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· We had a bond referendum shoved down our throats under the specter of vanishing funds from state grants · We had or state school aid eliminated this year · We had 2 years of multi-million dollar school budget deficits · After the school budget was defeated, the Village Council reduced it by a whopping 1/10 of a percent · We laid off or retired around 30 town workers and more may follow After all the angst and tumult in this past year, now we’re getting LIGHTS for our artificial fields?!?
During the dog days of summer, our geniuses at the Board of Ed decide that gadfly Jack Carroll’s idea to add field lights to RHS was a good idea. But don’t worry, sez Big Jack – he’ll shake down various village sports groups (like was done for Maple Field) to offset the cost. If that’s not enough, we’ll take come of the overbudgeted funds from the bond referendum. (Remember, Laurie said that they added a little (10% – our money) extra padding to the referendum – just in case!!)
Carroll has been playing puppetmaster for almost 20 years and this is his latest act. The Board of Ed decided it was cool to “roll the dice” (especially when few were watching – or so they thought). The Village has be mostly against turf fields and now we’ll have 3. And lights now too that will illuminate the new Staduim field and bleachers? How do they pull that off when the state New Jersey won’t even allow a bloody concession stand to be built? Ask the Vandevender Foundation about that one.
This whole process stinks to high heaven. I bet you didn’t realize that when you signed your kids up for a rec sports team, you’d be paying for lighting a field you may never set foot upon. You probably thought that the Board of Ed may want to take it easy with the spending and scheming considering they are staring down new state budget rules and regs – not to mention a possibly explosive REA contract negotiation.
The Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce has announced their new officers and Board of Directors for the 2010 to 2011 year: President Scott Lief of NJ Lenders Corp. Mortgage Bankers, Vice President Tom Hillmann of Hillmann Lighting, Secretary Aaron Galileo of ISB Mortgage Company, Treasurer Diane Friedman of Alexandrite Group, Past President Doug Seiferling of North Jersey Media Group, David Merker of Merker Insurance Group, Ed Sullivan of Sullivan Associates, Zvia Barlev of La Piazza Bistro Italiano, Michael Velicu of Mediterraneo, Walter Boyer of Bookends, Megan Fraser of The Valley Hospital, James Parks of Parks Wealth Management and Paul Vagianos of It’s Greek to Me. https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/98088909_Chamber_of_Commerce_names_new_officers_and_Board_of_Directors.html
The Fourth of July was traditionally celebrated as America’s birthday, but the idea of an annual day specifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have first originated in 1885. BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher, arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes) as ‘Flag Birthday’. In numerous magazines and newspaper articles and public addresses over the following years, Cigrand continued to enthusiastically advocate the observance of June 14 as ‘Flag Birthday’, or ‘Flag Day’.
On June 14, 1889, George Balch, a kindergarten teacher in New York City, planned appropriate ceremonies for the children of his school, and his idea of observing Flag Day was later adopted by the State Board of Education of New York. On June 14, 1891, the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia held a Flag Day celebration, and on June 14 of the following year, the New York Society of the Sons of the Revolution, celebrated Flag Day.
Following the suggestion of Colonel J Granville Leach (at the time historian of the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the Revolution), the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames of America on April 25, 1893 adopted a resolution requesting the mayor of Philadelphia and all others in authority and all private citizens to display the Flag on June 14th. Leach went on to recommend that thereafter the day be known as ‘Flag Day’, and on that day, school children be assembled for appropriate exercises, with each child being given a small Flag.
Two weeks later on May 8th, the Board of Managers of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution unanimously endorsed the action of the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames. As a result of the resolution, Dr. Edward Brooks, then Superintendent of Public Schools of Philadelphia, directed that Flag Day exercises be held on June 14, 1893 in Independence Square. School children were assembled, each carrying a small Flag, and patriotic songs were sung and addresses delivered.
