Menno House 50th Anniversary

Photo by Lowell Brown, used with permission.

Sometimes around Christmas I do a post about the Lessons and Carols service I've organized for my church, Manhattan Mennonite Fellowship (MMF). This year I didn't work on Lessons and Carols. However, earlier in the year I spent months helping to organize the Menno House 50th anniversary celebration. Since I'm chairperson of the Menno House board of directors, I was up to my ears in the planning of this three-day event. That's not a complaint though. As a project manager by trade, I was happy to use my skills on a project that had nothing to do with software used in the financial services industry. I found that projects in the nonprofit sector require a somewhat different approach. But that's another post altogether! What I want to tell you about is the Menno House event itself.

September 19-21 marked the 50th anniversary of Mennonites at 314 E. 19th Street in New York City. The four-story townhouse on this site is currently known as Menno House. Since 1997 Manhattan Mennonite Fellowship (MMF ) has owned and operated Menno House as a home for Mennonite Voluntary Service and Mennonite Central Committee volunteers as well as students, interns, and workers at local service agencies. This continues the House’s 50-year tradition of sheltering Mennonite service personnel.

On Friday night, when the 125 current and former residents began to gather to celebrate the occasion, the House reverberated with the spirit of reunion. Mike Erb of Waterloo, Ontario (2006 resident) provided music which set a festive atmosphere in which to view the recent work of MMF painter Jayne Holsinger, whose paintings of rural Mennonite life were on display.

After a typical New York breakfast of bagels and cream cheese,

Photo by Lowell Brown, used with permission.

Saturday’s events offered a session on the history of 314 E. 19th Street.

Photo by Lowell Brown, used with permission

Saturday afternoon included a luncheon for former Menno House managers, a guided tour of Menno House, and a tour of Anabaptist sites in Lower Manhattan led by Dan Ness (1961-62 resident) of Lancaster PA. At 4 pm attendees reconvened for a rousing hymn sing led by North Bronx Mennonite Church pastor, Ruth Wenger (1977-78 resident). Pianist Francesco Lecce-Chong and violinist Amy Kauffman, regulars at MMF, performed a Brahms sonata.

The after-dinner presentation was the highlight of the Menno House 50th Anniversary Celebration. Singer/songwriter Gina Holsopple (manager 2001-03), performed original songs. Myrna Burkholder, Menno House manager from 1977-1982, was honored with an original calligraphy for her vision in implementing the residential structure that still guides Menno House.

Penn State professor Julia Spicher Kasdorf (resident 1983-85) read selections of her poetry set in the immediate neighborhood of Menno House.

Photo by Kyle Dean Reinford, used with permission

Professor John Rempel of Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, IN, who served as MMF’s first pastor from 1989 to 1999 and led the congregation in the purchase of Menno House, presented the keynote address.

Photo by Kyle Dean Reinford, used with permission

Sunday’s activities started with a morning brunch during which former MMF interim pastor Stan Bohn of Newton KS led the group in reflections on peacemaking in our time,

Photo by Lowell Brown, used with permission.

and Michele LaRue, actress and theater writer-editor, read from the works of Mennonite writer now deceased, Warren Kliewer.

MMF’s 5 pm Sunday service concluded the celebration. Stan Bohn preached and Pastor Shirk Charles offered a touching re-dedication of Menno House.

By all accounts, the weekend was a huge success. On October 6, 2008, Mennonite Weekly Review, an inter-Mennonite newspaper published weekly since 1923, ran a very nice story which I helped to write.

Menno House Celebrates 50 Years in New York City

On October 9, 2008, the Town and Village, an independent community newspaper, ran a story on my involvement with Menno House. That story and a big picture of me at Menno House were prominently displayed on page 2! That paper isn't online, but you can see a pdf of the article by clicking on the title below.

Mennonites Celebrate 50 Years of Peace and Low Rent

On October 21, 2008, The Mennonite, a semi-monthly magazine for members of Mennonite Church USA, also made mention of the event.

