Plymouth Rock

I expected this to be a short entry since everyone knows that the Pilgrims landed in 1620 and stepped ashore onto a big Rock, now known as Plymouth Rock…right?

And we all know that the Mayflower was the ship that brought the Pilgrims from England but there’s so much more to the story as I found out as I revisited both the “Rock” and the Mayflower II.

As you leave Plimouth Plantation the exit takes you right to Rt3A and is clearly marked to lead you into Plymouth. Once I entered Plymouth I cut down a side street to reach the waterfront. I was hoping to find parking near the Mayflower instead of at the other end of town. I was lucky and there were some meters right next to the park.

Before I went to the Mayflower, I wandered over to take a picture of Plymouth Rock.

Once again I ran into hoards of school children. Across the street and up a hill was a statue of Massasoit so I climbed the staircase to the top to take pictures and check out the statue. That’s when I began to get an education.

Massasoit was the grand sachem (intertribal leader) of the Wampanoag and it was he who arrived with 60 warriors on a hill overlooking Plymouth in in the spring of 1621 several months after the Mayflower landed. Massasoit established the peaceful relations with the colonists and was instrumental in teaching them how to survive in this new and wild land. It’s likely that many more Pilgrims would have died of starvation or exposure if not for the intervention of the Wampanoag.



Monument marking the 1st burying ground of the passengers of the Mayflower

 For decades while Massasoit held sway with the colonists, the Wampanoag enjoyed cordial if sometimes strained relations but following Massasoit’s death in 1661 relations deteriorated eventually leading to the bloody King Philip’s War in 1675.

In 1970, at the top of Coles Hill in Plymouth, Native Americans and their supporters once again gathered and looked down on the town of Plymouth. This was the beginning of the first National Day of Mourning. This was in place of Thanksgiving and is held to draw attention to the distortion of much of history as it is applied to Native Americans from Massasoit to the present day. This was all new to me. I had not heard of the National Day of Mourning but it sent me researching even more of the history of the Native Americans of the area. What I have been learning is a story of heartbreaking betrayal and discrimination. It is worth exploring further if such history is of interest. I am including a link at then end of this post.

There is also a walking trail with audio stops. You pick up a tape in town and follow the trail. Each stop with an audio entry on the tape is marked by a sign. I am going to have to do that one of these days. After all, it’s right in my back yard.

I walked back down to Plymouth Rock and explored some of the history surrounding this Icon. Currently it is housed in a pavilion with wrought iron fencing designed to protect the stone from souvenir hunters who like to chip away at it. But it hasn’t always resided where it is today. For a large boulder, Plymouth Rock has certainly moved around.

First of all, there is no reference to a large rock or boulder in any of William Bradford’s writings or journals.

In fact the first reference to the Pilgrim’s landing on a rock wasn’t until 121 years after the Mayflower dropped anchor in the bay.

In 1774 the townspeople of Plymouth decided to move the rock and it was split in half, the upper portion was relocated to the town’s meetinghouse and the base was left behind near the wharf.

In 1834 the upper half was moved again, this time to Pilgrim hall. The Pilgrim Society began building a Victorian canopy over the lower portion of the rock. Once the canopy was completed the upper portion of the rock was reunited with it’s base. The number 1620 was carved in it’s surface. But this was not to be the final stop for the famous rock.

In 1920 the waterfront was redesigned so that when the rock was returned to it’s original site it would be at water level. The care of the rock was turned over to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and a new Roman Doric Portico was built to house the rock.

I may have missed a few of the rock’s wanderings but today it is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation as part of the Pilgrim Memorial State Park in a newly designed superstructure in a classical revival style.

Well seeing as I have gone on a bit. I think I will save the Mayflower II for another post! It's amazing what you can find right near your home when you open your eyes and start looking around like a tourist. Monuments and sights you don't think about becasue you see them every day take on a whole new significance.

http://www.danielnpaul.com/

http://www.pilgrimhall.org/daymourn.htm

Nye Barn

I almost missed the Nye Barn. I had seen the signs for it but they always seemed to take me back to the Visitor Center. It wasn’t until I decided to head back to the car and into Plymouth for the Mayflower II that I saw a barn out by the bus parking lot.

I decided to wander over there first to check it. Sure enough, it was the Nye Barn.
Nye barn is a typical barn with hay and animals and doors opening onto pastures. What makes the Nye Barn special is the type of animals in it. Plimouth Plantation is part of a world wide effort to preserve rare farm animals.

