American Doll and Toy Museum: Rocks and Dolls

American Doll and Toy Museum: Rocks and Dolls: Eleanor St. George, a famous doll author and collector of the late forties and fifties, wrote that doll collectors are seldom single minded ...

Deliverance, a Review

When I was little, my family watched Daniel Boone on television. The opening scenes showed in beautiful Technicolor the woods, the blue watered streams, all of it. It made me shiver. Even in sunlight, the landscaped menaced. To paraphrase Plath, sunlight struck the water and the land like damnation. It was all so lonely, isolated, but for a man and his gun. Fast forward to trips we took out west, driving through areas that saw very few people. The eerie Great Salt Lake, the Rockies and Tetons, lands of caves and canyons, devils’ towers and overhanging cliffs, rivers that seemed deepless, oceans that never stopped flowing. Flannery O’Connor’s story,” A Good Man is Hard to Find” amused and scared us. Would we run into the Misfit at an isolated sunny picnic area in Colorado, which we abandoned after our little dog faced the edging woods and wouldn’t start barking”? There was Paul Auster’s essay “Why Write?” In that, a little boy scout is struck by lightening and killed while they trying to seek shelter. My own camping experience was limited to a field biology excursion where teen boys tried to scare us at night, and were impressed that I was the one who didn’t scream. I nearly fell off a high bolder, yanked up poison ivy by mistake, and twice nearly stepped on snakes. Then, after three years of looking for the book, I read Deliverance by James Dickey. Murder and raped never scared so much. Many of the quotes made famous by the film by Burt Reynolds and Ned Beatty were not part of the book. Instead, Dickey pointed out in chilling detail how four ordinary men from the city would be conquered, then conquer, a mysterious river and a deadly mountain and its inhabitants. Dickey opens and closes with descriptions of the river, in an allusion to James Joyce and Finnegans Wake. Dickey’s prose is poetic and deadly. As an avid hunter and outdoorsman, he knew which words conveyed the terror of the woods, and four men who were not expecting in their wildest dreams the misadventures they would face

Earth Day

Dolls are ephemeral. So are toys. They disappear from the horizon after awhile. years from now, what hasn't deteriorated will be dug out of landfills by archaeologists and studied by anthropologists. Not so different from from those who address climate change. When ice bergs melt, weather gets hotter or colder, or animals become extinct, that same sense of loss occurs. Dolls, toys and other small things forgotten are often all left after entire civilizations disappear. When these thongs go, they can't be replaced. The Earth is our mother, this Earth Day we should remember to cate for her and her children. See the original forty nine tips from this blog

