>>>>

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Glens Falls, NY ---Hometown, USA!

I was going to crop this photo closer to the banners….but I really loved the street sign at the lower right, the monument in the background and the rooftop line of various buildings…..so I left them!

It POURED AND POURED on Saturday ---we nearly drenched ourselves getting from the restaurant back to the cars after our lunch…..it came in buckets!

And up to this point I’d only been driven through town on the way to/from the workshop and the lecture.  But later in the afternoon, the clouds were less menacing and I got brave.

On went the running shoes, the hoodie sweat shirt, the ear buds and my phone…music playing in my head, eyes taking on the sights of this small town as I walked around the downtown area, exploring.

I was on a mission.  I wanted some good close ups of that monument.

GlensFalls_NY2013 226

I left the comfort of my room at the historic Queensbury Hotel ((Hey, Kenny Rogers slept here, and played football in this park!)) and headed out toward the traffic circle.

GlensFalls_NY2013 225

Spring has arrived in the upper North East!  FINALLY!

glensfalls_roundabout

This is a borrowed photograph from google images!

Glens Falls is a thriving, bustling little city, not far from Albany or Saratoga Springs ---and EVERYTHING revolves around this little traffic circle!

GlensFalls_NY2013 228

Up one side of the street ----

GlensFalls_NY2013 229

While looking across at the other!
((And I just love that old fashioned looking street light!))

GlensFalls_NY2013 230

When walking past old restored shop fronts, one must ALWAYS ALWAYS LOOK DOWN!!  Whoowhooo!!  Loved this tile work!  Do you see how the letters are shaded?  Lighter tiles at top, darker ones at the bottom, and that bit of red off to the side to give dimension and depth.  Someone graphed this out carefully!

How about this one:

GlensFalls_NY2013 231

What an interesting border!
Look how it turns the corner:

GlensFalls_NY2013 232

Ooohh..this would make a great border…for something, all worked in squares and rectangles!

GlensFalls_NY2013 233

Interesting architecture!  I love the swag over that balcony…but look at the upper right corner:

GlensFalls_NY2013 234

Beautiful!

I love to imagine buildings in their “hey day” when they were the newest latest greatest thing….and then imagine what the women wore –dresses, hats, gloves, shoes, shawls….and then be very glad that I could be power walking past this building with jeans and tennies!

GlensFalls_NY2013 235

Classic! First National Bank!

And then there it was:

GlensFalls_NY2013 236

The monument was dedicated in 1872 to honor the 644 men from Queensbury who served in the Civil War. Ninety-five names, those of the men who died from this area, are engraved on the monument.
 Many battles of the war are listed on each side of the monument.

I saw a photo from the raising of this monument just after the Civil War hanging in the hallway back at the hotel:

GlensFalls_NY2013 263

Pardon the reflection of the light…..and if you look close enough..you can see MY reflection taking the photo!  Same monument.  Thrown back in time.

GlensFalls_NY2013 256

“This tablet is inscribed as a public expression of regard of Daniel V Brown and Capt Edward Riggs who perished at sea off the coast of Virginia, January 9th 1865 while in the performance of their duties as military agents of the town of Queensbury.”

GlensFalls_NY2013 249

Who fell in the war for the Union.

GlensFalls_NY2013 250

Soldiers who were killed or died from wounds.

GlensFalls_NY2013 251

Statues watching over their fallen brethren.

GlensFalls_NY2013 253

Fallen Officers.  Look at the ages.  Babies.

GlensFalls_NY2013 255

They are not forgotten.

GlensFalls_NY2013 257

Soldiers who died from disease.

My family may roll their eyes at me for my “NEED” to stop and bear witness to these things, but to me history matters.  History is the reason we are here.  It was a humbling walk!

And it continued!  I’ll share the rest of the photos in another post as this one is getting plenty long!  Thanks for joining me for the walk.

Tonight --- Quilt-Cam!  9 pm Eastern!  Baby quilt borders to work on tonight, and a binding to get on to a very special class sample for the Collaboration Celebration here in Winston Salem with Mickey Depre, Queen of Pieced Hexies – in AUGUST!!

((You ARE coming, aren't you?!?))

Have a super day, everyone!

22 comments:

Tosty's Quilting Tidbits said...

Bonnie,
Welcome home. Loved the walk. You are so right, it was humbling. See you tonight.
Mary

pcflamingo said...

I love history. When I go to new places, I like to go to museums and cemeteries. Yep, I'm weird that way. You take great pictures, by the way.

barblr said...

Thank you for photos, I too love history. Anxious for quilt cam tonight. Thank you!!

