Thoreau

I’m locked out of WordPress Daily Prompts (because I’ve already responded to all of them) and I don’t usually look back at my old responses, but in this case, I’m happy to report that I did something I said I would do!

History at my doorstep

My husband and I visited the newly renovated Concord Museum in December and it was impressive.

This year, 2025, is the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution, specifically the Battles of Lexington and Concord (April 19, 1775).

Along with the Old North Bridge Visitor Center, the Concord Museum is the place to learn about the American Revolution. If you don’t know the story of the lantern warning (“one if by land, two if by sea”) and Paul Revere’s famous ride from Boston to warn the colonists (“the British are coming!”), you’ll learn it here.

There’s also a ton of cultural information about Concord’s many famous intellectuals and writers like Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau. Many unsung leaders of both the abolitionist and suffrage movements also lived in Concord.

John “Jack” Garrison was an African American man who escaped slavery in New Jersey around 1810 and settled in Concord, Massachusetts. In Concord, he worked as a woodcutter and day laborer. In 1812, he married Susan Robbins, the daughter of Caesar Robbins, a Revolutionary War veteran. Together, Jack and Susan raised nine children, four of whom survived into adulthood. Despite the challenges of his early life, Jack became an integral part of the Concord community. He was known for walking around town with his saw-horse over his shoulder and his saw on his arm, even into his 60s. In recognition of his status as the oldest person in town, he was presented with a walking stick, which is now part of the Concord Museum’s collection. Jack’s life in Concord was marked by both acceptance and the persistent threat of capture due to the Fugitive Slave Acts.

Colonial era silver on display at the Concord Museum

Something new I learned is that a lot of “privileged” white Concord ladies used their influence for good, mainly by talking some sense into the white men. For example, did you know that Ralph Waldo Emerson had to be convinced that slavery was bad? Seriously, Ralph?? And guess who convinced him. Women. Especially Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, a close friend and vocal abolitionist, and his aunt, Mary Moody Emerson.

Daily writing prompt

You get to build your perfect space for reading and writing. What’s it like?

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I’ve read some nice posts from other bloggers this morning referencing famous writers. Their posts reminded me how Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own once affected me. It encouraged me to move into my own studio apartment, when I was just out of college. Living without roommates was a little scary, but somehow Woolf’s words from 1928 helped give me courage to live all by myself. I need to re-read that. I liked I.V. Greco’s post, which mentions Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast, a book I’ve been meaning to read since my friend Kathy recommended it while I was in Paris. I was never a Hemingway fan, but I’m going to give his Paris memoir a shot. Also, Rebuilding Rob wrote about Henry David Thoreau’s cabin on Walden Pond in his response to this prompt. Another book I need to read.

Now that I’m unemployed/retired, I need to read more books. Perhaps that will be my New Year’s resolution. In addition to Walden, A Moveable Feast, and A Room of One’s Own, I’ve got a lovely book of poetry waiting for me to pick it up. I can tell by the poems that she’s shared in her blog that Ever So Gently by Lauren Scott will be a treat.

Here are a few photos from my most recent trip to Walden Pond in Concord, MA. It was an unusually warm day in very late October. I wonder if Thoreau ever could’ve imagined his Walden would become such a popular, though still pristine, destination for people from around the world. Less than 20 miles from Boston, Walden is an especially popular spot for city residents who just want to get out in nature for the day. I saw several folks perched in quiet spots along the pond reading books, all by themselves.