritt are open Monday through Friday, 7:30 am to 3:00 pm and on Weekends 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.  Entry is free.

Stone sculpture in the cactus garden.

HISTORIC LEWES, THE OLDEST TOWN IN DELAWARE

Replica of the Lewes Lighthouse, Lewes, Delaware.

The town of Lewes, founded in 1631 by Dutch settlers, is the oldest town in the state of Delaware. Located at the coast where Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean, it sits behind a long, sandy beach and grassy marsh.

Log cabin occupied by an early settler.

In early September, we spent a weekend in Lewes with our extended family, staying in a vacation house near the beach. Years ago, I had read a children’s book called Cornstalks and Cannonballs, about how the citizens of Lewes had defended their town when it was under siege by British warships during the War of 1812. The Cannonball House, the only building actually struck during the siege, is now a museum, the cannonball still embedded in its wall. During my visit I was curious to find out more about the story and about local history.

Historic buildings at the Lewes Historical Society Museum, Main Campus.

Lewes is filled with many historic sites and museums, following its course of history from the time of the native Americans (the Lenape) who have lived in the area for thousands of years, through the Revolutionary War and up to the 20^th Century. 

Site of the home of Leah Burton, an advocate of women's rights.

I started my explorations at the Lewes Historical Society Museum main campus, located on Ship Carpenter Street. There, in a park-like setting, a variety of structures are on display, moved there from their original sites. They range from a log cabin used originally as a dwelling, to a schoolhouse, a doctor’s office, a general store and several other buildings. Refreshments are available at the historic Sussex Tavern.

Schoolhouse bell. Wooden shingles were common on 19th Century buildings.

19th Century school room. Desktops have holes for ink bottles.

Until the 1960s Lewes schools were segregated. They were not fully integrated until 1966.

Although the schoolhouse is meant to reflect those typical of earlier generations, the wooden desks are exactly the same as the ones I sat at in my elementary school in the 1950s.  I remember when my third grade teacher passed out bottles of ink so we could practice our penmanship.

Revolutionary War surgical instruments.

Detailed signs throughout the park explain the significance of exhibits and make it easy to do a self-guided tour. And in the general store—filled with antiques available for purchase—there is a volunteer to answer questions and provide information to visitors. From her I learned that in the book about Lewes that I had remembered so well, the story had been fictionalized. The cannonballs and bravery of the citizens is all true, but there never were any cornstalks painted black to look like rifles. 

Antique dolls.

Singer sewing machine.

Among the antiques on display at the house behind the general store were a China doll similar to one my mother played with as a child and a Singer sewing machine just like my grandmother’s. I first learned to sew on her treadle machine.

Train outside the Lewes History Museum.

From there I went to the Lewes History Museum at the town Community Center at 101 Adams Avenue. It is located in what used to be the town library, now in a new larger building next door. At the museum we saw an excellent short video about the history of Delaware. Parked outside, between the Community Center and Library is a historic Pennsylvania Railroad train, complete with engine, coal car and caboose.

Zwaanendael Museum, built in 1931 to honor the 300th anniversary of Lewes.

The Historical Society also operates the Zwaanendael Museum, which features the maritime, civil and social history of Lewes, and is built in the Dutch style of the 17th Century.  We didn’t have time to go inside or to visit all of the other historical sites of Lewes in our short visit. Clearly, we will have to return some day! If we go there five years from now, we will be on time for the celebration of its 400th year!

WEEKEND AT THE BEACH, LEWES, DELAWARE: Sun, Sand and Nature

Beach at Cape Henlopen State Park, Lewes, Delaware.

As gentle waves lapped the shore of Delaware Bay in Lewes, Delaware. gulls skwawked overhead, children flew kites and built sandcastles, and beach goers enjoyed the water and fresh air. It was Labor Day weekend and the weather was perfect. We were in Lewes for a family reunion. During our stay we took several walks on the beach and along the paths in nearby Cape Henlopen State Park. As always, we had our eye out for birds and other wildlife. Here is some of what we saw.

All along the water's edge, we watched shorebirds foraging for food. Delaware is on the Eastern Flyway of North America, followed by millions of birds on their annual migrations. 

