WI CLASS OF 1959 NEWSLETTER
| Editor: Roleta Smith Meredith | Issue 11 | July 2000 |
No matter where we travel, there is no country as wonderful as our own United States of America. On July 4th, 2000 we celebrate the birth of this great nation. May everyone have a happy and safe holiday.
roleta1@aol.com
In August, 1999 after returning from the class reunion I thought how nice it would be to stay in touch with classmates. We visited at the reunion and renewed old friendships but it was not something we wanted to end. We didn't want to part and not contact each other for another 5, 10 or 15 years. So I thought a little newsletter would be a nice way to keep all in touch. At first I worried and stewed that people didn't like it and that no one was reading it. But it is working, my dream is coming true. We are getting more contributions each month. It is catching on. I love hearing from classmates, friends and people who grew up in West Virginia. We have a bond. Let's keep this going. Let's make it work. Send articles to roleta1@aol.com. Thank you.
Hi Roleta,
Great to hear from you. I just, a few minutes ago, typed a long email to you and some how it vanished in just a second. Frustrating when that happens. Well, here goes again.
I've meant to thank you for the wonderful WI Newsletter you send to all of us and for all the other interesting information. Keep up the good work. You are amazing.
The photo you spoke of was taken of us in Portugal 2 summers ago when we were visiting Ed's sister. She works for the U.S. Embassy Dept. and lives all over the world. Every 2 to 3 years she has a new post so we always try to visit her when we can.
I moved to California 35 years ago. First I lived in the San Fernando Valley, then 18 years in Malibu, 11 in Topanga and now almost 3 in Ventura. We love this small beach community as it is still relatively uncongested in comparison to LA.
For 25 years, I have been a special education teacher, with 20 of those years being in Malibu area schools. I am teaching at Malibu High and love it. I do think I may retire at the end of next school year 2001. My husband is an administrator of a mental health facility close to our home.
My daughter, Laurie, is 37,married and has 2 sons, Jace 11 and Max 9. Laurie sells real estate for a company in Temecula, about 3 hours from us so we see them often. I love being a grandmother and Jace and Max are the "lights of my life".
Ed and I love to travel, especially scuba diving trips and we have been all over the world. This summer we have a different trip planned. We are going on safari to Sub-Saharan Africa for 6 weeks with a stop going and coming in London. We will be staying in 5 different safari camps in Botswana, Zambia and hopefully Zimbabwe, if conditions improve there. We should see many different animals and it should be an exciting trip.
Yes, I used to have a sailboat with a friend and we sailed from Florida to almost South America for a number of years. It was great fun and I still love getting out on the ocean whenever I can. Ed loves the water too. We have several kayaks and use them in the ocean regularly.
As for hobbies, I love cross country running, swimming, yoga and kayaking and just recently I took up golf.
My parents are both gone now and I don't have an immediate family living in Clarksburg but I still have friends there and will always consider it my home. I hope to come back to those beautiful hills sometime in the next couple of years. Maybe to a reunion. It sure sounds like you all had fun at the last one.
I look forward to seeing you again, Roleta. Stay in touch.
Love, Jane
Joy Gregorie Stalnaker is very involved in genealogical research. She gives speeches on the subject in several states. Joy recently brought it to our attention that if one had a need to visit a cemetery that is now located on private property, the owner had the right to refuse entry to the property if wanted. This was a problem in WV as several family cemeteries which were once located on the family farm are now located on someone else's property.The following is an article which appeared in June in the Clarksburg newspaper. Our classmate, Joy, was interviewed for this article.
CEMETERY ACCESS LAW PROVES THERE ARE SOME THINGS MONEY CAN'T BUY
As anyone who has seen the current generation of master Card commercials should know by now - there are some things money just can't buy. And, as we've discovered since printing an article concerning a new cemetery access law, that includes certain land-use rights.
Our article ran on Sunday, June 4. It detailed the provisions of a new state law that allows extended family and genealogical researchers to access a single gravesite or cemetery, regardless of who owns the land surrounding it. Those qualified individuals who wish to visit a gravesite on private land may now enlist the aid of a county circuit court if they are denied access by the landowner, according to Joy Gregorie Stalnaker. Stalnaker was a chief promoter of the law and is director of the Central West Virginia Genealogy and History Library in Lewis County. She said the law is an extremely important one for West Virginia. We agree.
