Portland... On the Move

Issue 70 ~ News from your Town Hall ~ November 1999

Happy Thanksgiving; Governor's Fitness Challenge; and lots more...

 

Thanksgiving What was really on the menu at the first Thanksgiving? According to Plimoth Plantation - a living history museum of 17th century Plymouth in Plymouth, Mass. - the meal included venison, wild fowl, turkeys, and Indian corn. Other likely foods, available aboard the Mayflower or in Plimoth, were Dutch cheese, wild grapes, lobster, cod, native melons, pumpkin, and rabbit. Preparation of the feast was supervised by the four surviving housewives of the colony, and it served 50 colonists and 90 Native American guests for three days. The Luck of the Wishbone The tradition of pulling on a wishbone, the bone overlying the breastbone of fowl, dates back to around 300 B.C. to the Etruscans, a people in central Italy. It began with hens, who were considered prophets since they cackled before laying their eggs, and thus supposedly had the power to foretell the future. Those concerned about the future would draw a circle on the ground and divide it into the letters of the alphabet. Grains of corn were placed in each section, and a hen would spell out words by picking up kernels in different letter sections. Afterwards, the bird was sacrificed and its collarbone hung out to dry. Three people would make a wish on the bone: one would make a wish on the intact bone, and two others got a chance to make a wish by pulling on each end. The person who ended up with the larger end of the bone supposedly got his or her wish, and it became known as a "lucky break."

Veterans' Day November 11 Every year at precisely 11 a.m. on this day, the anniversary of the end of World War I, there is a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA., honoring the veterans of all past wars. The Tomb houses the remains of an unknown American soldier who died in that war and was re-buried at the Cemetery in 1921. At this site, on a hillside overlooking the Potomac River and the city of Washington, D.C., a color guard representing all the military services "presents arms" at the Tomb. The highlight of the ceremony is the placing of the Presidential wreath. Congratulations! Nancy Mueller, Portland's Assistant Town Planner, was selected to receive the Environmental Professional Award for 1999! The Board of Supervisors of the Middlesex County Soil and Water Conservation District based their decision on Nancy's "outstanding work and dedication to the protection and wise use of our natural resources in the Town of Portland, as well as the greater Connecticut River Valley." The award was presented at the District's Annual Meeting, October 26, at the Extension Center in Haddam. It seems that we are not the only ones who appreciate Nancy's efforts!

 

Ever Healthy, Ever Green Warm Up to Exercise The American Institute for Cancer Research recommends that we take a brisk walk or do a similar activity for about an hour each day to help lower our risk of cancer and improve our overall health. An important thing to remember as you get more physically active is that stretching your muscles can help you stay active and flexible. Many people assume that inflexible muscles are a fact of life once they begin to age. However, flexibility can be developed by men and women of all ages through a basic stretching program that helps your muscles to expand and contract completely. Try incorporating some basic stretching exercises into your regular workout for increased flexibility and a more complete fitness regimen. Maintaining and increasing flexibility is increasingly important as we age because it helps protect against injury. For example, if you slip and fall, you'll be better able to handle the abrupt movement without incurring an injury because your muscles will be more elastic. A sedentary lifestyle, however, leads to the gradually loss of joint mobility, which increases the risk of joint or muscle injury. If you are trying to increase your range of motion, you should spend most of your time stretching after you exercise, not before. This relieves tension in the muscles, which tend to tighten after exercise. Avoid bouncing and jerking your muscles when you stretch to avoid injury. Hold each stretch for 10 to 20 seconds, and breathe normally. You may feel mild discomfort, but stop at the first sign of pain. In general, stretching three times a week can maintain flexibility. Here are a few simple stretches to increase your flexibility, and help you feel less tense: · Stand in a doorway with your arms out to the sides, holding firmly onto the doorway. Lean forward and let your torso hang through the doorway (not too far) with your arms behind you. · Lie on your back with your knees bent. Grasp one leg under the knee and bring it gently toward your chest, while extending the other leg straight out on the floor. Repeat with the other leg, then bring both knees toward your chest. · Sit upright on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you. Keeping your knees slightly bent, lean your torso towards your thighs and hold.