In 1894, the governor of New York directed that on June 14 the Flag be displayed on all public buildings. With BJ Cigrand and Leroy Van Horn as the moving spirits, the Illinois organization, known as the American Flag Day Association, was organized for the purpose of promoting the holding of Flag Day exercises. On June 14th, 1894, under the auspices of this association, the first general public school children’s celebration of Flag Day in Chicago was held in Douglas, Garfield, Humboldt, Lincoln, and Washington Parks, with more than 300,000 children participating.
Adults, too, participated in patriotic programs. Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, delivered a 1914 Flag Day address in which he repeated words he said the flag had spoken to him that morning: “I am what you make me; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself.”
Inspired by these three decades of state and local celebrations, Flag Day -the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 – was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson’s proclamation, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.
RIDGEWOOD – A growing number of parents are opposed to The Valley Hospital’s plan to double in size, fearing years of construction will expose middle school students to health hazards and disruptions in learning.
Even though the issue has been debated for three years in the village, more parents are voicing concerns as the Planning Board is nearing a vote this month on proposed changes to the master plan that would allow the $750 million project.
E-mail chains are circulating urging the Board of Education to take a stand against the proposal. Residents who never thought the plan would get to a vote are distributing fliers and posting them on utility poles.
“There are quite a few people who are up in arms,” said resident Lorraine Reynolds. “A lot of people didn’t think it would get this far.”
“The Board of Education is here to protect our children and the only way they can do this is to take a stand against the proposed plan,” she said.
The Planning Board is scheduled to hold a meeting on the issue this evening at Village Hall, though opponents had hoped it would be moved because a major school event is also scheduled for tonight.
If approved by the Planning Board, the master plan changes would allow the hospital to double in size to 1.17 million square feet and permit a building that could reach 94 feet high within 40 feet of the property of Benjamin Franklin Middle School. A six-story parking garage, with four floors above ground, would also be permitted on the property.
A crucial concern for parents is the proposed construction of the North Building adjacent to the middle school, which could take nearly seven years to complete. Half of the public school students in Ridgewood attend this middle school at some point. Concern about the impact on students in this school has swept in parents from the all over the east side of the village.
Fliers are warning: “The impact lasts forever. Once the hospital doubles in size, our children will go to school next to a massive complex that will spew more exhaust, cause more traffic, more noise.” They warn that children with asthma and other respiratory issues will not be able to attend the middle school or a nearby elementary school.
Last year, Board of Education member Sheila Brogan testified at a Planning Board meeting that the board’s intention was “not to get intertwined in the debate.” Noting the “unprecedented size, scope and duration of the project,” however, Brogan said, the board wanted the hospital to pay for air and noise monitoring.
But Carrie Lewis thinks the board has a responsibility to get involved.
“The board and the superintendent ask us for support for their budget when it comes to saving jobs, but they aren’t standing up for us on an issue that will affect our children’s health while at school and their ability to learn in the midst of years of construction.
“I think the Planning Board and our school board has no understanding that this project will have a lasting impact on the students on this side of town. This is not just a neighborhood issue. I don’t live in that neighborhood, but my children will be affected because that is our middle school.”
Parents have been passing around literature about how children near high-traffic areas suffer higher rates of asthma and difficulties learning. A pink flier posted around the four schools on the east side warned that Valley’s assurances that it will mitigate noise and air issues didn’t work during previous hospital construction projects, when middle school students couldn’t hear their teachers and practices on the fields outside were held amid dust from construction.
Resident Lisa Baney said she questioned if Valley Hospital “will or actually can comply with the Board of Education’s requests for assurances of a healthy, safe, effective learning environment at Benjamin Franklin Middle School, Travell and the nearby community.”
“Saying assurances will be made to manage the issues of air quality, health, safety and an effective learning environment is like British Petroleum saying every state-of-the-art measure has been taken to stop the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico,” Baney said.
Baney also noted that health and environmental impact studies have not been completed, a concern shared by many other residents. The Planning Board has said those studies are not part of the master plan review process, but could be required during site plan review if the master plan changes are approved.
Neither Superintendent Daniel Fishbein nor Board of Education President Michele Lenhard could be reached for comment.
However some residents who have corresponded with trustees said the board would request specific safeguards for student health, safety and learning if the project gets to the point of site plan review.
