Author: Ellen Marsden

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New York’s loss is Coral Springs’ gain: the story of Artbag

The year was 1959. Donald Moore, a 17-year-old living in rural North Carolina where he was born and raised, was newly married with a baby on the way. He needed a job to support his family but local opportunities were very limited. Knowing his situation, relatives in New York City urged him to come up north, stay with them, and look for a job in the Big Apple where there were more possibilities. “Why not give it a try?” he thought. So, he went up to New York City, went to an employment agency, and noticed an opening at Artbag.

Artbag, founded in 1932 by Hillel Tannenbaum, a former professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology, was a Madison Avenue shop that repaired, restored, and crafted handbags. They were known for their attention to detail and craftsmanship, and they had a loyal and illustrious clientele.

Moore interviewed and was offered a job on the spot. For his $1.00/hour pay, his duties included sweeping floors and dusting bags. He got to work before his boss and stayed late. Tannenbaum took notice of Moore’s work ethic, and Moore became Tannenbaum’s protégé, learning pattern-making and handbag construction and restoration. By the 1970s, Moore had a thorough knowledge of the business and craft, and he considered opening his own shop. But, realizing Artbag might soon lose Moore’s valuable talents, in 1976 the owners presented him with the opportunity to buy a small stake in the business from one of the three partners, and he took advantage of it. By 1993, he was the sole owner of Artbag. But there’s “Moore” to the story.

Enter Moore’s son Chris. When Chris was a young boy, he eagerly helped out when his father brought home bags to work on, but he had never entertained joining Artbag. Chris graduated from college in 1992, intending to buy a pizza franchise, but with the recession and a limited job market, that prospect looked less attractive.

“At that same time, unbeknownst to me, my dad was buying out his last partner, and asked if I wanted to come in,” Chris said. “My mother used to call me ‘Shadow’ because wherever Dad was, I wanted to be. He just has that type of personality, engaging and affable. He was my hero. So, I agreed to join the business.” And despite a former Artbag owner who was quite vocal in his belief that the business wouldn’t last with Donald and Chris Moore at the helm, Artbag thrived.

In 1999, Chris became the owner of Artbag, and he, Donald, and Chris’ wife, Estelle, worked together for the past 23 years at their Madison Avenue shop, taking in all kinds of bags, from those purchased on the street to prestigious bags from Hermès, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton, to name a few. Does a bag need a new silk lining? No problem. Does the zipper need to be replaced? Can do. A strap repaired? Of course. Want to add a compartment? Never say never. Leather repair or refurbishment? Yes.

All of Artbag’s work requires great attention to detail, and Chris Moore enjoys taking the time to explain the craft to customers, and they appreciate learning what goes into making a bag look as good as possible. “For example, the color of your bag is often custom-made. Say you have a black bag,” he said. “It’s probably not black that comes out of the bottle that you just pull off the shelf. There are times you have to painstakingly tint the black to be a great match to the existing bag.”

Artbag often takes in repair bags from other repair houses or shoemakers when the customer is dissatisfied with shoddy work. “We’ve been known to be fairly pricey, but you get what you pay for,” Chris Moore said. “Maybe you got a ’good’ price, but if the stitching is crooked, or the zipper is off line, what purpose did it serve?” Staffed by artisans committed to their craft, Artbag’s philosophy is that if a repair or refurbishment on a favorite bag is worth doing, it’s worth doing well.

The number of repair houses has decreased and the quality of workmanship has declined over the years, yet Artbag has always had a high level of workmanship, as evidenced by their many clients, be they everyday people or celebrities like Jackie Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor, Cicely Tyson, and Whoopi Goldberg. Whether it’s maintaining an investment in an expensive, high-end bag, or a bag only rich in its sentimental value, the craftsmen at Artbag achieve results that few, if any, can match. “It’s not that we’re geniuses, it’s that we care,” Chris Moore said. “If a customer is not happy with a bag, even if it’s the most minute detail, I may not sleep that night.”

Artbag also does custom work. If it gets to the point that a bag can’t be repaired, Artbag will duplicate it. One of the first things that Artbag copied was a plastic travel bag from Eastern Airlines. A client loved the bag and couldn’t get it anymore, so Artbag recreated it.

New York was home to Artbag for 90 years, but Chris Moore and his wife decided it was time for a change. While they loved living and working in New York, when COVID-19 hit, they, like many people, reflected and reassessed. “Why are we paying the high Madison Avenue rent and subjecting ourselves to the long and often unpredictable New York City commute?” In contemplating where to move, they initially considered Fort Lauderdale because they vacationed there often, drawn to the area because “it’s a little bit of New York and a lot of Florida at the same time.” But as they thought more about it, they realized that a better demographic for their business was in the Coral Springs area, because it was close to Boca Raton, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale.

So, the Moores bought a house in Coral Springs in August 2021, anticipating that they would move the business close by, which they did, next to the Coral Square Mall. Expecting to open in their new location early this summer, they had to push back the opening until August because Artbag got so much press about leaving New York that local customers were inundating them with bags. As a result, they had to extend their Madison Avenue lease. Although New Yorkers may mourn the fact that they can no longer visit their trusted Madison Avenue shop, they can join the many customers nationwide who mail bags in for Artbag to repair.

Artbag in Coral Springs remains an intergenerational family business. Chris Moore oversees the business; Estelle works the front of the shop, handles administration, and takes bags apart. Donald, who is now 80, trains new hires in the craft. And while Artbag’s location has changed, the deep and long-standing family commitment to quality and craftsmanship has not.

“Joining this business was one of the best moves I’ve ever made in my life,” Chris Moore said. “The only pressure I’ve ever felt working in the family business is the need to not let my dad down. Artbag is his legacy.”

Artbag is open Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It’s located at 927 N. University Drive, Coral Springs. For more information: (212) 744-2720; www.artbag.com; Instagram @artbag1130.

