Flat Stanley finds Fleur-de-lis

Hello, time for more Friday Fun with Me, Flat Stanley. I'm not in this picture because I wasn't tall enough to climb up here. But, I am here just the same. I was walking down the main street in Worthington in search of cool stuff to show you; when I stopped at this empty building. There used to be a wonderful florist in this building. They moved to some new shopping center...phooey. I like old buildings. Look at this one.
PLEASE remember you can click to make this picture even bigger. Look at the neat design above the window way up there. On the red ribbon it says Flores Boni. I quess that means flowers in some other language. The two big dancing horses look like they're kissing the crown. And on the crown is a cross. Above the crown is a Fleur-de-lis. The circle divided into 4 parts between the horses has what looks like a snake, a heart, a cross, and flower.

Words and pictures can tell a story. I looked up each of these items when connected to a family crest and found the following interesting information:
Cross means Christianity
Snake means wisdom
Heart means charity and sincerity
Crown means royalty
Horses mean readiness for all employment for King and Country
Fleur-de-lis, is the floral badge of France

So I might be able to say the story behind this building has to do with a French Florist who was a Christian, who was smart and served his fellow man with sincerity?

Since we do know that a long standing floral business was in this building my story might not be too far off. I did a little more digging and found the original owner of the business was named Charles Lee. When I first knew of this business it was named Maple Lee, then it was purchased by others ad the name changed but always had as part of it's name Maple Lee.

Do you have any neat old buildings around you? Look up, see if they have any neat designs like this might tell you a story.

Could you pick some words that describe you and your family and draw your own family crest?

I made you a word puzzle with words from the story about my interesting empty building. Have fun!

Word Search Puzzle

X T S E C G E G T D D D D V R A R W
A E H I L F L O W E R O Y A L T Y F
F E E Q F F W U T M M C P R E T E L
E S A W C S N S A T S N R F I H O E
T T T O E R H O K V W U C N P Q K U
O L S I D S O A K O E S A H S A I R
E A T P T T N S R E E I L E N N N D
H O A O T A F C S E T A F S Q R G E
C D T S G F N I H S C H L C S E S L
E F U Z Z S A B I R L E O R E E D I
D I G S J I L R P C H A R I T Y M S
D J H H O N H H I J N R E X A E I X
W E W R J C G G S O T T S F Z Z H A
N I W F E E A O T D T E B T P O J S
A D Q Y O R D S I A S N O U E N U V
U E P O H I C A J R I Q N E D H T F
F N D F D T N J O O L D I W Q D N F
A Y A M F Y C H V P Q L W E S E R S There are 13 words hidden above, see if you can find them:
Horses
Crown
King
Cross
Flower
Royalty
Christianity
Snake
Charity
Heart
Sincerity
FloresBoni (normally written Flores Boni with space)
FleurDeLis (normally written Fleur-de-lis)
spaces and hyphens weren't allowed in the puzzle making.

Until next time, Flat Stanley out. See you again on Friday Oct 3rd.

Did you miss some of my other adventures? If so, click here.

Odd folks I see the word puzzle when looking at this in edit mode; but seeing it now after it's published it isn't showing up for me. I'm not sure if it's showing up for you? If not, I've not clue why. This has worked in the past. I'll have to try a different method next time. Sorry

JAN UPDATE
Spoke with Jan yesterday am and she had had a tough day, pain wise the day before. She said she had tried to do the day without pain meds and decided that wasn't a good idea. Am hopeful yesterday went better. She planned to take it a bit easier. Please keep checking back.