The board is not expected to vote at tonight’s meeting. The board added June 7 because some parents will be attending a concert at Benjamin Franklin Middle School this evening. Meetings are also scheduled for June 14 and 15.
If the board approves master plan changes, the Village Council would also vote on new ordinances. If the council approves the changes, the hospital would then begin site review before the Planning Board.
Hospital spokeswoman Megan Fraser said Valley officials have met with members of the Federated Home and School Association on several occasions, as well as with parent groups to explain the many items that are monitored by the village through a developer’s agreement.
“As health care providers, the safety of our patients, staff, neighbors and the students is our greatest concern,” Fraser said.
“I think it is important to reinforce that Valley has done this before and, now as then, we look forward to working with the Board of Education and parents to resolve construction issues,” Fraser said.
We know that Graydon is not the only issue. But it is a significant and symbolic one. Graydon is the heart of the Village, both literally and figuratively. Yet some wish to rip it out and pave it over. Important points to consider before pressing the button
• Flood hazard zone. Among the candidates, only Bernie and Tom understand the expense, danger, and recklessness of paving over a flood hazard area that repeatedly experiences severe flooding.
Residents who are relatively new to town cannot imagine the destruction that Ridgewood has already experienced from floods, including canoes down the streets and evacuations. They cannot fathom how much worse the situation could be without Graydon, our 3-million-gallon catch basin—now routinely emptied to make room for all the rain when big storms are predicted. Excess water also seeps down through the sand afterward. Those tons of water could end up in our neighbors’ basements and worse.
DO NOT BELIEVE protestations that certain minds are open to improvements at Graydon of the type we envision. DO NOT BELIEVE that a Request for Proposals (RFP) would merely invite “new ideas”—it’s a contract document for a big construction job.
Electing the other candidates would be Graydon’s death knell.
• Fiscal restraint. Bernie and Tom know that taking out additional large bonds could compromise Ridgewood’s ability to borrow. They urge financial caution.
• Independent thinkers. The other two candidates could form a three-vote majority with a like-minded sitting council member.
• Homegrown campaigns. No huge donations. No expensive political consulting agency. No multiple mailings of glossy flyers. No ten million yard signs on unoccupied property. Just the candidates.
Village Council elections have low turnout. Make sure every registered voter in your household visits the polls between 6 AM and 8 PM.
RIDGEWOOD IS COUNTING ON YOU TO DO THE RIGHT THING. VOTE FOR COGHLAN-WALSH AND RICHE.
x Line 1: Bernadette Coghlan-Walsh Line 2: [ignore] Line 3: [ignore] x Line 4: Thomas M. Riche
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>The latest propaganda that our Public Information Officer has delivered from the BOE on the Ridgewood Public Schools site is a message that tells of the “many emails” the Village Council has received “in support of keeping the budget as it stands and that they are looking for guidance from the superintendent in the form of a defense of the restored cut list and the impact that further cuts would have on the district”
Uh-oh, looks like the fox is loose in the hen house again. Is this to be believed? Can our superintendent and BOE possibly top its own astronomical arrogance? Blogs on this site say otherwise. What part of NO don’t they understand? WE MUST NOT LET THEM CRAM THAT SAME BUDGET DOWN OUR THROATS.
Time to rally and stop the lies and waste. We must go beyond the confines of this blog and let the Village Council hear from us. SEND YOUR THOUGHTS TO THE VILLAGE COUNCIL NOW!!
>The tools at the BOE should not have rammed the $48m bond thru in December. What a scam that was…
There was so many things wrong with the way they went about it:
1. should have put in on the general ballot in november instead of its own ballot in december OR put it at the same time as the budget vote. they only did this because they knew less people would come out in december to vote against it AND that the NJ budget cuts were coming. additionaly, it costs money to hold a special election so yet again they wasted money.
2. they put a package deal together so they people with leaky roofs would vote yes even if they were not in favor of a dozen new classrooms, new bleachers, and new turf fields (which were, by the way, voted down by the general public when specifically asked whether they wanted to pay for them on the ballot two years ago).