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Changing life through sport

We all know how important exercise is to our health. But the reasons that we have for not getting started or staying committed to exercising are numerous:

  • Have no time
  • Too tired at the end of the day
  • Don’t like to exercise alone
  • Need motivation
  • Get bored easily
  • It’s not fun
  • Too old/out of shape
  • Can’t stick with it
  • Too expensive
  • Don’t fit in

Sound familiar?

Diego Velasquez had a deep-rooted connection with sport. He wanted to help to transform people’s lives for the better by encouraging them to join daily individual and group physical exercises combined with social responsibility to help the community.

In 2011, he helped create the group Race Junkies. A nonprofit that’s free to join, Race Junkies’ mission is to promote health and exercise. The group’s core belief is that through sport, there is the power to change lives. They seek to bring inspiration to every person, see possibilities where others see only challenges, create a culture where people feel they belong, and encourage people to train. The nonprofit group works with local sponsors to get donations that directly enable the group to promote exercise by helping fund team uniforms, cycling equipment, and race entry fees.

Some members of Race Junkies simply enjoy running, cycling, or swimming, and others are marathoners and triathletes, often traveling and supporting each other in local, national, and international events. Members coordinate training programs, with the most seasoned athletes becoming leaders and mentors to newer members. The team is enriched by the diversity of cultural and professional backgrounds, and everyone is welcome: kids, adults of all ages, elite athletes, and non-athletes.

Starting an exercise routine is not easy. Some of the biggest barriers to exercising regularly are fitting it into your schedule, accountability, needing motivation from others, diversity, and the challenge to keep exercise from becoming boring.

With Race Junkies, there are always people biking, running, and swimming at different times, on different days, at different speeds, and in different locations in Coral Springs and areas nearby. This suits Thiago, who joined Race Junkies two years ago, just fine. He finds the time and motivation to train despite having a newborn, driving kids to school, and working all hours of the day with people around the world in different time zones. His goal is to finish the Ironman 70.3 later this year.

“You will never be alone if you don’t want to,” said Thiago. “The beauty is the motivation others bring to the group. You always have a partner or a group to train with.”

Added Kevin, who, after “plenty of sedentary and self-indulgent behavior,” decided he wanted to exercise to set a good example for his daughter, and now has run the New York City marathon and many half-marathons and aspires to compete in a full Ironman. “There are a lot of tools available as well. I for sure wouldn’t have access to the amazing swim coaches there are or the bike resources.”

It’s easy for a “no can do, no way no how, it’s just not me” attitude to sabotage one’s exercise goals. But Race Junkies members find those obstacles can be overcome surprisingly easily, even if at first, they think that exercising and competing are impossible for them. “Once they join, people realize they didn’t even know there were goals they could push themselves toward,” said Kevin. “It goes from painful, to I don’t know why I’m doing this, to I can’t stop doing this. And it happens very quickly.”

While they are inspired by other members, Race Junkies often find that training at their own pace and not comparing themselves to others is a winning formula. Certainly, this was true for Lorena, Diego’s wife. The triathlon bike (tribike) that Diego gave her sat untouched in their garage for two years before she started riding. Initially unsure and intimidated by people more athletic than she imagined she would ever be, since joining Race Junkies nine years ago, Lorena has completed three 70.3 Ironman races. When she turned 50, she ran the New York City marathon.

The how and why members have gotten involved with Race Junkies varies, but the sense of health, strength, and well-being it fosters, and the desire to mentor and give back to the group, is a common experience.

As Roberto, a member of Race Junkies for five years and marathoner who “never tries to win anything, only to compete with himself,” said, “We have all types of people with all types of goals, but we come together and support each other. I try to give back as much as I can as a ride leader with the group, hosting two rides per week, helping with bike mechanics, and offering a bike clinic for the group. But even more than supporting each other in sports, we support each other in life.”

Everyone is welcome to train with Race Junkies. To learn more about the group, contact them on social media:

  • Instagram: racejunkiesusa
  • Facebook: Race Junkies—www.facebook.com/groups/1835441360110979
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Civil War spawned our Memorial Day

By Ellen Marsden

Memorial Day is the end-of-May holiday that unofficially kicks off summer. But what is the holiday really about?

First, let’s clear up the confusion between Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Memorial Day, observed on the last Monday in May, commemorates those who died in military service to the country. Veterans Day, always observed on November 11, honors everyone who has or is serving the country, in wartime or peacetime.

Memorial Day started as a Civil War remembrance

While honoring those who have been killed in combat goes back to the ancient Greeks and Romans who marked their passing with public remembrances and decorating graves with flowers, our national holiday begins with the Civil War

Toward the end of the war, thousands of Union soldiers were held as prisoners of war in Charleston, South Carolina, at what was formerly a racetrack. Hundreds died from maltreatment, and they were buried in a mass grave there.

In May 1865, newly freed slaves, along with regiments of the U.S. black troops, gathered to honor and properly bury those soldiers. They sang hymns and put flowers on the graves.

Nearly 620,000 soldiers were killed in the Civil War. In May 1868, John A. Logan, Union general and commander-in-chief of the Union veterans group, the Grand Army of the Republic, called for a nationwide day of remembrance to be held yearly on May 30.

General Logan named it Decoration Day, and he called on citizens to put flowers and decorations on the graves of those who had died in the war. (Logan’s name may not be among the most prominent of the Union generals, but Logan Circle in Washington, D.C., is named after him.)

Over time, Memorial Day came to honor all of those lost in military service, not only in the Civil War. In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, and Memorial Day moved from the set observance on May 30, no matter what day of the week that fell on, to the last Monday in May. Memorial Day became a federal holiday in 1971.

 

Why poppies are a symbol of the holiday

World War I was raging in Europe in 1915 when Canadian soldier and surgeon John McCrae was serving in Belgium. Inspired by the bright red poppies growing in Flanders Fields (located in southern Belgium and northwest France), despite the bleak and brutal battles there, he wrote “In Flanders Fields,” a poem giving voice to the dead soldiers lying beneath the flower-covered ground.

A few years later, Moina Michael — a professor at the University of Georgia and a volunteer at the training headquarters for YWCA overseas workers — who had read McCrae’s poem, was moved to write her own poem commemorating those who had died at Flanders Fields. She, too, referenced poppies in her poem, “We Shall Keep the Faith.”