Laughing gull (juvenile).

Semipalmated plover.

Ring-billed gull.

Besides birds, we also found the remains of both blue crabs and hermit crabs that had washed up along the shore.

Atlantic blue crab.

Hermit crabs. The long tail is called a telson. The crabs come on shore on warm summer nights to mate and lay eggs.

I wrote about hermit crabs in my book Living Fossils: Clues to the Past but had never seen them in person. I was thrilled to find them on the beach at Lewes. Horseshoe crabs have been around for a long time. "One hundred and fifty thousand years ago, a horseshoe crab crawled onto the shore of a shallow lagoon in what is now southern Germany and searched for worms and shellfish in the damp sand. Nearby, dinosaurs preyed on insects and small animals, and lizards sat in the sun. In the air, winged reptiles soared and one of the earliest birds, archaeopteryx, flapped its wings."

The dinosaurs and winged reptiles are long gone. We only know about them from their fossil remains, but horseshoe crabs are still with us, changed little from ancient times. They are living fossils. 

Jellyfish are also ancient creatures. One afternoon we found dozens of them washed up on the sand. Some were nearly ten inches in diameter. We had to be careful not to step on them. Some jellyfish can give a nasty sting, although the moon jellyfish usually does not.

Moon jellyfish (Aurelia sp.)

Cape Henlopen State Park.

We also visited Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes, formerly a military site, and now a place for public recreation. As well as a large public beach, the park has a campground and many trails for walkers, joggers and bikers. We took a path from the parking lot at Herring Point that went through coastal woodland and tidal wetlands.

On our walk we followed well-marked level paths through the woodland and across the marsh. 

View from the bridge. The marshland seems to go on forever.

Goldenrod along the path.

We thoroughly enjoyed our three days at the beach and the chance to reune with our family and create new memories. We would love to go back someday.

On the path near our rental house over the dunes to Lewes beach.

THE HOOD TO COAST RELAY RACE (OREGON) Guest Post by Sara Kras, with Photos by Caroline Hatton

Hood to Coast Relay Race runners in Portland, Oregon.

My friend Sara Kras is a fellow children’s writer and past contributor to this blog. Our friend Caroline Hatton took the photos in this post in August 2026. Sara was in Portland visiting her daughter who lives right on the race route. Sara commented, "It was a lot of fun watching the various runners."

Appearing like a mirage in the darkness on Linn Street, Portland, Oregon, joggers, one after another, laced with neon string lights around their necks passed by. Their breath came out ragged and heavy. Staff volunteers armed with flashlights stood on the street corner by the railroad track. “Watch out for the tracks. Go to the left,” one instructed. “Good job,” said another.

Where did these joggers come from and why were they out at 10 p.m. and later?

They were part of the 44^th annual Hood to Coast Relay Race, which took place August 28 – 29, 2026.  This race is always scheduled on the last weekend of August. 

The race began at Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood at 3:00 a.m. Friday, August 28, and race starts continued until around 2:00 p.m., because teams had staggered start times depending on the speed of their individual runners, to calculate their arrival at Seaside, on the Pacific Coast of Oregon, almost two hundred miles from Timberline Lodge. The teams had to arrive in Seaside no later than 9:00 p.m. Saturday, August 29, to go on record for having finished the race. 

Volunteers (in yellow reflective vests in the two above photos) worked in 4-hour shifts. Some runners were fast and laser-focused, others smiled and waved to acknowledge cheering fans, some took walking breaks. One man wore a yellow tutu over his running shorts, a woman pulled a purple helium balloon tied to the back of her shorts, and several women had brightened their faces with a little glitter.

This popular event has about 12,600 participants. These are divided into 1,050 teams comprising about 12 runners. The race route is divided into 36 legs, each averaging about 4 to 6 miles. Each runner is assigned to run specific legs.

The teams must organize two vans. Inside the vans, the teams supply necessities such as clothing, flashlights, food and drink, and pillows and light blankets so runners can rest. In addition, there are assigned sleeping and rest fields along the route for runners to sleep between their assigned relay legs.