3. there is no logic to the fact that they are claiming to need a dozen new classrooms while school populations are hundreds less than in the 1970s. why would we possibly need these things? if certain schools are too crowded, rebalance the boundaries like they did with somerville a few years ago. it’s not like you’d be sending your kid to inner city schools if they had to go to a different elementary school in Ridgewood.
4. as mentioned in point 2 above, the put deferred maintenance items in the bond. ok, fine, fix the roofs, wiring, etc. that was neglected in prior years that should have been handled in the operating budget BUT AGAIN, do not add new infrastructure (classrooms etc.) that we will not be able to maintain because obviously we can afford to maintain what we have already (hence the deferred maintenace in bond).
We need somebody on the board who will say NO to the teachers’ union, who has kids who will feel the impact of any cuts/reductions to keep them honest, and will not empire-build. We have to get back to basics and for once stabilize the taxes and let incomes catch up. 4% increases to the budget are not stable when there is essentially zero inflation.
The history of Easter reveals rich associations between the Christian faith and the seemingly unrelated practices of the early pagan religions. Easter history and traditions that we practice today evolved from pagan symbols, from the ancient goddess Ishtar to Easter eggs and the Easter bunny.
Easter, perhaps the most important of the Christian holidays, celebrates the Christ’s resurrection from the dead following his death on Good Friday. . . a rebirth that is commemorated around the vernal equinox, historically a time of pagan celebration that coincides with the arrival of spring and symbolizes the arrival of light and the awakening of life around us.
Ostara, Goddess of Spring and the Dawn (Oestre / Eastre)
Easter is named for a Saxon goddess who was known by the names of Oestre or Eastre, and in Germany by the name of Ostara. She is a goddess of the dawn and the spring, and her name derives from words for dawn, the shining light arising from the east. Our words for the “female hormone” estrogen derives from her name.
Ostara was, of course, a fertility goddess. Bringing in the end of winter, with the days brighter and growing longer after the vernal equinox, Ostara had a passion for new life. Her presence was felt in the flowering of plants and the birth of babies, both animal and human. The rabbit (well known for its propensity for rapid reproduction) was her sacred animal.
Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny both featured in the spring festivals of Ostara, which were initially held during the feasts of the goddess Ishtar | Inanna. Eggs are an obvious symbol of fertility, and the newborn chicks an adorable representation of new growth. Brightly colored eggs, chicks, and bunnies were all used at festival time to express appreciation for Ostara’s gift of abundance.
History of Easter Eggs and Easter Candy
The history of Easter Eggs as a symbol of new life should come as no surprise. The notion that the Earth itself was hatched from an egg was once widespread and appears in creation stories ranging from Asian to Ireland.
Eggs, in ancient times in Northern Europe, were a potent symbol of fertility and often used in rituals to guarantee a woman’s ability to bear children. To this day rural “grannywomen” (lay midwives/healers in the Appalachian mountains) still use eggs to predict, with uncanny accuracy, the sex of an unborn child by watching the rotation of an egg as it is suspended by a string over the abdomen of a pregnant woman.
Dyed eggs are given as gifts in many cultures. Decorated eggs bring with them a wish for the prosperity of the abundance during the coming year.
Folklore suggests that Easter egg hunts arose in Europe during “the Burning Times”, when the rise of Christianity led to the shunning (and persecution) of the followers of the “Old Religion”. Instead of giving the eggs as gifts the adults made a game of hiding them, gathering the children together and encouraging them to find the eggs. Some believe that the authorities seeking to find the “heathens” would follow or bribe the children to reveal where they found the eggs so that the property owner could be brought to justice.
Green Eggs . . . . . . and Ham???
The meat that is traditionally associated with Easter is ham. Though some might argue that ham is served at Easter since it is a “Christian” meat, (prohibited for others by the religious laws of Judaism and Islam) the origin probably lies in the early practices of the pagans of Northern Europe.
Having slaughtered and preserved the meat of their agricultural animals during the Blood Moon celebrations the previous autumn so they would have food throughout the winter months, they would celebrate the occasion by using up the last of the remaining cured meats.