After the war, realizing there was a need to support disabled veterans, Michael championed the selling of silk poppies to help raise funds. As a result, a movement began to make wearing a red poppy a symbol of remembrance on Memorial Day. Through the years, the symbolism has extended to represent all veterans, so wearing a poppy on Veterans Day has become common as well.

 

Memorial Day today

For many of us, Memorial Day is a fun day of traditions celebrated with parades, long weekend vacations, barbeques and get-togethers with friends and family. But there are more formal traditions as well. Flags are supposed to be flown at half-staff until noon and then raised.

And by congressional legislation passed in 2000, at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day, Americans are encouraged to think about the meaning of the holiday during the National Moment of Remembrance.

Wishing you a happy and meaningful Memorial Day.

 

 

In Flanders Fields

 

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

 

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

 

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch: be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

⎯John McCrae, May 1915

 

 

We Shall Keep the Faith

 

Oh! You who sleep in Flanders Fields,

Sleep sweet ⎯ to rise anew!

We caught the torch you threw

And holding high, we keep the Faith

With All who died.

 

We cherish, too, the poppy red

That grows on fields where valor led;

It seems to signal to the skies

That blood of heroes never dies,

But lends a luster to the red

Of the flower that blooms above the dead

In Flanders Fields.

 

And now the Torch and Poppy Red

We wear in honor of our dead.

Fear not that ye have died for naught;

We’ll teach the lesson that ye wrought

In Flanders Fields.

⎯Moina Michael, November 1918

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COVID offered us a window to times gone by

By Ellen Marsden

We’ve coped with COVID-19 for over a year now.  During that time, we’ve not only reached out for help and support, but, unknowingly, reached back to earlier times.

We’ve adopted many of the ways our grandparents lived and worked. The pandemic was like a time machine to the early 20th century.

The milkman was a common and necessary occupation back then, and local grocers had delivery boys taking goods right to your home. We’ve turned to Amazon and Instacart for the same services.

Doctors made house calls with their little black valises and stethoscopes around their necks. Remember? The pandemic gave us the equivalent of a house call with physicians adopting telemed services to care for their patients.

With nowhere to go and feeling trapped in our homes day after day after day, many of us spent more time outside walking and biking in our neighborhoods, enjoying the outdoors.

We waved and smiled at people we did not know, feeling a kinship just because we were all in this together. We each had a story to tell, eager to share, trading information about what we were going through, where we could buy paper towels, shaking our heads in disbelief that this pandemic was really happening.

Maybe these interactions didn’t foster deep and lasting friendships, but they fostered community. Familiarity. Like in days gone by, next-door and across the street strangers were now acquaintances.

COVID interfered with getting all the prepared foods and takeout you were used to. And restaurants, of course, were out of reach. More people started making food from scratch.

Flour, yeast, and sugar were out of stock in the early months of the pandemic because there’s nothing like warm homemade cookies or fresh-baked bread for comfort.

Good smells emanating from the kitchen came from the ovens and stovetops, instead of the microwave.

Families were sitting down to dinner together, night after night. There was way less working late, or rushing off to band or athletic practice, everyone busy, busy, busy.

Sure, we spent a lot of time online, looking for diversions, but many of us went back to picking up a craft we’d long abandoned or getting out the sewing machine. We honed our DIY skills and made our own masks.

To while away time there was so much of, we played board and card games and did jigsaw puzzles as a family.

It was the 1930s again. Families that couldn’t go to the movies, gathered around their TV sets like families did decades earlier around their radios to listen to Fibber McGee and Molly, Charlie McCarthy, and The Shadow.

We tuned in to the news more than we had in decades, and talked about current events rather than our busy schedules, who had to be where and when.

Zoom became the back fence, the front porch, the annual Thanksgiving get together at grandma’s.

The media by which we communicate with one another have changed over the years, but the message that we might have been partially deaf to pre-COVID is everlasting. Connection is nourishing to the soul. We came to a more enlightened understanding of what was really important.

As the pandemic taxed our patience and heightened our fears, it boosted our creativity, resourcefulness, and appreciation of the outdoors and each other.

People often long for the good old days. COVID times will not be among them. But I hope there are some good and lasting positive takeaways that come out of this – let’s hope – once in a lifetime experience.

Thanks for listening. Nice chatting with you.

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Valentine’s Day origin hardly romantic

How did our current Valentine’s Day celebration come about? As with many of our favorite holidays, there are dark and murky tales surrounding its origins.

Not-so-lovely beginnings

One school of thought is that the Valentine’s Day holiday originated with the Roman fest of Lupercalia, held February 13 – 15, which included fertility rites.

Another possible explanation is that Roman Emperor Claudius II executed two men, both named Valentine, on February 14th back in
different years during the 3rd century. The martyred men were recognized by the Catholic Church with sainthood and thus the recognition of St. Valentine’s Day.

Yet another interpretation says that a jailed priest named Valentine was in love with his jailor’s daughter, and sent her a letter before he was beheaded. The Feast of Saint Valentine was recognized by Pope Gelasius in 496 A.D.

Through the years, Valentine’s Day evolved into a celebration
of love. The first mention of this is in Chaucer’s late 14th century poem, “The Parliament of Fowls.” Shakespeare mentions St. Valentine’s Day in A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream and Hamlet.

Heartfelt cards 

While Valentine’s Day cards were previously imported from Europe, in the mid1800’s, Esther Howland of Worcester, MA started designing and selling Valentines domestically, and is credited with starting the Valentine’s Day card industry in the United States.

By the late 1800s, cards were mass-produced, and by 1916, Hallmark began producing them. According to the Greeting Card
Association, with nearly 150 million Valentine’s cards sent each year — not including kids’ classroom cards—it’s the second largest card-giving occasion, Christmas ranking number one.

Cupid 

Perhaps you are familiar with Sam Cooke’s 1961 hit, “Cupid,” which begins:

“Cupid, draw back your bow And let your arrow go Straight to my lover’s heart for me…”

Bows, arrows, and a flying cherub, how did they become symbols of Valentine’s Day?

