The Bean (Cloud Gate)

Chicago, Illinois

Cloud Gate as "The Bean" is one of Chicago's most popular sight.  The monumental work of art anchors downtown Millennium Park, the lakefront park in Chicago's downtown Loop area. It sits above the McCormick Tribune Plaza in the AT&T Plaza and reflects the city's famous skyline. This area of downtown is where you'll find alfesco dining in summer and a free skating rink in winter.  If you are walking on Michigan Avenue between Randolph and Monroe, you really can't miss it. 

What is The Bean?

The Bean is a work of public art in the heart of Chicago's downtown.  The sculpture which is officially titled Cloud Gate, is one of the world's largest permanent outdoor art installations.  The monumental work was completed in 2006 and quickly became one of Chicago's most iconic sights.   The Bean's reflective surface was inspired by liquid mercury.  This shiny exterior reflects the people moving around the park, the lights of Michigan Avenue and the surrounding skyline and green space .. perfectly encapsulating the Millennium Park experience.  The reflection of the sky above the park, not to mention the curved underside of The Bean serves as an entrance that visitors can walk under to enter the park, inspired the sculpture's creator to name the piece Cloud Gate. 

It was designed by internationally acclaimed artist, Anish Kapoor.  The Indian-born British sculptor was already well-known for his large-scale outdoor works including several with highly reflective surfaces.  Cloud Gate was Kapoor's first permanent public outdoor work in the United States and is widely considered his most famous.

The exterior of The Bean is made entirely of stainless steel.  It was created using computer technology to precisely cut 168 massive steel plates which were then fitted together and welded shut for a completely seamless finish.  Inside, it's made of a network of two large metal rings.  The rings are connected via a truss framework similar to what you might see on a bridge.  This allows the sculpture's massive weight to be directed to its two base points creating the iconic "bean" shape and allowing for the large concave area beneath the structure.  The Bean's steel exterior is attached to the inside frame with flexible connectors that let it expand and contract as the weather changes. 

The Bean is 33 feet hight, 42 feet wide and 66 feet long.  It weighs about 110 tons which is approximately the same as 15 adult elephants.  The Bean features a 12-foot-high arch that visitors can walk through to see reflections from below. 

Why is it called The Bean?

While the piece's official name is Cloud Gate, the artist doesn't title his works until after they're completed.  When the structure was still under construction, renderings of the design were released to the public.  Once Chicagoans saw the curved, oblong shape they quickly began calling it "The Bean".

The nickname stuck!

 

Fun with Dick and Jane

Dick and Jane are iconic American books (1930s-1970s) used to teach reading through simple, repetitive sentences and watercolor illustrations.  The books follow siblings Dick, Jane, younger sister Sally, mother and father along with their dog, Spot and cat, Puff in daily suburban adventures.  These books are considered staples of Amercian nostalgia, representing a specific idealized mid-century lifestyle.

Zerna Addas Sharp was an American educator and book editor who is best known as the creator of Dick and Jane.  Published by Scott, Foreseman and Company of Chicago, Illinois.  The series, which included such titles as We Look and See, We Come and Go, We Work and Play,  Fun with Dick and Jane, war marketed until 1973 and used the look-say or the "sight words"method to teach reading.  Dick and Jane was written by William S. Gray. He was an  American educator and literacy advocate who was commonly referred to as "The Father of Reading".  Sharp developed the Dick and Jane characters and edited the series of books.  Gray authored and Eleanor B. Campbell did most of the illustrations for the early readers. The characters of "Dick" and "Jane" made their debut in 1930 reaching the height of their popularity in the 1950s until the series was retired in 1965. Today, the Dick and Jane characters have become icons of mid-century American culture for many from the baby boomer generation and the books have become collector's items.

The books have been reissued in various formats including hardcover boxed sets making them available for a new generation of young readers.

