I apologize for the previous blog entry running together. I've reformatted it twice and each time I post all the paragraphs are omitted. C'est la vie.

WWJD What would Jesus do? Remember that catch phrase from awhile back? What would Jesus do in today’s world? He taught love and forgiveness; he taught turn the other cheek and do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I’m pretty sure he would not espouse violence and retaliation. But I’ve been wrong before. Politics and religion are two topics that are off-limits to most polite conversations. Discussing either can have lasting repercussions. But I’ve got to tell you, I am incensed beyond reason by the recent burning of the Koran by Dove World Outreach Center pastor Terry Jones. Once before Pastor Jones announced his plans to have a Koran burning, but the American government convinced him that to do so would jeopardize American lives overseas. But now he has done as he threatened and indeed, American lives were lost in protests in Afghanistan. Jones deliberately and with malice acted to incite violence in the Muslim world to justify his own hatred of Muslims. In an interview Jones said he was “devastated” by the killings but did not feel responsible for them. Really? Knowing there is a radical branch of Islam who hates Americans on general principle, he did not think his action would bring about more hatred? What would his reaction be if Muslims were burning Bibles? He now wants the United States and the United Nations to “stand up to the terrorists” and punish them for reacting to his sacrilege against their Koran. The Koran is the holy book of Islam. Muslims revere it, just as we revere the Bible. Luke Jones, 29 year old son of Terry Jones, said, “We’ve not studied the Koran, but we still have an opinion. We’re actually not educated.” Jones senior even goes so far as to state he would not consider himself an expert on the Bible. Since when does not being an expert mean you don’t understand the basic precepts of Jesus’ teachings? Thou shalt not kill. Love thy neighbor as thyself. The religion of Islam does not teach violence. It does not teach hatred. It does not teach annihilation of other religions. Islam is one of the three great religions that trace their common roots to Abraham, along with Judaism and Christianity. Muslim extremists have used their religion to justify their hatred of Christians; much like Christians during the Crusades used their beliefs to wipe out entire populations of Muslims. The culture of hate and violence that is being perpetuated sickens me. We don’t believe just what the Muslims believe, and they don’t believe as we do; so what? They cling as firmly to their religion and we do ours. Religion is a cultural and personal decision. The founding of the new world was based on the freedom to believe as we choose – for each to choose their own beliefs. I’m tired of every Muslim being lumped together as a terrorist. I’m tired of Christians of any denomination being viewed as radicals to other religions. How can we profess to believe in a God of love and forgiveness and yet call for the destruction of another religion? How can we believe in a God of mercy and yet condone the violence of one belief against another? Before anybody goes ballistic, I am not condoning terrorism, from ANY religious group. I am not saying there aren’t violent Muslims in the world. Of course there are, just as there are radical violent Christians in the world. I’m just saying, live and let live. It is not up to us to judge our fellow man; at least not according to what I read in the Bible. That’s God’s job.

Library News – Good and Bad

First of all, I’d like to say, contrary to what you may have read in last week’s edition of the Westfield Republican, S. Alexander Gerould did NOT write the Ruminations column “Walk Down Memory Lane.” All complaints or kudos should be addressed to me, as always.

I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is the Ripley Library is going great guns with its Month of the Arts Art Show. The bad news is State funding is being cut to local libraries to the tune of $8.45 million. But let’s talk about the good news first.

March is National Month of the Arts. Earlier in the month the Ripley Free Library hosted local poets who read their original or favorite poetry. The remainder of the month, through the 31st, was devoted to the visual arts as showcased by over two dozen local artists. Everything from oils and acrylics, line drawings, cartoon art, to photographs is being featured throughout the library. Each time I go in, something new has been added. This being the first year for a local art show, word spread a little more slowly than it might have. As people visited the library, they remembered their own dabbles in artwork and brought them in. If you visited earlier in the month to see what was on display, you might want to visit again and see the new paintings that have been added. So far over 100 visitors have gone through the “gallery” and ooh’d and aah’d over the amazing works of art.

