The Kingston Lounge. Abandoned and Historic Buildings

In my never ending search for cool stuff on the internet I inadvertently, but gladly found a fellow blogger who photographs and blogs about abandoned and historic buildings in New York.
The blog is called The Kingston Lounge- Guerrilla preservation and urban archaeology. Brooklyn and beyond.  The link to check it out:  http://kingstonlounge.blogspot.com/

I was on the site the other night and there are some excellent pictures of the abandoned buildings at Creedmore State (Psych Hospital), Hart Island, The abandoned hospital on North Brother Island (think Typhoid Mary), Buffalo State Hospital (abandoned), The Victory Theatre in MA, as well as others.  Pretty cool stuff....like stepping backwards in time and seeing what it looked like when everyone just got up and left.  Some of the sites have collapsing roofs, animal damage and other issues but the pictures tell a story that you wouldn't believe.

I totally recommend checking them out.  For those of y'all on Facebook they have a page there too: http://www.facebook.com/KingstonLounge

Check them out, you will not be disappointed.

Signing off 22:33

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down 
of the big lake they called "Gitche Gumee."
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
when the skies of November turn gloomy.

I first remember hearing this song when I was a little girl.

I remember thinking that it was a cool song.

At that point I didn't realize that it was about an actual event.

Gordon Lightfoot wrote "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" in 1976.

The actually event...the sinking of the ore ship the SS Edmund Fitzgerald 

took place on November 10, 1975.

From what I have researched the ship was sailing on Lake Superior and sank 

when it was hit by a rogue wave during a fierce storm

(this is just one theory).

They don't really know why the ship sank. 

The entire 29 man crew on board the ship was lost in the freezing water

that tragic night.

I wanted to share this song, the lyrics, and a few websites

with everyone because  I want to try to capture 

the memory of all the crew members and how 

they are immortilized by this song.

I hope you enjoy the song and hopefully you will learn something new. 

This video is especially interesting because it contains news footage 

and radio transmissions from the time the sinking occurred.

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down 
of the big lake they called "Gitche Gumee."
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
when the skies of November turn gloomy.
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty,
that good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
when the "Gales of November" came early. 

The ship was the pride of the American side
coming back from some mill in Wisconsin.
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
with a crew and good captain well seasoned,
concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
when they left fully loaded for Cleveland.
And later that night when the ship's bell rang,
could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?

The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
and a wave broke over the railing.
And ev'ry man knew, as the captain did too
'twas the witch of November come stealin'.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
when the Gales of November came slashin'.
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
in the face of a hurricane west wind.

When suppertime came the old cook came on deck sayin'.
"Fellas, it's too rough t'feed ya."
At seven P.M. a main hatchway caved in; he said,
fellas, it's been good t'know ya!"
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
and the good ship and crew was in peril.
And later that night when 'is lights went outta sight
came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Does any one know where the love of God goes
when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
if they'd put fifteen more miles behind 'er.
They might have split up or they might have capsized;
they may have broke deep and took water.
And all that remains is the faces and the names
of the wives and the sons and the daughters.

Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
in the rooms of her ice-water mansion.
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams;
the islands and bays are for sportsmen.
And farther below Lake Ontario
takes in what Lake Erie can send her,
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
with the Gales of November remembered.

In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed,
in the "Maritime Sailors' Cathedral."
The church bell chimed 'til it rang twenty-nine times
for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
of the big lake they call "Gitche Gumee."
"Superior," they said, "never gives up her dead
when the gales of November come early!"

Websites:

http://www.ssefo.com/

http://gordonlightfoot.com/wreckoftheedmundfitzgerald.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Edmund_Fitzgerald


R.I.P to the crew of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald 11/10/1975

Michael E. Armagost	37	Third Mate	Iron River, Wisconsin
Frederick J. Beetcher	56	Porter	Superior, Wisconsin
Thomas D. Bentsen	23	Oiler	St. Joseph, Michigan
Edward F. Bindon	47	First Assistant Engineer	Fairport Harbor, Ohio
Thomas D. Borgeson	41	Maintenance Man	Duluth, Minnesota
Oliver J. Champeau	41	Third Assistant Engineer	Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
Nolan S. Church	55	Porter	Silver Bay, Minnesota
Ransom E. Cundy	53	Watchman	Superior, Wisconsin
Thomas E. Edwards	50	Second Assistant Engineer	Oregon, Ohio
Russell G. Haskell	40	Second Assistant Engineer	Millbury, Ohio
George J. Holl	60	Chief Engineer	Cabot, Pennsylvania
Bruce L. Hudson	22	Deck Hand	North Olmsted, Ohio
Allen G. Kalmon	43	Second Cook	Washburn, Wisconsin
Gordon F. MacLellan	30	Wiper	Clearwater, Florida
Joseph W. Mazes	59	Special Maintenance Man	Ashland, Wisconsin
John H. McCarthy	62	First Mate	Bay Village, Ohio
Ernest M. McSorley	63	Captain	Toledo, Ohio
Eugene W. O'Brien	50	Wheelsman	Toledo, Ohio
Karl A. Peckol	20	Watchman	Ashtabula, Ohio
John J. Poviach	59	Wheelsman	Bradenton, Florida
James A. Pratt	44	Second Mate	Lakewood, Ohio
Robert C. Rafferty	62	Steward	Toledo, Ohio
Paul M. Riippa	22	Deck Hand	Ashtabula, Ohio
John D. Simmons	63	Wheelsman	Ashland, Wisconsin
William J. Spengler	59	Watchman	Toledo, Ohio
Mark A. Thomas	21	Deck Hand	Richmond Heights, Ohio
Ralph G. Walton	58	Oiler	Fremont, Ohio
David E. Weiss	22	Cadet	Agoura, California
Blaine H. Wilhelm	52	Oiler	Moquah, Wisconsin

Signing off 22:09

CSNY's Ohio and The Kent State Massacre

Well I seem to be on a roll now and I promised Angus that I would continue with my songs connected with history series.