In anticipation that the arrival of spring with its emerging plants and wildlife would provide them with fresh food in abundance, it was customary for many pagans to begin fasting at the time of the vernal equinox, clearing the “poisons” (and excess weight) produced by the heavier winter meals that had been stored in their bodies over the winter. Some have suggested that the purpose of this fasting may have been to create a sought-after state of “altered consciousness” in time for the spring festivals. One cannot but wonder if this practice of fasting might have been a forerunner of “giving up” foods during the Lenten season.
Chocolate Easter bunnies and eggs, marshmallow chicks in pastel colors, and candy of all sorts . . . these have pagan origins as well! To understand their association with religion we need to examine the meaning of food as a symbol.
The ancient belief that, by eating something we take on its characteristics formed the basis for the earliest “blessings” before meals (a way to honor the life that had been sacrificed so that we as humans could enjoy life) and, presumably, for the more recent Christian sacrament of communion as well.
Shaping candy Easter eggs and bunnies out of candy to celebrate the spring festival was, simply put, a way to celebrate the symbols of the goddess and the season, while laying claim to their strengths (vitality, growth, and fertility) for ourselves.
The Goddess Ostara and the Easter Bunny
Feeling guilty about arriving late one spring, the Goddess Ostara saved the life of a poor bird whose wings had been frozen by the snow. She made him her pet or, as some versions have it, her lover. Filled with compassion for him since he could no longer fly (in some versions, it was because she wished to amuse a group of young children), Ostara turned him into a snow hare and gave him the gift of being able to run with incredible speed so he could protect himself from hunters.
In remembrance of his earlier form as a bird, she also gave him the ability to lay eggs (in all the colors of the rainbow, no less), but only on one day out of each year.
Eventually the hare managed to anger the goddess Ostara, and she cast him into the skies where he would remain as the constellation Lepus (The Hare) forever positioned under the feet of the constellation Orion (the Hunter). He was allowed to return to earth once each year, but only to give away his eggs to the children attending the Ostara festivals that were held each spring. The tradition of the Easter Bunny had begun.
Easter Bunny had begun.
The Hare was sacred in many ancient traditions and was associated with the moon goddesses and the various deities of the hunt. In ancient times eating the Hare was prohibited except at Beltane (Celts) and the festival of Ostara (Anglo-Saxons), when a ritual hare-hunt would take place.
In many cultures rabbits, like eggs, were considered to be potent remedies for fertility problems. The ancient philosopher-physician Pliny the Elder prescribed rabbit meat as a cure for female sterility, and in some cultures the genitals of a hare were carried to avert barrenness.
Medieval Christians considered the hare to bring bad fortune, saying witches changed into rabbits in order to suck the cows dry. It was claimed that a witch could only be killed by a silver crucifix or a bullet when she appeared as a hare.
Given their “mad” leaping and boxing displays during mating season as well as their ability to produce up to 42 offspring each spring, it is understandable that they came to represent lust, sexuality, and excess in general. Medieval Christians considered the hare to be an evil omen, believing that witches changed into rabbits in order to suck the cows dry. It was claimed that a witch could only be killed by a silver crucifix or a bullet when she appeared as a hare.
In later Christian tradition the white Hare, when depicted at the Virgin Mary’s feet, represents triumph over lust or the flesh. The rabbit’s vigilance and speed came to represent the need to flee from sin and temptation and a reminder of the swift passage of life.
And, finally, there is a sweet Christian legend about a young rabbit who, for three days, waited anxiously for his friend, Jesus, to return to the Garden of Gethsemane, not knowing what had become of him. Early on Easter morning, Jesus returned to His favorite garden and was welcomed the little rabbit. That evening when the disciples came into the garden to pray, still unaware of the resurrection, they found a clump of beautiful larkspurs, each blossom bearing the image of a rabbit in its center as a remembrance of the little creature’s hope and faith.