Menno House Celebrates 50 Years

I am very pleased to be involved with the Menno House. It has enabled many people to do a lot of good. Planning this event was certainly a huge amount of work, but it was very rewarding. Since this blog is the place where I share such things, I wanted to include, albeit belatedly, the 50th anniversary celebration of Mennonites in 314 East 19th Street.

© 2009, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

Turtle Ornament from Lauscha

My husband and I have been collecting Christmas tree ornaments for many years. This past Christmas our new ornament was a glittery, gold hand blown glass sea turtle purchased in a Greenwich Village gift shop. The store clerk thought it was made shortly after World War II in a German town called Lauscha.

Lauscha has long been famous for glass production. By 1597 glass blowers from Swabia who settled there were making drinking glasses and bulls eye panes. Legend has it that around 1860 a glass blower, too poor to afford real apples and nuts to decorate his Christmas tree, made painted glass replicas. While we can never know if poverty was the motivating factor, surely the invention of the glass mold was the enabling factor, and from 1860 onwards glass ornaments became increasingly popular. In the years that followed, toy wholesalers from Sonnenberg began exporting Lauschan ornaments all over the world. Around 1880, F. W. Woolworth, founder of the first chain of discount department stores, brought Lauchan ornaments to his store in Lancaster, Pennslyvania, and by 1900 Woolworth's business was such that he could order 200,000 ornaments for sale in America.

World War II and the split of Germany created difficult circumstances for the continuation of hand blown glass, where molds and methods were passed down from generation to generation. Some of the glass blowing families remained in Russian occupied East German Lauscha, while others moved to the American occupied region of Neustadt. East Germany's need for commerce dictated that hand blown glass ornaments made by artisans be replaced by mass produced glass ornaments made in state owned factories. By the time German unification arrived, times were hard in Lauscha, and the glass factory with its 1300 employees was languishing. In the early 1990's Krebs Glas, a leading West German manufacturing company, gained control of the business from the state. Krebs returned to the historic hand blown methods, opting for quality over quantity. That decision returned Lauscha to its rightful place as the "world's capital" of hand blown glass ornaments. Prosperity has returned, and most of the people in this small village make their living from the glass businesses.

I didn't know anything about Lauscha or the history of blown glass ornaments, so I found all this information fascinating. Also, I'm intrigued by the idea that someone in a landlocked, mountainous region thought it would be cool to hang a sea turtle on a Christmas tree.

I'm not sure how to confirm the age of my ornament. Given the history above, it's more likely that the ornament was made in the 1990's than in the late 40's or early 50's, so maybe it's not really an antique. However, googling around the internet has convinced me that my glittery, gold hand blown glass sea turtle is definitely unique. I found other turtle ornaments, but nothing quite like my little guy. I'm sure I'll look forward to his appearance on our tree for many years to come.

Photo by Michael B Hood, used with permission

Facts for this post were drawn from the following websites:

1. German Christmas Ornaments History by Chrysta Baker
2. The History of Krebs Glas Lauscha GmbH
3. For a Special Christmas, Glass Ornaments from Lauscha (great pictures)
4. German Christmas Ornaments
5. The History of Glass Christmas Ornaments from Lauscha
6. How a Christmas Ornament is Created!
7. Lauscha Glas Creation (ornaments for sale)

© 2009, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

2008, in summary...

Photo by Michael Hood, used with permission

Happy New Year! I've chosen to start 2009 with a few reflections on my third year of blogging.

The Truffles category – representing my vegetarian aspirations -- did not have a single post this year. I am, however, still a vegetarian. Participating in Farm Sanctuary and Humane Society of the United States email campaigns for better treatment of farm animals, I've learned much about how meat and poultry are raised and slaughtered. At home I'm using more cruelty-free products (products not tested on animals). I plan to have more Truffles posts in 2009 because vegetarianism and treatment of farm animals has become a more focused interest in my life.

The Turtles category – representing my interest in animals, particularly turtles – saw 4 posts in 2008. I was very pleased and gratified to be mentioned in one of the newsletters that Anita Salzberg (The Turtle Wife) distributes. There will be more Turtles posts in 2009, guaranteed, because I want to move my turtles to a larger tank and set up a small tank for growing aquatic plants as food for them. Expect pictures as well!