 

The Penguin Nancy Drew Mystery Stories is a classic series featuring teenage sleuth Nancy Drew created by pseudonym Carolyn Keene.  The series included 56 original volumes featuring stand-alone mysteries that do not need to be read in order.  A complete list of novels includes 64 novels. Nancy Drew has been solving mysteries and delighting young fans for over 75 years. The first 10 book titles in order of publication were The Secret of the Old Clock, The Hidden Staircase, The Bungalow Mystery, The Mystery at Lilac Inn, The Secret of Shadow Ranch, The Secret of Red Gate Farm, The Clue in the Diary, Nancy's Mysterious Letter, The Sign of the Twisted Candles, Password to Larkspur Lane and The Clue of the Broken Locket.  

Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon are the pseudonyms under which many ghostwriters penned the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series, respectively.  Both series were created by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate book packaging firm in the late 1920s and early 1930s.  Stratemeyer's daughter, Harriet and syndicate writer, Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson were the two people primarily responsible for bringing the iconic character of Nancy Drew to life in the minds and hearts of millions of readers around the world.

The harder-to-find titles include The Hidden Staircase, The Bungalow Mystery, Mystery at Lilac Inn.  These are "First Edition" adding to their rarity and value.  

Mildred "Millie" Wirt Benson

(1905-2002)

Benson was an American journalist and writer of children's books.  She wrote some of the earliest Nancy Drew mysteries under the name Carolyn Keene and created the detective's adventurous personality.  Benson wrote from 1929 to 1953 and contributed to 23 of the first 30 Nancy Drew mysteries which were best sellers.   She began working at the Toledo Blade in 1944 and continued there for 58 years.  In the 1990s, she began writing a weekly column for the Toledo Blade titled "On the Go".  

Benson's favorite Nancy Drew story was The Hidden Staircase.  Whenever asked, she would gladly autograph copies of the Nancy Drew books, but only the titles she actually wrote.

As a young girl I enjoyed reading the Nancy Drew series on our front porch in the summertime after visiting the local library. As the late Jim Roselle of WJTN fame would often ask, What's in your wallet?  His answer?  My library card.

1872 .. Allan Herschell Co. Inc. Carrousels .. 1915

Merry-Go-Rounds .. Park Amusements .. Road Carrousels

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180 Thompson Street

 North Tonawanda, NY

Allan Herschell was a Scottish immigrant who made North Tonawanda the Carousel Capital of the World.

Placed on the National Register of Historic Places April 18, 1985.

The Allan Herschell Company, founded in North Tonawanda, New York was the fourth in a series of companies in the community which manufactured carousels and other amusement park rides. Herschell had previously been a partner in the earliest of the area's carousel firms:  the Armitage Herschell Company in 1873 and later with the Herschell-Spillman Company in 1901.  The Spillman Engineering Company operated from the 1920s through the 1930s in competition with its founder.

The Allan Herschell Company, the most prolific maker of carousels, specialized in producing portable machines which could be used by traveling carnival operators.  The company produced over 3,000 hand-carved wooden carousels and out produced all of its rivals in the carousel industry.  Each hand-carved wooden carousel featured striking yet simple horses.  

The star attraction at the museum is the beautifully restored 1916 Number One Special Carrousel.  With 36 hand-carveed wooden horses and more than 500 twinkling lights,  this ride spins to the sounds of a vintage Wurlitzer band organ.  Built in the former factory, it's a rare chance to experience a working piece of American amusement history with no theme park required.  

North Tonawanda, once an industrial powerhouse with 150 lumber mills was the longtime home of the Allan Herschell Company, which led the carousel industry from 1883-1970.  Today, visitors from around the world come to ride the fully restored carousel.

A major employer in the community, the Allan Herschell Company had a worldwide reputation for quality rides.  Carousels from this company were shipped throughout the United States and Canada, as well as to all parts of the world including South Africia, India, Tahiti and Mexico.

Of the 148 antique, hand-carved wooden carousels still in existence in the United States and Canada today, 71 were manufactured in North Tonawanda in one of the four Herschell companies.  The Allan Herschell Company had a major influence on the development of the American amusement ride industry, where this influence continues to be felt.

Beyond the Carousel

Over the years the Allan Herschell Company expanded its line of amusement park rides and pioneered such concepts as "Kiddieland", a specialized group of rides designed for small children.  It also introduced adult thrill rides such as the Twister, the Hurricane and the Sky Wheel which was a double Ferris wheel nearly 90 feet tall.  Much of this growth occurred under the ownership of John Wendler and his family, starting in the 1930s. 