In the past, some landowners have feared allowing cemetery access because of potential lawsuits should a visitor become injured on their property, Stalnaker said. As a result, some have tried to hide evidence there is a cemetery on their land, she added, although West Virginia already had laws against the desecretion of a burial site or the removal of gravestones. Others have kept families out.
Based on the number of phone calls we've been getting, a lot of families have been kept out. Again and again, we are hearing of landowners who have fenced off small cemeteries and have kept family members out with a locked gate. Other families say they had already begun court action and are excited to hear the law has turned in their favor. We are pleased for these families and hope they show the same respect to landowners as to the gravesites. We are also pleased our state legislators did the right thing--in spite of a history of enacting land-use laws that ignore anything except the desires, sometimes greed, of present landowners.
In allowing families and historians access to these private gravesites, the Legislature showed much more than a reflection of America's respect for human life. Lawmakers showed a belief that at least some aspects of land ownership are a temporary thing --- that residents of the past and future have rights as well.
They did the right thing. We hope they will do more of the same.
We hope they will lead the way in saying: There are some things money just can't buy.
I am sorry I have not gotten back to you before now. I have just gotten started in this email and forget to check my mail thinking I probably don't have any. I will give you an update and you can add what you think is appropriate as I haven't seen the page but will view it after I answer you.I am married and have two daughters. I am still working as a nurse and work for the Virginia state health dept. Sell weekenders clothes at in home presentations as my second job and will continue after I retire in 3-5 years. Keep in touch and thanks for adding me to the July newsletter. Liz
Dear Roleta,
My name is Evelyn Brown Harper, a 1962 graduate of your "arch rival," Victory High School. Vickie Zabeau Bowden, a Notre Dame graduate, informed me about your web site. Many of my friends are WI graduates, and I have been thoroughly enjoying your memos. Please add me to your e-mail list. My e-mail address is: Whipharp@aol.com.
Many thanks!
Sincerely,
Evelyn Brown Harper
(VICTORY 1962)
Roleta,
Thought I would share something with you that seemed so timely from the '59 newsletters. I saw that both John Matheny ('59) and Melanie Aspy ('58) were listed as deceased in the first newsletter. I have many memories of John's mother and Melanie's mother hoping to get these two across-the-street neighbors together romantically before Melanie was taken away at such a young age by leukemia.
I began doing pheresis donations (platelets) many years ago based on the memory of Melanie's death. I never forgot how much sadness there was in our neighborhood and how helpless everyone felt when Melanie became ill. When I found out that platelet donations helped in the treatment of leukemia, I signed up. Some years later, I learned of the National Bone Marrow Donor Program and again signed up. I have been fortunate enough to have matched two recipients over the years for marrow donations (the odds are extremely long of ever matching someone, so this was kind of like winning the lottery twice). Each time, I dedicated the donation to Melanie's memory.
Sadly,.neither of my recipients survived the marrow transplant, but I learned in the past month that I have matched yet another recipient, and am scheduled to do my third marrow donation later in June. Keep your fingers crossed that the third time is the charm for this recipient (a 23 year old man with acute leukemia) ......... once again, the donation will be made in Melanie's memory.
A FOLLOW UP LETTER DATED JUNE 21, 2000
from Jim Ashley
WI Class of 1962
jashley@erols.com
Roleta, two items........
First, my marrow donation is scheduled for 6/26........a 24 year old man suffering from acute lymphocitic leukemia is the recipient ........ if it is not too late to include for the July newsletter, please ask everyone to turn their thoughts to this young man who has a year's worth of struggle ahead of him to get past all the problems with graft versus host disease and a myriad of opportunistic infections before he can be considered a candidate for long term survival
Secondly, a group of my '62 friends started reminiscing about the great 1959 football team we had led by Gene Donaldson and Bobby Secret.......does anyone have any info on where these two guys are??