Based on drawings of livestock from the 1600’s and writings from colonial governor William Bradford, Plimouth Plantation chose to represent the types of animals that would have been likely to be raised by the Pilgrims. In the 1600’s animals were not identified by breed. In accordance with the Rare Breeds Livestock Program some of the animals being bred at the Nye Barn are Wiltshire Horn rams, Tamworth Swine, Red Dorking Chickens, Milking Devon cattle and two rare breeds of goat, the San Clemente Island Goat and the Arapawa Island (New Zealand) goat.

I was surprised to see some babies as I think of newborns as being born in the spring, not the late fall. There wasn’t any staff around the barn so I wasn’t able to question anyone about the untimely arrival of the babies but there they were, cute as a button.

The only animals specifically mentioned as being passengers on the Mayflower were two dogs (a spaniel & a Mastiff) but historians generally agree that there must have been other livestock such as goats, pigs, and chickens. They also think that a few cats must have traveled over as cats were common on ships of the era to keep the rats and vermin under control.

Now it was time to head into downtown Plymouth for a stop at The Mayflower II and of course, Plymouth Rock.

　

1627 English Village

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I cooked my turkey, yams and pies in a modern gas oven.

Things were much different in 1627. When you enter the 17^th century at the English Village you meet staff not only dressed in period costumes but speaking in the dialect of the time. Unlike those you met in the Wampanoag Homesite, these staffers are role playing.

The Village is a re-creation of the village that was established in New Plymouth in 1621. By 1627 the original village had approximately 28 houses. The village at the Plimouth Plantation recreates only about half that number. Originally the colonists planted and cultivated nearly 200 acres, planting mostly corn, which was a new crop to them. The exhibit is only a small portion of that.

At the time of my visit there were quite a few “settlers” performing different tasks or trying to. Most were surrounded by a large number of visitors and were answering questions or explaining life or in some cases, just telling stories.

At the top of the main street is a fort. The fort was built for defense but it also doubled as a meeting house and a place of worship.

Turing to look back I was impressed by the sweeping view of Cape Cod Bay.

The location of the 1627 Village is not the actual location of the town the Pilgrims founded . That is actually where the modern town of Plymouth is now.

As I wandered around the village I noticed the chickens running loose. I felt bad for them because there were so many children here today that they were constantly being chased. The kids were far more interested in trying to catch a chicken than listening to what the role players had to say.

But back to the legend of the first Thanksgiving. When the fall harvest rolled around that year, it was a coincidence that the Indians came calling. The historical record seems to indicate that the Wampanoag came to the village to review the terms of the treaty they had with the colony, not to celebrate a good harvest. Whatever the reason, Governor Bradford invited them to stay and there followed 3 days of feasting. Undoubtedly there was turkey as there were many wild turkeys in the area, but there would have been other items such as deer (venison) and fish and shellfish from the bay. The bulk of the food for the “Feast” was provided by the Wampanoag guests.


Wild Turkeys in modern Plymouth



The myth of the first Thanksgiving would have you believe that the Indians and the Pilgrims were “friends”. They were more like uneasy allies. The Pilgrims needed the Indians because of their knowledge and survival skills in a wild and untamed world. The Wampanoag needed the alliance to help defend themselves from their mutual enemies, other Indian tribes of the area. So, much like today a political alliance was formed. In fact letters written by the colonists show contempt for the Native Americans and especially their religious beliefs.

In return the Wampanoag found the English to be “strange’ and “aggressive”. Eventually these differences and lack of respect for each other’s culture would lead to the devastating conflict known as “King Philip’s War”. Doesn’t seem like we humans have learned much in the ensuing years.

But back to the legend of the First Thanksgiving. The Pilgrims likely spent most of their Thanksgiving in religious services and it wasn’t until the late 1600’s that a bountiful meal was added at the end of a long day of prayer. It was during the 1800’s that Thanksgiving evolved to the modern version and the “Pilgrims’ became an iconic image of Thanksgiving in the minds of many Americans. That was also when the holiday moved from a regional New England Holiday to a National Holiday.

Leaving the English Village behind, I stopped briefly at the craft center where artisan’s demonstrate the way clothing and furnishings were made in the 1600’s . Today there was only one craftsman there as I poked my head in so I didn’t stay.

I returned to the Visitor Center where I enjoyed a turkey sandwich for lunch.



Fireplace in the dining room


Before I left The plantation for the Mayflower II I wanted to check out the Exhibit I had spotted when I first came in. Unfortunately there were a group of un-chaperoned children running around in there . When you stopped to look at an exhibit they would come whooping toward you and try to use you for a game of hide and seek around and  behind you. I gave up, and wandered on down to the Nye Barn.

