BY JUDY KRIEGER, Courier Editor
March 18, 2008 04:37 pm
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Ah, spring, finally!
We welcome the season’s return on Thursday, at 12:48 a.m. to be exact. That’s when the Sun will cross directly over the Earth’s equator — the vernal equinox.
Equinox means “equal night.” Both day and night are about equal in length, due to the 23.4 degree tilt of the Earth’s axis. Because of the tilt, we receive the Sun’s rays most directly in the summer. In the winter, when we are tilted away from the Sun, the rays pass through the atmosphere at a greater slant, bringing lower temperatures.
In early times, people celebrated Spring because it meant that their food supplies would soon be restored. The date is significant in Christianity because Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox.
Thus, you have Spring (vernal equinox) on Thursday, the full moon Friday and Easter on Sunday.
We also know it’s spring because robin sightings are picking up and I’m hearing about them.
The first reader to tell me about a robin was way back in Jan. 30. Whether the birds go away or not, they aren’t noticed much in the fall and not until after the new year starts.
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Gregory M. Franzwa, author of “The Mormon Trail Revisited,” will be discussing his book at 2 p.m. Friday at Ottumwa Public Library.
I last wrote about his book in a November Etcetera column and he told me he’d let me know when he would be in the area.
He and his wife, Kathy, who now live in Utah, are on a 17-city book tour for this, his 20th book. His first program was Tuesday in Nauvoo, Ill., with a full house planned, and the last program is March 28 in Council Bluffs.
He served in World War II, leaving the U.S. Navy in 1946 with the rank of Lt. J.G. He earned a journalism degree from the University of Iowa in 1950, moved to St. Louis, Mo., then to Tucson, Ariz., and two years ago to Tooele, Utah.
He wrote his first book in 1965, and will be talking about his 20th book, “The Mormon Trail Revisited.” The guide book follows the route taken by Mormon pioneers during 1846-47.
Most of the roadways are gravel, he said, noting that he and his wife followed the muddy path from Montrose, Iowa, on the west bank of the Mississippi River, to Council Bluffs. Franzwa’s text alternates between detailed driving directions, interspersed with historical vignettes, such as the March 20, 1846, diary of Patty Sessions, age 52:
“cold morning but fair weather travel ten miles low bottom muddy have to double teams cross fox river double up the hill . . . I now travel 3 miles on foot to the camp and have traveled 3 more in the forenoon to keep warm we have come 15 miles today”
The Fox River crossing is about a dozen miles southwest of Ottumwa.
Franzwa said that following the trail “could take a couple weeks to experience thoroughly. However, we have included a ‘Speed Trip’ section in the back of the book, where travelers could hit the highlights between Nauvoo and Salt Lake City in five or six days.”
He founded his publishing company, The Patrice Press, in 1967; the Oregon-California Trails Association in 1982; and the national Lincoln Highway Association 10 years later. All are thriving today.
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Lorene Friaça Vilela writes, “Hello Ottumwa.”
The Ottumwan was vacationing recently in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where she is from.
“I am here on vacation visiting my family,” she wrote.
She is married to John Patrick Payne and is a banquet supervisor at Hotel Ottumwa.
“I am having a great time here,” she writes.
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We ran a photo last week of a former Ottumwan holding the Courier in London. He identified the London Bridge in the background of the photo. A caller reminded us that the real London Bridge was disassembled and rebuilt in Lake Havasu, Ariz. I’ve been to Lake Havasu and have seen the bridge. I think I even brought back a souvenir from there. It’s become the second largest tourist attraction in Arizona, after the Grand Canyon.
The London Bridge — or most of it — in Arizona is the one that replaced the 600-year-old bridge in London in the early 1890s. It was designed by engineer John Rennie.
Checking on line, I found that the replacement bridge over the River Thames is still called London Bridge.
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Sure and it ‘twas a lovely St. Patrick’s Day here at the Courier, thanks to Tony and his leprechauns.
Many employees (mostly women, and thank you, Walter, for not bringing green pickled turkey innards) brought tasty treats and many of them green: Guacamole, spinach dip, cucumber sandwiches, salads, cakes and cupcakes and plenty of chips and a variety of dips. We also had some delicious green punch, and lovely decorations, of course!
We all seem to like these theme parties. They taste so good!
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Photos
Judy Krieger