Safety First! Avoiding Lead Poisoning If you live in a house or apartment built before 1978, you and your family could be exposed to lead-based paint and its health risks. Such paint is a hazard if chipped, cracked or turning chalky. Painting over it won't eliminate the problem. If you think there may be lead-based paint in or around your home, call the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-LEAD FYI to learn what you can do about it. Or look in the yellow pages under "lead" for a qualified professional who can remove, seal, or enclose the lead-based paint hazards. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends taking these precautions: * Clean up all peeled off paint chips with a wet towel or mop. * Wash commonly used household surfaces weekly with a sponge or mop, warm water, and an all-purpose cleaner. Wash sponges and mops thoroughly after they're used on lead-based paint. * Make sure that children keep their hands clean, especially at meals, naps, and bedtimes. * Clean play areas, toys, and pacifiers regularly. Feed your children a diet low in fat and high in iron and calcium, which will slow their bodily absorption of lead. Keep TVs from Falling on Toddlers A recent study by the American Academy of Pediatrics reported that nearly 80 children die every year from falling television sets. Most are toddlers who accidentally topple TVs onto their heads. Safety experts warn against placing large televisions on dressers or inadequate stands that may prove to be top-heavy and unstable. br> Mention All Your Medicines To avoid harmful interactions between new prescriptions and drugs you may already be taking, let your physician know what those drugs are, even if they are over-the-counter drugs like aspirin and vitamins. Don't forget to mention birth-control pills, allergy shots or medications, and herbal supplements. Bring a list of all of your pills and their doses to your appointment.

 

By: Doris Sherrow Who Were The Wangunk? The land where you live was probably farmed or fished or hunted by the Wangunk Indians three hundred years ago. The picture of the Wangunk that emerges from the scraps of historical sources shows a strong, enterprising people, fully the intellectual equal of the invading English. Probably they lived much like the Mashantucket Pequot Museum's Pequot Village, in harmony with nature, constructively occupied with the many tasks necessary to their survival. They fished when the fish ran, hunted when the deer came, and harvested plants for myriad uses as food, medicine, clothing, or artifacts. By the later 1600s, they were using the English calendar, and often signing deeds with an initial or symbol. At least three could write their names. In addition, their deeds are genuinely chatty with historical and genealogical detail: "I have been Lawfully Seized thereof Ever Since ye old Indian warr…" "until it comes to the Indian Corner tree by the Meeting House…" "from said Robbins it descended to my grandmother who was sd Robbins daughter and from her to my uncle James …" Their reservation consisted of two pieces. The smaller piece was about 30 acres, flanking Indian Hill Avenue, and running down to the Connecticut River. The larger piece, about 250 acres, ran east from the rear property lines of the houses along Main Street between Summer and William streets, as far as where Center Cemetery is now. Tom Robbin, a Wangunk, described the two pieces in 1741 as "Indian land in the Woods" and "Indian Hill by the River." On the northwest side of the Indian Hill piece was the "Hot House Lot." The "Hot House" was a hollow on the bank of the Connecticut River, near the end of Indian Hill Avenue. It would have been covered by animal skins, then heated by stones from the fire, in sauna fashion, perhaps for the cure of various diseases, perhaps for ritual, or even simple enjoyment. After sweating a while, the Indian would rush into the cold waters of the Connecticut to drive away the evil spirits, or maybe just to cool off. Indian Hill was also a burial ground. As late as the 1870s, a tombstone stood there which read, "Here lies the body of John Onekous who died August the 30th 1722, aged 26 years." Skeletons were discovered there throughout the 1800s. One house, built in the mid-1800s, did not have a cellar for a century, because the builder encountered so many bones! A less-superstitious 20th century owner finally dug out the cellar and reinterred the bones elsewhere. In 1728, Bartlett Street was extended east into the Wangunk reservation. The customary way to lay out a highway was to appoint a team of three farmers familiar with both surveying and with the land. The team of surveyors for this project were William Cornwell, who lived in the meadow on Glastonbury Turnpike, Nathaniel Savage who lived in a house which stood at or near 609 Main Street, and "Cuschoy in behalf of ye other Indians." The fact that an official from the Wangunks would be included strongly suggests that the Wangunks were considered quite capable by their neighbors.

