My Park - Part 2

The area known as “the park” has seen many transformations since the time of Hiawatha.  Some were natural, some downright evil, and others were beneficial to this unique place in our history. The park as I knew it as a child still bears strong resemblance to what we enjoy today.  The principal elements that make it what it is have always been present…the lake, the main road, the Salt Museum, Griffin Field, the marina, Willow Bay, the SU boathouse…they’re all still there, and with the exception of Griffin Field, little changed from years ago.

One missing feature that does come to mind are the many stone fireplaces once scattered about for patrons to use.  I can recall them so well because while playing football one day, I caught a pass worthy of a Sports Center video, turned without looking, and slammed into one, right at knee height.  My knee immediately stopped.  The rest of me didn’t. Ouch! I never realized a knee could swell up to that size, or hurt so much.

Cars could, at one time, actually drive on the main road thru the park, and there was constant traffic with visitors going to or coming from a picnic, a gathering, or just plain enjoying a ride. Traffic was especially heavy at suppertime, as people flocked to the park just to get away from the city climate.  Remember, there weren’t as many recreation  choices in the 50s and 60s as there are today, and this was the grand daddy of all parks back then.  It was a very busy road.

Also missing is the IRA Regatta, an annual event eagerly anticipated each spring.  Like modern day Tom Sawyers and Huck Finns, we would sneak down to the end of Hickory St. and, using a narrow, steep trail, steal our way into the park, thus avoiding the exorbitant entry fee we kids simply could not afford.  There, we mingled with all the fans, mostly college age and older, who, unwittingly, educated us on the finer points of drinking and partying. It was colorful, joyous fun and we delighted in its arrival each year.  And every year, we fell in love, with … someone!

Another major change is the quality of the lake water.  Back then, the lake was a virtual cesspool.  We used to wade in it in places, and I remember the bottom as being all “yucky.”  It’s a wonder we all didn’t sprout extra appendages in strange places.

Irresponsible stewards of this lake during the glory days of the American industrial era actually succeeded in destroying this once pure body of water, all in the name of profit. And in this destructive path, great turn of the century resorts and amusement parks that once lined the lake and made Syracuse a major travel destination were also doomed.

White City Amusement Park

A herculean effort, costing millions that could have been better spent to actually help people, is now underway to reclaim this lake for future generations.  Too bad is had to happen this way. Nobody ever accused those old captains of greed of thinking beyond their wallets.

But for everything that has changed or has been lost, something has been born and added.  A new trail exclusively for walkers now hugs the shoreline, freeing up the main road for runners, bikers, and skaters.  And, for the leisurely, a tram operates from end to end and provides a nice, slow ride for sightseers. 

In the shadow of what used to be Griffin Field (now mainly a parking lot) is a wonderful playground for little munchkins. Next to that is a complete “skate” park for all those skateboarders and BMX bike riders whose secret desire it is to sprain ankles and wrists, and to break bones, all in the name of having fun.  Which is why they have you sign a waiver first! 

From this location, you can also rent bikes (including 2 person bikes) for travel on the main road thru the park.  Enjoy the tables and wi-fi here as well, and take a stroll, about a minute  or two in length, over to the Salt Museum, and catch some local history.

Salt Museum

(To Be Continued)

Twain Quote:  “It is noble to teach oneself, but still nobler to teach others – and less trouble.”

My Park

He came, so the legend goes, in a white stone canoe, to show the troubled peoples that his words were true.  Sent by the Creator, the Peacemaker wound his way over a giant lake and then on to the rivers in what is now upstate New York.  It happened so long ago, it is said, that he traveled thru places not yet seen by the eyes of the “white man.”  His journey ultimately took him to a pristine inland lake.  There he joined with a local native leader  who was called Haion-Hwa-Tma, or Hiawatha.

At a promontory of this lake, they met under a great white pine tree, known as the tree of peace.  After much persuasion, all the leaders of the 5 native nations (Seneca, Onondaga, Cayuga, Oneida, and Mohawk) joined them. The tree was uprooted and into the hole was placed all their weapons of war, then the tree was replanted. 

 

The Tree of Peace

Together, they succeeded in joining together 5 separate nations into what came to be known as the Iroquois Confederacy. Years and years of warring was replaced by a unity and peace among the peoples.