Cupid is known as the god of affection. In Greek mythology,
he was known as Eros, the son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. In Roman mythology, he was the son of her counterpart, Venus, but in a chubby- cheeked, child-like form.

While our Valentine depiction of him is shooting arrows to pierce the heart and make someone fall in love, legend has it he might carry two arrows, one golden arrow with a sharp tip to make people
fall in love, the other a blunt lead arrow to make someone fall out of love. Ouch!

Those sweet Valentine’s Day treats
Heart-shaped boxes of chocolate, or pink and red M&Ms, are among the most popular candies to give and get for Valentine’s Day, but what about those little candy hearts or conversation hearts, as
they’re known?

Their story dates back to 1847, to Boston pharmacist Oliver Chase’s candy machine invention that rolled lozenge dough into wafers, ultimately known as Necco wafers (an acronym for the New England Confectionary Company).

Supposedly inspired by the growing market for Valentines, in 1866, his brother, using vegetable dye, found a way to print words on candy. The iconic little heart shapes weren’t made until 1902, however.

Wishing you a sweet Valentine’s Day!

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Coping with COVID over the holidays

With COVID still raging, what has been called “the most wonderful time of the year” might not seem quite so wonderful this holiday season.

In fact, for some, it might feel downright depressing.

But there are steps we can take to adapt during these unique times to make the holidays and the new year as happy and fulfilling as possible.

Acceptance
“Accept that things are going to look a little diff erent this year,” says Dr. Amy Bravo, PsyD, a psychologist in private practice in Weston.

“There may be parts of this holiday season that are not our preferred ways of doing things, that are disappointing or upsetting. We have to allow ourselves to accept that and to feel that,” she advises.

Boundaries
Decide what social interactions and parameters you are comfortable with given COVID, and set those boundaries.

Are you okay with in-person get-togethers? Indoors or outdoors?
What size group? Will you be socially distanced?

Have the others who will be in attendance been quarantining? Will people be wearing masks? Where have the other attendees traveled from and what was their mode of transportation?

Will attendees have recently taken a COVID test? Do you have family members who might be more vulnerable to COVID?

These are some of the considerations to think about as you set boundaries that you are comfortable with and that make you feel safe.

Communicate
Inevitably, not everyone is going to agree with your boundaries, but they should be respectful of yours and vice versa.

“What families want to be careful and mindful about is judgment of other peoples’ difference of opinion,” says Dr. Bravo.

“Accept that not every member of your family or your circle of friends is going to see things the same way.”

Understandably, it can be difficult and hurtful to disappoint friends and relatives when your COVID boundaries and theirs conflict and you or they feel the need to decline an invitation.

If you are the one declining the invitation, assure them that it’s not personal, (and don’t take it personally if they are unable to accept your invitation).

Convey that you would love to get together but under these circumstances you need to choose what is best for you and makes you feel safe, and that you are really looking forward to a time soon when you can get together again.

Be creative
Once you have accepted that the holidays are different this year and know your boundaries, focus on creative options that will make the holiday special.

Maybe it doesn’t work to get together with out-of-town family, but there are local friends with whom you see eye-to-eye.

Is there a way of incorporating family traditions and get togethers in new ways? Perhaps it’s an outdoor visit or with a smaller group.

Maybe you can get together via Zoom, FaceTime, or Skype, where grandparents can read Christmas stories or light Hanukkah candles with their grandchildren remotely, watch each other open gifts, or eat a meal together but in separate locations.

In other words, while you may be apart from family and friends, you still can be a part of family and friends’ holiday celebrations.

COVID has made this a difficult year, even more so for those who have lost loved ones or suffered and recovered from the virus.

It’s understandable to be sad because your world has shrunk in some ways.

“Through this year, there’s been a lot of downtime. And when there’s a lot of downtime, there’s time to get in your head. And that’s not usually positive,” says Dr. Irene LeBlanc, PhD, LMCH, a mental health counselor with Psychological Associates in Coral Springs and Boca Raton.

But as we look forward to the holidays and the New Year, we can view this COVID-induced downtime as an opportunity for growth.

“We’re social beings, we’re meant to have relationships and interact with people. That keeps morale up and lifts us emotionally. We’re not meant to isolate,” says Dr. LeBlanc.

Dr. Amy Bravo contact info is: amybravopsyd.com, 954-385-8884

Dr. Irene LeBlanc contact info is: Berlinmentalhealth.com, 985-974-8423

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A not-so-tradional Thanksgiving

For many, at prior Thanksgiving holiday gatherings, it was the more people, the merrier. Not so much this Thanksgiving. If you are planning on hosting or attending a Thanksgiving celebration, to minimize your COVID-19 risk, here are some things to think about according to the CDC and other sources:

• Will the gathering be indoor or outdoors?

• How long will people be together? Hours? Days?

• How many people will be in attendance?

• What mode of travel will people be using, and are they coming
from areas with high infection rates? (Think about college
students returning for the holiday.)

• Have attendees been wearing masks, socially distancing, and
practicing other preventative measures, and will they do that at
the gathering?

• Are some people at greater risk due to age or underlying
conditions?

And even if you can’t be with family and friends in person, you can join them virtually.

The good news? More leftovers.

And then comes another tradition to re-examine: Black Friday, the traditional start of holiday shopping.

Unlike in years past, major retailers such as Walmart, Target, Kohl’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, ULTA, and Best Buy will be closed on Thanksgiving Day. Given a retailer might see 30 percent to 40 percent of their retail sales in October – December, and being in crowds can be unhealthy, holiday deals will be spread throughout the 3-month period instead of clustered from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

When it comes to what gifts we’ll be giving and getting this year, that too is expected to change. While gifting experiences such as travel, concerts and events, has become more popular in recent years, with the pandemic expect a return to more tangible gifts including electronics, home entertainment, health and fitness equipment, and toys.