Jim Ashley
EDITOR'S COMMENT TO JIM ASHELY:
We will pray for the recipient of your bone marrow We pray that the 24 year old man who is a recipient will survive and recover after he receives his treatment. And Jim, God bless you for your endeavors.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Do you remember Davis Flynn? He recently signed in the WI newsletter guest book. I wrote to him to find out whatever happened to him. I remembered Davis but also remembered that he didn't finish WI with us. The following is some of the letter from Davis. I hope you will welcome Davis to our group.
From: davisflynn@yahoo.com
Roleta:
I went to private school in my soph year. I lived in southern California for the 30 years, but I recently moved to the Dallas area for employment relocation. I lived on Waverly Way in Stealey in Clarksburg. The many names that I recognized from your reunion certainly was refreshing. I am glad to see so many are still in the Clarksburg area. I have not returned to Clarksburg in some years. The thing I miss most is the pizza from Twin Oaks. Your web site is a great idea.
Thanks for responding to me.
Until later
Hi Roleta,
I do not know if this is what you want for the newsletter, but here goes. I just returned from Chicago, Illinois where I attended the annual meeting of the American Association of Family and Counsumer Sciences. The theme was Invest in Families: Utilizing Emerging Technology. I had a wonderful time. The meeting provides an up-date on current information in the field as well as an opportunity to meet with others in the profession. Hope you are having a great summer.
Patty Terrill Stealey
(WI Class or 1959)
pstealey@shepherd.edu
Roleta1@aol.com
I was pondering one day recently. (Deep thinking---did you smell something burning?) Maybe there are other classmates out there who are not aware of this newsletter or our camaraderie. Maybe there are other classmates who are on line but with whom we have no contact. Maybe there are some people who have access to a computer and would enjoy joining us in cyberspace. So I wrote to these people to inform them that we are on line and that we want them to join us. I wrote and mailed 91 letters to classmates with whom we have no online contact. I received an e-mail from some (e-mail addresses and notes included in this newsletter). Clara Jason Davis called to offer some hints about Marjorie Jones (missing classmate from WI Class of 1959). Now please read her hints and the detective work done as a follow up. Maybe you can remember something to add to help us in our pursuit of Marjorie. We want to find them!
Clara said that Marjorie had an uncle in Clarksburg who was named Eugene ("Gene") Jones. This uncle was about the same age as Marjorie. Gene was married to Virginia Ellis. Maybe we could find him and he could give us a lead. There is a Eugene Jones, Jr. listed in the Clarksburg phone directory (possibly a son of Marjorie's uncle). The most current news of Marjorie is about 15-20 years old and had her located in eastern Florida. We can not find any leads of her in Florida. Her last known married name was Jackson, there may have been a change of name there also. We don't know.
After this phone call from Clara, I e-mailed Charlie Burkhammer (a Class detective) and gave him the information I had received from Clara. Charlie called the Eugene Jones listed in the phone directory. Mr. Jones lives in Jane Lew and is not related to anyone in Clarksburg. Charlie wonders if anyone knows if Virginia Ellis is related to the drive-in Ellis'? Also, do you remember where Marjorie Jones lived while in Clarksburg? Maybe her parents are alive. Maybe a neighbor remembers and knows something that would help us. Who did Marjorie run around with in high school? Please think and think some more...e-mail me with any hint---no matter how small it might be.
AND SO THEY WROTE TO JOIN US
Roleta,
I received your letter informing the Class of 1959 about the on-line newsletter that you have been providing. Please add me to your e-mail list. You know me as Doris Jean Walters. I go by Jeanne Muscari. My e-mail address is hillbilly@rivnet.net.
I look forward to reading about other classmates
Jeanne Muscari
(WI 1959)
Roleta,
I was glad to learn of your newsletter and I am glad to say that we finally got on line. jfleming@citynet.net
Since last fall, I no longer make frequent trips to Clarksburg. My mother needed constant care of a nursing home for both physical problems and dementia, so we moved her to our area where we could oversee her care more conveniently.
My mother-in-law died in February, so our lives keep changing, but our grandchildren always keep us hopping.
Will look forward to reading the next newsletter.
Helen Fleming
(WI 1959)
Hi,
Thanks for the note and aid in finding the newsletter. I haven't tried the link yet, but shall do so momentarily. Sure, it would be fun to see what's going on with everyone, if it's not a big imposition. I'll share with/ Julie, and yes - I am a sister to Julie Hurst (WI 1959).