Oh My, Jan! said...

Thanks...for letting us 'travel' with you via your posts! I enjoy them all. See you this fall in The Rio Grande Valley!! I just can't wait!

OconeeGreene said...

Thank you, Bonnie, for sharing your travels and walk through history via these monuments and beautiful buildings! I revere all of our American history; all these things should be preserved.

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing! You have to give credit to that town for keeping history "alive", and keeping that monument in really good shape!

Leah said...

The historic Queensbury Hotel ((Hey, Bonnie Hunter slept here, and jogged in this park!))

I wasn't familiar with this town, but it looks like a really great place. Thanks for the tour of the town and its history!

LC said...

I remember the dime store having tiled entry like the one you show. I think it was Woolworths. Too bad so many old quality things are gone forever. Thank for the memories.

Material Girl said...

Welcome home, hope you've had some time to catch up after your trip, thank-you for the arm chair tour of Glen Falls, I also enjoyed looking at that architecture the and those tiles were amazing, I bet they were incredible to see in person, the monument commemorating fallen soldiers is beautiful, it's nice to take the time to stop and think about the lives lost fighting wars.
Hope I can tune in to quilt cam tonight, having some internet issues, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to catch the whole thing, but it's nice to know that I can catch up on what I missed on you tube. Hope you have a great day Bonnie!!
Gwen

Lee said...

I love the snippets and photos of historical things you share from your trips. My (Union) great-great-grandfather died in the Civil War. He was a prisoner at Salisbury, NC and died of starvation, as did so many others in POW camps on both sides, only weeks before the war ended. I can only imagine how his death changed the historical course of the family as he left behind a wife and 3 children in Michigan; he and all but the youngest child were born in NY.

Judy D in Upstate NY said...

It is always so interesting to see your hometown through the eyes of someone who is new to the town. Thanks for posting all those pictures of Glens Falls, NY. I go by those buildings almost everyday, but your pictures helped me see the beauty in them again.
Also, thanks again for a wonderful weekend and class. We all had a great time. Hope to see you again soon.

Mary said...

Loved the Tilework. You can use these with your Hexie projects for your boys. You could also use the letters for their names on the backing. I'll see just the first 1/2 hour of Quilt CAM Live tonight. It's quilt Guild night in Walla Walla. Showing off the Easy Angle Ruler again for HST's for our Block Lotto. Your ears might be burning... Enjoy your days at home alone. I'm so glad you got home for Mother's day and your boys were waiting there.

Deb Marshall said...

Thanks Bonnie. I too, just drive by and never pay attention to the beauty or history of what I see and take for granted. Thanks for a great weekend! Looking forward to seeing you tonight!

sewingBeverly said...

So much history in that area of New York. You were not far from a town with a Revolutionary War cemetery and of course the Saratoga Battlefield and Monuments. When I am in that area I can just imagine the colonists and redcoats hiding in the woods waiting for the next battle.

Anonymous said...

Bonnie - that was a great photo tour! Like you, I do believe in remembering, and in that sense honoring, those who went before us.
How self-centered it would be for anyone thing think everything was put in place in life, without the efforts of anyone else...and just for them!.

Loving the mosaic border>>> does it look like a small flower pot to you too?
Smiles
JulieinTN

Julierose said...

This is such a neat post for us...my husband spent his teenage years in Glens Falls. His father was manager of the GE plant there. We visited a couple years ago and loved all those older buildings, too. It's nice to see towns keeping them up instead of tearing them down...thanks for the pix....Julierose

Betty said...

Love the tile work! Which came first, the storefront or the quilt? (Kinda like the chicken and the egg)
I enjoy seeing your pictures of places I'll probably never get to see in person.

Unknown said...

Bonnie-it's so fun to see your local surroundings as seen by a visitor. Thanks for the history lesson, quilting expertise and all you do for the quilting world!

pattiespea said...

I so need to take my treadle outside. Maybe in the morning. It is pretty warm now

Judith said...

Beautiful pictures of our history. Love to travel and see these places. We should all remember the past in hopes that we won't repeat some of them. Thank you for lovely pictures.

teasmith said...

Thanks for such a nice tribute to my city! So sorry I missed the chance to meet you during your visit.

teasmith said...

Thanks for such a nice tribute to my city! So sorry I missed the chance to meet you during your visit.

Post a Comment

If you are commenting as "anonymous" please leave your name at the end of your comment.

Did you know that ad space on this blog provides for all of the free patterns and free mysteries and challenges at no cost to you? Without ads, this blog would not be possible.

Thank you for understanding the many hours that go into this blog 6 days a week, 52 weeks a year. :)