Black Friday will still have its share in-person deals, but expect long lines as stores limit the number of people in-store at one time, and prepare to follow safety protocols (using hand sanitizer and wearing masks) in-store.

Overall, online shopping is expected to be very big business from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. Sales are forecasted to reach $51.1 billion, up 80 percent compared to the $28.4 billion in sales in 2019.

A tradition that has survived the pandemic, with some changes, is Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The show will go on—this is its 94th year— but will be different. The New York City event usually draws 3.5 million spectators, but this year crowds are discouraged.

Instead of the parade from uptown Manhattan to Midtown, the celebration will be in front of Macy’s Herald Square store. The balloons will still be there, but have no human handlers, and guest performances will be taped instead of live. High school and college marching bands won’t be appearing. If you want to tune in, it’s on NBC Thanksgiving Day from 9 a.m. until noon. Wishing you all a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

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A century of women’s suffrage

The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed in 1920. It declared that: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

It was a long struggle for women to gain those voting rights.

History Highlights
In 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and other women’s rights advocates helped organize the First Women’s Rights Convention, also known as the Seneca Falls Convention, in Seneca Falls, NY. Modeled after the Declaration of Independence, they wrote a Declaration of Sentiments that began:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and
women are created equal; that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these
rights governments are instituted, deriving their just powers
from the consent of the governed… The history of mankind
is a history of repeated injuries and usurpation on the part of
man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment
of an absolute tyranny over her. To prove this, let facts be
submitted to a candid world…”

And from there, the Declaration of Sentiments enumerated a list of critical ways in which women lacked equality with men, including owning property, access to education and career opportunities, family rights, and political representation.

Susan B. Anthony, the woman that most of us associate with women gaining the right to vote, met Stanton in 1851. They worked together in both the abolition and suffrage movements. When the Fifteenth Amendment enfranchised African-American men, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony abandoned the AERA, which supported universal suffrage, to found the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) in 1869, saying black men should not receive the vote before white women. In response, African-American suffragist.

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper and others joined the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA), which supported suffrage for women and for black men. Tensions between African-American and white suffragists persisted, even after the NWSA and AWSA merged to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1890.

Both Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony died in the
early 1900s, well before the 19th amendment was ratifi ed. It was
largely due to Carrie Chapman Catt, who became involved with
the suffragette movement in the 1880s, and served as president of
NAWSA from 1900-1904, and 1915-1920, that the 19th amendment
became law.

Suffrage was a key national issue soon after the turn of the century,
and while the 1916 Republican and Democratic conventions
supported women gaining the right to vote, they advocated that each
state should decide what that would encompass, not the federal
government. This meant that the scope of women’s right to vote
could vary depending on where you lived. NAWSA then put increased
effort behind adopting a national amendment, and it is Catt, the
president of the organization at the time, who was a driving force in
getting the amendment passed.

World War I also helped the women’s suffrage movement. With men drafted into service, women were called on to work in traditionally male jobs. In September 1918, President Woodrow Wilson addressed the Senate, advocating for women’s right to vote saying, “We have made partners of the women in this war; shall we admit them only to a partnership of suffering and sacrifice and toil and not to a partnership of privilege and right?”

The proposed 19th amendment received the necessary two-thirds majority vote in the U.S. House of Representatives in May 1919 and the Senate in June 1919. It then went to the states for ratification. While some states had already granted partial or complete voting rights to women, at least three-fourths of the states (at that time there were 48 states, so at least 36) had to ratify the amendment for it to be added to the Constitution. Tennessee became the 36th state, and the amendment granting women the right to vote became part of the Constitution in August of 1920.

Mary Church Terrel

Three million African-American women south of the Mason-Dixon line remained disfranchised after the passage of the amendment. Election officials regularly obstructed access to the ballot box. In 1926, a group of women attempting to register in Birmingham, Alabama were beaten by officials. Incidents such as this, threats of violence and job losses, and legalized.
prejudicial practices blocked women of color from voting. Not until the Twenty-fourth Amendment was adopted in 1962, were Congress and the states prohibited from making voting conditional on poll or other taxes, paving the way to more reforms with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Harriet Purvis

 

Native Americans were granted citizenship by an Act of Congress in 1924, but state policies prohibited them from voting. In 1948, a suit brought by World War II veteran Miguel Trujillo resulted in Native Americans gaining the right to vote in New Mexico and Arizona, but some states continued to bar them from voting until 1957. Poll taxes and literacy tests kept Latina women from voting. In Puerto Rico, for example, women did not receive the right to vote until 1929, but was limited to literate women until 1935. Further, the 1975 extensions of the Voting Rights Act included requiring bilingual ballots and voting materials in certain regions, making it easier for Latina women to vote. National immigration laws prevented Asians from gaining citizenship until 1952.

Once they gained the right to vote, women did not immediately go out and vote in large numbers. In the 1920 election, women voted at two-thirds the rate of men, and turnout varied greatly state-by-state. Only starting in 1960 did women vote at the same percentage as men; in every presidential election after that, women have had greater voter turnout than men.

Catt’s Other Legacy
In addition to women’s suffrage, Catt was instrumental in founding the League of Women Voters in 1920. As their website states, “For 100 years we have been a nonpartisan, activist, grassroots organization that believes voters should play a critical role in democracy.” A national organization open to all, the League got its official start in Florida in 1939 and today has 29 chapters in the state, including in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.

The League offers much in the way of voter information and advocacy. As Monica Elliott, President of the League of Women Voters of Broward County says, “When people realize that just about everything in their life is controlled by a government official and that they have the opportunity to elect (or not) these offi cials, people start to think about voting differently.For the shock factor, once people see how close the elections were in Florida and how
many registered voters did not vote in 2016 and 2018, they perk up and vow to either vote themselves or make sure that all their friends, family, and colleagues get out and vote.” For more information on the League of Women Voters of Broward County, go to https://lwvbroward.org/

Remembering the 2000 Election
While those are recent examples of how much voting counts, you may recall the Bush versus Gore presidential election of 2000. The nation’s focus was on Florida. Whichever candidate won Florida’s 25 electoral (The state has gained 4 electoral votes for the 2020 election for a total of 29.) votes would go over the 270 electoral vote threshold to win the election. Florida’s vote was so close, it had to be counted and recounted. Ultimately, it was decided that Bush won by 537 votes out of approximately six million cast in Florida. Five hundred and thirty-seven votes!

