Update: Dinner for an Amish Boy

The final count is in.

The benefit dinner raised over $18,ooo dollars to help with the boy's medical bills. How wonderful it is to know that such a small community as Fredonia, PA could bring in such an amazing amount for a family in need. Awesome!

Photo Exhibit Results: 39th Annual Jefferson Twp. Fair 2009

RESULTS: TWO BLUE - THREE RED

FIVE out of FIVE entries is not bad for our first time !!!

First Prize Blue ribbons went to:
8x10 black and white animal entry (raccoon): "The Marshmallow."
5x7 black and white animal entry (horses): "Amish Parking Lot."

Second Prize Red ribbons went to:
5x7 black and white animal entry (calf): "Cute as a Bell."
5x7 black and white animal entry (sheep): "At Auction."
5x7 black and white people entry (Amish boys): "Dutch Fraternity."

How did I think we were going to do? I was pretty hopefull that "The Marshmallow" would get a blue ribbon. If it didn't I would have been asking questions. The second blue ribbon of "Amish Parking Lot" was wonderful because, although I had high hopes for it as well, it really didn't fit into a specific category. I may have just got lucky there. The others were a "what the hell...entry's free kind of deal." The calf picture was taken just a couple hourse before entry deadline. I am very happy with the results. Thanks for crossing your fingers for me...it worked. - Sue Provan

Note: Unfortunately, I am unable to post my photos at the present time. I will work on figuring out the problem.

High Hopes for Photography Exhibits - 39th Annual Jefferson Twp. Fair 2009

I simply can't wait to see if we've won a blue ribbon!

WHO: ME! Susan Provan of Provan Photography

WHAT: 5 photos entered in various photo exhibit categories

WHEN: Enterred 20 July 2009; judging begins at 9:00 am 21 July; photos held until Sunday for pickup.

WHERE: Jefferson Twp. Fairgrounds Exhibits Building

Over the last five years, my husband Matthew and I have developed a love for photography. We invested in a Canon EOS Digital Rebel camera and couldn't be more pleased with the results. Matt and I have steadily been collecting unique and wonderful pictures that we beleive are saleable.

We are ready to take our hobby to the next level and start building some credibility to potential buyers. Placing well in a competition is a great way to do this. Although this is our first competition, we have high hopes for winning some blue ribbons.

Contest Rules:

1. Exhibits must have been done by exhibitor since the previous year's fair.

2. Exhibits must be framed and/or matted.

3. Exhibits must be on display until 2:00 pm Sunday.

5 photos entered (some under my name and some under Matt's name):

a.) color animal 5x7 digital (Amish calf), b.) b&w animal 5x7 digital (Amish sheep), c.) b&w people 5x7 digital (Amish boys on carts), d.) b&w animal 5x7 digital (Amish parking lot/horses), and e.) b&w animal 8x10 digital (Amish raccoon).

I will post our results under the title "Photo Exhibit Results: 39th Annual Jefferson Twp. Fair 2009."

Wish us luck!

Praise Worthy: Benefit Dinner for an Amish Boy

A tragic accident brings out a community's true character.

Most of what we see on television or hear on the radio seems to be negative. I get really tired of hearing nothing but negative all the time. So when I see something good happen, I feel compelled to write about it. Yesterday I witnessed a community come together for the sake of one family.

The story begins almost one month from today. A young Dutch boy lost one leg and part of the other to a lawn mower incident. Hospital bills are now an overwhelming $300,000.00.

In an effort to help this weary family raise money, the Dutch community held a benefit dinner. They were hoping to have a gathering of 500 people from around the Fredonia community. In a great showing of compassion, this figure was easily doubled.

I did see the child to whom the accident happenned. I saw his right pant leg limbless and flapping and the other limb disquised by a sock. This would have been sadder, but what I saw was amazing to me.

The little boy was being pushed through the isles by a child very close to his same age. He was clearly having fun and it didn't look as if he was in pain at all. Yet, his family were weary and the guests were somewhat somber as they gazed upon him.

Although undoubtedly on powerful pain medication, it seemed to me that his wounds weren't stopping him in the least. I feel we could all learn a few things from him.

Past Lives of the Hope Diamond

First appearing onto the pages of history in the early 1600's, the "Blue Diamond of the Crown," as it was once called, remains the largest blue diamond known to man...and the most dangerous.