 Check out the link below for more on the "real" story of Thanksgiving. Coming up next..The Nye Barn.
http://www.danielnpaul.com/TheRealThanksgiving.html

Thanksgiving Wishes for all

Happy

　
　
　

Thanksgiving

Wampanoag Homesite

Plimouth Plantation is a story of 2 cultures, the Wampanoag and the English, now called the Pilgrims.

As I left the Visitor Center the path forks, right side to The Wampanoags , left side to the English Village. Since the Wampanoags have been here for the better part of 12,000 years, living in harmony with the land and the seasons, it seemed that the story should start there, not the Village.

It occurs to me that if the English had arrived today that there could be an entirely different outcome. What if the Wampanoag had immigration laws? Would the “Border Patrol” put the colonists back on the boat and send them home? Would they detain them in a prison for “illegal entry”? Would the subsequent wars waged have been considered treason? What if we looked at the actions of both sides back in the 1600’s and put it in a modern context? How might that change our perceptions’ of what happened?
But those musings are better saved for another time. Right now I am wandering down the woodland path and approaching Hobbamock’s Homesite.

The Homesite is a re-created 17^th century dwelling and planting area. The staff at the Homesite are all Native Americans. Although they are dressed in traditional Native American garb from that time period, they are not role playing. They are demonstrating the ancient skills and tools of their ancestors and explaining the life from a modern perspective.

The Homesite is a 3 season home. An extended family lived on 2 or 3 acres of land during the spring, summer and fall months.

When winter arrived, the families traveled to larger inland villages.

Before the arrival of the “White Man” there were approximately 50,000 Wampanoag in 67 different villages throughout their territory. But once the Colonists arrived they brought European diseases that the Native Americans had no resistance to. In two years from 1616-1618 a devastating plague brought by the Europeans swept though the Wampanoag causing thousands of deaths.

Thousands more were killed or sold into slavery during King Philip’s War (1675). Today there are only 4-5 thousand Wampanoag left from the once mighty nation.

There was a real division of labor in Wampanoag society. Wampanoag women grew and processed the 3 sisters, corn, beans and squash. They also cured the animal skins and made the clothing for the family.

The men built the Wetuash (houses) which were dome shaped and covered with bark and cattail reed mats. They also made dugout canoes called mishoons by burning and scraping oak, pine and chestnut logs.

The Wampanoag like many Native Peoples rely on oral tradition to keep their culture alive from generation to generation. Stories are told and retold, never changing. At the Homesite you can sit by a fire in the wetu (house) and listen to the Native staff share stories of their culture and history. I will have to try to experience that on another trip as there was a line around the wetu of children waiting to get in. I browsed the area for awhile but the line never seemed to shrink. As fast as one group entered another joined the line.

After a time the Wampanoag language began to die out with only a few native speakers remaining but like many other cultures, a new pride in heritage has created a climate that encouraged the recovery and teaching of language and traditions. A similar revival in the Hawaiian culture has saved much of those traditions as well.

Children in the Wampanoag culture are considered gifts from the gods and not expected to do “chores” although they may help protect the family’s corn crop by keeping watch for foraging animals.

The Homesite sits on the edge of the Eel River. This location revealed itself as a true homesite by the shell middens found and arrowheads which show up when turning the soil for a garden or after a strong rain.

One thing was the same for both the Wampanoag and the Colonists. Acquiring, preparing and preserving food was a top priority. Men were responsible for hunting, trapping and fishing but once the food was brought home, it was the women who preserved and prepared it. Women and children also gathered shellfish and berries.

It was time to move on to the 1627 English Village. I followed the Eel River Boardwalk to the 27 stairs and the Village beyond. I like the boardwalk. It makes the walking easy but it also allows you to observe sweeping vistas over the marshy pond that is located at the mouth of the Eel. Birds and turtles are a common sight. Today there were two graceful white swans swimming on the far side of the pond.

In Search of Thanksgiving~Plimouth Plantation

Plymouth, MA. home of the Pilgrims, the Mayflower, Plymouth Rock, Thanksgiving, or so we are taught in school. But how much of this is myth, legend and just plain misinformation?

Since it is Thanksgiving time, I thought a trip to Plymouth to visit the Plimouth Plantation might just answer some of my questions.

Plimouth Plantation has a special Thanksgiving day feast re-creation and you can buy tickets to attend. Traditional 17^th century foods are cooked as they were in the 17^th century...no modern ovens here. But I was more in search of the dynamics between the Native Americans and the English Colonists, known today as the Pilgrims.