Of course, it’s your right to vote or not, but it is no exaggeration to say that your vote matters.

By Ellen Marsden

Of course Florida ratified the 19th amendment – in 1969

I love newspapers.com. Searchable stories from over 18,000 newspapers, from the 1700s to the present day. And it’s not like history books, written decades or centuries after an event. It’s like looking at yesterday. It was where I discovered my paternal grandfather was indicted for attempted
murder, pleaded out, and paid a $465 fine. But that’s another story. Trust me.

So anyway, I was researching women’s suffrage for Ellen Marsden’s suffrage article, and came across an August 19th, 1920 front page of The Miami News. The 19th amendment had been ratified the day before with Tennessee becoming the necessary 36th state to make it law.

Next to the article on the amendment’s passage was a chart listing states that had ratified the amendment and states that had rejected it. The requisite 36 states were in the ratification column. Eight states, reminiscent of the Confederacy, had rejected the amendment: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and Louisiana.

All of these states eventually, perhaps begrudgingly, ratified the amendment, Mississippi being the last in 1984.

At first glance, I thought Florida was absent from the chart. But I had overlooked a section listing states that had not voted either way yet: Connecticut, North Carolina, Vermont, and — you guessed it — Florida. Connecticut jumped on the bandwagon a month after the amendment passed, ratifying it in September 1920. Vermont yielded a few months later in February 1921.

But good old Florida held out until May 13, 1969, just a couple of months before man walked on the moon. These are two sides of a very strange coin.

In its defense, however, Florida wasn’t the last to yield to women’s suffrage. That honor goes to North Carolina, which dug in its heels and didn’t ratify the amendment until 1971.

By Richard Battin
editor@theparklander.com

Posted on

Halloween 2020: Trick or treat or …?

It’s hard to imagine what Halloween celebrations will be like this year. Will there be clusters of costumed kids at the doorstep calling out “trick or treat” from under their masks? Instead of the usual masks of princesses, animals, and superheroes, will this year’s masks be nose and mouth coverings to contain germs from possible coronavirus superspreaders? Will parents regard every package of candy as being a possible COVID carrier, the wrapper on each piece needing to be washed or wiped down?

If you are looking for a socially- distanced haunted Halloween activity, you might want to check out The Horrorland, a nighttime drive-thru haunted Halloween experience being held October 1 – 31 in Miramar. We haven’t tested the fear factor, but according to their website, it is not recommended for children under 13. For more information, go to https://thehorrorland.com.

While we can’t quite predict what Halloween will be like in the present or the future, we can tell you something about its past…

Halloween history highlights

The origin of Halloween is often credited to the Celts, who lived in what is now the general area of Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France about 2,000 years ago. On October 31st, they celebrated the festival of Samhain, (pronounced sow-win) which marked the end of the harvest and the start of winter and a new year. Celts believed that the worlds of the living and the dead came close together at this time and that they could connect with spirits and ghosts of their ancestors.

While some spirits were thought to cause mayhem, others were thought to help see into the future. On Samhain, Celts feasted, made lanterns from hollowed-out gourds, told fortunes, built bonfires, and chose which animals would need to be slaughtered for the winter.

When Christianity reached the Celtic areas, the pagan rituals were strongly discouraged. The church recognized November 2nd as All Souls’ Day — a day to honor the dead — and November 1st as All Saints’ Day, also called All-Hallows (hallows meaning saints or holy people). Thus, October 31st was All-Hallows Eve (now known as Halloween), but the light-hearted celebrations with trick or treating, decorations, and parties we know today only evolved in the United States and Canada over time.

Colonists in New England, with their strict religious practices, did not embrace Halloween celebrations; southern colonies were more likely to celebrate by telling fortunes, sharing tales of the dead, dancing, and singing.

When Irish and Scottish immigrants came to the United States in great numbers during the second half of the 1800s, they brought their Halloween traditions with them, including community parties with games and costumes. One of the traditions that was popular around the turn of the 19th century and now long gone, was Halloween being a time for a young, unmarried woman, to foretell her future spouse. She would throw an apple peel over her shoulder, believing it would land in the shape of the first initial of her future husband, or that by looking in the mirror Halloween night, she would see an image of the man she would wed.

Halloween is big business today

  • Guess who?

According to estimates from the National Retail Federation last fall, the greatest share of the nearly $9 billion that was expected to be spent
on Halloween in 2019, was for costumes, at $3.2 billion. The newest trend? Pet costumes. Pet costumes have surged in popularity; nearly twenty percent of pet owners planned to put their pets

in costumes last year—pumpkins, hot dogs, and superheroes being among the most popular—at a cost of nearly $500 million.

  • It’s beginning to look a lot like…Halloween.

Decorating for Halloween inside and especially outside has become more elaborate with high-tech holograms, decorative lights, and giant blow-ups gaining popularity in recent years, resulting in consumers spending $2.7 billion on Halloween decorations. (2019 estimate)

  • Trick or treat, give me something good to eat.

While there was trick or treating in the 1930s and 40s, with kids going house to house to get cookies, cakes, fruit, nuts, and coins, it wasn’t until the 1950s that candy became the common hand-out. Last year’s estimate was there would be $2.6 billion spent on Halloween candy.

In 2019, candystore.com reported that between 2007-2018, the top candies sold for Halloween were: Skittles, Reese’s Cups, M&M’s, Snickers, and Starburst, followed by the candy most associated with Halloween: candy corn.

Those sweet yellow, orange, and white kernels were invented in the 1880s in Philadelphia and gained widespread popularity at the turn of the 20th century. Candy corn is made from sugar, fondant, corn syrup, vanilla flavor, and marshmallow crème melted into a liquid, colored, and molded to create the kernel shape. The vast majority of candy corn is made for Halloween, with approximately 35 million pounds of candy corn produced each year, a whopping 9 billion pieces.