International Order of Odd Fellows

See me, I'm by the tree, you know you can always click on the picture to make the picture bigger; and of course me too! Look just to the left of the tree once you click to make the picture bigger and you'll see Ark Lodge No 270, I.O.O.F. I've seen this cool old building almost all my life; but until recently didn't know what it was. I.O.O.F. stands for International Order of Odd Fellows. This is located at 67 East Dublin Granville Road in Worthington, Ohio.
This old building has quite an interesting story for us. It was built back in 1856 and is the oldest standing school building in Worthington. This building is 156 years old! It was built after Ohio had become a state, and just 6 years before the start of The Civil War. Two classrooms were located on the first floor while The I.O.O.F. lodge occupied the 2nd floor. The Odd Fellows Fraternity was established in 1855. Such a strange name so I thought you might wonder how the group got it's name. In 17th century England it was "odd" to find people organized for the purpose of giving aid to those in need. Sad statement really, that those who did in fact give aid to their fellow man were considered to be an "odd fellow".

The first lodge was founded in Baltimore, Maryland in April of 1819 by Thomas Wildey and 4 members from the order in England. The Odd Fellows were the first National Fraternity to include both men and women. Rebakah Degree was established in September of 1851 based on teachings from The Bible and written by honorable Schuyler Colfax, who later served as Vice President of The United States (1868-1873) with President Ulysses S. Grant.
I'm pointing out a round plaque that rests to the left of the front door to this building, it indicates this is a Heritage Site for the city of Worthington.
The I.O.O.F. along with Rebekah lodges were the first to establish homes for it's senior members and orphans. I found this from the I.O.O.F. membership area:

A person that is 16-18 years or older who believes in a Supreme Being, Creator and Preserver of the Universe, and is faithful to their Country. Through support of projects in their local community, State/Providence or Nationally that improve or elevate the character of mankind.

Odd Fellowship Teaches

• Wise and serious truths and opens up before its members opportunities for useful service.
• Belief in a Supreme Being, the Creator and Preserver of the Universe.
• The lesson of fraternity, that all are of one family and therefore brethren.
• The importance of the principle of Friendship, Love and Truth.
• The privilege and duty of individual sympathy, mutual assistance and every-day service to ones fellows.
• That humanity was intended to be one harmonious structure.
• That each individual is a unit in that God-made temple.
• Its members how to stand on their own feet, yet walk in step with their neighbors.
• The difference between right and wrong.
• That it is more blessed to give than to receive.

Many of those character traits are ones I learned from my parents, how bout you?

I often wonder as I see these interesting old buildings with such fascinating stories if any of our buildings being built today will still be standing for someone 156 years later to wonder about it history?

What do you think?
***
Activities to do with children might be to build a house with blocks, draw and color a building. Talk about all the things a building could be used for.
I always suggest doing math with the numbers presented here, finding the location on a map.
Walk around your neighborhood (or ride bikes), ask the kids to point out the building they think is the oldest. Discuss what the kids think is old, what does old mean to them?

See you next Friday for another Fun Adventure on Friday August 27.

Click Here for a listing of 16 Flat Stanley's Fun Friday Adventures.

*** 8-18-10 afternoon and pm---Jan from Animal Talk is on countdown now with surgery scheduled bright an early tomorrow am. She's running last minute errands today to be as ready as possible. I'll post update tomorrow after surgery, and do my best from there forward, until such time she has a live computer again....and or when she's able to sit up and communicate with you all herself. Send good vibs and prayers her way, please.

****UPDATE
AS OF 1:00 PM same day as surgery 8-19thSurgery went well, she has metal plates, and 2 metal rods. Based on the testing done during surgery, there didn't appear to be any permanent nerve damage which is great news. Due to being nauseated, she was in recovery a bit longer then expected. When I left the hospital, she was sleeping and obviously in pain. Her husband, my brother and a good friend who's a nurse were with her. We'll go back later when's she's more rested and presumably awake. Do check back, I will update again later.
------as of 4:30 when I was started to head back to hospital.My brother suggested not going as she was completely out and would not be able to visit, and certainly we didn't want to wake her when she needs her rest. Will be going tomorrow am.

