Americana

 

 

Today we visited the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York along with the Fenemore Art Museum and the Farmer’s Museum.  It was a slice of Americana.  Nearly a year ago, Paul and I drove out here on our way to Boston with Paul’s 14-year-old son and his 14-year-old friend, Tyler.  On July 4th, we stopped to visit the Hall of Fame and then ate lunch at a nearby restaurant.  Tyler insisted that we eat hot dogs, and later apple pie with vanilla ice cream. “What could be more American than being in Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame, eating hot dogs, ice cream and apple pie all on July 4th?” he inquired of us.  Nothing I suppose. 

The typical Americana house

This return trip brought these memories flooding back to me as we spent the morning touring the Hall of Fame.  As I observed the United States flags displayed prominently on the front of nearly every home, and the red, white and blue bunting that lined the numerous ballparks as we entered Cooperstown, I wondered about Tyler’s last part of his question- ”Can anything be more American than this?”  Is there an image of America that is portrayed by the media, textbooks, or through storytelling  that leads us to believe this vision at Cooperstown is America?  In a sprawling country of nearly 300 million that is so vast and has diverse and has multiple ethnic layers,why is it that we have this image?  I don’t think it is necessarily true in the areas of New York City that we toured with Ed O’Donnell or where we come from in Pueblo, Colorado, or in Fairbanks, Alaska.  

Folk Art- Americana

Although we have a varied country, it seems as though we are strong in our myths about America.  I think many people would agree that when they first viewed Cooperstown, in its idyllic setting, that this is what America is all about.  The myth is strong, but the reality is that any city is the United States is representative of American, we just don;’t think of it that way.  Santa Fe, Taos, Phoenix, Tucson, Las Vegas, Cheyenne, Grand Junction are all Americana, but not what one would think when asked to describe America.  THis myth of Americana is also powerful in another way in that the idyllic setting is usually associated with a white community.  The numerous Chinatowns and barrios are also part of our unique fabric, and one doesn’t say when visiting one of these places, “Hey Americana!”  The myth of Americana is strong.

The lesson plans were great, and I think we will use the long distance learning option.  In addition to the history lessons, I just may use the physics and math components as well.  I thought the lesson were easy to follow and well planned.

We also visited the Fenemore Art Museum where I really liked the black and white Magnum photographs especially the World War II photos. 

Hiroshima, Japan after the Atom Bomb

Italy, 1943

Normandy, France D-DAY

 The Farm Museum was real interesting.  The blacksmith shop was the highlight of this tour.  I really would like to obtain a video of a blacksmoith in action so my students can see how it was.  The pharmacy shop was also interesting as the person there showed us how pills were made, and how leeches were stored and used.

Dim blacksmith shop

Farm Museum

The sign said a part of Americaana

I thought Hutch. but he doesn't smoke

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