They were probably involved in many community activities. A diary entry from 1702 notes an Indian named Sacient delivering a tombstone for Rebecca Minor to her family in Stonington-Portland's stone carver James Stanclift had hired him for that job. More tales of the Wangunks come from the story of Rev. Richard Treat, who attempted to establish a school for Indian children in 1734. He got a dozen or so pupils in the four months of the school's existence, stopping after that time for lack of money or help. Deploring their ignorance of Scripture, Christian morality, and the English language, he noted with chagrin that he had to "appeal to their principles of morality and natural religion" in order to win his arguments. He failed to see the cultural strength implicit in that statement-obviously they had a system of morality which could be used to explain Judaeo-Christian principles! Probably the Indians tolerated Treat and his stories as they would a child. On one occasion, as he was telling them of resurrection, one savage pointed jestingly to a dead pig waiting by the fire to be roasted, and inquired if it would rise from the dead. After much debate, Treat finally felt that he had verbally vanquished the Indian. The summer after the attempted school, a tribal leader died, and there was a loud funeral ceremony for several days which Treat felt it was his duty to stop. He interfered persistently but the Indians fended him off until they had finished the ceremony. Then he was allowed to preach for a while and they went quietly home, leaving Treat thinking that he had shown them the error of their ways. In 1747, a Job Bates and his new wife, Faith, moved to Portland from Ware, Massachusetts. Bates was a blacksmith, which made him useful to the boat building industry on Indian Hill, but also probably intrigued the Indians, as well. The white man's metal objects were among his nicest attributes! From all appearances, the Wangunks allowed Bates to take up residence on the northwest corner of Main Street and Indian Hill Avenue. Eventually he came to own a still and a "cyder press," which also no doubt served to endear him to the Wangunks. When the English petitioned finally in the late 1750s to buy the reservation, Bates added his own line: "through mistake I have set my house on it." This 1 ˝ story Cape Cod style "mistake" was over a decade old by that time. Ebenezer White, who lived at 582 Main Street, charged Benoni Brown for 36 feet of board in April of 1755. Brown had used it to build coffins for three members of the Wangunk tribe, all of whom were still quite alive! Tom Cuschoy, his wife, and fellow tribesman Jo Simon apparently purchased the great wooden boxes which the whites were so anxious to use for burials. It wasn't a bad idea, to provide a little wooden house for the body on its long trip, and they probably made handy storage chests in the meantime! In 1765, the Wangunk sold what remained of their reservation. Only a few older members of the tribe were still living in Portland. The younger people had gone off to Farmington, to Stockbridge, Massa-chusetts, or even further west. But the tribe members visited town yearly until the 1830s, gathering at the home of Old Betty, probably on Penny Corner Road.

 

Education Update By: Ann Marie Candela Parents Must be Partners in Educating Kids Parents are partners in education for their handicapped children. Interested and active parents are their children's best advocates. The administrators and educators in the Portland Public Schools welcome parent participation in the process that helps identify children with special needs. Public schools have a procedure for identifying and establishing an individual education plan for children needing special education services. Parents are full partners in this procedure. Through the Pupil Placement Team process, parents with special needs children soon meet a variety of educational support staff that do not have an assigned classroom. These staff members may include a speech pathologist, school psychologist, social worker, occupational therapist, school nurse, and special education teacher. These student services' staff members have a variety of assessment and evaluative skills that provide the PPT with needed information regarding children who may have special needs. While these staff members are available to meet with parents to explain their services, not all special needs students will require the services of each specialist. The services the students require are specified in an individual education plan developed by the PPT. As parents become familiar and comfortable with the staff, it is important that they feel free to ask questions regarding the disability and academic programming in order to understand their children's goals and objectives. Parents may be interested to know more about their children at home. Student services staff members can provide this information. Knowledgeable and concerned parents who support their special needs children throughout the special education process are their children's best advocates.

Calm Down! Hostility isn't good for your heart. Studies show that feelings of anger and a cynical outlook on life are strongly associated with stress-related illness, including hypertension and heart disease. One study of 255 physicians found that those scoring high on a scale designed to measure hostility experienced five times the amount of heart attacks and were six times as likely to die from the heart attacks as those with lower ratings. If you experience frequent anger attacks, look into stress-management and relaxation techniques. They could literally be life-savers. Check-ups for Men Many men are reluctant to visit the doctor if they don't have a specific health problem. But regular checkups are a way to ensure good health. Health experts recommend that men in their 20s see their family physicians at least once every three to five years; for those in their 30s and 40s, at least every two years; and for those over 50, once a year. These visits should include screenings for high blood pressure and cholesterol levels and address such lifestyle factors as obesity, smoking, and excessive use of alcohol. Yummy - But Not a Nut! The American chestnut, a flavorful fall treat, actually isn't a nut at all. Nutritionally, it is similar to a grain, high in carbohydrates and protein, a good source of fiber, very low in fat, and cholesterol free. Early pioneers in Northeast America called chestnuts the "grain that grows on trees." Enjoy them roasted and in stews, soups, and desserts.

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