The Tunes category – representing my interest in music – grew by a whopping 14 posts. Yes, I had a good year, musically. The decisions that accompanied the order of my new flute accounted for many posts. Whenever I could find time, I continued taking flute lessons with Mike Rafferty and on September 30 posted a tribute to him. I was very pleased that Brad Hurley included a link to that post on his site, Guide to the Irish Flute. And remember last year's goal of attending more sessions around NYC? Well, I now attend a session nearly every week. As for performances, in 2008 I performed with 3 different Irish groups, but the vast majority of the performances were with the Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra, sponsored by Mick Moloney and New York University. This group has become the mainstay of my music life. Musical standards are pretty high, and as performances increase I find myself spending more time on the music at home in addition to the weekly group rehearsal. Next year holds the promise of more and better performances and the arrival of my new flute, so look for many Tunes posts in 2009.

Altogether I wrote 25 posts in 2008. 18 were classified as either Truffles, Turtles, or Tunes. The annual New Years post added one more, so that's 19. I wrote a Copyright post after doing some reading on copyright ethics as they apply to blogging. Now we're up to 20. The other 5 posts were in the new Technology category. 2008 saw a technological revolution in our household. I converted to Mac, purchasing a MacBook for my husband and an iMac for myself. I also switched our DSL carrier and installed an Apple Time Capsule which does automatic backups while serving as a Wi-Fi base station for our wireless home network. I hope to extend my Mac expertise in 2009, so I'm sure there will be more Technology posts.

So what categories were not present in the posts of 2008? Books, Travel, and MMF. I'm embarrassed to say I started about 6 books and haven't finished any of them. I did some US travel which I intended to write about and may still. I performed less music in worship services at Manhattan Mennonite Fellowship, but I was very involved in Menno House activities. As a matter of fact, I have a Menno House post under construction right now.

When I expressed frustration over fewer posts this year, a friend responded by saying that I spent so much time living that there wasn't much time left to write about it. While I think there's some truth to that, I'd like to strike a better balance in 2009.

Overall, nobody is sure what to expect in 2009. We hope we won't lose our jobs. We hope President-elect Obama will make a difference here and in US relations abroad. On a less political note, may we all stay healthy, find avenues of growth and enjoyment, and discover ways to work towards a better world.

© 2009, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

Flute Choice Refined

As you may recall from my May 9 post, I ordered a keyless boxwood flute from Seattle flutemaker Peter Noy. At the time I placed the order, I told Peter I would confirm later whether or not I wanted an E-flat key as well as my preference regarding finger hole size. Recently, I had started to feel like my final decisions were a bit overdue.

I sought advice from Ben Power, an Irish musician I met in NYC who now resides in San Diego, California. Ben pointed out that each maker has his own design, and what one describes "large" or even "huge" finger holes might not be so big, comparatively speaking. Ben asked if there were any way I could play some of Peter's flutes. Since I don't actually know anyone who has a Peter Noy flute, I spoke to Peter about my dilemma. He agreed to send a couple flutes with the two finger hole sizes we talked about on the phone. Perfect!

On November 18th I received a head joint, a foot joint, and two middle joints. By swapping the middle joints I was able to experience both the small and the large holed models. The smaller finger holes were very comfortable, but it seemed to me that the flute's sound was freer and fuller when assembled with the large holed middle joint. Most importantly, I was pleased to realize that my hands are not too small for Peter's large holed design, so that's what I'll be getting.

The flute pictured below is Peter's large holed model, made of grenadilla wood with silver rings and a mother of pearl blow edge on the embouchure. That's an E-flat key on the foot joint, and it works the same as on a silver concert flute.


The discussion about finger holes brought up the question of keys. I was surprised to learn that ordering keys doesn't add much time to the waiting period. After talking to some flute players in the October 12th Mercy Center Benefit concert (Ivan Goff and Shannon Heaton), as well as to Ben Power and Linda Hickman, I decided to go for it! I'll be getting six keys: G-sharp, F-natural, E-flat, B-flat, and two C-natural keys.