As to Julie being on the internet - or even having a computer - she doesn't. She does have a fax, and that's about it. She doesn't even have a microwave. I, too, keep wishing that she could be online. It's such fun, and really wish I could keep in better touch with her in that way.
She's still in Cinci, where she has been since the summer of '62. She has been married to Khosrow Alamin, a doctor originally from Iran, for almost 35 years. They had three sons, but very sadly lost their youngest, Armin, who was just 9 days shy of being 18, in a horrible car accident in July of 1988. The other two, Raud and Todd, are both married and living in CA. One is a doctor and the other a lawyer. She has three grandchildren and is loving that aspect of her life. She and Khosrow manage to go out to California often to visit with their boys and families.
I have been back in Clarksburg ever since marrying Tom Lee in 1967. We have three "kids", being 29, 27, and almost 20. No marriages yet, but we'll look forward to that (and to grandchildren) when they happen. Colton, the oldest, lives and works here in Clarksburg; Tiffany, the middle, lives and works in Charlotte, and Thos., the youngest, is a student at WVU, but working at Camp Cayuga in the Poconos this summer. Then he'll work through the Disney College Program at Disneyworld from Aug. 21st until Jan. 4th. After that ...back to WVU for 2nd Sem. He'll be a junior.
I'll make that a wrap for now. By the way, you did not give me a name, and so I do not know to whom I am writing. Thank you, though, so much for the correspondence and assistance. That's great that you all are on the ball with an internet newsletter!
Fondly,
Marilyn Hurst Lee
(WI Class of 1962)
Tel3@aol.com
Dear Roleta,
I was happy to get your letter and would like to be notified when the current newsletter is online. You can use this e-mail address.
I'm busy getting ready to teach summer school, but will keep in touch...
Karen Combs Miller
millerkc@mail.milwaukee.k12.wi.us
Dear Roleta,
Thanks for your letter of June 12. It sounds like several people are doing some really good stuff. What is the Web address for your newsletter? Are back issues archived there?
Yours,
John Criss
JohnCriss@aol.com
NEW E-MAIL ADDRESSES AS A RESULT OF ROLETA'S LETTER
Add these to your list. Write them a note and welcome them!
Virginia Bonnett Pringle Lizm@iconnect.net.au
Karen Combs Miller millerkc@mail.milwaukee12.wi.us
John Criss JohnCriss@aol.com
Bill Fowler (WI '59) billf@ngn.com
Helen House Fleming jfleming@citynet.net
Corinne Tannebaumn Levy krinee1@aol.com
Jeanne Walters Muscari hillbilly@rivnet.net
Marsha Woods Roper Stratscat@dellnet.com
If you would like to receive a list of all the e-mail addresses of the 1959 classmates and the friends of ours, you can e-mail Bob Davis with a request and he will send it to you either as a download attachment or included in an e-mail --- whichever is easier for you. E-mail Bob at davis29063@aol.com. And I will take this space to thank Bob from all of us for the good work he has done to keep this record for us.
AN UPDATE ON RETURNED MAIL
There were 2 letters returned to me which could not be delivered due to incorrect addresses.
First was to:
Mary Hart Smith
7001 Giddings Rd.
Atwater, Ohio 44201
Post office said no such address....In the 25th class reunion book it lists her occupation as AT& T telephone operator. Spouse as Clark and a son, Steve, age 19.
Second letter returned was not delivered and written on the envelope was "NOT HERE".
Emma Jean Holyfield Williamson
Rt. 2 Box 925
Clarksburg, WV 26301
I have no further information on EmmaJean.
