Posts: General

Immigrants in America

     Today more people than ever are immigrating to America in hopes of finding a better life.  The children of these immigrant families may face many of the same unknowns that Ella encountered when she and her family came to America.  Like Ella, they face a new school with a teacher and students they do not know.  They have to adjust to a new home, a different climate, and a new culture with strange customs… Read More

Navigating the Erie Canal Locks

      Riding a bicycle along the level towpath by the canal is pleasant, but passing a lock always makes me want to stop and watch.  The canal in Ella's day was only four feet deep, but it has been deepened and widened several times since then.  The pictures on the Contact Me page of my webpage show the original locks that have now been abandoned.  They appear to be only about eight feet across.  Today's bigger locks… Read More

Origin of pictures on this site.

     You may have been wondering about the picture on my Home Page.  That is a view of the Hudson River taken when I was hiking in the Catskill's.  Ella and her family took a steamboat up the Hudson River and would have passed this spot.  I like to think that this is the area where they encountered the Indian traders.  The picture on this page is another photo of the Hudson River.  The two… Read More