Facts:
1. Found in India in the early 1600's.
2. Passed through atleast fourteen owners: Jean Baptiste Tavernier, King Louis XIV (France), King Louis XV, King Louis XVI, King George IV (England), Henry Philip Hope (for which it is named), Henry Thomas Hope (nephew), Lord Francis Hope (grandson of nephew), Joseph Frankels and Sons of New York, Selim Habib (Paris), C.H. Rosenau, Pierre Cartier, Evalyn Walsh McLean (Washington DC.), Harry Winston Inc.
3. Unfortunate circumstances ran rampant throughout the lives of it's owners... leading many people to beleive in the possible exhistence of a real-life curse.
4. Donated to the Smithsonian Institution on 10 November 1958 where it remains on display.

Somewhere in the exotic expanse that is India, Tavernier found himself gazing into the hyptnotizing eyes of the goddess statue Sita. He was aware of the fabled curse that warned would-be-theives of the terrible misfortunes that would befall them if the statue was defaced. Could it be real Tavernier asked himself? The bigger questions was, could the opportunist merchant in his blood resist the urge to take the valuable blue diamond eye that stared back at him?

Did it happen this way? Possibly...but more probably not. It is speculated that Tavernier bought the diamond at Kollur diamond mine in the Golconda region of India. The diamond was of unusually rare quality and was (and still is) the largest blue diamond ever found. It weighed 112 3/16 carats. The intensity of its color was breathtaking. It's worth? It is unknown what Tavernier paid for it, but you can be sure it was an unfathomable amount to most of us.

The diamond stayed in Tavernier's possession for 26 long years until, upon his return to France in 1668, the Sun King Louis XIV, requested a viewing. Inevitably, the diamond exchanged owners. Instantly the diamond became a national treasure and took on the titles "Blue Diamond of the Crown" and "The French Blue." The stone was set in gold and was worn by the king on a ribbon around his neck during special occasions. Upon his death, it was handed down to Louis XV.

In 1749, King Louis XV ordered the diamond recut in order to enhance it's brilliance. It was now 67 1/8 carats and set in a peice of ceremonial jewelry. In 1791 the French Blue was handed over to the French government after Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette attempted to flee the country. One year later, the diamond vanished.

In 1812 a 44.12 carat blue diamond made an appearance in the hands of a jewelry merchant. Strong evidence suggests that this new diamond was a recut version of the French Blue. Once again, inevitably, the stone found its way into the hands of royalty...this time English.

King George IV of England purchased the diamond and then, in 1830, it was sold to cover his astronomical debt.

The next documented appearance came in 1839 where it was verified to be in the collection of Henry Philip Hope, the man to whom the diamond's modern name originated. After his death, the stone passed to his nephew Henry Thomas Hope and then to Henry Thomas's grandson Lord Francis Hope. Lord Francis, even after strong opposition from the Hope family, sold the stone in 1901 for gambling money and to cover debts. (See a pattern here?)

Joseph Frankels and Sons of New York, needing money, sold the stone to Salim Habib, who then sold the stone to C.H. Rosenau and then to Pierre Cartier in 1909. Cartier slyly devised a plan to sell the diamond to a wealthy couple he met while they were on vacation in Paris. They were "old money" Americans.

Wealthy Mrs. Evalyn Walsh McLean bought the diamond in 1911 and had the stone mounted in a headpeice surrounded by diamonds. Later it was changed to a pendant. In 1949, after Mrs. McLean's death, Harry Winston Inc. bought her collection and displayed it at charitable events over the next decade.

The diamond was donated to the Smithsonian Institution on November 10, 1958. The package was wrapped in plain brown paper and sent through normal mail...a common practice of jewelers from the time period. The diamond remains there to this day...only rarely leaving for very special occasions. Some people beleive the diamond was sent there intentionally in an effort to thwart the effects of the curse.

Soooo...is there a curse? We still don't know...but think about it. Most of it's known owner's wen't bankrupt. King Louis XVI and his queen Marie Antionette both lost their heads in the French Revolution. Mrs. Walsh McLean's son Vincent died in a car crash when he was 9, her daughter committed suicide at age 25, and her husband went insane and was confined to a mental institution until his death. And many unpleasantries are said to have befallen the many jewelers who have touched it.

But then again...there are those who got away without a scratch...and to date it's keeper's at the Smithsonian have not reported an incident. It seems more likely to me that perhaps the curse is more likely due to over-spending and supremely bad choices.