And if the spirit moves you, and you want to celebrate Halloween a little early, October 30th is National Candy Corn Day.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

By Ellen Marsden

Posted on

Meal kits cater to a cavalcade of culinary cravings

One of the latest, hottest trends in food is the fresh-food meal-kit delivery subscription service. Recipes and pre-measured ingredients for meals that you choose, or can be chosen for you, arrive in insulated boxes and are delivered to your home weekly, so you can make fresh, tasty meals quickly. Business is booming. According to Statista.com, sales of fresh-food meal-kits were $1.5 billion in 2016 and expected to reach $11.6 billion by 2022.

The reasons to subscribe to a service are many. Maybe you don’t have time (or inclination in this time of COVID-19) to plan out menus, grocery shop, and then cook. Or takeout isn’t the taste sensation it used to be. Perhaps cooking prowess has not been your strong suit and you want to learn basic cooking skills. Rather than experiment and risk a disappointing outcome, you want to cook something tried and true with no guesswork.

Or it could be you’re craving for new foods and flavors, but you don’t want to purchase lots of new ingredients that may end up going to waste, either because you only need a small amount for an individual recipe, or because you’re positive you’re never going to use the rest of that sweetbread in any recipe for the rest of your life.

How many of us have gone to the grocery store needing just a few items and come home with food we didn’t need or were trying to avoid? A fresh- food meal-kit delivery service might help keep you on track. Or maybe you want to eat differently for other health reasons or because of philosophical or environmental considerations and preferences.

Additionally, a meal-kit delivery service might make a good gift. Treating someone to door-delivered easy-to-make meals might make their week.

 

Choosing the right service will take a little research. If you Google meal delivery services, you’ll find lists and ratings from a wide variety of sources, and dozens of meal services to choose from. Because meal-kit delivery service is a very dynamic segment of the food industry, companies continually innovate and merge/enter/leave the market. So, once you’ve found the service(s) you want to try, it’s best to get the latest information from their website. Read what past and present subscribers have to say about a service. You can check Yelp reviews, as well.

When evaluating what meal-kit delivery service to use, there are several factors you’ll want to consider, such as:

What’s on the menu

Some services cater to specific dietary wants and needs; others with broader menus might offer meals that meet those needs even though it is not their specific focus. You will also want to note how many weekly options there are to choose from and how often they rotate the menu.

For overall variety and popularity, HelloFresh, Freshly, and Blue Apron might be good possibilities.

For meeting health and diet needs, Diet-to-Go and Nutrisystem offer multiple options.

For those wanting to eat organic/vegetarian/vegan/plant-based, Sun Basket, Purple Carrot, and Green Chef offer many options.

For foodies, Martha & Marley Spoon, from Martha Stewart, offers a range of selections.

Cost

Cost per serving is generally in the $10 range (Dinnerly positions itself as costing less than average) but can vary depending on the number of meals and quantity ordered, shipping costs, current promotions, etc. Competition is keen. Many companies have enticing introductory offers, as well as referral programs that entitle subscribers to offer a friend a free trial.

Flexibility

How many meals and servings you are required to order weekly varies by company. Some programs might be better for singles, others for families. You might also want to find out if the service allows for ingredient substitutions, increased portion sizes, etc.

It pays to know the service’s subscription commitment/ suspension/cancellation policy. Also, take note of when you need to order your next week’s meals and what happens if you miss that window, as well as what day of the week/time of day you can expect the delivery. While the meals are packaged for freshness, another consideration is how long after delivery is freshness guaranteed, so if the shipment is delayed or you can’t pick up the delivery as quickly as you planned, you know what to expect.

What you need to have on hand

Check what utensils and ingredients are needed to make the recipes. Regarding ingredients, many meal-kit service recipes require you have just the basics, such as salt, pepper, and oil. For others, you might need to supply items such as eggs and flour.

Time

While most meal delivery service kit meals will take up to 45 minutes to prepare, Freshly delivers pre-cooked meals that only require reheating.

While fresh-food meal-kit delivery services aren’t for everyone, if you are looking to try one, the options are numerous, and look to be quite tasty!

By Ellen Marsden

Posted on

Patriotic songs touchstone of Fourth of July

It’s the season of patriotic songs. You know the melodies, and maybe the lyrics, and now we present you with a little of the history of some of the most well-known and well-loved.

God Bless America

God bless America, land that I love
Stand beside her and guide her
Through the night with the light from above

From the mountains to the prairies/To the oceans white with foam
God bless America, my home sweet home

God bless America, land that I love
Stand beside her and guide her
Through the night with the light from above

From the mountains to the prairies/To the oceans white with foam
God bless America, my home sweet home

To the oceans white with foam
God bless America, my home sweet home/

God bless America, my home sweet home

Irving Berlin might be best known for songs such as “White Christmas,” “Easter Parade,” and scores for 19 Broadway shows and
18 movies, but he also wrote “God Bless America.” In 1918, Berlin, a Russian immigrant, was serving in the U.S. Army in Yaphank, New York. “God Bless America” was intended for the finale of his comedic all-soldier music revue, Yip Yap Yaphank, but Berlin decided to cut it, and did nothing with the song for 20 years. Then, in response to the growing conflict in Europe, he made revisions to the unpublished song, and Kate Smith first sang it on her radio program on Armistice Day, (now called Veterans Day), broadcast in 1938. “God Bless America” became her signature song.

America the Beautiful (1st stanza)

O beautiful for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties/Above the fruited plain!

America! America!

God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood/From sea to shining sea!

The author of “America the Beautiful,” Katharine Lee Bates, was a Massachusetts native who became an English literature professor at Wellesley College. It was on an 1893 trip to Colorado, on Pike’s Peak, that she began to formulate the words to “America the Beautiful.” Her poem first appeared in The Congregationalist, a weekly newspaper, on July 4,1895. Over time, Bates made a few revisions to the words and for years, the poem was sung to many popular tunes, including “Auld Lang Syne.” Today it is sung to a melody written in 1882 by Samuel Augustus Ward, a Newark, New Jersey, church organist and choir director who originally wrote the tune to accompany the words of a 16th century hymn. Although they did not know each other, Bates’ poem and Ward’s music were published together in 1910.