8-20 1 pm, Jan had a clear liquid diet and managed a pop sickle or two. Physical Therapy has been in the room hoping to get her up in a chair and do a bit of walking. She was up in chair briefly; but was too groggy to attempt walking and so went back to bed. The combination of pain meds and meds for continued nausea have snowed her. They plan to alter her meds to see if they can reach a level where she's comfortable enough to get up, and hopefully also contain the nausea. Please check back. I passed along the good wishes you've left for her and she was pleased to hear them.
8-21-10 9AM, the change in pain meds seem to be helping. She was able to get up and walk down the hall last night. Few more tests planned for a little later today, and pending how she does on those; could be released today. I'm floored she's improved that much, such exciting news. My brother is picking up a special lift chair (sorta like a recliner) to aid her at home.

The Color Orange and Flat Stanley

**One Lovely Blog Award, click here please**(on going due to technical difficulties)

Flat Stanley here, got your orange crayon? Hope so, follow me please. There are lots of historical place (old places) for you and I to explore together; but this spot is really old. It's been given 3 distinctions. See the round symbol at the top, it tells us This is an Heritage Site for the town of Worthington. I'm pointing to a plaque that says this building has the honor to be listed on The National Register of Historic Places. AND
this plaque tell us it's also honored with an Ohio Historical Marker Plaque! WOW, it hit the jackpot. This building is an old old house. It was once owned by a man named Orange Johnson. See why I wanted you to bring your orange crayon today? Anyway, this house was built way way back in 1811 by Arora Buttles. Hope someone is writing this down so you can determine how old it is by doing some math. (199 years old!). It was purchased by our friend, Orange Johnson in 1816. Orange and his family lived in this house for 45 years. When Orange first came to the village of Worthington he had $16.50. That probably doesn't sound like a lot money to you; but back then it was quite alot. He was 24 years old at the time and was a hornsmith. Do you know what a hornsmith is? I thought it was a funny word so I looked it up and this is what I found: Hornsmith-used animal horn, softened it, flattened it into sheets, clarified it and made tortoise shell combs, buttons, hornbooks. So, our friend Orange made combs and got rich doing it. He sold his combs to lots of people, but specifically 2 brothers from Urbana; The Neil Brothers.
He married Achsa, the daughter of a prominate business man and owner of Worthington Manufacturing Company. He had important contacts in the banking business, political circles, and the lucretive railroad industries. He was invited to Washington for The Presidentail Inauguration of William Henry Harrison. Though he was listed as a farmer in the 1850 census, he was far more then that. He was quite wealthy and involved in banking, railroads, real estate and more. The house changed hands several times and remained vacant and forgotten for a period of time. In fact it was vine covered, abandoned, in a deteriorating state, and thought to be haunted by locals when I first saw this house. Located at 956 North High Street in Worthington next to a frequently visited Dairy Queen it was a house my Mother always wanted to see.

After years of neglect it was purchased by The Worthington Historical Society and restoration began. The house is now opened to the public as a museum that houses 19th century furnishings and a time line of Worthington's developement from being a small pioneer village to it's current day status; as well as it's pre-village history when Native Americans were in abundance.
This beautiful Wisteria is pruned now; but back when the house was vine covered, I believe this is part of what covered it. It spread clear across an arbor in the back. Orange was listed as age 60 in the 1850 census, so was born about 1790 in Connecticut.

Hope you enjoyed meeting my friend Orange. Here's some suggested activities for the kids:
Color an picture using only the orange crayon
Do math using the dates Orange was born, when the house was built, when Orange and his family moved in and 45 (the number of years they lived there).
Find Worthington on the map
Look around your neighborhood and see if you have a neighbor with a Wisteria bush
Make a word puzzle using words from the post
Make your own historical marker....how old is your house?.