I am assuming there are a lot more artists out there in Ripley who either chose not to enter their paintings, drawings and photography or just didn’t hear about the library show. The representation of local artists blew me away, and I expect that next year will be even bigger and better. Who knew so many people in this community could paint? My hat is off to everybody who entered a piece of their artwork. You are truly amazing.

Personally, I haven’t embraced painting – yet. My interests lie in the area of photography. They say the mark of a true photographer is the willingness to look silly or get dirty in the quest for the perfect photo. I don’t claim to be on par with someone like Ansel Adams, but I have been known to lie on the floor of Warwick Castle on the River Avon in England to get a photograph of the tiled and exquisitely decorated ceiling. As I recall, my friend and guide walked past me muttering, “I do not even know you.”

Be that as it may, today is your last chance to take a stroll through the Ripley Library and see what your friends and neighbors have been doing with their time.

The bad news is the State Assembly and Senate of New York have split on whether or not to restore $4.2 million in library aid cuts. Libraries depend on a number of sources to keep their doors open. State Aid is one of the largest sources of revenue. The Legislative Conference Committees will try to hammer out their differences in the budget proposals, but because the Assembly did not include any restoration of funding, the Senate will have a hard time pushing through partial restoration.

These are OUR libraries. This is OUR government. Write, email or call your representatives and tell them you want them to give back some of the funding the libraries so urgently need. Can you imagine our little town without the library? Help by contacting our Assembly and Senate members. I thank you and the library thanks you.

Pi Day at RCS The week of March 14-18 saw the return of Math Week at Ripley Central School. Math teacher Lisa Stonefoot coordinated the event, now in its fourth year at the school. “The first year,” Mrs. Stonefoot commented, “I had to go begging for volunteers. Each year more and more students are interested in participating.” Ripley students have come to embrace the events of Math Week, and the Math Battle of the Classes, according to Stonefoot. It has become a highly anticipated tradition at Ripley Central School. When 8th grader Ryleigh Hawkins explained Math Week to a new student in her class, she called it “the most awesome, incredible thing ever!” Sophomore Sierra Tessmer said of Math Week, “It brings all the students together – we have to work together to solve problems.” “Math Week bumps up the morale of the school and school spirit,” said Ali Resulzade, a foreign exchange student this year at Ripley. On Friday, Mathematics Battle of the Classes students competed in events with mathematical themed games of various categories: Artistic, 3-D, Probability, Survivor, Shape Fishing, Academic, Ordering, and Balance. The Memory competition involved one student from each class memorizing the digits in the decimal expansion of pi. The student who could recite the most digits in correct order won the event for their team. It was the only competition where the students knew in advance what they would be doing for that competition. Maggie Hammond, a senior competing in the Memory competition, said after getting the sheet with the expansions of pi, “I just tried to memorize as many digits as I could. I got up to 100. We’ll see if I remember that many!” When asked how they prepared for the competitions, Analise Mellors, a 6th grader who participated in the Academic competition, said, “I just did my normal math work,” and Allie Gibbs, senior competing in Balance, added, “You can’t prepare really. You don’t know what you’re doing ahead of time.” There was also an Appetite competition. This was perhaps the most anticipated competition of the Battle. This year the students had to eat through a pi-shaped brownie that was covered in chocolate syrup and whipped cream, without using their hands. Leading up to Math Battle Day on Friday, the week included Circle Day, Number Day, Geometric Shape Day, and Similar Day. For each of the theme days, students dressed according to the theme. They wore various combinations of polka dots, squares, triangles and ellipses. On Similar Day, students dressed alike in various types of crazy costumes. The week ended with Battle Day, where each class dressed in a different color to show their class spirit. T-shirts worn by students in grades 6-12 with “The Tree of Math” logo were designed by Trevor Enterline. One of the highlights of the week was the opportunity for the middle and high school students to work with the elementary students. The older students created activities that were appropriate for grades Pre-K through 5. The youngest students made beaded bracelets where each color of bead represented a different digit in the expansion of pi. Other students created their own mathematically themed jigsaw puzzles. The second grade classes made “fraction pizzas” using various toppings. Third and fourth grade students made color-by-number pictures that were made entirely of circles. The fifth graders worked on estimation activities. Both elementary students and their high school helpers enjoyed working together on math activities. As junior Sawyer Tessmer stated, “Math Week is a week where you can work with younger students and help them with their math skills. It’s fun to go to work with the elementary classes.” The elementary teachers also enjoyed having the high school helpers present activities in their classrooms. They were pleased with the ability of the high school students to plan and execute mini math lessons for the younger students Students also went on a scavenger hunt throughout the week. All classes from 6th through 12th competed in various mathematical challenges. Prior to the Battle, each class created a video about a mathematician. Some of the classes had costumes and music, while others used a game show theme to present information about their mathematician. The students had a great time producing their videos. With the assistance of the cafeteria staff, led by Mrs. Sue Gambino, a student committee helped plan balanced meals to reflect the theme of the day. On Circle Day, for example, students were served pancakes for breakfast. Circular personal pan pizza, circular carrot slices and grapes were served for lunch. On Battle Day the students were served a cookie frosted in the 7 class colors for the Math Battle. Mrs. Lisa Stonefoot assisted in planning and organizing activities for the elementary students with the Math Week Committee. Members of the committee included Dylan Bryte, Aarien Carvallo, Danielle Chapman, Brianna Fisher, Samantha Gardner, Kyle Hammond, Ryleigh Hawkins, Eric Horstman, Nick Houle, Dylan Kramer, Win Nuttapornpong, Ian Petroff, Cody Rater, Vinny Shioleno, Sierra Tessmer, and Sammi Trevelline. Donna Lauzon, a math teacher at the school, also assisted with the planning. Ms.Stonefoot commented, “I love to watch the students enjoy the applications of mathematics. It is so much fun to help them plan activities and work with the younger students. They get so much out of it on all levels, both socially and academically. It’s great to see them having fun together, especially when it centers around math!”

