Comin' Home

The party's over! The awards are given. A wonderful time was had by all. Lee and Mare should be landing in Denver about now, with a two hour drive home. We are not too far from Lexington, Kentucky in a funky little motel. A six hour drive tomorrow should bring us back to the Ant Farm. Pam, once again, proved to be a tour guide par excellence. Thank you for a great adventure. We had a grand time touring Charleston and our drive up to Charlotte was uneventful. The award ceremony at the AAHPERD convention was inspiring, to say the least. I want to thank Lee and Mare for arranging for me to receive this Pathfinder Award...and Hank Bangser, Gail Gamrath, and Denise Izatt for writing for me, and seeing only the best. Below are some pictures from our last day in Charleston. We took a tour of the restored Nathaniel Russell House, then went out with Gullah Tours...a look at the African American, enslaved persons side of the Charleston story. Thanks always to those of you reading this...it is alway fun to put up a blog, and you are patient and loyal followers.



Ourside of Russell House and some of the flora on the grounds






Kissing Crepe Myrtle (my interpretation...not theirs)



Nesting night herons in Battery Park



White people's jail in the "old days." The jail for blacks was on the other side. It was destroyed in an earthquake in the late 1800's



Tenement houses built by the WPA...encouraged by Eleanor Roosevelt...now part of the poorer section of Charleston



The graves of enslaved persons were often knocked over, paved over, and built over through the ages. These headstones, propped against a fence by the parking lot of a Charleston church are some of the "preserved" gravestones. One presumes the graves are beneath the asphalt, grasses, and church buildings and walkways.



The house of world famous, African American blacksmith and wrought iron artist, Philip Simmons. His gates can be seen all over Charleston, at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC and in many foreign countries. The iron work was so prized that when a gate owner changed residences, he would take the gate to the new home.













One of Simmons' famous heart gates, two pictures of his blacksmith's shop,and a portrait of the man himself. He died only a few years ago, but his apprentice continues to work at the forge.



Clowns with the human tennis ball and giant racquet at the AAHPERD convention



Receiving the 2013 Illinois Pathfinder Award...this is for all of the women who made and inspired my career and furthered my passion and appreciation for the human body in motion: Barbara Purrington, Sandy Canon, Shirley Gieck, Jeanne Squires, Anna Clementina Vaz, Leta Walters, Fae Witte, Betty Prange, the dancers at SJSC, Iris Boulton, Gerry Ryberg, Char Anzalone, Millie McManus, Eleanor Metheny, Rosalind Cassidy, Betty van der Smissen, Dot Harris...and so many more. And here's to the women athletes, dancers, joggers, dreamers, believers, movers and shakers of the future. Long may you live and prosper! You Go, Olivia!!







The End
(of this journey)

Location:Brenwood St,Berea,United States