See you next week on Friday the 20th. Flat Stanley out.
------------
Previous Fun Friday's with Flat Stanley:

• April 23, 2010 Books and Parks (Upper Arlington, Ohio)
• April 30, 2010 Traitor or Hero (Worthington, Ohio)
• May 7, 2010 Flat Stanley and his friend Captain Pinney (Worthington, Ohio)
• May 14, 2010 First Flight and Flat Stanley (Worthington, Ohio)
• May 21, 2010 Up The Indian Mound with Flat Stanley (Columbus, Ohio)
• May 28, 2010 Flat Stanley goes to Camp (Upper Arlington, Ohio)
• May 31, 2010 Honoring Those who Served on Memorial Day (Upper Arlington, Ohio)
• June 12, 2010 Signs and Flat Stanley, (Worthington, Ohio)
• June 18, 2010 Breathe Easy with Flat Stanley (Columbus, Ohio)
• June 25, 2010 Stanley at The Masonic Museum (Worthington, Ohio)
• July 2, 2010 Special 4th of July with Flat Stanley (Worthington, Ohio)
• July 9, 2010 Free Seats Available, (Worthington, Ohio)
• July 16, 2010 Corn on The Cob and Flat Stanley (Dublin, Ohio)
• July 30, 2010 Bill Moose Crowfoot and Flat Stanley (Upper Arlington, Ohio)
• August 6, 2010 Chief Leatherlips (Dublin, Ohio)

Free Seats available, Worthington Ohio

Flat Stanleys here with another Fun Friday with Flat Stanley adventure. St. John's Church was formed way back on Feb. 6th 1804. Can someone please do the math and tell me how old this church is? It indicates it's the First Episcopal Church established in the Northwest Territory. The sign tells us the church was completed in 1831. And that the historic graveyard in it's backyard was established with the burial of Captain Abner Pinney. You might know him, since he's a friend Stanley talked about before HERE.
This is the flip side of the sign Flat Stanley is showing you. The alter was brought with the original settlers and is still in use inside this historic little church on the corner of High Street and State Route 161 in Worthington, Ohio. The graveyard has 317 documented burials of which 5 are Revolutionary War Veterans and 7 are veterans of The War of 1812.
The church is The Gothic Revival Style. I've attended a wedding in this beautiful little church. Stanley wanted to show you the sign here beside the door. SEATS FREE! Anyone ever seen that listed outside a church before?
The bell for the church was also brought here by the first settlers and served the community well since it was used for more then church; but school as well. That same bell is perched high across the street from the church in the bell tower of the community's school.

Flat Stanley suggest the kids look for corner stones, and signs at churches near them to see how they are. Do they have a bell in the bell tower? Does the church have a small cemetery associated with it? Have the kids draw a church, discuss why in years past a cemetery was often associated with the church. How the church was used for community events, community meetings and the center of the community.

Kids love blocks, maybe they could build a church with their blocks. As you look for churches you can walk or ride your bikes too point out the various architectural styles.

As always doing activities with kids helps them learn and remember a location or event. Math, coloring, block building and discussion can be done to enhance to experience with so many of Flat Stanley's adventures.

If you missed any, catch up here:

• April 23, 2010 Books and Parks (Upper Arlington, Ohio)
• April 30, 2010 Traitor or Hero (Worthington, Ohio)
• May 7, 2010 Flat Stanley and his friend Captain Pinney (Worthington, Ohio)
• May 14, 2010 First Flight and Flat Stanley (Worthington, Ohio)
• May 21, 2010 Up The Indian Mound with Flat Stanley (Columbus, Ohio)
• May 28, 2010 Flat Stanley goes to Camp (Upper Arlington, Ohio)
• May 31, 2010 Honoring Those who Served on Memorial Day (Upper Arlington, Ohio)
• June 12, 2010 Signs and Flat Stanley, (Worthington, Ohio)
• June 18, 2010 Breathe Easy with Flat Stanley (Columbus, Ohio)
• June 25, 2010 Stanley at The Masonic Museum (Worthington, Ohio)
• July 2, 2010 Special 4th of July with Flat Stanley (Worthington, Ohio)

Stanley at the Masonic Museum

Mason's have a long history of doing good, of helping people through a variety of different charities. This building was built back in 1820 which makes it almost 200 years old. This lodge is the oldest continuous lodge in existence in the State of Ohio; and the oldest lodge building west of The Allegheny.
Here's another view of the blue door with New England style sign indicting it's New England Lodge #4 F & AM, and that it was chartered way way back in 1803. That's the same year Ohio became a state. F & AM means Free and Accepted Masons. Their logo is a square and compass. Masons have 2 million members here in the United States with a total of 5 million members across England, Scotland, and Ireland. They are a fraternal group.