Ripley circa 1960

A few weeks ago, a complete stranger, prompted by an article I wrote, contacted me about his memories of Ripley in the mid 1960s. In his email he told me of how, as a kid growing up on Long Island, he spent four weeks in the summers of 1965, 1966 and 1967 here in dear ol’ Ripley so he could “get some fresh air.” He remembered The Fashion Gate, a clothing store on South State Street; the Ripley library, then housed in the Hamilton Estate; Meeder’s, of course; and particularly the Sesquicentennial Celebration in 1966.

Now ain’t that somethin’. A ten year old kid came to Ripley for a summer vacation and remembered it even forty years later. In the course of my email exchanges with “Tom,” I’ve begun remembering places and people from my youth as well. I decided to take a look at some of the old yearbooks because my memory is faulty and I wanted to get the names right. So walk with me down Memory Lane a bit and see if it stirs some memories of your own.

Do you remember Hypatia Foundations at 105 W. Main Street? They advertised, “There are definite reasons why more women in North East, Westfield and Ripley wear Hypatia Foundation Garments than any other make of corset: 1. Hypatia Foundations are individually tailored, cut especially for you. 2. They are easily the most reasonably made to measure Foundation. 3. Hypatia even now uses all elastic garters, choice of lovely lastex” (yes, it said ‘lastex’) “or elastic panels. 4. The finest of materials and workmanship. 5. You may be fitted by the designer, Mrs. Rozetta Braithwaite.” Do you remember calling “Ripley 69 for appointment”?

Or how about the old Ripley Feed & Coal Company? Is my memory correct in thinking the building still stands on Boswell Street? “Dealers in Feed, Cement, Fertilizers, Hard and Soft Coal.” I remember going there with my Dad to order coal, then waiting for the truck to come to our house, put the chute in the basement window and listening to the clatter of coal pouring down into the bin. Ask me sometime about falling into the coal bin and the dent in my nose.