Third letter returned to me was
George H. Skinner
1511 Farland Ave.
Clarksburg, WV 26301
There is a Geroge Skinner who lives on Farland Ave but he wrote to me and said he was sorry but he did not graduate from WI in 1959 and his middle initial is not H.....So we need to add him to the list of lost classmates
Now we need your help. Let's locate these 2 people and correct the address for our records. If you have a current address contact either Phil Gloss at pgloss@home.com or Roleta1@aol.com or Charlie Burkhammer at cbhammer12@aol.com.. If you have a hint which might be a good lead, first try to follow it up and see if you can find the missing classmate or contact one of those listed and we will see if we can run down your information and find the "missing" classmate. We still need information on the other 6 still missing. Just when I thought we were getting close to finding everyone, up pops 3 more missing classmates. We need any information you might have on these 10 people:
LET'S FIND THEM ALL
Judy Grant Prout
Mary Hart Smith
Marjorie Jones Jackson
Richard McIntere
Robert Neal
Jon Reger
Peggy Robinson
George H. Skinner
Peggy Tibbs
Emma Jean Holyfield Willamson
A LETTER OF THANKS
Dear Roleta,
It is such a pleasure to be able to turn on our computer and visit the site with all the information about our Classmates and know what it going on in their lives..... You , Judy and Larry have done such a magnificent job... We couldn't let this opportunity pass us by without reminding you of How Much we appreciate all of the time and thought that goes into these newsletters.... You all have worked very hard to keep us informed ... It is such a treat for those of us who are truly interested in the friends and acquaintances from our days past...THANK YOU VERY MUCH...
Sincerely,
Carolyn and Jerry Warne
Tomaro's in Glen Elk won the contest....below are a few of the letters I received about the pepperoni rolls. Wish I had a pepperoni roll right now...slit it open, warm it and put some of Oliverio's peppers (Medium Hot) inside and enjoy. Make your mouth water?
From Judy Daugherty Kimler
Class of 1959
jkimler@ezwv.com
As far as the pepperoni rolls go, I remember my favorite but not who made them. I think it was Tiano's but not sure. I do know for sure that Tiano's made the best Italian bread. They were way up on a hill in Glen Elk #2 and had a real stone oven. My father would go there early in the morning and get the bread while it was still warm. Boy, I had forgotten all about that. Those REALLY were the good old days. You would really laugh at what they call a pepperoni roll here in Huntington. I was so shocked the first time I got one - it had sliced pepperoni in it. I stopped and took it apart and sure enough sliced pepperoni. And only 3-4 slices and lots of bread.
Well, I could go on forever about the good Italian food in Clksbg so I will stop here before I get too hungry.
FROM TOM MARSHALL
Class of 1959
Marshall@robert-morris.edu.
Roleta:
Great June newsletter.
Greatest pepperoni rolls were made by Tomaro's bakery in Glen Elk. "Tomaro's bread today." A Tomaro's roll had a stick of pepperoni quartered in the roll. My aunt used to work at Tri-State Appliance (Philco appliances) in Glen Elk. I'd go visit and run down to the bakery to get pepperoni rolls and bread. Also, you could get them in all the good independent groceries in town.
In Pittsburgh you get these pitiful things with a few slices in them.
FROM JERRY AND CAROLYN PINELLA WARNE
Class of 1959
wrmychsnut@aol.com
I cast my vote for TOMARO'S PEPPERONI ROLLS......
I met Fred at the bakery one Sunday and we were both buying these delicious pepperoni rolls.... UMMMMM GOOD
(WI Class of 1962)
Just thought that I would remind all of you that today is June 20 ......... 137 years ago today West Virginia became the 35th state. This morning the City of Clarksburg celebrated this wonderful milestone on the Court house plaza with the traditional birthday cake. I was honored to make some introductions of the speaker and guests present. Before I left the event, I located Bob Caplan and Dave Rowe. Being a city councilwoman in the City of Clarksburg is a wonderful experience for me and I am so very proud to serve.
In case you have not seen the web site for the City of Clarksburg www.clarksburg.com try to check it out sometime. There is a live web cam picture you may click onto and, in your spare time, watch traffic flow through the Main and Third Street intersection. :-) The camera is located on top of the Court house and shows the lovely new City Hall located on the opposite corner.
DCR@citynet.net
Dear Roleta,
Thank you for including me on your e-mail list and newsletter. I enjoy it very much. One minor point though your class has list me as graduating in 1957. I graduated in 1962,
Thank you again.