Ishtar, Goddess of Love, and the First Resurrection (also known as Inanna)
Ishtar, goddess of romance, procreation, and war in ancient Babylon, was also worshipped as the Sumerian goddess Inanna. One of the great goddesses, or “mother goddesses”, stories of her descent to the Underworld and the resurrection that follows are contained in the oldest writings that have ever been discovered. . . the Babylonian creation myth Enuma Elish and the story of Gilgamesh. Scholars believed that they were based on the oral mythology of the region and were recorded about 2,100 B.C.E.
The most famous of the myths of Ishtar tell of her descent into the realm of the dead to rescue her young lover, Tammuz, a Vegetation god forced to live half the year in the Underworld. Ishtar approached the gates of the Underworld, which was ruled by her twin sister Eresh-kigel, the goddess of death and infertility. She was refused admission.
Similar to the Greek myths of Demeter and Persephone that came later, during Ishtar’s absence the earth grew barren since all acts of procreation ceased while she was away. Ishtar screamed and ranted that she would break down the gates and release all of the dead to overwhelm the world and compete with the living for the remaining food unless she was allowed to enter and plead her case with her twin.
Needless to say, she won admission. But the guard, following standard protocol, refused to let her pass through the first gate unless she removed her crown. At the next gate, she had to remove her earrings, then her necklace at the next, removing her garments and proud finery until she stood humbled and naked after passing through the seventh (and last) gate.
In one version, she was held captive and died but was brought back to life when her servant sprinkled her with the “water of life”. In the more widely known version of the myth, Ishtar’s request was granted and she regained all of her attire and possessions as she slowly re-emerged through the gates of darkness.
Upon her return, Tammuz and the earth returned to life. Annual celebrations of this “Day of Joy”, were held each year around the time of the vernal equinox. These celebrations became the forerunners of the Ostara festivals that welcomed Oestre and the arrival of spring.
A section on the Goddess Inanna (the Sumerian version of the Goddess Ishtar), her myths and symbols, is included with the myths of the goddesses at this website.
Well now St. Patrick’s Day wouldn’t exist if not for the man himself! But how much do we know about him? Did you know that he spent six years of slavery in Ireland until he escaped and undertook religious training abroad?
Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig is the Gaelic way of expressing a wish that you have all the blessings of St Patrick’s Day and the “luck of the Irish” to go with it. There are many humorous explanations for this expression. One comes from the legend of the ‘Little People’ of the land, know as leprechauns. Finding or catching a leprechaun (who would then give you gold) was a lucky event that could only take place in Ireland ! The Irish are descendants of great Celtic and Viking fighters and invaders. Their natural fighting skills often ensured survival & hence they became known as the ‘lucky’ people .a classic case of making your own luck ! But then “The Luck of the Irish” may all be legend.
Saint Patricks Day Parades Worldwide, Irish Pubs all around the globe, Fun Runs, Irish Associations, Irish Music Festivals, Irish Names, Irish Dancing Schools, Irish Music Irish Roots, Irish Festivals,Scottish Highland Games USA & Canada, as well as, Scottish Pipes & Drum Bands.
St Patricks Day is for thinking about our Saint as well as a time to think of loved ones across the water.
So, why is it celebrated on March 17th? One theory is that that is the day that St. Patrick died. Since the holiday began in Ireland, it is believed that as the Irish spread out around the world, they took with them their history and celebrations. The biggest observance of all is, of course, in Ireland. With the exception of restaurants and pubs, almost all businesses close on March 17th. Being a religious holiday as well, many Irish attend mass, where March 17th is the traditional day for offering prayers for missionaries worldwide before the serious celebrating begins.
“Champion of limited Government and Limited Government Ambition”
At 2:30 on the morning of August 3, 1923, while visiting in Vermont, Calvin Coolidge received word that he was President. By the light of a kerosene lamp, his father, who was a notary public, administered the oath of office as Coolidge placed his hand on the family Bible.
Coolidge was “distinguished for character more than for heroic achievement,” wrote a Democratic admirer, Alfred E. Smith. “His great task was to restore the dignity and prestige of the Presidency when it had reached the lowest ebb in our history … in a time of extravagance and waste….”