The Stars and Stripes Forever

When you think of military marches, you think of John Philip Sousa. Sousa first became famous as the leader of the U.S. Marine Band and then with the Sousa Band, which toured for nearly 40 years. Known as “The March King,” he composed over 100 marches including “Semper Fidelis” (1888), which became the official march of the U.S. Marine Corps, and the rousing, July 4th favorite, “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” (1896), the national march of the United States. And yes, the “The Stars and Stripes Forever” has lyrics, but they are much lesser known than the tune itself.

The Star Spangled Banner (1st stanza)

O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,/Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,/O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?/And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

The lyrics to the “The Star Spangled Banner” are a poem titled “The Defence of Fort McHenry,” written by lawyer, Francis Scott Key, during the War of 1812. Upon seeing a large American victory flag waving after a night of intense British bombardment at the Battle of Baltimore, Key was moved to write the poem. It was paired with a British tune written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society and became known as “The Star Spangled Banner.” (For those not in know, Anacreon was an ancient Greek poet known for his celebrations of love and wine.) Declared the national anthem in 1931, and often played at professional sporting events, “The Star Spangled Banner” is notoriously challenging to sing given its difficult lyrics and high pitched and held notes.

God Bless the USA

If tomorrow all the things were gone I worked for all my life
And I had to start again
With just my children and my wife

I thank my lucky stars
To be living here today
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom/And they can’t take that away
And I’m proud to be an American/Where at least I know I’m free
And I won’t forget the men who died/Who gave that right to me
And I’d gladly stand up next to you/And defend Her still today
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt
I love this land
God Bless the U.S.A.
From the lakes of Minnesota
To the hills of Tennessee
Across the plains of Texas
From sea to shining sea

From Detroit down to Houston
And New York to L.A.
Well, there’s pride in every American heart/And it’s time we stand and say
That I’m proud to be an American
Where at least I know I’m free
And I won’t forget the men who died/Who gave that right to me
And I’d gladly stand up next to you
And defend Her still today
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt
I love this land
God Bless the U.S.A.
And I’m proud to be an American
Where at least I know I’m free
And I won’t forget the men who died/Who gave that right to me
And I’d gladly stand up next to you
And defend Her still today
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt
I love this land
God Bless the U.S.A.

Singer songwriter Lee Greenwood released “God Bless the USA” in 1984. Greenwood, and the song, which peaked at Number 7 on the country chart, were nominated for two Grammys that year: Best Country Male Vocal and Best Country Song. However, it became an even bigger hit during the Gulf War in 1991, and then again in 2001, after 9/11. Greenwood had wanted to write a patriotic song for years, and found inspiration for the song when Russia shot down Korean Airlines flight 007 in 1983, killing 63 Americans.

By Ellen Marsden

Posted on

Burnout oozes from excessive, prolonged stress

By Ellen Marsden

Feeling alienated from your job lately as COVID-19 lingers over a fearful nation? Have you become cynical of your coworkers or even the intrinsic value of your work itself?

Are you suffering headaches, or stomach issues? Do you feel drained and exhausted, looking down an endless dark tunnel of depression? 

Are you questioning your ability to cope, both with your job and your new homebound virus responsibilities?

No, this isn’t a commercial for Geritol. Do they even still make that stuff?

The symptoms describe burnout, “a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands.”

Last year, before coronavirus spread its ugly tentacles across the globe, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially classified burnout as “an occupational phenomenon … resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” 

Stress and burnout are not the same. Stress is something you might experience temporarily, such as a work deadline that has you under pressure, or being stuck in traffic as you struggle to make an appointment on time.

Burnout is prolonged. Instead of heightened emotion and rising to the occasion as you might with stress, you feel like you’re sinking, empty, helpless; like nothing you do is going to make any difference. 

The term “burnout” is a relatively new term, according to verywellmind.com. It was “first coined in 1974 by Herbert Freudenberger, in his book, Burnout: The High Cost of High Achievement. He originally defined burnout as, “the extinction of motivation or incentive, especially where one’s devotion to a cause or relationship fails to produce the desired results.” 

Workplace burnout is not uncommon, especially in business, for first responders, and those in healthcare. As the COVID-19 crisis ravages the country, workers in these areas may be particularly vulnerable to burnout as they are dedicated to saving companies, jobs and lives. A related phenomenon is “compassion fatigue” which can happen to healthcare workers in response to working with trauma.

Now that burnout has been given a more detailed definition by the WHO, it is likely that employers will be more aware of and sensitive to the issue, and devise strategies to help minimize its occurrence and severity. 

In response to the pandemic, there has already been an increase in the availability of resources to combat the burnout healthcare providers are experiencing, according to Cindy Ricardo, a Coral Springs based licensed mental health worker.

“There was some of it available, but with COVID-19, there’s been a huge response from all different organizations. What I have seen companies doing is offering free mental health resources and free healthcare, no copay necessary. There’s a lot of other free resources out there like free yoga classes,” Ricardo said.

And while the WHO has defined burnout as a workplace phenomenon, it is possible to experience burnout in other areas of life as well. Parenting challenges, working from home, caring for elderly or ill parents, getting along with your spouse and children 24/7, can lead to feelings of crushing exhaustion, being overwhelmed by responsibility, or a sense of defeat. 

There are simple, intuitive ways to combat it, like eating right, getting enough sleep and making a point to take some time for yourself. 

“Go have a cup of coffee or tea, go outside and connect with nature. Make time to exercise even if it’s taking a walk and taking in the warmth of the sun or the sounds of a bird,” said Ricardo. “If you’re constantly giving to others and not giving to yourself, it’s like a well, not being replenished. 

“To actually schedule that time becomes important. You schedule other things, like doctor appointments for your kids, but if you’re not putting yourself on that schedule, you are abandoning yourself.” 

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