Most of you have probably attended a parade where Shriners wore what might appear to be funny hats and rode around in fun little cars. There is much more to the organization than that. One of the biggest charities supported by Shriners is the 22 Shriners Hospital's across the US. All Shriners must first be a Mason, and after they move up earn the right to be a Shriner. Not all Masons are Shriners however.

The special Olympics is another worthy charity supported by The Masons.

Activities to help the kids remember what they learned here would be purchase a compass and small plastic square. They could make pictures using it to color. Most drug stores and office supply stores have these items pretty reasonably priced. Take paper and make and decorate a Shriners Hat.

Until next Friday July 2, Flat Stanley Out.

Remember if you've missed any of the outings you can catch up here:

• April 23, 2010 Books and Parks (Upper Arlington, Ohio)
• April 30, 2010 Traitor or Hero (Worthington, Ohio)
• May 7, 2010 Flat Stanley and his friend Captain Pinney (Worthington, Ohio)
• May 14, 2010 First Flight and Flat Stanley (Worthington, Ohio)
• May 21, 2010 Up The Indian Mound with Flat Stanley (Columbus, Ohio)
• May 28, 2010 Flat Stanley goes to Camp (Upper Arlington, Ohio)
• May 31, 2010 Honoring Those who Served on Memorial Day (Upper Arlington, Ohio)
• June 12, 2010 Signs and Flat Stanley, (Worthington, Ohio)
• June 18, 2010 Breathe Easy with Flat Stanley (Columbus, Ohio)
• June 25, 2010 Stanley at The Masonic Museum (Worthington, Ohio)

Signs and Flat Stanley, Worthington Ohio

Silly Stanley, it's Saturday not Friday, so this I guess will be less fun? The post scheduled for yesterday's Friday Fun with Flat Stanley got deleted I guess, so this will be a message of safety from Stanley about signs on Saturday. But, the Friday Fun will return this Friday June 18th. Stanley observed this sign while on a recent photo session and wanted to share with you, but couldn't get his picture taken by the sign because it was up to high on the building. Do you know what this is? Do your children know what this is? This particular sign is posted at post office in Worthington Ohio. If you click to enlarge the picture I think you can see capacity 52.


According to Wikipedia, a fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially designed to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War.
During a nuclear explosion, matter vaporized in the resulting fireball is exposed to neutrons from the explosion, absorbs them, and becomes radioactive. When this material condenses in the rain, it forms dust and light sandy materials that resembles ground pumice. The fallout emits alpha and beta particles, as well as gamma rays. Much of this highly radioactive material then falls to earth, subjecting anything within the line of sight to radiation, a significant hazard. A fallout shelter is designed to allow its occupants to minimize exposure to harmful fallout until radioactivity has decayed to a safer level.
Now if you're my age and grew up during the Cold War, these signs mean a great deal to you. Do you remember the film clip, "Duck and Cover"? Do you remember practicing drills in school? Kids today don't do that at all. They do practice fire drills. But, do the kids know why we hear a siren on Wednesday at exactly 12 noon?
Now besides these lyrics:

Sign Sign everywhere a sign
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign

running around in my mind it occurs to me there are signs that kids do need to know about. It's summer, they'll be out and about more then usual. Do they know where the closest block parent lives? Do they know what sign to look for? Do they know how to get help and from whom if you're not around? That was such a big part of the school practice, what to do if you weren't with an adult. The importance of staying calm in an emergency.