Dave Rowe
We had several in the AMERICAN ON LINE INSTANT MESSANGER chat room Sunday evening at 9:00 PM daylight savings time. Remember this is free but you do need to download. Directions: download then keep telling it NEXT, NEXT, NEXT, etc. You must pick a screen name to use, you will have to e-mail me the screen name you choose as you can not enter the chat unless you are invited. It is an easy chat. It is cranky to get started but I am sure if you are persistent you will get there and when you do, you will enjoy the chats. It is only hard to enter the first time, after that it is simple. You do not have to have AOL in order to use this service. It is available to all on line customers no matter the service you use.
with a New Introduction by John E. Stealey III
JSTEALEY@shepherd.edu
When Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861, its western residents were outraged and formed a separate state two years later, introducing political upheaval into already tumultuous times. Men like Granville Davisson Hall sought to throw off the shackles of a slave holding aristocracy and to revitalize their region's economy in the process. Hall's account of those events, which first appeared when the birth of West Virginia was still a living memory, takes modern readers back to those turbulent days.An active participant in the statehood movement and West Virginia's second secretary of state, Hall recorded all the proceedings of the loyalist constitutional convention and preserved every printed document from that assembly. He gathered those materials, along with reminiscences of the men involved in the secession effort, into a book, originally published in 1901, that offers firsthand insights into the personalities and offers an insiders analysis of their interactions. Hall's acquaintance with so many leading politicians also allowed him to make telling corrections to their own self-serving accounts of those events.
John Stealey's introduction to this classic work provides a biographical sketch of Hall and places him within the broader social and political context of dissent in western Virginia. He also shows how modern scholars can benefit from Hall's unabashedly partisan viewpoint, noting that Hall's knowledge of individuals and families can help us better understand the regional politics of that era.
This reissue of The Rending Of Virginia provides today's readers with a unique collection of primary source materials not otherwise available while offering a fresh perspective on slavery and economics in ante-bellum Virginia. It remains one of the most thorough and multidimensional studies of secession and statehood and helps us fully grasp the histories of two states.
THE AUTHOR: Granville Davisson Hall (1837-1934), served as West Virginia secretary of state and later became editor of the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer. He was also the author of Lee's Invasion Of Northwest Virginia (1911) and a novel, Daughter Of The Elm (1899).
John Edmund Stealey III is professor of history at Shepherd College and author of The Antebellum Kanawha Salt Business And Western Markets.
The University of Tennessee Press
Chicago Distribution Center
11030 South Langley Ave
Chicago, Il 60628
800-621-2736
$38.00 per copy (paper) add $3.50 shipping fee. 672 pages, 27 illustrations, American History, Appalachian Studies
From Charlie Burkhammer
I remember that Mr. Corder was the 7th grade shop teacher. There was a different one for 8th grade, and I can picture him, but cannot put a name in him, but I probably will, in the middle of the night soon. You know what I mean, right? The shop was located at the opposite end of the junior high building from Towers School, behind the Methodist Church.
On the second floor of that building was mechanical drawing. I remember walking there for class from WI during 10th grade. Can you imagine that walk, and back to the hill for another class.
Charlie
EDITOR'S NOTE: Charlie went a step further to help the rest of you guys remember shop---he did some research in order to help him recall the 8th grade teacher's name. READ ON:
Roleta,
I came up with the name of the 8th grade shop teacher. I couldn't think of it myself, so I did the next best thing, I asked the man who had the job before the man we were trying to think of.
Dwight Fowler was the 8th grade shop teacher from 1937 - 1953. We started at Central in 1953. The man's name was Lloyd Hall. I can remember Dwight giving demonstrations at Central on working with pewter. Believe it or not, Dwight's older brother, Orlen, is still running around Bridgeport. He was a teacher, principal for many years in Harrison County, and sold World Book. An amazing family. Orlen Fowler is our Bill Fowlers' father. I think he is 96 now, and still drives around town. Younger brother Dwight is 88. I saw him today at a funeral.
Mr. Hall later taught at Bridgeport.
I really appreciate all your work.
Charlie
from Jim Brown
Class of 1957
Mr. (Coplin) Corder taught 7th grade shop. Mr. Dwight Fowler taught 8th grade.
crector1@aol.com
Dear family and friends,
Rachel Ann Rector arrived June 13th at 9:15 p.m. We are again blessed with a healthy baby and mom. She weighed in at 7lbs. 9 oz. and seems to be a perfect mixture of her parents. She has Kay's black hair and Rob's chubby cheeks. Her brothers Ross and Ryan will show her all the ropes I'm sure! Grandparents, Carolyn and Bob Rector
jiaconis@erols.com
TRIP TO GREECE - Some words about my trip to Greece and a little side visit to western Turkey.