***Intriguing news update: After a years worth of research, it can now be verified as the same stone that had been taken from the French crown jewels; yes it IS the "French Blue!" Fascinating!

Disclaimer: The history of the diamond is complex. It's story is told to the best of researchers abilities... so if you continue perusing the internet, you may find some discprepancies in the timeline. Note: Some of these words are not mine, but a close summarization of other authors.

The Dissappearance of Flight Nineteen.

"A radio message intercepted at about 4 p.m. was the first indication that Flight 19 was lost." - Department of the Navy, Naval Historical Center

Facts:

1. 5 December 1945, Military training flight.
2. Type of aircraft: TBM Avenger Torpedo Bombers
3. Flight origination: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
4. Search efforts were unsuccessful.

On 5 December 1945, at 2:10 pm est, 5 avenger aircraft left the airfield in Fort Lauderdale, Florida bound for a pre-destined training mission over the Atlantic. The crew consisted of one qualified flight instructor and four rookies with no more than 400 hours flight time each.

Around 4:00 pm a transmission between the instructor and one of his students had been intercepted. The men sounded confused. Apparantly an unseen phenomenon had left the instruments unreliable and now the concern was which way do they fly to get back to shore. With a limited ration of fuel (estimated to run out around 8pm), going the wrong direction would be disastrous.

Attempts to contact the flight were unsuccessfull, possibly due to Cuban radio interference and atmospheric weather conditions.
An immense air and sea rescue effort commensed, stopping only when unfavorable weather conditions forced the mission to end five days later, on 10 December.

It is known that although the sea was too rough for a water landing, the weather for flight was rated average for the type of training that was scheduled. It is assummed that all five aircraft made forced landings in the ocean with no survivors. No trace of man or machine has ever been found.

Other theories include:

Five unidentified aircraft were reported by two air fields near Okephenoke Swamp in southern Georgia on the same day the aircraft went missing.

Worm hole's, electronic and atmospheric fog, and time phenomenon's are also being researched.
Most leading scientists dismiss the worm hole and time travel theory.
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"The less a person knows about a mystery...the better mystery a person can write." - guest on History Channel episode Mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle.

The story aired on History channel: Mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle.

"Oh The Humanity!"

Just before mooring at the field in New Jersey, the colossal German air ship caught fire and in an instant...came crashing down.

Facts:

1. The disaster happenned on 6 May 1937, at Lakehurst Naval Air Station, NJ. (Flight originated in Frankfurt, Germany).
2. There were 97 people on board; Fatalities included 13 passengers, 22 air crew, 1 ground crew.
3. Signaled the end of rigid air ship travel.

The story begins after taking off from Frankfurt Germany and traveling over 10,000 miles to the shores of America.

The reason for the Hindenberg's demise had gone unrealized for decades. Most people surmised that the ship was either struck by lightening or was sabotaged. Recently, however, new research has discovered that the true cause of the disaster was a combination of static electricity and a flammable pre-disposition.

The weather in Lakehurst, NJ on the cold morning in 1837 was not ideal for airship travel. Lightening had been sighted in the distance and the fact that the balloon was full of volatile hydrogen gas added a sense of urgency to the matter. Fearing a lightening strike, the captain considered an emergency landing. Unfortunately, he could not have known that the most imminent danger was, not the lightning or the hydrogen, but the shell of the balloon and an unseen product of the storm...static electricity.

The shell of the Hindenberg's balloon had been coated with an aluminum powder varnish type substance that closely mimicked the same chemical composition of rocket fuel; it's application left the material extremely dry and flammable. The introduction of static electricity on top of this supremely sensitive scenario was a one way ticket to disaster. All that was needed to set off the chain of events was a tiny spark.

Passengers heard a "boom" and then, peering down to the ground, the crowd and ground crew turned orange. It was obvious what was happenning. There was only seconds to react.

The shell was gone in an instant, the fire gaining intensityfrom the inevitably ignited hydrogen. Within one minute...the Hindenberg lay a morbid maze of twisted metal ablaze on the ground; it continued to burn for several hours.

Mercifully, 61 people did escape with their lives.

This event signaled the end of rigid air ship travel, the general public having lost confidence in its safety.

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Herbert Morrison provided the famous eyewitness account which was radio broadcast one day after the disaster. This emotional report is the origin of the phrase, "oh the humanity!"

There of course remains the stories behind the scenes that sometimes go unnoticed. Other theories suggest that the structural integrity of the ship was previously compromised and went unattended.