So here is Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young's song OHIO and how it relates to The Kent State Massacre on May 4th 1970

For those of you who don't know what the hell I'm talking about the links will follow.....I promise!

*The photo to the left was taken by John Filo.  The young woman is Mary Ann Vecchio kneeling over the body of Jeffery Miller (who was killed in the massacre)*

According to my favorite source (www.wikipedia.com), the following is a quick summary of what happened:

"The Kent State shootings, also known as the May 4 massacre or Kent-State massacre, occurred at Kent State University in the city of Kent, Ohio, and involved the shooting of unarmed college students by members of the Ohio National Guard on Monday, May 4, 1970. The guardsmen fired 67 rounds over a period of 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others, one of whom suffered permanent paralysis."

"Some of the students who were shot had been protesting against the American invasion of Cambodia, which President Richard Nixon announced in a television address on April 30. Other students who were shot had been walking nearby or observing the protest from a distance."

"There was a significant national response to the shootings: hundreds of universities, colleges, and high schools closed throughout the United States due to a student strike of four million students, and the event further divided the country, at an already socially contentious time, about the role of the United States in the Vietnam War."
********************************************************************************************************************************

Neil Young wrote OHIO in reaction to the incident, he saw photos in Life Magazine.  CSNY recorded it shortly after the massacre and released it that June.

I wasn't alive in 1970 but I did learn about this event in a class I took in college about the history of protests in the US. After further investigation I connected this with Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young's (CSNY) song OHIO. I actually knew the song first...around junior high school I guess....but then it was just a really kick ass song!

Interestingly enough one of the young men killed in the massacre (Jeffery Miller) had attended Plainview-Old Bethpage High School (which is about 1/2 hour from where I live).
*******************************************************************************

Here's the link for the Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_shootings

Here is a link to the web page of one of the survivors of the massacre Alan Canfora:

http://alancanfora.com/

Here's a link to CSNY's song OHIO article on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_%28CSNY_song%29

The Wikipedia article lists about 20 artists and their songs which were inspired by the massacre...the first being CSNY's OHIO.

That being said here are two videos, the first is a tribute video that was made using pictures from the incident over CSNY singing OHIO:




The second video is a live version of CSNY singing OHIO in 1974:




Hopefully this will inspire people to be more in tune with what's going on around them and let them realize that music is used for more than enjoyment.

Rest In Peace:

Jeffrey Glenn Miller; age 20
Allison B. Krause; age 19
William Knox Schroeder; age 19
Sandra Lee Scheuer; age 20



Signing Off 21:21

My blog on Stephen Biko

Stephen Biko

Peter Gabriel's song BIKO came up on my Pandora Radio (www.pandora.com) a few minutes ago and I felt the urge to blog about it. I posted the links on my facebook but am always interested in saving the important stuff in my blog too....again, random stuff that usually has nothing to do with anything.

For those of you who will read this and wonder what the hell I am talking about the links to info will follow..I promise!

The first time I heard BIKO was in 1994...I was a 14 year old and very curious about everything. I had purchased the Woodstock '94 CD's and listened to them through until I got to this song. I was floored...it was so sad...I remember that the name sounded familiar to me so I did what every kid would have done before the age of the internet being in every house...I went to the library!

After several hours of research I was completely appalled by what I had learned.
How ridiculous of grownups! How could they DO that!? Now mind you I was a pretty easy going and shy kid who was very non confrontational....I didn't really understand violence and how people could hate based on skin color, race, creed, beliefs, ect.

Well I still don't really understand why people do stuff like that (and I'm almost 30) but I think you kind of get immune to it if you see it enough (it's all over the news and the net all the time, right?!)

It's amazing the stuff that stands out in your mind from your life...of all the things for a 14 year old to be interested in....I was always reading and looking to learn more stuff about everything. That's why I have a random knowledge base about lots of different topics...always reading!

Getting back to Steven Biko....

The following come straight from wikipedia:

"Stephen Bantu Biko (18 December 1946 – 12 September 1977) was a noted anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s. A student leader, he later founded the Black Consciousness Movement which would empower and mobilize much of the urban black population. Since his death in police custody, he has been called a martyr of the anti-apartheid movement. While living, his writings and activism attempted to empower black people, and he was famous for his slogan "black is beautiful", which he described as meaning: "man, you are okay as you are, begin to look upon yourself as a human being". Despite friction between the African National Congress and Biko throughout the 1970s, the ANC has included Biko in the pantheon of struggle heroes, going as far as using his image for campaign posters in South Africa's first non-racial elections in 1994."

If that has peaked your interest in this topic, the rest of the page is at this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Biko

Peter Gabriel's song:



Sadly the police officers who murdered Biko were never brought to justice but his life and death impacted a lot of people and affected lots of change in South Africa and the world over.

Rest In Peace Stephen Biko



Signing Off 20:36