KALIMERA - [ka lee MEH ra] good morning as they say in Greece.
BACKGROUND. Greece has about 11 million people of whom 40 percent live in the Athens area. It is about 50,900 square miles and is slightly smaller than the state of Alabama and twice the size of West Virginia. At Delphi, where the Greeks once consulted the Oracle about the future, there is a round sculptured stone perhaps four feet in diameter - the omphalos-the cosmic belly button of the universe. The Greeks believed that Delphi was the very center of the world-the place where it all came into being. It's a strange feeling to walk where Plato and Homer walked. Ancient Greece's impact on the Western World can't be overstated. The rediscovery of Greek classics of philosophy, science, and literature had a profound influence on the development of Western thought, leading Europe out of the dark ages to the Renaissance.
Though its recorded history goes back thousands of years, modern-day Greece was shaped largely in the past several centuries. The Ottoman Empire took control of Greece in the 15th century and governed until 1821 when the War of Independence began. A monarchy, installed in 1832 under Prince Otto of Bavaria, was abolished and reinstated twice during the 20th century before the last king was ousted by a 1974 referendum, when a military junta that took power in 1967 was also booted out. That year, the nation finally returned to democracy, a concept that was born there two and half millennia earlier.
It's important to know that although many of the temples and archaeological sites are well preserved or have been restored to a degree, others are in near-total ruin. Many treasures were taken by other countries or used to build newer structures. Many antiquities have yet to be restored. The landscape of Greece is surprisingly varied, ranging from the cool, wetter mountainous regions of the Northwest, the coastal hills of the Peloponnese, the plains of Macedonia, and the sun-drenched, rocky islands that lie off the coast. Off the western coast is the Ionian Sea and off the eastern coast is the Aegean Sea. The island of Crete, however, with the warmest weather in Greece, lies far to the south, in the Mediterranean-it's often referred to as Europe's southeastern most border.
TRAVEL. If you like to travel and have an interest in the beginnings of western civilization history and culture, consider especially Greece and also western Turkey. Visit where the foundations of our philosophy and democracy were born. Greece has a very low crime rate, the water is safe to drink, the food is good, and the people are friendly. Tourism is a major part of the economy. Visit the many Greco-Roman antiquities, temples of Apollo and Athena, monasteries, acropolises - each city had its own. There are many ancient cities and structures to see. The antiquities were constructed 2500-3000 years ago. Visit Greek Orthodox churches which have an interesting architecture. The churches and monasteries are decorated very ornately with entire walls and ceilings covered with painted religious figures. One sees the many Venetian and Franks fortifications and castles as Venice, Italy controlled the spice trade at one time and ruled the Adriatic Sea.
TIME TO VISIT. Best time to visit to avoid the heat and the crowds is before mid-June and after early September. There are ATMs and money exchanges in the airports and biggest cities. In small towns, usually cash only in Greek money or American money is used. Have a good pair of comfortable walking shoes since many sites are on top of mountains and one has to walk up steep rocky slopes typically located several hundred feet to a mile from the parking lots. Most people carry bottled water around to sip during the walks and some type of a sun hat or cap is recommended. Dress appropriately with legs and shoulders covered for churches and monasteries - though most of these places have skirts available for the women or men to temporarily wear.
FOOD. Enjoy the food. Eat moussaka [baked eggplant and minced meat], lamb, Greek salads with tasty tomatoes and feta cheese [usually goat's milk], many types of olives, olive oils, squid and other seafood, spanakopita [spinach pie], various egg dishes, and many types of desserts. Drink the ouzo. I ate more lamb, feta cheese, squid, octopus, and moussaka during the visit than I have eaten in many years combined.American-type food is also readily available. However, because of over fishing, seafood especially large fish are expensive.
EDITOR'S NOTE --- Next month we will have another installment to this great Grecian trip that John recently experienced. --- Thanks for sharing John. Now I want to go there more than ever.
REMEMBER SUBMIT COMMENTS, NEWS, LETTERS OR ARTICLES TO: ROLETA1@AOL.COM
thank you
