A Year of Blogging: October 26, 2011

October 26 is 'National Mincemeat Day'. Ok, once again I am showing my age. I have never had mincemeat. I have no idea what it is, although I've heard of mincemeat pie. Supposedly it's a Holiday tradition in many families. It wasn't in our family. So what is mincemeat? According to Wikipedia, mincemeat is a mixture of chopped fruit, distilled spirits and spices, and sometimes meat, venison, or suet. Wow. I have to say, there's nothing appealing to me about that mixture. Especially suet. All I can think of is the fatty, lard like substance we put out for the wild birds in the winter to give them some extra calories. Looking to history, I found that October 26 is an important day for the State of New York. On October 26, 1825, the Erie Canal opened. The Erie Canal connected Lake Erie and Buffalo in Western New York with Albany in the east, and further via the Hudson River, it connected Buffalo to New York City- the major port. With the completion of the canal, goods could be sent via the canal from New York City to the Midwest. Long before railroads broke up the area or mountains were blasted to make room for roads, the goods were transported by water. The canal changed not only New York- but everything west of the Appalachians. As you drive through New York today, you can still see the canal. There are lock houses spread throughout the state. The locks near Albany are a popular picnic and recreation area. You can even still travel through the canal. My great-great grandmother, Phebe Van Woert grew up along the Erie Canal. Her father worked on the canal. She was actually born in Ohio, but many of her siblings were born in New York. I find myself pondering what that must have been like- to help build 'Clinton's Ditch'. And once again I find myself in awe of the generations before us. The generations who didn't have computers, but still had a lot of ingenuity.