A Total Eclipse of the Sun, Part II, by Dr. David Levy, our Guest Blogger

Skyward for May 2024. David H. Levy A Total Eclipse of the Sun, part Two. This is a story, not a report on observations. On April 8, a total eclipse of the Sun tracked across Mexico, the United States, and Canada. Most of the United Staes enjoyed clear weather, and most of Canada did too. We were in Texas. We did not have clear weather. Admittedly, we knew we might be in for bad luck a week out. But when my friends David and Pam Rossetter came by Friday morning at 5:45 a.m., we knew we would be in for quite an adventure. We arrived at the home in which we planned to stay early Friday evening. Dena McClung, former president of the Denver Astronomical Society, was an important part of our group. It appeared that the house had been vacant for months or years. Although we decided to grin, bear it, and make do, by the next afternoon Scott Roberts, our host, had put us up in a wonderful hotel. The afternoon before the eclipse, a new report predicted clearing during the eclipse. We were heartened, but that prediction was wrong. Eclipse day dawned cloudy with drizzle. We arrived at the Explore Scientific site near Leakey, Texas. We did see the Sun for a few seconds now and then. The eclipse began right on time—to the second, even though it may first have been predicted by astrologers in ancient Greece. I remembered how happy Dad was when the 1963 eclipse began the same way. We did get several brief views of the incoming partial. But as the Moon advanced inexorably, the clouds thickened. And as totality neared, it became pretty obvious we would miss the total phase. About ten minutes before the total phase began, someone in our group asked me to share a poem at the start of totality. The one I had in mind was Ross’s speech after Macbeth murders King Duncan: By th’ clock ’tis day, And yet dark night strangles the travelling lamp. Is ’t night’s predominance, or the day’s shame That darkness does the face of Earth entomb When living light should kiss it? Short and sweet, and so Shakespeare. But two minutes before the onset of the total eclipse, I thought of Wendee’s favorite poem, The closing lines of “The Song of Honour” by Ralph Hodgson. I suddenly missed Wendee more than I can write. During the 2017 eclipse my wife opined that she hoped still to be alive to see this one. I understood that this eclipse I would have to appreciate for both of us. The idea of her not being here, at this moment, hit me like a clap of thunder. The sky was darkening fast. The temperature was falling like a stone. It grew much colder. And still the sky grew darker. It was past noon and it was night. We were silent. It was the moment of total eclipse. I stood and faced the group. I said: I stood and stared; the sky was lit, The sky was stars all over it, I stood, I knew not why, Without a wish, without a will, I stood upon that silent hill And stared into the sky until My eyes were blind with stars, and still I stared into the sky. The group listened with rapt attention. When I was done, there were smiles and some applause. We would not see a total eclipse but we had a poem. Then there was silence. Twenty seconds passed. And then, the Sun appeared in total eclipse. Just like that. I could not believe it. For about half a minute; for 30, maybe 45 seconds, we swathe Sun’s corona, the centerpiece of a total eclipse of the Sun. I did not notice the big prominence at the bottom of the Sun but I did not care. The Sun’s corona, circular because this was near the maximum of the sunspot cycle, smiled at us. (At other parts of the cycle the corona would be more oval.) It was the most dramatic thing I have ever seen. After that unforgettable, precious, sight, clouds came in again. We did get to glimpse the corona on and off a few times after that. I noticed the sky starting to brighten as the end of totality approached. Suddenly it was over. Only it wasn’t. For one delicious moment the Sun’s photosphere appeared. The Sun was shining through valleys at the edge, or the limb, of the Moon. It was a magnificent, stunning view of Baily’s beads. First described by Francis Baily after he observed them during the eclipse of May 15, 1836, the effect bears his name. However, the first person to describe this effect was actually Edmond Halley,(of comet fame) who recorded them 121 years earlier during the total eclipse of May 3, 1715. What we saw was splendid. And then we got to see a large portion of the ending partial phase. Clouds again obscured the very end of the eclipse. I sat in my chair, alone. I thought of Wendee. I missed her so much. I could not stop crying. Scott Roberts sat with me and put his hand on my shoulder. Even as I write these words, I am not quite over it. This eclipse, by far the most dramatic I ever saw, was my twelfth total eclipse, and the 101st eclipse I have seen since October 2, 1959.

The total eclipse from Montreal, Canada. The photo credit goes to Joyce Stein, with assistance from Dr. Lawrence Stein. You can spot Venus in between the telephone wires.