The company maintained its North Tonawanda operation until the late 1950s when it moved to Buffalo.  It continued as a locally owned firm until it was sold in the early 1970s to Chance Manufacturing of Wichita, Kansas, a rival maker of amusement rides.

Many of the popular rides today can trace their origins to the company. Nearly every person who has visited an amusement park at some time in their lives has experienced the thrill of riding on one of the Herschell rides.   

An interesting sidenote is that the word, carousel is spelled as carrousel with two r's at the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum. If you call the museum, the Education Director when providing their website address over the phone, that person must interject with "We spell it with two r's" or they will not get the right page. 

When the carousel came to America it went through a few changes.  American carousels rotate in the opposite direction of their British cousins.

www.carrouselmuseum.org

The Lead Horse on a Carousel

The Lead Horse is often called a King Horse.  Positioned on the outside row, often right behind the chariot, if one exists.  The horse is typically the largest, most ornate and most heavily decorated (often with armor or jewels) to serve as a marker for operators to count revolutions.  It is generally a "stander" (three or four feet on the ground) and is the most elaborately carved.  While "Lead" or "King is the generic term, famous examples exist such as "Jingles" on the King Arthur Carousel at Disneyland.  The Lead Horse is often the most sought-after horse by collectors. 

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The Worth Avenue Clock Tower

One of the most iconic landmarks in Palm Beach, Florida is the famous clock tower that caps the ritziest shopping district known as Worth Avenue. Standing at 25 feet tall, the Worth Avenue Clock Tower was built in 2010. It was part of a $15.8 million renovation of Worth Avenue aimed at restoring the area's grandeur which included new landscaping and improvements to the shopping district.  The tower is made from coquina stone and cost $600,000.  It was designed in the Moorish Revival style reminiscent of the Mediterranean architecture brought to the area by architect Addison Mizner in the 1910s.  

The tower commemorates the former site of the Palm Beach Pier which was initially named Rainbo Pier.  It was built in 1925 by Danish immigrant, Peter Gustav Jordahn also known as "Captain Gus".  However, during the Great Depression, Captain Gus would sell the pier and it would be renamed.  The pier would become a favorite attraction featuring a coffee shop and cocktail lounge.  After getting battered by hurricanes in the 1940s and 1960s, the Palm Beach Pier was eventually demolished for safety concerns in 1969.  

The tower features 4 clock faces .. one on each side.  Locals gather at the tower every New Year's Day at sunrise for a community photo continuing the spirit of celebration associated with the former pier.

 

Creation by The Gooch

thegoochshop.com

Valentine's Day is one of those holidays that carries layers of meaning, depending on where you're standing in life.  At its simplest, it's a day set aside to honor love and connection.  It's a day with heartfelt messages, roses and chocolates.  For some it's a joyful and affirming yet for others it can feel bittersweet when love has been lost, changed or complicated.  The day doesn't just celebrate love; it exposes how much we value it.  

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At its best, Valentine's Day is less about grand gestures and more about intentional care which could be a phone call, a shared memory or a simple kindness.  Love doesn't stop existing when it's quieter, older or shaped by absence.  In fact, many people discover its deepest meaning then.  In that way, Valentine's Day isn't only about who you're with, it's about what love has meant to you and still does. 

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"It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all."  

Alfred Lord Tennyson

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched..they must be felt with the heart." "What we have once enjoyed we can never lose.  All that we love deeply becomes a part of us." 

Helen Keller

"Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get .. only with what you are expecting to give .. which is everything."  

Katharine Hepburn

"Nobody has ever measured, even poets, how much a heart can hold."  

Zelda Fitzgerald

"Love is like the wind, you can't see it, but you can feel it."  

Nicholas Sparks

"Love isn't something you find.  Love is something that finds you." 

Loretta Young

"The best thing to hold onto in life is each other."  

Audrey Hepburn

"Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.  

Robert A. Heinlein

❤️ 

If watching a movie with your sweetheart is in your plans this Valentine's Day, here are a few swoon-worthy film choices.  Love Story starring Ryan O'Neal and Ally McGraw (1970) where we recall the famous quote, "Love means never having to say you're sorry." 