Born in Plymouth, Vermont, on July 4, 1872, Coolidge was the son of a village storekeeper. He was graduated from Amherst College with honors, and entered law and politics in Northampton, Massachusetts. Slowly, methodically, he went up the political ladder from councilman in Northampton to Governor of Massachusetts, as a Republican. En route he became thoroughly conservative.
As President, Coolidge demonstrated his determination to preserve the old moral and economic precepts amid the material prosperity which many Americans were enjoying. He refused to use Federal economic power to check the growing boom or to ameliorate the depressed condition of agriculture and certain industries. His first message to Congress in December 1923 called for isolation in foreign policy, and for tax cuts, economy, and limited aid to farmers.
He rapidly became popular. In 1924, as the beneficiary of what was becoming known as “Coolidge prosperity,” he polled more than 54 percent of the popular vote.
In his Inaugural he asserted that the country had achieved “a state of contentment seldom before seen,” and pledged himself to maintain the status quo. In subsequent years he twice vetoed farm relief bills, and killed a plan to produce cheap Federal electric power on the Tennessee River.
The political genius of President Coolidge, Walter Lippmann pointed out in 1926, was his talent for effectively doing nothing: “This active inactivity suits the mood and certain of the needs of the country admirably. It suits all the business interests which want to be let alone…. And it suits all those who have become convinced that government in this country has become dangerously complicated and top-heavy….”
Coolidge was both the most negative and remote of Presidents, and the most accessible. He once explained to Bernard Baruch why he often sat silently through interviews: “Well, Baruch, many times I say only ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to people. Even that is too much. It winds them up for twenty minutes more.”
But no President was kinder in permitting himself to be photographed in Indian war bonnets or cowboy dress, and in greeting a variety of delegations to the White House.
Both his dry Yankee wit and his frugality with words became legendary. His wife, Grace Goodhue Coolidge, recounted that a young woman sitting next to Coolidge at a dinner party confided to him she had bet she could get at least three words of conversation from him. Without looking at her he quietly retorted, “You lose.” And in 1928, while vacationing in the Black Hills of South Dakota, he issued the most famous of his laconic statements, “I do not choose to run for President in 1928.”
By the time the disaster of the Great Depression hit the country, Coolidge was in retirement. Before his death in January 1933, he confided to an old friend, “. . . I feel I no longer fit in with these times.”
Washington’s Birthday is the official name designated to what many of us know as President’s Day. During the month of February the birthday of two of our greatest President’s takes place. Both George Washington who was born on Feb. 22nd and Abraham Lincoln born on Feb. 12th.
However, Washington’s birthday has been publicly celebrated since he was in office, before Abraham Lincoln was even born. Much of the debate over the name of the holiday springs from the fact that state’s can follow their own holidays how they see fit and many of them chose to also honor Lincoln, calling the celebration President’s Day.
It was in 1968 that the term President’s Day came up for legal consideration in the Congress but was shot down, though the holiday was moved to fall between the two President’s birthdays. Again in the 1980’s there was a resurgence of the term with advertisers which solidfied the holiday name in American culture. Today, few Americans perfer to call the holiday Washington’s Birthday in lieu of President’s Day.
To Honor Presidents Day the Ridgewood blog will use this week to give a little back ground on a few of our late presidents , we started with Lincoln last week and we will end with Washington next Monday.
The legend of Groundhog Day is based on an old Scottish couplet: “If Candlemas Day is bright and clear, there’ll be two winters in the year.”
Every February 2, people gather at Gobbler’s Knob, a wooded knoll just outside of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
Residents contend that the groundhog has never been wrong.
The ceremony in Punxsutawney was held in secret until 1966, and only Phil’s prediction was revealed to the public. Since then, Phil’s fearless forecast has been a national media event.
The groundhog comes out of his electrically heated burrow, looks for his shadow and utters his prediction to a Groundhog Club representative in “groundhogese.” The representative then translates the prediction for the general public.
If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, it means six more weeks of winter. If he does not see his shadow, it means spring is just around the corner.
Approximately 90% of the time, Phil sees his shadow.
Phil started making predictions in 1887 and has become an American institution.
