This sign explains what happened to the bell.



 The bell at Christ Church, where many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence worshiped, was returned just recently.  The church historian was ecstatic!  He plans to ring the bell on July 3rd this year for the first time in 250 years since it was "loaned" out.  It was sitting unused in a nursing home.  It was one of many bells ringing when the Declaration of Independence was read aloud to people across the new nation.



You can see the word Philadelphia on the side of the bell.



The delivery men brought it here and left it. It was so heavy they didn't want to move it any further.

I am outta time!

      So here I sit in the Philadelphia airport blogging away.  But wait! What happened in between the last blog and this one?  A whole LOT!  I was fortunate that the hotel had an internet connection, but it was horrible, so I gave up blogging.  Now that we have a two hour wait at the airport, I have time and a great connection.  Guess I will have to write after I get home from my poor dilapidated memory. 
Nine of us are returning together from Klamath Falls.  We have had fantastic discussions on the things we have seen and lots of laughter together throughout the week.
   Last night we had a great dinner at a Cuban restaurant.  So much delicious food to choose from.  I could not decide so I had a little plate of four different items.  My kind of place!  Afterwards we had Ice cream in Franklin's Ice Cream Parlour, which was so delicious I had ice cream there three times.
  Philadelphia was not just about food, although every meal we ate was amazing.  Yesterday we visited the Powell House, which is a restored home of a prominent wealthy Quaker family. We saw the ballroom where Washington danced and made plaster molds to make decorative pieces like those used during that era. The furniture was amazing and the china that Washington gave as a gift to Mrs. Powell was beautiful.
   We also visited Dr. Physick's house.  He was a physician during the revolutionary era and tried to help people who were vicitims of the yellow fever epidemic. One fourth of the city died from that mosquito borne illness, which they did not understand.  Common treatment included emetics, and bloodletting, which only weakened the patients under treatment.  Finally another doctor from the Carribean came and recognized the disease as yellow fever and prevention and treatment improved.  We made an herbal mosquito repellant which included catnip as a main ingredient; apparently catnip has a chemical in it similar to deet!  Mixed with lavender and lemon balm, it smelled quite good.  Dr Physick also made soda as a medicine for his patients with stomach problems.  He mixed it with sweet juices, like berries and people liked it so much it became a popular drink,  thus soda pop became popularized. He is my hero!
  The highlight of yesterday was the visit to Christ Church, a gorgeous Episcopalian (Anglican) church in historic Philadelphia that is still in use today.   Our guide was the main historian for the church and he was fantastic!  He enthusiatically led us to a  spot where a bell sat on a small dolly and proclaimed that the bell had been returned!  Apparently the bell had rung out on the day the Declaration of Independence had been read aloud to the people of Philadelphia.  The church had given the bell to a place that is currently a nursing home and they had just returned it this week!  They plan to ring it this year on July 3rd.  The only problem is that it weighs over 450 pounds.  I hope they can do it!  It is a Whitechapel bell, the same company that still makes the English Handbells that my family rang at Peace Memorial Presbyterian Church in Klamath Falls, OR.  They make the highest quality handbells in the world!  Unlike the Liberty Bell we were allowed to touch it and I felt a shiver up my spine as I did.  We sat in the pews, or boxes that many of our Founding Fathers sat in.  Oops! Time to board. I will have to continue later.

First day in Philadelphia

   We, the K-Falls Mafia, were the first group to arrive yesterday evening in Philadelphia.  Half of the Medford group arrived about a half hour later.  We traveled by charter bus to the hotel and went to our rooms.  We put our luggage away and then gathered down in the Lobby to explore near the hotel.  We ate at two different sidewalk cafe's that were both outstanding.  The only negative thing that could be said was that the traffic in Philly is very NOISY!  People seem to enjoy honking at each other at every opportunity and the noise of rap music emitting from cars shakes the earth. 
  Peacefully settled amongst all this chaos sits Benjamin Franklin's Post Office and home site.  I could hardly believe it was the real thing!  Wow!  I was walking right past it!  On our way back to the hotel we took a slight detour and saw the Liberty Bell now settled behind glass walls and guarded by security. On the other side of the street is Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed amongst other very notable things.  I won't go into that yet because that is on our to-do list for this week.  The top of Independence Hall is being rennovated, so they have put up a screen to let us tourists know what it should look like.
   We settled into our comfy beds with lots of pillows and slept very well last night.  Getting up this morning was NOT easy!  The girls of The K-Falls Mafia met in the lobby so we could go on the double decker bus tour today.  It was money well spent.  We had a leisurely ride around the historic sites gettting on an off the bus when we wanted to.  It was a beautiful day with plenty of sunshine and only a bit of humidity.  We drank a LOT of water!
    I have been trying to get some pictures to upload on here, but have been unsuccessful.  So now it is late and I must go to bed so I can be awake on time in the morning.  If I am able, I will write more about what I saw today.  Some of it was really neat-o!

What is this history grant thing all about?

   First of all I want to say happy Father's Day to two very important fathers in my life, my Dad and my husband.  You are amazing men and good fathers.
   Speaking of fathers, I am now in the exact place where our Founding Fathers gathered to sign declarations, hammer out constitutions, and get our country off on a solid foundation.  I am in Philadelphia.  I never imagined I would be able to see the actual places that these idealistic, yet practicle people gathered to decide the fate of our place in the new world.  Yet, here I am!  I am so honored to be part of a national grant that is administered by our ESD in Medford. Forty teachers from Southern Oregon are participating over the next three years in learning about teaching American History.  Ten of us are from Klamath Falls and we have been dubbed the "K-Falls Mafia."  Not sure exactly why, since only one of us has an Italian surname, but we like it anyway.
   The grant requires us to attend lectures and sessions on American History given by top historians and teachers,  produce papers and lesson ideas on given topics, and travel to 3 major historical places over the next 3 summers.  We are treated like royalty with delicious meals, nice lodging, transportation, books, and incredible experiences.  The other participants are amazing people!  I am humbled by their giftedness.
   My roommate this year has been a teacher from Bonanza, Marja Hill.  She teaches social studies at the middle school level; a very brave lady!  She has helped me to understand a lot of what has been presented, since history has always been one of my weakest subjects.  She answers my questions, and puts up with my ignorance quite well.  She also makes sure I get my little sleepy head out of bed!
   I will be trying to post every evening of this trip as a way of meeting a requirement, but more importantly as a sort of journal to help me remember as much as possible.  I'd better get started, because today was quite an action packed day!