My worst fear was that having Peter's flutes on loan and playing them for nearly two weeks might bring on a bout of second guessing about my choice of flute maker. After all, Peter Noy is relatively unknown here in NYC. Most of the serious players here either own a flute made by Patrick Olwell or else they're on his waiting list. However, I took the large holed flute to a few sessions, and everyone who played it said really good things about it. I was certainly happy with it. Trading flutes with people in sessions bolstered my confidence as well. I'm satisfied now that the Peter Noy flute I've ordered will be worth the wait.

© 2008, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

New Aquatic Turtle Species Found in Scotland

With apologies for my long silence on this blog, I'm back with news of the discovery of a new species of aquatic turtle! Called Eileanchelys waldmaniare, this new species dates back 164 million years to the Middle Jurassic period. Turtle remains found on the Scottish Isle of Skye provided the basis for this discovery. After months of painstaking work extracting turtle skeletons from the rock in which they were embedded, four of the skeletons emerged nearly intact and represent the best specimens to date from this period.

Actually, in the past two years scientists uncovered two other new species from the mid-Jurassic era. Those came from Russia and Argentina. Previously, scientists hadn't known that aquatic turtles existed before the Late Jurassic period. Now they're able to date more accurately the period during which land turtles dating to 210 million years ago (in the Triassic era) evolved into water turtles. Differences in the turtles' skulls provides crucial information which distinguishes the two types. Since these turtles found in Scotland were in such remarkably good shape, they confirmed theories offered when the turtles in Russia and Argentina were discovered.

Scientists believe that the turtles found in Scotland lived in shallow bodies of fresh water. They base this theory on the geological qualities of the rock in which the fossils were found (shale and limestone containing layers of mud) and the fossils of sharks and salamanders found with the turtles.

Appropriately, the name Eileanchelys waldmaniare incorporates the Gaelic word "eilean" meaning "island." Translated, Eileanchelys waldmaniare means "the turtle from the island."

As keeper of two aquatic turtles, I'm thrilled to learn more about their ancestry. And as a fan of traditional Irish and Scottish music, I absolutely LOVE the fact that the new species has a Gaelic word rolled into its name!

This post highlights information from the sources listed below. Please click on the first two, as they contain some rather amazing copyrighted pictures which I know you'll enjoy.

(1) "Ancient Turtle Discovered on Skye," BBC News website, 19 Nov 2008, as viewed online on 21 Nov 2008.
(2) "Earliest Aquatic Turtles Found in Scotland," Natural History Museum (Tring, England) website, 19 Nov 2008, as viewed online on 21 Nov 2008.
(3) "A New Stem Turtle From The Middle Jurassic Of Scotland: New Insights On The Evolution And Palaeoecology Of Basal Turtles," PubMed, National Center for BioTechnology Information website, 18 Nov 2008, as viewed online on 23 Nov 2008.
(4) "A new, nearly complete stem turtle from the Jurassic of South America with implications for turtle evolution," PubMed, National Center for BioTechnology Information website, 23 Jun 2008, as viewed online on 23 Nov 2008.


(Scientists involved in the discovery of the Scotland turtles were associated with University College London (UCL) and the Natural History Museum in Tring (about 35 miles northwest of London). Their report has been published in the journal entitled "Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences." The Scotland turtle fossils are housed at the National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh. The project was funded by the National Geographic Society.)

© 2008, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

A Night to Remember

Before moving on to another topic, I want to report on the October 12th Mercy Center Benefit concert advertised in my previous post. The concert itself was phenomenal. The audience was receptive and responsive, the performers were outrageously good, and everyone seemed pleased to be able to support the Mercy Center. The music had a lively edge because it was recorded for future release by Compass Records to raise additional funds for Mercy Center. Paul Keating of the Irish Voice (weekly newspaper) wrote a lovely article which captures the evening quite well, so I encourage you to click here and let him relate the details.

The Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra (WSHSO) was scheduled first in the sound check lineup, so we arrived six hours before the concert was to begin. We didn't actually do our sound check until around 4 pm, but we had a grand time chatting with other performers and gnoshing on sandwiches and other taste treats. We rehearsed a little and shared some tunes with other musicians as well. Here are a few pictures taken before the show in the "green room,"

Don Meade, Gail Neely, and me

photo by Lizabeth Kennedy, used with permission

In the foreground (left to right): Tony Horswill, Liz Hanley, Gail Neely

Along the mirror: Lisa Farber, Dan Neely, Lizabeth Kennedy
Reflected in the mirror: Don Meade, Brendan Dolan, and Ivan Goff
photo by Linda Mason Hood

The WSHSO played three sets immediately following the intermission. I played Irish flute on the Curlew Hills barndance set, F whistle on The Isle of St. Helena (sung by Liz Hanley), and on Dan O'Hara (sung by Donie Carroll) I played D whistle and sang on the choruses. You can hear all of these selections, by the way, on the WSHSO MySpace site.

While this picture doesn't show all 15 of us, somehow I was lucky enough to be included. I'm on the far right in the second row.

The program included lots of dancing. The kids below study dance at the Niall O'Leary School of Irish Dance.



At the end of this 3-hour extravaganza of music and dance, everyone came onstage for an exuberant grand finale. What a night! This picture conveys our high spirits, but it would be impossible for any picture to communicate how supremely happy I felt at this moment:

I am standing behind and to the right of Joanie Madden (flute player in the red shirt). Continuing left to right after Joanie is Mick Moloney, organizer of this event and WSHSO sponsor, Tommy Sands, and Robbie O'Connell.

All 3 onstage photos belong to Lizabeth Kennedy and were used with permission
Thanks Liz!

© 2008, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

WSHSO in Benefit for Mercy Centre

Just want to let everyone know that on October 12 - that's this Sunday! - I'll be playing with the Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra (WSHSO) in a spectacular concert that will benefit a wonderful cause.

Founded 35 years ago in the slums of Bangkok by Father Joseph Maier,
The Mercy Centre runs over 30 neighborhood schools, four orphanages, a hospice for adults with HIV/AIDS and a 500-pupil kindergarten. It provides a loving home to over 180 abused, abandoned and orphaned children – one third of them born with HIV. Its anti-trafficking program protects the most vulnerable children living on the streets. Since 1973 the foundation has built over 10,000 houses in the slums. Everything they accomplish is in partnership with the poor.

My group, the WSHSO, is thrilled to be one of the performers in this all-star cast of Irish musicians and dancers as well as some English and Appalachian friends. Artists include The Green Fields of America (with Mick Moloney, Billy McComiskey, Ivan Goff, Jerry O'Sullivan, Dana Lyn, Athena Tergis and Robbie O'Connell), Joanie Madden and a Cherish the Ladies reunion with special guest appearances from Joe Madden and Mike Rafferty, Tommy, Moya and Fionan Sands, Frank Crocker, Jimmy Crowley and Donie Carroll, Mac Benford and UpSouth, The Burns Sisters, John Roberts and Tony Barrand, Dan and Bonnie Milner, The Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra (with Don Meade and Brendan Dolan), Matt and Shannon Heaton, Dan Gurney, Niall O'Leary and his School of Irish Dance with Kieran Jordan and more.

All performers are donating their services pro bono. All concert proceeds go to the Mercy Center.

Sunday, October 12th, 8 pm
Symphony Space (95th & Broadway)
Tickets: $50 / $35 / $25. $5 off with student ID.
For more info and tickets call 212-864-5400.
To purchase tickets online, click here: Symphony Space.

If you are planning to come, get tickets NOW - they're going fast and the concert is expected to be a complete sellout!!

Irish Musicians for the Mercy Centre is being made possible through the support of The Mercy Center, The Irish Arts Center, The Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra, and The Milwaukee Irish Fest Foundation, Inc.

© 2008, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

Flute Lessons with Mike Rafferty

Although a fair amount of biography and some good descriptions of Mike Rafferty's playing are available online (see links at the end of this post), I have yet to find anything written on his teaching. This blog post attempts to fill that void. What follows here are my reflections about Mike as a teacher and what I’ve learned from him over the past four years.