Week One October 1-6, 2006

The nights here have been cool and clear, very nice for brisk walks... I've noticed the colder it gets the less people who walk their dogs, the thing is it's not that cold, most nights I remove my sweater once the blood gets pumping. The short of it is I walked a total of 10 miles this week walking the dogs with DH... I'll admit I took two nights off and one of those nights DH and DS#3 walked the dogs.

What struck me the most this week while walking was the house called The Beeches, it was the home of probably our most famous resident Paul Robeson. If you have no idea who Paul Robeson was I suggest a quick check with Google, he was a fascinating person as was his wife. This past week the house was lit up during the times we were walking which shows off the architecture of the house... the lights were on in the back garden as well showing off the arbors. It's a lovely house with huge pillars and a balcony off the front, this house is huge.

Paul Robeson and his family were welcomed to this town at a time when people of color were treated more than poorly by mainstream America. Below is one of my favorite articles I have found to date... Elizabeth Best was quoted, Betty and her sister Harriet owned my home from 1954-1984, they were spinster school teachers who worked at the one time Enfield High School which is now an elementary school. Betty was born here in town just down the road from me February 27, 1911, she passed away just recently in a nursing home in upstate New York where she was also buried. My birthday happens to be February 27, 1966 a coincidence I found interesting. I'll reserve to tell you more about the Best's at a later time as they were an interesting sort as well and are part of the fabric of the history of Enfield Connecticut.

http://homepage.sunrise.ch/homepage/comtex/rob2.htm