Skyward 2024 by our guest blogger, Dr. David Levy, and the Eclipse

Skyward for April 2024. David H. Levy A Total Eclipse of the Sun. As I am writing this April 2024 edition of Skyward, in less than a month there will be a total eclipse of the Sun. The Moon’s great shadow will trace a path across North America, including the United States, and Eastern Canada. A total eclipse of the Sun is one of the most breathtaking sights all of Nature has to offer. The Sun will vanish. In its place will be a jeweled crown. The Moon’s dark central shadow will touch the Earth in the Pacific Ocean at sunrise and hit the North American coast over Mexico, north of Guadalajara. The shadow will then cross the border into the United States (where I will be, and hope that the shadow will not get stopped at the border) and head for Dallas. Millions of people in several major cities across the United States will enjoy a stunning experience of a total eclipse of the Sun, including San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Indianapolis, and Carbondale. The shadow will cross the border into Canada, where cities like Hamilton, Niagara Falls, Kingston, most of the Thousand Islands in the St Lawrence River, and Montreal, will experience totality. Downtown Montreal will experience a twilight sky early in the afternoon—its street lights will switch on-- and then the shadow will race through Sherbrooke on its way towards Newfoundland. Finally, the shadow will head over the Atlantic Ocean where sunset will mark the end of this incredible, precious event. Virtually everyone else in the United States and most of Canada will see a partial eclipse during which a portion of the Sun will be blocked by the new Moon. For those readers planning to watch the eclipse, I have four salient pieces of advice. 1. Whenever any of the Sun is visible. It is vital to use special eclipse glasses. An unprotected view of the Sun could cause permanent blindness. However, when the total phase of the eclipse begins and the sun is completely covered by the Moon, take your glasses off and then enjoy the spectacle. I knew that even when, at age 15, I saw my first total eclipse with my parents, on July 20th, 1963. (My first eclipse, on October 2, 1959, with Mom and brother Gerry, was a partial.) In the minutes before the total phase began, I looked toward the west to watch the Moon’s ominous shadow approaching. At the onset of totality, I tore off my glasses and gazed at the atmosphere of the Sun. Dad had a fit. He raised his voice and demanded that I put my glasses back on. My solution: I put the glasses back on. Then I turned slightly away from Dad., and promptly took them off again. The simple rule is, if any of the Sun itself is visible, use the eclipse glasses. But when the Sun is totally covered by the Moon, all bets, and glasses, are off. 2. For readers who are very close to the Moon’s deep central shadow, so that, say, more than 99% of the Sun is covered by the Moon, nothing is gained. A 99.99% eclipse is still a partial eclipse. The closer to the path of the Moon’s shadow, the more important it is to make the effort to get into the shadow. 3. If the sky is clear the atmosphere of the Sun, the magnificent corona (roughly circular since the sunspot cycle is near its maximum) will prevent total darkness. If the sky is cloudy, then it could become very dark. By far the darkest total solar eclipse for me was on March 7, 1970 in Nova Scotia; the sky was covered by a layer of stratus cloud. It was so dark that I could barely see my fingers. 4. I can’t remember the fourth piece of advice. Viewing a total solar eclipse should be on everybody’s bucket list. It is a unique and unforgettable event. Surrounding the Sun, the brighter planets like Venus and Jupiter might appear, and although Comet Pons–Brooks will be in the sky northwest of Jupiter, about a quarter of the way between Jupiter and the Sun, it will probably be difficult to spot. I have seen 99 eclipses. If the sky is clear on the night of the full Moon on March 24/25, then I will see what is called a penumbral eclipse of the Moon during which the Moon is dimmed a bit by the outer shadow of the Earth. It will be what we call an almost total penumbral eclipse of the Moon during which almost all of the Moon will be embedded in the outer shadow of the Earth but none of the umbra, or inner shadow. That will be my 100th Eclipse. And then, the total eclipse on April the 8th will be my 101st. In his autobiography Starlight Nights, published in 1965, Leslie Peltier wrote about the first eclipse he saw on June 8, 1918. Revising a little bit, Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Peltier changed the original The hornéd Moon, with one bright star/ Within the nether tip. …to the less poetic but more correct, and surely more fun, “A hornéd Sun, with one dark Moon/Within its nether tip.”

The Purpose of a Museum

The more I run the American Doll and Toy Museum, the more I realize a lot of people of all ages have no clue what a museum is. “What is the purpose of this?” asked one woman in her seventies or early eighties. She grew up in our area, which has several museums besides ours, including The Putnam Museum, The German American Heritage Center, The Hauberg Indian Museum, and The Rock Island Historical Society, to name just a few. I don’t think she has been in any. She wanted to know if we bought and sold dolls and other things. No, I answered, we aren’t retail. Our purpose is to educate, and to tell the story of humanity through dolls and toys. Our collection represents Prehistory to the Present. Many of our artifacts also represent the ethnicities or our community. They tell the progress of immigration in our area. We also curate to preserve, even things no one else may want. We have several libraries of books about our objects, but also about them. Our best visitors are children twelve and under. They are fascinated by the antiques, and delight when they find something they recognize. They behave well, and aren’t jaded. Their favorite exhibits are Polly Pockets, My Little Pony, and Disney Princesses. I direct those who want to know more about to museums to the blog, “The Future of Museums.” My cousin who is a pastor, calls the museum a ministry for children, both because we try to preserve objects for posterity, but because we are dedicated to childhood and its pursuits, to a time more innocent than today. We a 501c not for profit; we do not make money in this venture, far from it. Dolls and toys are humanity’s historians. Dolls are often the only thing left to us from civilizations long gone from the earth, and are portraits of their creators. Brick and mortar museums exist to teach as well as entertain. There museums for kitchen utensils, washing machines, tractors, trucks, textiles and mores. What is our purpose? Come see us to find out, but if you have to ask, well . . .

American Doll and Toy Museum: Our Purpose

American Doll and Toy Museum: Our Purpose: The more I run the American Doll and Toy Museum, the more I realize a lot of people of all ages have no clue what a museum is. “What is the...