The Notebook starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams (2004).  In the Notebook what really brings on the tears is the relationship between their older characters played by James Garner and Gena Rowlands.  

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Sleepless in Seattle (1993) starred Meg Ryan (Annie Reed) and  Tom Hanks (Sam Baldwin). 

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In 1987, Dirty Dancing appeared on the silver screen starring Patrick Swayze (Johnny) and Jennifer Grey (Baby). So grab your favorite dance partner and have the 'time of your life' with this '80s favorite flick.  

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If your movie interest is with a classic perhaps the film, Casablanca (1942) starring Humphrey Bogart (Rick Blaine) and Ingrid Bergman (llsa) with the famous lines .. "Of all the gin joints in all the town in all the world, she walks into mine." .. "Here's looking at you, kid."

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Another classic movie was An Affair to Remember (1957) starring Cary Grant (Nickie Ferrante)and Deborah Kerr (Terry McKay). 

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And last, though certainly not least, Titanic (1997) starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. 

An iconic scene

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Happy Valentine's Day

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Sweet Beginnings

Circa 1876

The telephone was invented.  America celebrated its 100th birthday.  And in 2018, the Chase Candy Company celebrated its 100th birthday. Chase Candy Company was created leading to the invention of the beloved Cherry Mash. Dr. George Washington, at the urging of his son, Ernest, made his first batch of candy and sold it among wholesale items in his G.W. Chase and Sons Mercantile storefront.  This was the beginning of Chase becoming known throughout the Midwest for its fine-quality peanut candies and hand-dipped chocolates.

Cherry Mash Is Born

Circa 1918

The very first Cherry Mash was concocted in St. Joseph,  Missouri.  The candy was more than four ounces when it was first introduced and was sold unwrapped in a box.  Customers would often take the candy back to their business and put it in a glass candy display case.  

Cherry Mash is an American candy bar consisting of a soft, cherry-flavored center containing maraschino cherries.  It was originally called Cherry Chase and then Cherry Chaser before becoming known as Cherry Mash.

Chase Headquarters Is Built

Circa 1922

To accommodate Cherry Mash's growing popularity, Chase built a four-story plant in downtown St. Joseph .. Fifth Street at Sylvanie .. that employed more than 400 people.  One entire floor was designated to the chocolate dipping crew.

Chase Candy Turns 50

Circa 1926

After 50 years in business, Chase had made more than 500 different kinds of candies including an extensive line of candy bars.  Chase's famous mascot, the "Candy Cop" was prominently featured on most of the candy bar wrappers.  Cherry Mash was the most popular in its iconic red and white wrapper, a design that has remained the same since 1930.  The company wraps each Cherry Mash at a rate of up to 200 per minute.

"The only part of the process we'd ever rush."

The Great Depression

Circa 1930s

The Depression years of the 1930s hit the candy business especially hard.  If you had any money, you spent it on food for sustenance, not for your sweet tooth.  Chase Candy Company experienced a huge decrease in sales and profits and an extensive cutback in the number of candies it produced. 

Chase Candy Is Purchased

Circa 1940s

During WWII, sugar was rationed by F.S. Yantis and Company, which invested in several Pepsi bottling companies in the Midwest, purchased the Chase Candy Company.  By doing so, they acquired a large share of sugar rations to help keep the bottling companies operating.  Fewer kinds of candy were made in the late 40s and early 50s. 

Chase Candy Company

795 Hedding Street

San Jose, California

Circa 1952

The "Cherry Mash" Plant

Circa 1960s

In the early 1960s, Chase Candy Company moved to a different plant built in St. Joseph to exclusively produce Cherry Mash because it was in such high demand. 

Chase Candy Today

Circa 2005-Present

Chase Candy Company continues to operate in St. Joseph, the city where Cherry Mash was first created 100 years ago.  The company functions out of a new, purpose-built candy factory that opened in 2005. 

Candy Mash Production Data

200,000 pounds of peanuts per year.  200,000 pounds of chocolate coating per year 30,000. And 30,000 pounds of cherries per year. 

And for those of you familiar with The Gooch seen on FB whose slogan is

"If I can do this, you can do this."

"First time trying this and now I'm hooked."