After the race, a finish line party commences to present awards. The party continues for several days with music along with local vendors. The small town of Seaside normally has a population of about 7,000. During this event, Seaside must accommodate an additional 20,000 visitors.

No wonder this event is called “The Mother of All Relays!”

CATALINA ISLAND--26 MILES ACROSS THE SEA: Geology Field Trip, Guest Post by Paige Arnold

In August, my granddaughter Paige, a geology student at Amherst College, went on a field trip to Catalina Island. On a clear day, Catalina Island is easily visible from the Southern California coast. Yet, in the more than fifty years that I’ve lived in California I’ve never been there! I thank Paige for her excellent report!

This summer I had the opportunity to go to Catalina Island with my professor, his collaborator, and another undergraduate student to do field work relevant to my senior thesis (a year-long research project). We were there for a little under a week, and in that time I got to see some pretty cool stuff– both geology-related and otherwise!

A picture of the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center, where we stayed in dorms for the duration of the trip. We ate breakfast and dinner here, taking a sack lunch to eat in the field (unfortunately, given that sandwiches are not particularly resistant to getting crushed by rocks, they were always pretty soggy by the time we got to them). Otherwise, their food was surprisingly good and they had 24/7 coffee, exceeding my expectations for the dining situation.

For 3 of the 5 days of field work, we drove to the Catalina Airport and looked at/sampled rocks in the surrounding area. There was an airport store behind me where I took this picture, which provided great relief to us in the form of shade, cold Gatorade, and ice cream, during our lunch breaks.

The Catalina landscape is beautiful, but quite unfriendly. A lack of tall trees means no shade, and most of the plants have sharp qualities that inspire fear. Unfortunately, interesting rock outcrops don’t care about sun, spines, and spikes, and are frequently located in places surrounded by these hostile plants (don’t ask about the cactus incident).

Another obstacle between us and the outcrops was the occasional bison (small black dot above the heads in the first photo). Fourteen bison were brought to Catalina for the filming of the 1924 Western The Vanishing American, after which it was determined that removing them from the island would just be too hard, leading to their continued presence on the island today. Despite their intimidating size, they didn’t cause us any problems other than brief moments of panic at rustling sounds in the bushes.

Here is a photo of an outcrop with a couple of the rock types we were focusing on. I won’t go into too much detail, but the big picture idea is that some rocks were part of an old subducting plate, got ripped off the plate in blocks and mixed into a weaker unit of rock, then got real hot and partially melted. In this photo, we’ve inferred that the garnet and hornblende (red and black minerals) are remnants of the original rock that did not melt, while the light minerals are the remnants of melt that did not escape the rock (leucosome). What makes Catalina so special is that these rocks are at the surface (subduction zone rocks very rarely end up at the surface!), allowing us to make direct observations of rocks that were subducted rather than extrapolating from complex geochemical signatures in the corresponding ancient volcanic arc (the Peninsular Ranges).

This is what most of the blocks looked like in the field, though they could range from cat-sized to car-sized. On the rock are our sampling tools– sledgehammer, chisel, and sample bag. Geology can be a brutish science at times.

Check out these cutesy little garnets in a row above my fingers (red dots in white line)! We think these are “peritectic” garnets, meaning they formed along with melt (the white line) as the result of the breakdown of another mineral.

Another one of many beautiful views.

Before Spanish colonizers arrived, Catalina was inhabited by the Tongva, who used the local soapstone (more formally known as talc schist– part of the weaker unit of rock I mentioned earlier) to craft bowls and other cooking ware that they traded along the California coast. This was one of a few soapstone-working sites we passed by on the way to outcrops, where you can see bowls that were never finished still attached to the rock.

In this picture I’m standing on a completely different kind of rock– metamorphosed pillow basalt intruded by blueschist dikes! Despite Catalina’s geology being so varied and complex, we’d been entirely focused on one particular kind of rock up until this day, so it was nice to branch out a little bit and see something new. This picture was taken right after a swimming break in Shark Harbor, which (if you ignore the ominous name) was an amazing place to swim with clear, cool water and waves just high enough to body surf without getting tossed around.

The aforementioned cool, clear water. It made me sad to have to look up from the water and board the ferry back to the mainland, so I took this picture to remember how blue it was.