They established the Great Law to serve as a way of life for the nations to follow, and thus a democracy was born. So impressive and successful was this achievement that hundreds of years later, our founding fathers, thru the efforts of Benjamin Franklin, incorporated into our Constitution some of the ideals, symbols, and structure of the Great Law.

The lake is now known as Onondaga, nestled hard against the northern boundary of the city of Syracuse.  The promontory still exists, named after the leader who was influential in bringing together the 5 nations – Hiawatha. So the legend goes.

 

Hiawatha

And today it is all a park – Onondaga Lake Park -- the most popular park in all of Central New York, hosting over 1 million visitors each year.

And it is my park. 

Well, maybe not mine, in the sense that I own it, but still, I do, kinda. If taxes, in some weird contortion of reality, bequeath ownership, I think I can lay claim to a tree, or at least a branch.

This park rests alongside the formerly quaint, little, and isolated village of Liverpool, my hometown.  I think of it as my park because I grew up here, and spent many happy hours in its confines.  Tulip St., where I lived in the village, originates at the lake, right at the marina.  Stroll about ½ mile up Tulip St., and you come to the apartment house that was my first home.  Later, while in college, I lived in a house on Tulip closer to the village center.  In between, I came of age in this village and this park played a significant role in my life.

The Marina

(To Be Continued)

Twain Quote:  “Never refuse to do a kindness unless the act would work great injury to yourself, and never refuse to take a drink – under any circumstances.”

My Kinda Town

And this, Ladies and Gentlemen, and all the ships at sea, is yet another reason why ...
I .... Love .... Boston!

Mark Twain Quote:  "Terror is an efficiacious agent only when it doesn't last.  In the long run there is more terror in threats than in execution, for when you get used to terror your emotions get dulled."

Factoid:  On a chilly day in mid November, 1869, a "small man with a deranged mop of curly red hair and a wide-swept red mustache" walked up Tremont St. to the offices of the "Atlantic Monthly," there to meet their young assistant editor, one William Dean Howells, thus establishing a lifelong professional relationship and personal friendship.

Tremont St. is mere blocks from Boylston St. In fact, they intersect close to Copley Square.  And the unkept little man was, of course, Mark Twain.

My Two Cents

Sometimes, when you don’t hear about something for awhile, you get lulled into a daydream  that all is well, that no more needs to be done or said.  So it is with gay marriage.  With only sporadic appearances on the news stage now and then, you kind of assume that things are swimming along smoothly to a perhaps distant, but certain finish. 

That complacent feeling was swept aside recently when the issue was thrust again front and center, above the fold, in both the media and in our conscience.  The reason for this sudden surge in attention…the Supremes, as in court.  In what seems like an instant, but in reality has been eons in coming, gay marriage has reached the pinnacle of our judicial system. The Supremes are examining this from the perspective of two different cases, and will, within months, issue decisions that will have lasting significance for all of us.

Such a fuss.  Over what?  States worry about “procreation rights,” while the federal government frets over “benefits.”  Groups fear the world as they know it will end, that the family will be destroyed (personal aside – the rest of us have been doing a fine job of this without any additional help from anyone, thank you).  And then there is the ever present “the Bible says.”  So many voices, so many concerns, so many opinions. It’s awfully easy to get lost in this thorny forest. 

Sometimes “we the people” make things a lot more complicated than they deserve, when in reality, the right thing to do is so very clear and right before us. Maybe we need to just sit atop that fence post, and ponder.  Maybe we need to look at this from a more basic view…the most basic view, a simple view, if you will.  More often than we give it credit for, simple works just fine.   We need to consider the human aspect.  How utterly novel would that be.

And what does a look at our common humanity tell us?  We are all here on this earth, this tiny, little insignificant speck of dust in our universe, for what, 85 years. It’s just a blink of an eye in the scope of time.  It’s here, and it’s gone.  We have so little time for life and all it offers; we should reserve no time for pettiness.

That in mind, should not all persons, of whatever persuasion, be able to be with the one they love as they travel life’s short journey, and in their brief time here, to strive for their little instant of happiness? And should not all persons be able to legally and rightfully, on equal basis,  if they so choose … marry?

It all sounds so simple, doesn’t it? It sounds so inherently…..human.  Which after all, is exactly what all of us are, or profess to be.

Now, go write your law.

Mark Twain Quote:  “There isn’t time – so brief is life – for bickerings, apologies, heartburnings, callings to account.  There is only time for loving – and but an instant, so to speak, for that.”