Twenty two Ripley businesses advertised in the 1945 Ripley yearbook, Les Memoires. The war years stopped production of school yearbooks here and it wasn’t until the late 50s that yearbooks were produced again and the early 60s that advertisers came back onto the scene. Names like A.L. Wilcox Insurance, Beatty Grocery at Stateline, Harry’s and Teemley’s Barbershops and E. W. Burdick Oil Company appeared in the 1961 Vintage. Remember Leon’s Pharmacy? I remember a counter with stools where we’d go to order cherry sodas.

No fewer than six gas stations appeared in Vintage 1964: Chuck’s Gulf, Ripley Truck Stop, Pete’s Service Station, Roesch’s Texaco Station, Sinden’s Sunoco and George Lick’s Mobil Station. I’m not sure any of them could sell even a gallon of gasoline today, with Pennsylvania gas prices always so much lower, but they did a reasonable business back in the 60s.

There are so many names and places that are gone now. Only a few remain. As every generation is so fond of saying, those were the good old days. I wonder if our children and grandchildren will look back at the Ripley of today and think of this as the good old days.

The Month of the Arts at Ripley Free Library is in full swing with an art show filled with local talent. Running from March 15th through the end of the month, local library patron artists and photographers are showing their best works. Ripley Central School grade school students from the After School Program have entered their own artwork as well. Oil and acrylic paintings, pastels, pen and ink and pencil drawings as well as artistic, landscape and human interest photography are on display during regular library hours.

The Real St. Patrick’s Day

March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day, a day to claim Irish descent, real or imagined, dress in green, drink a few green beers and toast to good health and little hardship.

We all become Irish on St. Paddy’s Day. The day has become synonymous with parties and drunkenness in most places. But the Irish view the celebration of St. Patrick differently. “It’s actually more important to us,” my friend from Ireland told me. “It’s our national identity in a country with so many different origins of nationality. If you look at our history and how sad it’s been, it’s a miracle we can celebrate.”

I asked him why we aspire to be Irish on this one day of the year. His reply was, “Oh! Why wouldn’t everyone like to be carefree and jolly? That’s the picture we Irish used to paint of ourselves. We didn’t have any expectations of ourselves in terms of leadership and achievement, so we were okay with making fun of ourselves.”

While St. Patrick’s Day is now a national holiday in Ireland as well as a religious feast day, a few hundred years ago the emphasis was on spirituality and provided a much needed break from the austerities of Lent where all Lenten restrictions would be set aside for the day.

St. Patrick’s Day, was regarded as the middle of spring, no matter how bad the weather might be and the good saint promised better weather from March 17th onward. Farmers planted their potato crops at that time, although no one did much work on the big day itself.

The “wearing o’ the green” is a custom taken up by those of us outside Ireland. Wearing a shamrock or homemade paper cross would be customary for the Irish. “We never wore any more green than that,” said Bridget Haggerty, author of an article, Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Old Ireland. “To do so, according to my mother, would have been too great a temptation for the fairies! She was a firm believer in the old superstition that green was their favorite color and they’d spirit away any child fully-garbed in green.”

So how did we come by St. Patrick and the tradition of celebrating his life? Patrick was born in the late 300s A.D. in Wales or Scotland, the traditions are unclear. Near the end of the Roman occupation of England, Irish raiders captured Patrick and sold him into slavery in Ireland. After six years of servitude, Patrick escaped to France, where he studied for the priesthood. He asked to be assigned to Ireland. Knowing the customs of the people as he did, he thought he could convert the warring kinds and pagan priests. Because the Irish believed the earth to be a mystical place, Patrick built on those beliefs rather than dwell on the sinfulness of man, as was being stressed throughout Europe. Because of this focus, the Irish embraced Christianity as a celebration of the earth, of the human experience and the human body.

There is a legend that says on the last day, Christ will judge all the other nations, but St. Patrick will sit in judgment of the Irish. In an interview with an author of Irish history, Thomas Cahill, he was asked if this was good or bad news for the Irish. He didn’t hesitate in saying, “That’s great news for the Irish!”