Today seemed like a perfect day to head to Plymouth. The sun was trying to peek through a cloud cover and the temps were approaching 60 degrees. Unheard of for the end of November but perfect for wandering through an outdoor exhibit.

This time of year a lot of schools take field trips to the Plimouth Plantation and the Mayflower II as part of their Thanksgiving curriculum but they usually go in the morning so I planned my visit for around noon. That proved to be a bit early as the place was still packed with school children. There is a separate parking lot for buses and that was full. They had buses parking in the back of the car parking lot too. But I was there so there was no turning back. I would just have to brave the munchkin crowds.

You enter the Plimouth Plantation through a wooden entryway and then down a flight of wooden stairs. There is a path for strollers and handicap access.

First stop is the Henry Hornblower II Visitor Center.

 Here there is an orientation movie, (which is about 15 minutes long and quite good), 3 distinctive gift shops, a café, rest rooms plus special exhibits. Today there is one called Thanksgiving, Memory, Myth & Meaning. Sounds like exactly what I’m looking for.

I purchased a combo ticket as it was only $4.00 more to add the Mayflower II to the ticket, a savings of $6.00. (The ticket for the Mayflower is $10.00 when purchased separately). With a complimentary map in hand I headed out to the first stop…The Wampanoag Homesite.

　
　

World Of Coca Cola

Another big day today. Joe and Tim are going to show me around Underground Atlanta and the World of Coca Cola. Keep in mind this was 2001. Since then The World of Coca Cola has moved to Pemberton Place, Atlanta GA.

We started with a walk-through of Underground Atlanta, an entertainment complex that centers around the Zero Milepost that marked the terminus of the Western & Atlantic Railroad in the 1800’s. It was conceived in 1969 by a group Atlanta Businesspeople. The area had been a bustling center of Atlanta until the early 1900’s when it became so congested that permanent concrete viaducts were constructed over it. This raised the street level and rerouted traffic over a maze of railroad tracks. Businesses closed up their locations below and moved up to the new level. The lower level became storage space and was deserted for most of the 20^th century.

The 1969 entertainment idea was great but the complex declined and closed after about a decade. Then in 1989 the idea was revived and a larger, livelier Underground reopened becoming , once again, a bustling entertainment Mecca and urban market place. Unfortunately, financial problems , lease disputes and management issues all combined to another decline giving the complex a rather seedy reputation.
The Underground occupies 12 acres in the center of downtown Atlanta. There is an outdoor staging area for concerts and performances, and the dancing cascades of the Peachtree Fountain Plaza. Markers throughout the complex indicate historic sites and although the complex has not lived up to it’s promise, it was still worth visiting.

It would be interesting to see how it has changed and developed in the 9 years since I was there.

Exiting the Underground we headed to the World of Coca Cola. This was awesome! Inside were icons and relicts of the Coca Cola empire. Classic bottles, original advertising, the Polar Bear mascot and loads of photo ops. The last part was a soda fountain where you could sample coca cola products from around the world. Believe me, they don’t all taste like the Coke we know. In fact, some were awful to my American taste buds but it was still fun!

From The World of Coca Cola we walked through Centennial Olympic Park. Centennial Olympic Park is a true success story of reclaiming a run down urban area and making it into something wonderful. Atlanta was hosting the 1996 Olympic Games and CEO of the Games Committee was looking out his office window at the multi block eyesore when a light bulb went off. He envisioned reclaiming this area and transforming it into a gathering spot for the Olympic games and the years to follow. Atlanta embraced his vision and the park was created without the use of any public funds!. The estimated $75 million development cost was raised entirely from grants, philanthropic donations, funds raised by the Metro Chamber of Commerce and the sale of commemorative bricks.

The park sponsors a wide range of community events including Forth of July Celebrations and Saturday Family Fun days. The park alone draws and estimated three million visitors each year . Seems like it was a good investment for the folks of Atlanta.

　
Wrapping up the day we decided to find Gladys Knights’ Chicken & Waffles Restaurant to have dinner. I had seen this featured on a Food Network Show. It’s a cozy little restaurant with booths and the signature dish is… chicken and waffles . It wasn’t busy when we were there and when we told the waitress that we’d seen this on Food Network, she brought us a complimentary plate of Fried Green Tomatoes. Not bad, I had never had this southern favorite before.

Satisfied with our southern dinner it was time to call it a night. I was heading back to the Boston Area in the morning, my mini vacation at an end.