The fall out shelter program began in earnest in 1961 with shelters in churches, schools, and other public buildings. What I found interesting after seeing this sign (which peaked my interest); is that Switzerland had a huge network of fallout shelters stocked with essentials enough for the entire population for a full 2 years after an attack back in the Cold War. Other countries too had vast underground networks far different than what we had/have here in The States.

Does your family have a plan for emergencies? Be they a tornado, a fire etc? This seemed like a good reminder to me that being prepared is a good way to be safe.

Thinking of safety while traveling, show the kids were the stairs are, talk about sirens, talk about evacuating calmly should something happen while you're in a hotel in your summer travels.

In case you've missed any of Stanley's Friday Fun, you can catch up here:

• April 23, 2010 Books and Parks (Upper Arlington, Ohio)
• April 30, 2010 Traitor or Hero (Worthington, Ohio)
• May 7, 2010 Flat Stanley and his friend Captain Pinney (Worthington, Ohio)
• May 14, 2010 First Flight and Flat Stanley (Worthington, Ohio)
• May 21, 2010 Up The Indian Mound with Flat Stanley (Columbus, Ohio)
• May 28, 2010 Flat Stanley goes to Camp (Upper Arlington, Ohio)
• May 31, 2010 Honoring Those who Served on Memorial Day (Upper Arlington, Ohio)
• June 12, 2010 Signs and Flat Stanley, (Worthington, Ohio)

Flat Stanley and his friend, Captain Abner Pinney

Hello, it's Friday and I'm here to tell you about my new friend, Captian Abner Pinney. I'm inbetween his old original stone (on the right), and his new marker and military marker. His old stone isn't in good shape, the information about my friend isn't readable any longer. He lived a long long time ago. Abner was born way back in 1750. If you want to know how long ago that was, grab a piece of paper and pencil and subtract 2010 (our current year), and 1750 (the year he was born). The answer you get tells you how long ago that was. Did you get 260? Whew, that really is a long time ago. Abner was an important man, a man I want to honor. He was born in Connecticut and was a drummer and served in The American Revolution.
Here's a close up of his modern day stone. He was a Captain and fought for our Independence from England. Because of Abner and brave men like him, we celebrate The 4th of July. He lived only a short time in Worthington, Ohio. He traveled all the way from Connecticut to Worthington, Ohio and was one of the original 38 members of The Scioto Company that took up land in this far away land after The Revolutionary War. He died on November 23, 1804. When he died his estate was valued at $452.51. He owned a pair of oxen, a wagon, harness with yolk. Those were very valuable to people who were trying to clear land and make a new home.

When you're having fun watching the fireworks, or picnicking or playing games with your friends and family on The 4th of July, please think of my friend Captain Abner Pinney. He's buried in a very historic church graveyard (St. John's) in Worthington, Ohio.

This is a great way to teach respect of those that came before us, that paved our way. Take the kids to a cemetery and look at a couple of older stones. Think about something that happend that connects with the dates. Do math, how old is the stone compared to them? Get a map find where people are from, use more math to calculate how many miles away it is. Make a drum, and pretend to be Capt. Pinney. Ask the kids why they think having an oxen would be valuable? Talk about the importance of a wagon. All kids have a wagon, what do they use it for? They put things in it, you put them in it to move around. Make the history of the story come alive and have meaning to them. Help them understand what the 4th of July is, why people ware red, white and blue. Talk about why people fly their flags on that special day. Make a word list that connect to what you've seen. Super way to learn new words.
Example:
Militia
Oxen
Revolution

Remember other good activities with kids, maps can be colored and all kids love to color. Flags of the states or the countries involved can also be fun things to color. If you missed it, pop back for Stanley's last adventure and you'll see a word puzzle; that's always something you can do as well with new words.

See you next Friday on the 14th of May. Until then, Flat Stanley out.

Flat Stanley's Previous Adventures:
First adventure, books and libraries
Second Adventure, Hero or Traitor